There is a German proverb that says, “Who takes a child by the hand takes the mother by the heart.”

Over the past several months, teams have been visiting villages in the city of Khon Kaen, Thailand, taking food to some very destitute families, teaching the children to play songs on the Ukulele, doing small crafts with them and generally building relationships with the families. We were delighted to see the families waiting for us each Sabbath afternoon. This past Sabbath we began to see fruit from those visits.

One of the families consists of a grandmother, an aunt and a little 10-year-old girl who is no bigger than Ali Tumberg who is less than half her age. But she has a very infectious smile and loves to kick a soccer ball around. The first time we visited, she had some kind of a ball, and we began to kick it back and forth to each other. We decided to buy her a soccer ball of her own. Now every time we go, she wants to kick the ball with me.

A second family, who lives in a different village that our team has visited regularly, has also waited anxiously each week for our visit. Each visit included a different mix of church members, but that has not hindered their influence. Last week they told us that they wanted to visit our church because they were interested in learning about Christianity. Jeanette told both of these families that she would pick them up, and yesterday they came. This family came complete—two young boys along with their parents. We also discovered that the dad has been diagnosed with stage-three cancer.

The little girl and her mother also came. This is encouraging because her mother does not always live with her. Both families have told us they want to return next week. This time they will come on their own.

Praise God for the influences that have been created by the tragedy of COVID-19.

• Twitter