Marcus Burelsmith (builder for Betenbough Homes Midland) and his wife Lynell had dreamed for years of taking their children to Africa. They wanted the kids to see what poverty looks like and truly appreciate their lifestyle of plenty. So when it came time to make their 2025 vision trip selections, the couple submitted three dates for Kenya. They didn’t get chosen for any of those trips. 

When he got that news, Marcus told the employee experience team, “Put us wherever you can.” That surrender led Marcus, Lynell, and their two kids, Jackson (16) and Maci (14), halfway across the world to Thailand. What they thought would be a simple opportunity to serve others became a life-changing experience that reshaped their understanding of gratitude, faith, and what it means to truly live generously. 

The Burelsmiths joined a team serving with Manna Worldwide and New Light CDC near Phuket, Thailand, Christian organizations caring for Burmese children who otherwise have no access to education, government support, or opportunities of any kind. Each day the group worked side-by-side pouring concrete slabs, preparing meal boxes, and helping however they could to make life easier for the children and teachers. 

“I went hoping my kids would be wowed,” Marcus confesses. “But I was the one who got wrecked.” 

Outside their resort’s parking lot, they encountered families living in huts made from sheet metal — no plumbing, no air conditioning, no walls. Yet they also found something Marcus said he hadn’t expected: “Those people had nothing, but they had each other. Their joy and community were what kept them alive.” 

For Maci, who later shared her reflections on Instagram, the trip was equally eye-opening: “It really showed how much I take for granted and how poverty is not just about money. People in America can be socially and spiritually depleted too.” 

“It was easy to only focus on God there. There were no distractions. I had an inner joy and peace I’d never felt before,” Maci shares. “You’d think seeing poverty like that would make me feel bad, but it didn’t. They were spiritually rich!” 

The family got to worship alongside believers who had very little materially but overflowed with joy. “They didn’t care about nice clothes or appearances,” Marcus shares. “Church wasn’t a popularity contest. They were just there to worship — genuinely. That’s what hit me.” 

For Marcus, that moment summed up everything the Lord was teaching him. “I went in thinking I understood what ‘need’ looked like,” he says. “But I realized I’d never seen a true lack of opportunity before. In America, we have choices. Over there, some people have zero resources or options. It made me see how pampered I’ve been.” 

Marcus’s journey to Betenbough Homes years earlier mirrors that same humbling transformation. Once earning six figures in the oil field, he walked away from it all to start over — first as a detail technician, later as a builder. “It didn’t go according to my plan, but I got put where I needed to be, when I needed to be there, with the people I needed to be around,” he recalls. “That season was a reset.” 

This vision trip, too, became another divine reset — one that deepened his gratitude and quieted his worries about the future. “I used to stress about not making enough money,” he admits. “Then I met people who are worried about the next tsunami. It puts everything in perspective.” 

The family’s unexpected vision trip became another chapter in a much bigger story of trusting God’s timing and plan. They’re already signed up for next year’s vision trip to Israel. 

“Thailand wasn’t the trip I wanted,” Marcus says with a smile. “But it was the one I needed.”