Asia Trip - Final Thoughts

It's been just over a week since I returned home.  I got home on a Sunday evening and had a hectic work week starting the next day.  I'm just now catching up from jet lag.  My thoughts, however, are still on Asia.

The morning I left Nepal, I had a special treat.  Back in the mid-90's, KSLT, our radio station in South Dakota, began fundraising for our "Angel of Nepal."  She was an American lady who had a passion for children.  She started taking them into her home in Kathmandu, until she outgrew one house and had to move to another.  Every year from the Hills Alive Summer Music Festival stage, I'd talk about her ministry to orphans, and for several years, we were her sole source of support.

On our way to the airport, we stopped by the school she helps oversee.  As I talked to her, several people joined us.  They were all children from the orphanage.  Eight of them were teaching in the school, and several others had influential positions.  She said as they gathered, "these are the children you supported."  What a way to end my time in Nepal!  It was a huge reminder that investing in lives of children results in tremendous ministry as children become adults.  

From Nepal, I went to Thailand - all over Thailand!  I visited projects in the north within a rock's throw of Myanmar (Burma).  I visited projects in the south within sight of Malaysia.  It was almost too much, too fast.  After the heavy pollution of Kathmandu, and walking in the slums of Delhi, the rural areas of Thailand seemed like paradise.  There was very little trash on the road sides, and the air was clean and clear.  These trips are wonderful to get a perspective of the ministry the Mission of Mercy supports, but they fall short on the side of getting to experience the sights and sounds of an area.  However, I never get tired of seeing children with hope in their eyes.  God has created each of these children with a unique personality and a special plan and purpose.

As I get back into the pace of life back in the US, I am reminded again of why we do what we do.  We are simply a participant in the plan of God for these kids.  They have value and they deserve our support.  In my brief time back home, I've already taken a quick trip to Canada to meet with the Director of Mission of Mercy - Canada.  We are talking about ways to work together to increase the impact of our ministries.  No individual or organization can do it all.  We each do what we can, where we can.  And ultimately, the difference is made in the life of one child.  That's why I love our new slogan, "One Child Matters."  

I'll be thinking about this trip for a long time.  Each country, each culture is so different.  People ask me, "After all your travels, what is your favorite country?"  My answer is always, "it's the last place I have visited."  And so the story continues....