It is exciting to be at a point in our project where we can more directly engage in evangelism. Our team is meeting weekly to go through Ellen White’s Ministry to the Cities, and we are drawing principles from the book and from our culture study to help us as we strategize and lay out a plan for reaching the city of Khon Kaen.

One of our plans is to reach out to the community through service one or two Sabbaths each month. Our first event was a great blessing. We took food and music to a boarding school that has programs for mentally and physically handicapped people. We served the food and then joined the students to eat with them, mingling with them at their tables. They were delighted to share their stories with us. One woman told how she will soon graduate with a certificate in computer studies, and another proudly pointed out a student who has competed internationally in the Special Olympics.

It was wonderful to see Nok and Kat with their foreign husbands involved. Kat’s husband, Armand, shared his culinary gifts by making the food, and Mats found a student he could communicate with and spent the whole time reaching out to him. Eve and a group of kids from Non Gluay Hom village came and helped with the music. After a while, the students decided they wanted to perform for us, and it was beautiful to see their joy as they gave back to us.

As we left, Mats summed up what we all felt: “This is great! We need to do this more often!” Serving together is an effective way to build a Christ-centered community and to model to those around us the love of God in action.

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