Let me introduce you to my friend, Nong Bud. She is 14 years old and lives in a rural village with her mother and was baptized last fall. The people in her village don’t have much money. Many of the children live with their grandparents while their parents work far away in cities. Sadly, many children who grow up in this kind of environment have a hard time succeeding in life. Lack of financial resources leads to limited opportunities, which tends to keep them stuck in the cycle of poverty.

A couple of months ago I took some friends who were visiting from America to Nong Bud’s village. They had fun meeting the children and telling them stories. When they met Nong Bud, they were excited to learn that she had recently been baptized. Knowing how important a good education is to developing a strong relationship with Jesus, they asked her if she would be interested in attending the Adventist academy way up north in Chiangmai, Thailand. When she said she was interested, my friends offered to sponsor her!

In May, Cindi and I had the privilege of taking Nong Bud and her mother up to Chiangmai Adventist Academy so she could register for classes and move into the dorm.

Whenever I think about Nong Bud studying at the academy, meeting Christian friends and having worships twice a day, it brings a smile to my face. Because someone chose to invest in her, she has been given an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, succeed in life, and grow into a powerful woman of God. I can’t think of an investment with higher potential than an investment in our youth. Let us seek to do what we can to invest in our young people so they can be all that God intends them to be!

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