We were recently invited over to the Gearhart's house for dinner and "a surprise". I'm pretty sure the surprise was supposed to come later in the night, but two bites into our burgers 3 year old Saige asked aloud, "Can we give them the money for the kids Daddy?" - and the cat was out of the bag! A few moments later all three little Gearhart girls, Zoe (7), Haven (5), and Saige (3) were presenting me with a clear jar full of money.
The past month has brought heavy rains to Northern Thailand. Mudslides have killed several people in the villages by the river banks, and even in Chiang Mai, several neighborhoods have had flood damage. We are sad to report that The Promised Land Property, which we've been working to develop since January, was hit by a major flood that redirected the course of the nearby river. The land is threatened as flooding has already taken out one of the main access roads and the front gate.
11 days ago I got an email from one of our partners in India. In it, he told me about some of their immediate needs. There were two sick children who needed to see specialists, and a pregnant woman who wanted to give her baby to the orphanage.
But there was more to that story.Jul 13
On July 2nd, The Sound of Hope co-founders Rusty & Ericka Jackson, our Thailand partners, Ray & Candace Ward, two of our new board members, and several friends volunteered with the US Campaign for Burma at the U2 concert in Nashville, TN. We spent the day raising awareness for the human rights abuses happening in Burma, and urging people to take action on behalf of those suffering. Read more...
Jun 23
I am 16 years old. My village was attacked by the Burma army, and we all ran for our lives into the jungle. We heard that soon, the Burma army would come to capture the men and the young boys, and that we would be forced to fight as soldiers. The people in my village pooled together their resources so that we could escape. I came to the refugee camp with my older brother, my cousin, and two of my friends. Read more...
