About Us
Tonya comes from a family of missionaries. Her grandparents and great-grandparents served as missionaries in Africa, South America, and South-East Asia. Tonya grew up hearing stories about far away jungles and the wild frontiers of frontline mission work. Tonya and Jared met in Micronesia while serving as student missionaries at the mission school on the island of Yap in 2002 and 2003. After returning to the US and marrying, Tonya and Jared were sponsored by their church in Lincoln, Nebraska, Allon Chapel, to travel to Rwanda in the summer of 2005 for evangelistic outreach. In 2006, after they both graduated from Union College, they made the decision to join Adventist Frontier Missions, having a deep desire in their hearts to go and reach the unreached.
Late in 2007, Jared and Tonya joined the Gorkha Project in Darjeeling, India. They worked alongside Jonathan and Karen Lovitt until 2012, helping to establish a church and English language school. After that, they served briefly among the Nepali people of Nepal in 2012 and 2013, helping to encourage and strengthen the believers in that region.
In 2014, Jared and Tonya moved to Thailand where they served with AFM in partnership with the Thai Adventist Mission as administrators and teachers at the mission school in Ubon Ratchathani for two years. In 2016, they transitioned to a new target community about 20 kilometers outside of the city of Ubon to start a children’s and youth ministry in the village of Baan Krasop. In September of 2018, they completed construction of the Little Explorers Creative Learning Center, which serves as a center of influence for reaching the unreached Isan people of north-east Thailand.
Tonya & Jared Wright - Nilubon Srisai
We previously lived and worked with the Gorkha people of India and Nepal from 2007 to 2013. Now we serve the Isan Buddhists of Thailand along with our sons, Justus and Jon Marc. Our vision is to develop and mentor local Isan Thai church planting leaders who are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission and forming healing communities in every province and every district of northeast Thailand so that all 23 million Isan Thai people will have an opportunity to know Jesus as a real person who cares about their lives.
Our good friend and fellow AFM colleague, Nilubon Srisai, coordinates all of our programs and outreach activities in the community. She is a certified facilitator for trauma healing groups and is working to help families heal and grow. She also has years of experience in mentoring new disciples and training local leaders to lead worship groups.
In 2024, fellow AFM colleagues, Pastor Claudette and Rene Aleman, joined the Isan Thai project. They live about a four hour drive away from Ubon Ratchathani province in Khon Kaen province. They are also certified facilitators for trauma healing groups, and we are working closely with them to train local church planting leaders who are inspired and equipped to catalyze a church planting movement.
Frontier Stories
Beauty from Pain
Her bright smile and friendly demeanor drew us to her immediately. Malina has a jagged scar that runs from just below her left ear to her mouth. After hearing the story of how she came to the school, we were amazed at how God worked in her life to bring beauty out of pain.
By:
Jared Wright
October 01 2012, 2:22 pm | Comments 0
Through a New Door
As I write this, I’m sitting in an apartment in a country that borders India. Several months ago, we discussed with the Adventist Church leadership in this country the possibility of partnering with them to reach the Gorkha people who live here. We thought we might do this after we had completed our work in Darjeeling. However, last month, our partners Jonathan and Karen Lovitt received a letter from the local branch of the federal Indian police telling them they had seven days to leave India.
By:
Jared Wright
September 01 2012, 2:20 pm | Comments 0
Hedge of Protection or Barrier to Evangelism?
I’ve realized it’s easy for people, in their misguided zeal to protect themselves from the world, to throw up barriers to ward off what they consider evil influences. Unfortunately, those barriers often keep them from forming authentic relationships with people they might otherwise reach for Christ.
By:
Jared Wright
August 01 2012, 2:18 pm | Comments 0
Persecuted but not Abandoned
Teresa and her husband Satyam have been ministering to the people in their village below Darjeeling for the past several years. It hasn’t been easy for them. Though they are passionate about telling others about Christ, many of their neighbors don’t appreciate the work they’re doing
By:
Jared Wright
July 01 2012, 2:16 pm | Comments 0
Spiritual Interpreter
A sweet stench permeated the apartment as the Hindu priest lit incense sticks and butter lamps. He began to pull various talismans and religious trinkets out of his bag in preparation for the rituals. Glancing up, he noticed an image of Jesus nestled between the idols and pictures of Hindu gods and gurus that adorned the family shrine. “Why is there a picture of Jesus in this house?” he demanded.
By:
Jared Wright
June 01 2012, 2:14 pm | Comments 0