August the 12th is a very special day in Thailand. It is the Mother’s Day. The
day coincides with the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, who is regarded as
the “Mother of Thailand”. The whole country has a public holiday, so that mothers
can be with their children on that day.
The River Team commemorated Mother’s Day this year with several celebrations in the local communities:
We visited the local Hangdong hospital, where we sung songs and distributed gifts of fruit and flowers to all the mothers there. Patients, visiting families and the staff, all loved it and asked us to visit again. Hospital is not a nice place for any woman to spend the Mother’s Day, but it was our huge privilege to show love to those confined.We also visited over 300 mums in their homes in Hangdong communities, giving them flowers and inviting them to our evening dinner and celebrations at the River.
The “rainy season” did not stop the mums and their kids from crowding our River meeting hall! The program of singing, children’s presentations, skits and games created an atmosphere of fun & freedom. One of the funniest moments was when the kids with blindfolds on, put makeup on their mums’ faces!
In a special DVD presentation, some of the kids shared their thoughts about their mums. There was not a dry eye in the house. Yua, our Thai team leader then shared about the purpose of an umbrella – It provides shade from the sun and the rain. She went on to parallel this with God’s love and the role of a mother in protecting and nurturing her children.The evening ended with the kids presenting a beautiful umbrella to their mum. In cases where the mum’s biological child had either died or was far away, our team members stepped in to be the “child” for that important moment of hugging and presenting the gift. Mothers are so precious to God!
