Shining A Light Into The Darkness In Thailand

An update from our Missionary to Thailand. Please note, that all names have been changed for the sake of the work there…

Little did we know what God was about to do when we met a Thai believer one year ago in our town in a remote province in Thailand. Through a story only God could weave, we became acquainted with Tom, Pam and their young son who live just 300 yards down our road. Pam, a young believer in Christ, is married to Tom, who’s a Buddhist, and quickly opened up with us about some significant challenges in her life. Over time and through various means of God’s care, we saw the Lord bring help to their family and we started a bible study with Pam. During these times of coming around God’s Word, praying, and providing biblical counsel, we saw God working in Pam’s heart as well as Tom’s life too. Tom invited us to start praying together for family needs, and we started to observe an interest grow in his heart for God.

As Christmas time approached, we planned a few outreaches in our local community. Pam expressed interest in the outreaches and started to ask if we could do one in a community 30 minutes down the road where they have a farm. “Sure,” we answered, but how would we do this in a community where we don’t have permission or know people yet? After a phone call, Tom and Pam made an appointment with the highest county official who granted us permission and even wanted to help coordinate the life bag mercy ministry among 50 of the poorest in this community. On the day of the life bag outreach, our team provided bags with food and gospel literature, and shared the gospel through the Christmas story at three distribution points.

But Pam didn’t stop there. She also wanted to have a Christmas party at her farm and invited those in surrounding villages to come. So after the life bag outreach, about 80 people, young and old, came to the farm for fun activities and an opportunity to clearly hear about the real meaning of Christmas - Jesus! During the time we saw Pam boldly engage with her neighbors about her hope in Jesus. Children also received book bags with school supplies and the Christmas story due to the generosity of one of our supporting churches in SGC. The Lord shined His light into the darkness during the Christmas season.

As the Christmas outreaches wrapped up, Pam again expressed a desire to bless the community at her farm by showing a Jesus film around Valentine’s Day in February. As we prayed, the Lord provided a Jesus film in Thai, and locals helped to setup a large screen and speakers in the rice field, lights, food, and activities for children. God also blessed us with funding for the event through a partner SGC church.

As we value working with the local indigenous church, we invited a pastor and his wife from the capital city to come share the gospel after the movie. Around 120 people came and had a lot of fun. The village leader even showed up and enjoyed watching the movie. All the kids received gift bags with Kevin DeYoung’s The Biggest Story in Thai which covers the big picture of the bible. The gospel was clearly and boldly proclaimed through many means that day. Young and old watched the movie, and we saw interest expressed by a few as the local pastor shared at the end.

As a result of this outreach, God opened yet another door to start a small study with about 10-12 children who were interested in learning from The Biggest Story. Over the last 10 weeks at the farm, the children learned the gospel from the storyline of the bible. The children enjoyed learning and singing The Gospel Song in Thai, and they started asking questions and showing interest in Jesus. In addition, Tom’s interest and openness to the gospel has only increased over this season.

Through this unexpected relationship which has been such a mutual blessing, the Lord has provided unique opportunities to scatter seeds among those who have never had a chance to hear. We ask that you would join us in prayer that these seeds would take root, not be stolen or snuffed out, and bear much fruit in this community. All to His glory, honor, and praise.

We sincerely want to thank SGC and all the churches that have partnered in the gospel with our team in Thailand. It’s a privilege and honor to do this together in His name and for the sake of Christ. If you have questions on how to partner in this ministry, please inquire with your pastor at your local SGC church.