Seven years ago, we were part of a short term mission trip to Thailand and Cambodia. There we saw how the Lord moved in the midst of 400 plus students who were expecting to learn English, but instead they had an encounter with Jesus. Immediately we have decided that we will be back to continue this work in this part of the world. And this is NOW.
WHO are we? We are just simple folks, no missions degree, what we have are hearts for the lost. Willing to spend the rest of our lives to walk the talk, to GO!
WHY are we doing this? In Matthew 28; 19-20, it says, “Go, therefore & make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”. This is our mandate as followers of the Lord. Richard just retired from secular job early this year and I, Julie will soon hang up her license as a realtor. And what better way to spend our retirement years from secular jobs than to serve the Lord full time.
WHERE are we going? At present we are being called to Thailand, where 96.4% of the population is Buddhist and less than 1% Christian, so harvest is so plentiful. We will be a helping hand to Pastor Jonathan Bautista, a Filipino missionary pastor married to a local, and who helped start a church, “Ruamjai Nai Prakrit Church Assembly of God”, in the city of Bangkok. And as God’s missionaries go, we may be ministering His Word to any part of the world.
WHAT will we do? Learning English is a big deal in Thailand, so we will use this to create relationships amongst the locals by helping them learn the language. We are equipped to teach sports, like tennis, pickle ball, and arts / crafts as another way to make connections with them. We had this sort of experience during a short trip in Bangkok last year to meet with Pastor Jonathan and who had introduced us to this outreach that the church had been doing and are still presently doing. And these are great avenues to engage the youth in the villages. We will be involved also with ongoing music concert ministry where they go to local markets and sing Christian Thai songs where bystanders respond to the call to accept Jesus Christ in their lives.
Our vision is to spend every cent of donation that we will be receiving in this work and live off our personal lives from our retirement income as well as some savings. And we thank everyone who will be a part of our support through giving financially and spiritually with their prayers. And we thank the Lord and glorify His Name in all these achievements and opportunities.
