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Southwest Thailand Impact Trip

By Anonymous
By Natasha Palanivel

Over spring break, twelve students made an adventurous and exciting journey to Phuket, Thailand for their Impact trip.

On Friday morning (March 29th), twelve students, along with Mr. McClary and Ms. Keas, enthusiastically boarded the flight to Phuket. None of them knew what the following week would bring. In the evening, Mr. Dan—a missionary in Phuket who was in charge of bringing the group around—came over to brief the team on the culture of Thailand, after which the motley crew headed to their rooms to rest.

The next day, Mr. Dan took the team to Patong Beach to see the depravity of the sex industry in Phuket. As the students walked down Patong Beach, it opened their eyes to the underlying sin that was going on. After that dark and heavy walk, the rest of the day was spent resting and bonding as a team.

Sunday finally rolled around, and the team got a chance to visit a Thai church. The students enjoyed the time of worship and sat through an entirely Thai speaking service. After church, the group headed back to prepare for the kids’ camp, which was the main service project for their Impact trip.

Kids’ camp took place on both Monday and Tuesday; both days were long and tiring—but also fulfilling. The students got to interact and play with the kids, as well as teach them English. In turn, the Thai kids attempted to teach some of the students certain words in Thai. On Tuesday night, the crew made their way to the headquarters of an organization called For Freedom International, which helps to fight the sex industry in Phuket. The students spent time getting to know the people of FFI through sports and pizza.

On Wednesday, the students went back to FFI and took a tour of their headquarters. The rest of the day was spent bonding as a team. At night, the group celebrated Ms. Keas birthday in a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean and the stunning sunset. It was one last blast before the students made their way back home to Penang on Thursday.
Over the course of the week, the students made many memories and grew very close to one another. The students also had many encounters with God. Many experienced God through the morning and evening quiet times, and others experienced God through subtle things throughout the trip. Abby Owen (10) summarized her Impact experience this way: “Our Impact trip to Phuket was great. We taught and played with Thai kids through running kids camp along with learning about the sex trafficking industry from an organization there working to help stop it. This trip really showed me how similar people are across cultures and gave me an opportunity to grow closer to God.”

The Impact program truly is a wonderful way for students to serve, build relationships, and grow closer to God. 

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