The Despised Bring Glory

They are the throwaways of Thai society. The rejected and despised. They are HIV positive orphans, and by the world’s standards they should have no hope. But God has great compassion on the overlooked and abandoned, and He is using HIV infected orphans in Central Thailand to build up a movement of new believers.

Opened in Spring 2006, the Abundant Life Home (ALH) is an orphanage that provides a loving community for HIV positive children in Chonburi. The orphanage however, is not just a mercy ministry. ALH's primary mandate is evangelism. When missionaries Ricky and Karen Sanchez proposed the vision for ALH they were told that building a church upon HIV positive children could not withstand the cruelty of Thai society. But Ricky and Karen didn’t put their trust in worldly wisdom; they put it in the word of God. And the bible shows us that we serve a God who loved time with the rejected, healed the sick, and commissioned His people to look after the orphans. God doesn’t use those who are strong in power to proclaim His glory. He uses the weak things of the world to declare His strength.

Not only is God using HIV positive orphans to draw others to Himself, He is doing it through a break-dancing ministry. Who would have imagined that God would use dancing amongst Mennonite Brethren to draw people to Himself?

It began when Karen hired a break dancer named Bank to give the ALH orphans something to do at their Christmas outreach at The Life Center (TLC), an MB Mission church plant in Chonburi. That was a few years ago, and today many of TLC’s newest believers have come to Jesus as a result of this hip hop dancing crew!

In summer 2008 the ALH boys and their break-dancing teacher Bank appeared on a popular Thai TV game show – and won! This cultivated a huge interest in these break dancing orphans, and ultimately, in Christ. These boys are dancing unto the Lord. And this dancing has brought God glory. In the past six months, forty people have put their faith in Christ as a result of this ministry!
God is so much bigger than our culture, our fears, and our preconceived notions. May we step out in faith and trust the Almighty to show up in power. He is more than able.

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.” – 1 Corinthians 1:27-28