Girls from House of Grace- Chiangrai, Thailand
Happy New Year! I spent New Years in Chiangrai, Thailand! My husband and I have spent the last few days visiting House of Grace with the founder and our childhood youth pastor, Mark Rutland. House of Grace is a beautiful home for girls that have been identified as vulnerable for human trafficking. The girls for the most part come from Akah villages in the northern hills of Thailand.
Peony Market supports House of Grace financially and hopes to sponsor a young girl as one becomes available to support. I want to share with you a little bit about House of Grace and the loving community the girls are raised in. Possibly, you too will feel the tug in your heart as I did.
House of Grace welcomes these girls with open arms providing a safe place to grow in God’s grace, love and care. The directors of House of Grace, Juti and A-la, model grace by their actions daily. They have a staff of ten to take care of these girls. The home provides cozy bunkbeds, meals, bible study, a food garden and vans to take the girls to schools nearby. Mark, the founder of House of Grace, says the girls are a page out of the children’s classic “Madeline” as they line up in two straight lines to depart for school.
House of Grace is run by Juti and A-la. They serve with grace and truth, giving the girls a secure, loving home. Juti was one of the first girls many years ago to be rescued by House of Grace so she understands the girls. Many of the girls come from situations where the father is addicted to opium and is abusive. A common practice is for the little girls to be sold by their fathers for drug money to businessmen who promise the girls jobs in the city, but in actuality they become slaves to prostitution. Juti and Ala are beautiful servants who truly are giving away their lives to help these girls have the life they so deserve, saving them from this terrible fate.
We witnessed Juti and A-la’s extravagant love from the very beginning to the end of our stay. Juti locked arms with me at the airport, carrying my bags and listening compassionately to our travel stories. It was as though we had been friends forever. We were greeted be the precious girls from House of Grace bearing gifts of jasmine necklaces and cards of love. I believe these actions demonstrate what a house filled with grace should look like. Meeting our guests, friends and family with love instead of being too busy and entangled on our phones demonstrates that we value them. These girls loved me with all their hearts the minute I set foot on campus. My heart broke when we said our goodbyes, but I knew this wasn’t bye forever. Rather, it was simply the beginning of relationship with them through prayer and sponsorship.
Our visit to the House of Grace in Thailand, witnessing such beautiful love with the girls and our new friends Juti and Ala, has changed our hearts forever! These girls are precious gifts from God. They have lives ahead of them that are going to impact the world in tremendous ways. It all starts with love. If it weren’t for Global Servants who began House of Grace, and for Juti and A-la’s leadership, the girls would have had much different lives. The girls, having experienced amazing love and acceptance, in turn love others in the same way. Grace and Love are contagious!
Peony Market’s first core value is Grace. An atmosphere of Grace, whether in our home or business, begins with us. Understanding and experiencing God’s amazing love propels us to give extravagant grace to others….
As we enter 2019 with God’s grace, Let’s embrace these simple ways of making others feel loved and valued:
Lock arms with those you greet
Carry others bags
Give gifts
Share stories
Give what you have
If you are interested in learning more about House of Grace and want information about sponsoring a young girl, go to Global Servants. House of Grace’s tagline is
“Saving little girls for big destinies.”
Peony Market’s gatherings and a future online store are the means to share love to those you cherish. We will always support organizations that help women restore and become all that God created them to be.
Grace and Love-
Sharon