How has COVID-19 been affecting the people in our community?

The truth is that COVID-19 is making lives very hard here in Thailand. So many people are out of work. We can’t tell you how many people are coming to us asking for work and the opportunity to earn income. (It is daily!) Here is what we are hearing:

“I don’t know how I’ll give my children food to eat.”

Today we had a community Bible study about anxiety and worry with 17 people who are part-time and regular artisans. Every single person at the Bible study had an example of something they tend to worry about. One part-time artisan shared the following:

“I am so stressed about money. If I don’t have money, I don’t know how I will live. I don’t know how I will give my children food to eat. Ever since COVID-19 started, I feel worried about this.”

“I don’t know where I would live if I got kicked out.”

As we were talking about COVID-19 another part-time artisan said:

“I am not afraid of getting sick. What I am really afraid of is getting kicked out of the room where I live. My landlord said if anyone gets COVID-19 in his dorm rooms, he will make us leave the same day. I don’t know where I would live if I got kicked out”

It’s statements like this that show the reality of how so many people are living. The low-income populations we work with are often existing as second class citizens, with great opportunity for abuse, neglect, and unfair treatment. These are the people we serve and the people we want to see lifted up with dignity and honor in this Thai Village community.

“I now can say that I 100% believe in God.”

The good news is that God is working in and through our struggles, our anxieties, and our fears. We are hearing stories of faith as well, such as an artisan who shared this:

“I am so grateful for this community and the work projects you’ve shared with me. More than that though, I now can say that I 100% believe in God. After years of working with you I see how God has answered my prayers, given me friends that support me, and healed me from many things.”

This is why your purchases, orders, and donations are so vital. Because of YOU, we get to give work to people. We get to see them come into this community and leave feeling loved. We get to interact with them and show them that they have great value. We get to thank God together for providence and sustenance, often in the form of each other. We were not meant to do life alone. Your part in this team is vital! THANK YOU!

Please pray for these artisans who are working hard to make ends meet. Pray that they would know God as their provider and creator and Jesus as their Savior and guide in the midst of hard times.