Day one kicked off with a designated devotional time and a wonderful breakfast prepared by the hotel staff. Once we were energized for the day, we headed to the ZOE complex. Upon arrival, the ZOE staff greeted us and even gave us our own name tags in Thai. Somehow, Matthew Tang figured out the language by the end of the day!
We then sat in the training room where Carol, a member of the ZOE staff, gave us an introduction and shared the heart of ZOE’s mission. She told stories of incredible children who stood up for their faith in the face of heavy persecution. One story that stood out to me the most was of an eight-year-old girl who was beaten by her own mother for loving Jesus. The child then told her mother that she would rather be beaten to death than stop loving Jesus. That truly touched my heart and encouraged my own faith.
After Carol’s inspiring introduction, we got into assembly lines and started putting together goodie bags for children on the outreaches throughout the week. These were comprised of snacks and hygiene products. We had to put together about 800 goodie bags! Although it was easy to complain about how much our backs were hurting, we reminded ourselves of the purpose of what we were doing: to be a blessing to children in need. This way of thinking brought smiles to our faces. We weren’t just looking at the bags as a way to surprise the kids; we were also looking at them as a way to worship our God in heaven. The Bible says that whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. So, we were making those bags for His glory!
Our first full day in Thailand was life-changing. Thank you to everyone who donated! We wouldn’t be able to be here without you.
Love, Jackson
P.S. Because ZOE is very strict about no photos being taken at their home, we don’t have many photos to share from today! But here’s a few we got before and after.
ZOE International 
Leave a comment