It took more than twenty people—all the campers, and some of the villagers—to push the truck out of the mud. The campers, girls in MMF’s sponsorship program, had arrived at the remote Karen village along with six staff members the night before. Recent rains had turned the red-earth road into a slough of squishy mud. Slipping and sliding, the truck had made it most of the way, but at the last turn it sank into the mud and rolled backwards, barely missing a house. The next day, everyone worked together, pushing, jumping and cheering as MMF staff member Maitree drove the truck inch by inch out of the mud. 

Rescuing wayward vehicles is all in a day’s work for MMF staff involved with the sponsorship program. On Saturday, the first day of the camp, everyone headed out on a muddy river adventure, hiking along rice fields and through the woods. Braving leeches and broken sandals, the girls and staff members learned about collecting food from the forest as they enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and refreshing river water.  

With the help of MMF staff, the sponsored girls organized games and prizes for the village children.  For a few hours that afternoon, the village hall was filled with little kids covered in makeup, flour, water, banana, and huge smiles. The village kids loved having visitors even more than they loved the snack food the girls handed out as prizes. 

Organising the games was just one way for the girls to learn about leadership and serving those in need. For half a day they also worked alongside the village women picking chili peppers, gathering more than 13 kilos. They also distributed a variety of clothing collected in the weeks leading up to the camp.

The weekend was not only a great opportunity for the girls to develop leadership skills and to build stronger relationships with one another and with MMF staff; it was also a time of spiritual fellowship. On saturday night the girls gathered to worship together before going to bed early in order to attend the sunrise service at the village church. Praising God together with people of many different backgrounds, especially the Karen hosts, was a highlight of the weekend.