Since my family and I returned to Thailand after our furlough last year, it has felt like we have been riding a roller coaster of change. Within a month and a half of being back, we held our first church service in our new building. A month and a half later, classes started in our new school building. Church leadership and other dignitaries dedicated the new church and school in March. But within just a few weeks, our Thai pastor and Thai music school Director were reassigned to different positions within the Thailand Adventist Mission. Thankfully, we have a highly capable local elder, Phi Joon, who assumed the Music School Director position. Pastor Apisit, whom we had worked with for the past six years, was supposed to be replaced by another pastor, but he decided not to take the assignment, leaving us with a leadership void in our church. Knowing that the Thailand Mission was already short on pastors, I was skeptical that we would get a replacement anytime soon.
About a month later, we received word that the Thailand Adventist Mission had assigned us a new pastor. I had never met him before, but when I saw a picture of him and his family, I immediately felt a sense of peace and reassurance that God was sending this family to us. Pastor Wekin and his wife Khun Gaw have four beautiful children ages 10 to less than a year, which should mean they can easily connect with the families that bring their children to study at our school. I later learned that our former pastor recommended Pastor Wekin and his family be sent to Khon Kaen because they have small children. About two months after their arrival, the secretary of our music school resigned, and Pastor Wekin’s wife, Khun Gaw, was hired to take her place.
For the past few months, I have had the privilege of working closely with Pastor Wekin and have become increasingly confident that God indeed sent the right pastor for our growing church. Pastor Wekin has a zeal for God and His end-time message, and he is very active in visiting and ministering to our church members and working with new interests. We have made several visits together and have conducted numerous Bible studies. He is also bilingual, making it easy for our missionary team and international church to work with him.
Pastor Wekin is hardworking and faithful, and his example of diligent service has inspired me. I appreciate how he tries to set the right tone for worship services by encouraging our members to turn off their phones and not loiter in the lobby area. This summer, Pastor Wekin also helped to train Andru, one of our college-aged Thai youth working on his ministry practicum. In addition to ministering in our church, Pastor Wekin is helping to support a developing church plant in the unreached province of Nongkhai on the border of Thailand and Laos. We hope a full-time missionary can someday be sent there to help establish the work.
As I have watched our project grow and develop over the years, I have learned that God continually sends the right people at the right time, whether they are the Student Missionaries who arrive each year or now with Pastor Wekin and his beautiful family. Though I have been guilty of feeling stressed or overwhelmed at times when dealing with changes that inevitably arise, I am reminded once again that God is the one in control of His work, and if we trust Him, He will provide in His own time and way. I praise God for our new pastoral family.
