Chris’ testimony from Thailand

My team really plowed the field for the future because we were the first mission team on our campus. We had no idea what to expect or how to react to situations. We were on our own to create our own ministry, because our missionary hosts taught at other universities in Bangkok besides our university.

Our teaching project in Thailand got off to a rocky start but had great results! The first week we met with the teachers. The awesome thing about it was that we already had a classroom to meet in, which is unheard of for first-year efforts. Our first week of teaching did not provide many students, because we had not spread the word about ourselves yet. We had to literally go out on campus and make ourselves known and proclaim our purpose. The second week of teaching was much the same until we stayed outside a lot and met many students. By the third week of teaching we averaged 15 to 20 students per day!

We decorated our room and added a sign reading “English” for the students to sign. This made the room personal for them. We also held a summer camp for the students. The most awesome thing happened when our main contact informed us that they were very glad to have us here, and they requested that a team come again next summer!!! We had only been teaching three weeks, and they already wanted a group for next year—praise God!!!!! Our relationship with the faculty also grew, and God opened so many doors for the missionaries to continue the “English Club” on campus!!” It took some determination to get things going, but God blessed our ministry and our efforts.

Our last week in Thailand we worked with tribal people. Just traveling to the village was a challenge. We had to ride 10 hours on a bus, then 2 1/2 hours on a primitive, two-bench truck. The rainy season made transportation impossible after that, so we put on our 15 to 40 pound packs and hiked three hours further into the mountains. We went up muddy hills, through rivers, over slippery rocks and down difficult valleys. When we finally reached the village, we had to cross a cable bridge that had two 5-inch pieces of wood that were about 5 inches apart! This bridge crossed over the raging river below (more rapid because of the rainy season). It was a real test of faith.

The Christians in the village taught me a lot about being thankful. The village itself was gorgeous. Set in the jungle rain forest, the mountains and rivers provided a once-in-a-lifetime view of God’s creation. Most of these people had only one set of clothes (and they were very old), and most had diseases (virtually incurable because of a lack of sufficient doctors or money). These people had nothing to cling to except their hope in Jesus Christ. Because of that, their level of worship was above and beyond anything I had ever seen. It was a real inspiration for me to be around them. We encouraged each other and exchanged stories about God’s awesome power.

While in one of the remote villages in Thailand, we visited a pastor who told us stories of how God had worked in his life. It was a slow process because we had to translate each sentence into three languages: the tribal language, Thai and finally, English. The pastor told us that one day he visited a village where a man had just died. The man’s family was in trouble, because they now had no male to provide income for them. Since they were Christians, they asked the pastor to do something. He said he felt an urging from the Lord to pray for this man’s life. So he prayed over the man, sang a song of faith, and immediately the man came back to life! What kind of awesome faith is that!! I know it is hard for us to believe because of our mindset. These people are so in touch with the Father that they don’t put any kind of restrictions on the present-day power of God!

—Chris from William Carey College

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