Changing a Family’s Life for $200

Article written by Anna Brown, Go Intern

Upon arriving at a small village surrounding a church on our third day in Cambodia, we were warmly invited by smiling faces, respectful bows, and bashful giggles from the children. Both ministry teams were able to participate at this site, making a team of twenty-five total. We performed our dramas for the enthusiastic crowd and after praying over the small congregation, we began connecting with the people.

After an intense game of “keep-away” with the kids, Greg called the group together for a quick update. He informed us of a woman whose husband had passed away the Monday prior to our arrival. A month before, our contacts had lead him to the Lord and left him a Bible to read to his family. Through this the wife and her children had personally decided to follow God with him.

The widow and her family currently lived far away from the church, but close to one of the many Buddhist temples in the area. She feared raising her children apart from a Christian community would cause them to follow Buddhist beliefs, but could not afford the $200 cost to build a house near the church.

We had been learning about hardships in other countries in our “Eyes Wide Open” series just a couple of weeks ago in the Go Internship, but it was totally different seeing it for ourselves. Greg presented us with the opportunity to give. So we prayed about it briefly and decided it was something we wanted to do. About ten minutes later Greg came to us with the total amount of money we had come up with: $356! Our contact brought her over to our group and Greg told her the situation through the translator. The look of appreciation in her eyes as she looked at each one of us is something I’ll never forget. To us, it was roughly ten dollars each; to her it was something that could change her children’s lives.

Watch the video below!

Day 2 in Bangkok

First thing in the morning the Interns received a Truth Challenge. Where they would take time to learn about the culture and information about the country of Thailand. The team had the chance to go to the Grand Palace and take a tour of this beautiful place. Later on that afternoon we had the opportunity to go to a English exchange center where you can go and speak with Thai students to practice their English, and talk about any subject you’d like. The team had a complete blast! They loved creating relationships with the students. Check out the photos below!

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Day 1 in Bangkok

The day started pretty early as we got up to catch our flight from Cambodia to Thailand. We arrived in Bangkok at around 12:00 noon. After getting settled into the hotel, the team was so excited to be in Bangkok and have the chance to see some of the city! We spent the last half of the day shopping and just enjoying seeing Thailand!

Check out the photos below!

Last Day in Cambodia

Sunday morning we attended a service at the local church that we’ve been working with. The team performed the drama “Bondage,” and Greg Baca shared a word in season. After church the teams went out to their final ministry sites while in Cambodia. We had the chance to minister in some villages, and it was a perfect end to the 3 days we had in this beautiful country. We are so thankful we had the opportunity to spend time in the villages surrounding Kampong Thom and love on the people there. What a beautiful place!

Check out the photos and video below!

Cambodia Day 4 from Go International on Vimeo.

Discovering the Next Destination

The night before, the Interns received a Travel Clue saying: “Tomorrow at 7am we will travel to one of the ancient wonders of the world, Angkor Wat! Surrounded by a moat stretching in the length of two football fields. Choose to explore these grounds either by foot or on the back of an elephant.”
The next morning, the day started at 7:00 am and we drove from the village we were staying in to Angkor Wat, which was 2 hours away.  After arriving at Angkor Wat, the team was ready to explore and see this beautiful world wonder. Little did they know, that they were about to start a Travel challenge that would reveal their next country destination!

As a team, they would thoroughly search the grounds of Angkor Wat to find 6 puzzle pieces that when put together, would reveal their next country destination! After an hour and a half of searching the temple, the team found all 6 of the puzzle pieces. They all gathered together, and worked as a team to assemble the puzzle that when put together, was a word spelled out in Khmer (the language spoken in Cambodia).  After getting the puzzle translated, they found out the puzzle read: THAILAND.

Check out the photos and video below!

Cambodia Day 3 from Go International on Vimeo.

Cambodia Day 2

Everyone is already falling in love with Cambodia! In the morning we headed out for the second day of ministry to some villages an hour and a half away to perform dramas and love on the people there. Some of the team members had the opportunity to spend time with and minister to a woman who had never heard of Jesus before. She invited them into her house and asked the team members to pray for her newborn twin babies. They then were able to share the Gospel with her for the very first time, and she accepted Jesus into her heart!

After an incredible day of ministry spent in the villages, the team headed back to the town in which we are staying. That evening one of our team members, Lauren Tohline, had the chance to speak an encouraging word to college-aged Cambodian Bible school students.

The team had the opportunity to participate in a language exchange at an English speaking school that is operated out of the church we are working with, as well as minister in a Bible school. They had a chance to build relationships, and take time to get to know the Cambodian students! We are blown away that this is only the second day of the trip, and it has already been such an incredible time of ministry.

Check below for videos and photos from the day!

Day 1 in Cambodia

Today was our first full day in Cambodia! The day started off with a travel clue and the interns found out they would be leaving the capital city of Phnom Penh and traveling 4 hours away where they would be ministering in the villages of Kampong Thom.  After we arrived to the village we visited a local orphanage and got to have lunch and play with the children. After lunch we had the opportunity to visit a youth service where multiple youth groups from the surrounding villages gathered for a Christmas party. We performed the drama called “bondage” and the band also performed a song. We left the youth service and traveled to a nearby village where we were able to share the gospel message and many people received Christ for the very first time.

Keep checking back for more updates!

Check out and feel free to comment about the video and pictures below!

The Reveal!

The day started off at 4AM at the Tulsa International Airport where the first year interns searched through 200 paper airplanes to find the letters DFW. Once we arrived at DFW the first year interns were split into 4 teams on a scavenger hunt. Each team collected 1 of 4 pieces to the riddle where it was revealed that they would be passing through Seoul, Korea! Once we arrived at the Seoul airport the first year interns received a video clue from Christa Baca directing them to search the airport to find their 2nd years. Once found, the seconds years were waiting holding each letter to their true destination. In order for the letters to be revealed the first years had to answer 8 questions correctly in a trivia game about the world. The was destination revealed! Cambodia!

Check back for more updates and to see what the team is up to!

Below are pictures and a videos of what transpired today.

Mystery Trip Day 1!

After a 15 hour plane ride we made it safe to Seoul, Korea! All of the Interns are having a great time, and are so excited to be here! Check back for further updates on the trip soon as we continue on the Mystery Trip adventure!