During my trip to Thailand, the group visited a small school out in the country, in Ban Chaivan. It was remarkable for a number of reasons: even though by now Thailand has been well discovered, this little town was out in the country in northeast Thailand - not a very popular tourist stop. So we were somewhat surprised to learn that we were the first flesh-and-blood foreigners for many of the kids in the town.
The purpose of the trip was to see other areas that could use the Eastlake church's financial support - while for the most part, the school system in Thailand is well developed, schools out in the countryside are in dire straights financially. Really, the purpose of the trip to Ban Chaivan was just to see that there are plenty of places in Thailand that really do need help.
However, as so often was the case, fate had different ideas. Where we saw an opportunity perhaps to donate supplies to help the school, the school administrators saw something a little different. We were introduced to the little girl pictured in the left. She was suffering from bone cancer and would have to take regular trips all the way out to Bangkok for her treatment - over a 10 hour drive each way. While the government would pay for the chemo, her family could not afford to pay for the trips over there.
I'm not sure what it was - perhaps it was the chance to really make an immediate difference in someone's life - but the folks at Eastlake jumped all over this and for the next year, supported this little girl financially so her family could get her to treatment. It was a beautiful gesture and something done so spontaneously and without a minute's hesitation, it just touched my heart.
Sadly, I learned this morning that this little girl passed away on March 17th, 2009, during the course of her treatment. I hope that the Eastlake crew doesn't despair too much, for while the treatments proved fruitless, the fact that this girl knew that there were people across the globe who loved her and were praying for her - perhaps the comfort you provided was enough. As it is, I remember the tenderness and love her schoolmates and teachers all had for her and can't help but feel for their pain right now.
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