Sending the girls back to their individual homes during their school break last month to see their loved ones gave me the idea to visit my own mom in the Philippines. Even for a day, a visit would mean a lot, especially since I have not seen her in two years. Truly, I have recently felt so homesick for her. So I too decided to visit home, and indeed my mom was surprised.

Now that I am back in Thailand, I am grateful God has brought me back to the place He called me—back to my girls to show His love and to serve Him through them.

~Reina Gonzales~

As parents, we keep our eyes open for those perfectly teachable moments. Sometimes, they focus on character or behavior or even what it means to walk in obedience. Today, Hannah overheard Ryan and I discussing the materials we needed to share in communion with our Emerge family at our weekly time of worship, devotion, and prayer. After we finished our discussion, she sincerely asked, “What is communion?” Jokingly, I looked at Ryan and said, “Well, it’s time to use that Bible degree.” Within a few minutes, Hannah positioned herself close to her daddy, as he explained the practice and purpose of communion. To my surprise, she stayed interested until Ryan finished sharing with her, but even more, she was able to explain the biblical view of communion back to us. At times, we plan and purpose to share our faith with our children, but at other times, the opportunity presents itself to us unplanned. As parents, we pray our children always ask questions, even the hard questions, so we may pour ourselves into them. We may be missionaries in Thailand, but our first ministry priority is our children, that they may know Christ to the fullest and reach their potential according to His perfect purpose. Our sweet Hannah took communion for the first time today. We feel honored to share these precious moments with our Emerge Team.

Last week, our team completed our first photography camp—Engage—in  Chiang Rai, Thailand. Eighteen students attended, with ages ranging from high school to middle-aged adults. Most of them, 13 to be exact, were not believers in Jesus Christ. Although this excited our team, truthfully, it also made us nervous. The first time we prayed together for this camp, we asked for God’s grace to help us not offend the unbelievers when we sang worship songs, prayed, or openly shared Jesus at the end of the week.

Praise God! The Thai unbelievers in attendance had hearts open wide. Even though they did not know how to sing in worship, they still followed along. At the end of the camp, a few students approached us, asking for a Bible to read. Wow, God’s grace was certainly sufficient for us!

Following the Engage graduation and photo exhibition, many students still wanted to remain in contact with our team. I know God opened this specific door for me—a Thai Christian—to reach out to them. My vision is to connect with high school and college students, and this camp provided an amazing opportunity for me to walk into my calling in an even greater measure. My heart rejoices when I look to the future and imagine what God can do next!  ~JOY RADOMTHONG~

The majority of our students are non-Christian, which was a main reason conducting this training camp. We wanted to expose Thai’s to a loving Christ-filled atmosphere who otherwise wouldn’t come into regular contact with Christians. Throughout the week, students have been taught photography principles, but more importantly, they have been exposed to the message of Christ and His followers who try to be living examples of that message.

Two soccer teams from local churches

You want your life to matter. You know that means investing in people. “But where do I begin?” you ask. There are a lot of people and a lot of needs. In fact, it gets a little overwhelming when you start to think about all the opportunities out there. The best answer I can give you is really quite basic, but then again, so is most of the best advice I’ve ever gotten. “Eat well,” “work hard,” “enjoy the moment,” “don’t stick your finger in the wall-socket.” Some lessons are learned easier than others. It took me a couple of tries, but I eventually realized that being electrocuted would not make me run faster. I guess there are a few things we have to figure out on our own.

That being said, I’ve learned a couple of things through moving to Thailand with my wife, Jacki, and starting a life here together. One thing I’ve learned is that if you want to start investing in people, you have to start with relationships. Short term mission trips are great and do a lot to meet local needs, but if you want to see long-term results, you have to dig in for long-term relationships. Another thing I’ve learned is that if you want to start a relationship, you have to find common ground. We all do it. When we meet someone new we ask them where they are from, then move out from there in wider circles until we find something to talk about that we have in common.

Ministry in a foreign culture may be a little more difficult at first, because you don’t share the same taste in food, movies, music, etc. But if you keep searching, you’ll find something and that is where you begin. For Jacki, it was her cooking. Shortly after we moved here, we realized that Thais are the biggest foodies on the planet. It doesn’t matter if it is a birthday, a funeral, a baptism, or shopping for a new fridge. There will be food. Jacki is quite the magician in the kitchen, so her truffles and cheesecakes have earned us plenty of friends. I, on the other hand, have no skills in the kitchen whatsoever, so I had to look elsewhere for my common ground. I didn’t have to go far.

In Thailand, when work and school let out for the day, you will notice a sharp change of wardrobe. Almost every male citizen of the country steps into a phone-booth somewhere and rips open their crisp white collard shirt to reveal a brightly colored soccer jersey underneath. Thais love soccer, or, as it is correctly referred to here: football. When I realized what an opportunity it presented for making new friends, I bought myself a pair of cleats and trotted out to the soccer field. I had some basic skills (thank you Mr. Kuka, Stauffer, Hause, and Beck), but as soon as I walked onto the field, I was welcomed as a comrade. When I visited a hilltribe, I was a foreigner. When I stepped onto their dirt-field, I was just another guy playing soccer with his buddies. Jacki and I found a local church and decided to begin developing relationships there. It was slow going at first, but the week after I joined their soccer team, they asked us to help them set up small groups on a local university campus. Coincidence? I think not. Through common ground, you show a desire to connect, a sense of shared history, a familiar heartbeat.

So if you want to know where to begin in ministry, ask yourself two questions: “what do I love?” and “what am I good at?”. Then go looking for some place nearby where you can plug in your skill or interest. If there isn’t one, maybe you can start one. Chances are there are group of people who share that common ground and they are just waiting to meet you.

Playing soccer with a couple guys from an Akha hilltribe

I feel disappointment in myself for not being more appreciative of the freedoms I have.  I am also concerned for my brothers and sisters in Christ who live everyday with those freedoms in other parts of the world, especially the church in Europe and North America.  I hope this does not seem condescending, like I am pointing fingers, because this is not my heart at all.  The more comfortable we become in our faith and freedoms, the easier it is to lose sight of what really matters, which creates a culture of “lukewarmness.”  My prayer for the church is that we continue to grow more appreciative and thankful for the freedoms we have and what Christ has done in our lives.

Buddhism is the state religion of Myanmar. Most people are exposed to the teaching of Buddhism from a very early age.

In the market for a short tea break

Yangon, the capital of Myanmar is not urban or modern. In fact, most buildings are old, ATM’s are unavailable, and the cars are at least two decades old.  Yet, the spirit of the nation whispers life. It moves forward. The locals have a welcoming disposition, despite their lives’ circumstances.  They choose to fight, to worship God. While they may (and certainly do) experience severe struggles and obstacles, their faith empowers them in a mighty way. Truly, it is an amazing sight to see.

An Afternoon with the "PJ Kids"

Launch of first youth devotional in Yangon

Ptr Chuck teaching basic camera techniques

Their approach to life breathed new fire within me. My prayer for Myanmar is that the Lord would continue to bask His presence upon their precious nation; surely revival is starting.

Holy Bible in Burmese

At five years old, Golee has a precious face and bright smile. When Drew
and I met him, we tried to talk with him and take his photos. Although he
made a great model, we noticed he did not respond to us when we called
out to him. 
After we walked away, other kids came to bully him. At first, I
thought he was crying, but then I heard strange sounds. I couldn’t help but
run to him when the other children teased and made fun of Golee. It was
then one of my Burmese friends shared with me that Golee cannot hear or
talk. Since this moment, I still cannot stop thinking about or praying for this
precious little boy. Please agree with me that Golee will have the chance to
grow up in God and become a wonderful example in Him and of Him.

Burmese boy, Golee