“Just 100 Baht.”

So stated the advertisement on a vendor’s sign as he walked alongside the cars stopped at the signal light. In his hands, he held two pieces of bamboo full of sticky rice.

Here in Thailand, it’s very common to see sellers in the middle of traffic and selling a bit of everything: fruits, bread, yogurt and, of course, sticky rice.

Another curious fact is that in this country, the beauty standard is clear skin. They try to protect themselves from the sun at all costs, so much so that when these sellers are working in the streets, they completely cover themselves with items such as hats, gloves, long-sleeve shirts, trousers and whatever they can to protect their faces, like pieces of cloth, scarves or balaclavas (masks which cover the head, face and neck).

A few days ago, we were stopped at the signal light when a vendor approached us. I remember telling my husband: “Wow! I don’t even know if it is a man or a woman who is selling these fruits!” Because of the sun protection the person wore, it was almost impossible to tell. They are the almost invisibles.

The same thing happened again the other day, and I thought, it’s just another seller approaching the car. These moments become so common that we get used to it. The individual becomes, for us, just another person in a crowd with no face, no name and no needs.

When this thought came to my mind, I felt a great sadness. I couldn’t help but think how often we hear about the unreached, people who have never heard about Jesus or experienced God’s love. At first, we donate — once or twice.

How easy it is to treat the unreached as numbers, people in a far country that — for you — have no face, no name and no deep needs to meet Jesus.

We can sometimes make this mistake. Though the people can be invisible to us, they are not to God. For Jesus, they are loved children with a name, a face, and different tastes, desires and personal needs. He died for them also, and He longs for them to hear about His loving sacrifice and connect with Him.

Please help us continue to be the eyes that see, the hands that help and the mouths that speak about God’s love for these unreached groups here in the Northeastern part of Thailand.

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