Before Tonya and I launched to India as career missionaries with Adventist Frontier Missions, before we conducted evangelistic meetings in Rwanda, and before we served as student missionaries in Micronesia, we learned an important lesson from one of our college professors. He said, “The three most important things to remember when serving in a foreign mission field are these: adaptability, adaptability and adaptability.”
After more than five years of ministry in India and Nepal, the legacy we left behind doesn’t look exactly like we imagined it would when we began, but we can see how God led us. We had to adjust and adapt as we sensed the Lord guiding us, and there were many times that we had to rethink or let go of some of our preconceived ideas.
For example, we never pictured ourselves starting an English language school in Darjeeling, but by teaching English, we made many meaningful relationships and were able to make a positive impact in the community. To this day, that school continues to operate and act as a bridge between the community and the church.
As you know, we have been fundraising and preparing to return to Asia to reach the Buddhists of southern Thailand. However, we have recently seen the Lord leading in a slightly different direction. Tonya and I have been invited to partner with the Thai Adventist Mission to minister to the Thai Buddhist people in the Isan region of Eastern Thailand. Specifically, we have been asked to serve as the principal of a new Seventh-day Adventist K-12 program and the administrator of an English language institute in the city of Ubon Ratchathani. The Thai Adventist Mission feels we have the skills and experience to help develop these two educational programs into a strong center of influence for reaching the unreached Buddhists in that city. We still haven’t made a final decision about whether to accept the positions. We are continuing to pray about it and discuss how we might integrate the ministry of the school with a successful church-planting strategy. Please pray that God will grant us the wisdom and insight we need as we consider how best to move forward.
In anticipation of possibly shifting our focus to Ubon Ratchathani, here are some interesting facts about the city and region. Ubon Ratchathani, known as Ubon for short, in the Thai language means “Royal Lotus City” and is nestled along the banks of the Mun River, the second longest river in Thailand. It is about 400 miles from the Thai capital, Bangkok. The city was founded by a group of princes from Laos who fled the capital, Vientiane, in the late 1700s and came to Thailand seeking the protection of the king. The region is known for its strong Buddhist heritage, especially for the ascetic Buddhist monks who dwell in the forests and try to live in harmony with nature. The animal carvings in their temples reflect that tradition.
Ubon is best known for its annual candle festival, Wan Khao Phansa, held in July to mark the beginning of the rainy season. During the festival, participants take candles from the center of Ubon to different temples throughout Thailand. Another festival held at the end of the rainy season in October, Ok Phansa, is celebrated by a boat procession on the river. Several boat races are also held at this time.
Though we don’t yet know exactly where we will find ourselves in Thailand or what we will be doing, we are willing to adapt and go on whatever adventure God might call us to in order to reach the unreached for Christ.
