‘God called us to Bangkok 14 years ago. He gave us the name of our ministry, The Place of Grace, first, before leading us to five slum communities. It was here that we met many precious children who didn’t know how much they mattered to God.
We started with after school clubs for children and teenagers, followed by discipleship groups. Then, frustrated with seeing hungry children, we launched a foodbank to reach those most needy in the communities.
The next problem we wrested with was that in the slum communities, the attendance rate in schools in incredibly low and the dropout rate is incredibly high. Many children don’t have anyone to wake them up and make them go each morning, or they can’t afford the mandatory lunch money. Around 90% of those who do manage to go to school drop out aged 12 or 13. Many fall prey to influences in the communities; we knew 14-year-olds in prison for drugs, and pregnant 13- and 14-year-olds looking for love.
After a few years of praying about what we to do, God led us to start a school – The Place of Grace Learning Centre – which gives the children the support and stability they need to stay in education despite challenging home lives. We are now in our fourth year of the school, with 32 full-time students. Because the standard of English language is so low in Thailand, all our students learn their subjects in English. This will offer them huge job opportunities in the future and lift them out of a cyclical life of poverty.
As well as enjoying learning, our students are supported through the issues they face. School becomes a joy-filled refuge where their minds are stretched and they encounter Jesus. However, for a minority of our students, home is not safe at all. ‘Because I am a girl in these communities, I am not safe’, was how one female student summarised her situation. Consequently, we are in the final stages of opening a safe house, called ‘My Father’s House’, where several female students will be able to sleep in safety.
As well as offering a life-changing language opportunity and a grounded education, The Place of Grace has given us the opportunity to open the Bible each day with our students, who all come from a Buddhist background. We use a Christian curriculum, and our students love meeting Jesus, learning how to walk with him and talk to him. They have a dignity that stems from knowing they are valued and loved by their Heavenly Father. They have a purpose for their future. They know that their powerful God has a plan for them and that their lives matter to him. When we ask the children how God has helped them, the most common answer is ‘now I am not alone’.’