Missionaries in Thailand were blessed this summer as two teams from the U.S. partnered with them in ministry.

In May, a new school year began and a Loveworks team of 13 students and two leaders arrived from Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU). For three weeks this team worked in the schools teaching English. In just three days, the team was able to teach a lesson to every class in the local high school – over 1,000 students. According to missionary Belinda Allder, two full on English camps were started, including one at the high school.

”We started out with a camp of 60 and it grew to 80,” Allder said. ”Then we did a camp for four local primary schools. We had 200 at this camp.”

While spending time at the high school, the PLNU team formed a special friendship with a boy who calls himself ”Patrick” in English. ”Patrick spent time with the team whenever he could,” Allder said. ”He would meet them for dinner, meet them at their hotel, meet them at the Children’s Home, or just call up for a chat. He wanted to practice his English, but he was also intrigued by these people.

”He had many conversations about life, about Christianity – he was curious as to why these students would come all this way to help a bunch of people they didn’t even know,” Allder continued. ”He said he saw our faith was real. He saw that it meant something in our lives and he wanted to know more about this.

”As the team left,” Allder said, “they were able to give Patrick a Bible in Thai/English. He was so excited! This was not an easy time for Patrick, though. That night his mother caught him reading it and told him he was not to read it anymore. Since then, Patrick has told his mother he will continue to read his Bible; she hasn’t really said anything in response, but Patrick is too scared to bring other Christian things into his house.”

Prayer is requested for Patrick as he continues to learn about Christianity and attends the Wednesday Christian group at school.

Following the team from PLNU, a Youth In Mission (YIM) team arrived from the U.S. Six students from the Maetang Tribal Children’s Home also joined them. Three males and three females were chosen to join the team (one in grade 10, one in grade 11, and four in grade 12).

According to Allder, this team worked together for eight weeks. Each weekend they would minister in a different Nazarene church. This meant traveling to different cities in Northern Thailand – two weekends in Fang, two weekends in Chiang Mai, one weekend in Lampang, one weekend in Pasak, and one weekend at Maetang.

During the week, the team would meet together each evening (the Thai students had school during the day). They would pray together, prepare for the weekend, and play together when time allowed.

Some of the ministries the team was involved in included:

• Speaking on community radio stations
• Singing, giving testimonies, and acting in skits
• Teaching English
• Participating in a relationship workshop
• Serving food at a wedding
• Handing out church flyers
• Spending time with kids and youth
• Teaching Sunday School
• Running a fun night for high school students

Beginning at the end of September, new missionary volunteers will be arriving to minister to the Thai people alongside Belinda Allder. Prayer Is requested for their safety while traveling and for the people they affect.
–NCN News-Asia-Pacific