In late August a group of 14 Walla Walla University students, nurses, and professors volunteered for this year’s annual Thailand Outreach and Cultural Trip. Much of this three-week mission involved working at a local, family-owned farm and teaching conversational English at a public elementary school.
One of the WWU student missionaries and a recently graduated nursing major, Keziah Perez, is a three-year veteran of the trip. After her original plans to travel as a student missionary for a year were canceled in 2020, she happily took advantage of this opportunity when it arose in 2022. Perez said, “Over the years, this trip has shown me the realest version of Jesus I have ever experienced.”
She attributes much of this to what she has seen during the group’s visits to the Bamboo School, a refuge for children from Myanmar run by a New Zealand woman nicknamed “Momo Cat” (Momo, meaning mother). Momo Cat has relied solely on her faith in God to care for hundreds of kids over the years, teaching them to love using actions and give generously to people who need it.
Though the Thailand Outreach and Cultural Trip ended in early September, Perez decided to stay an additional couple of months, volunteering at the Bamboo School. After having heard all of the childrens’ stories and seeing everything God has done there, she said, “I wanted to do more than send money to sponsor a few kids. I wanted to see them grow, to spend time with them, and for them to know that they are so deserving of love even through all the trauma they’ve experienced.”
This year Perez’s family joined her in Thailand, making it all the more special to her. She loved to see them fall in love with this mission in the same way she has and looks forward to bringing them back in future years.
The Thailand Outreach and Cultural trip has been a recurring opportunity to share God’s love through service since 2003. Pedrito Maynard-Reid, professor of biblical studies and missiology, and Deanna Ludwig-Bos, Portland campus assistant professor of nursing, led the group this year.
To learn more about this trip and other WWU-organized mission work, go to hkange.net/sm.
Posted Oct. 16, 2024
