Making a Difference | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Making a Difference | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marlene Custer
08/03/22
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My husband and I had mixed feelings while preparing to go to another country and culture. We, of course, wanted to be accepted. But besides wanting to be accepted, we prayed that we would contribute to making someone’s life better.

We had been working in Thailand nearly a year when a fellow worker approached John and said, “Saree’s daughters said they can see the stars when they are in bed at night. Maybe you should check it out.”

Saree was a widow with six children, and she also cared for a handicapped sister, and other children at various times. John checked, and sure enough the block walls had cracks that allowed exposure to the outside. He checked further to see why the cracks were developing, and discovered the backyard was eroding away, causing the house to slope.

This problem was caused by the practice of letting water from the kitchen sink and bathroom shower run down drains that emptied out underneath the house. Two measures were necessary to correct the problem. Drain pipes were added to allow the water to drain out to a small creek that ran through the back of the property. And, Eucalyptus trees were cut and used to shore up the backyard. A large quantity of dirt was brought from across campus in a wheelbarrow to fill in. It took several students and adults many hours to help John accomplish this task.

After the backyard was repaired, and the drains fixed, Saree’s walls were repaired and painted. A couple of rooms also had floors retiled. When the work was finished, Saree tearfully shared with my husband and me that she had been praying two years for her home to be repaired. We were blessed that God used us to answer her prayer.

Were we accepted while in Thailand? Yes! We still correspond with many of the students and leaders. Did we make a difference? I believe so. It has been fifteen plus years since we left that little village. Saree has since retired and moved in closer to the city. However, our contacts there tell us the retaining wall is still holding. The first monsoon did not wash it out. Some of the students we worked with are now leaders at the school and on the campus.

Oh…and the present residents of Saree’s house have to go outside to see the stars!

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