The greatly loved “mother of the nation” of Thailand, HRH Queen Sirikit’s birthday is celebrated and highly honoured on August the 12th of each year. If fact, the festivities for her extend throughtout the entire month! August the 12th is also the official Mother’s Day in Thailand.
The River honours all women, and especially mothers during this special time.
Preparations begun weeks in advance. On the actual day The River divided into three teams, giving away over 200 lovingly prepared gift bags to the mothers in the communities. Many of these women have children in our Saturday kids club, but this was the first time we had an opportunity to properly meet them.
Some mothers and grandmothers accepted gifts with tears in their eyes, explaining that they have never before received a gift like this.
It was so great to connect with these beautiful women! Some we were able to pray with, others we just laughed and got to know each other. With some families we shared a meal. One lady had her son pass away just that morning, and it was a true blessing for us to be able to be there for her during this time of grief.
We are excited to know that we have more friends than ever now! And we cannot wait to build relationships with each and every one of them!