We were given the opportunity in the Summer of 2005 to go on a survey trip to Thailand. When we arrived, we were blessed to have  a national pastor take us around the Chiang Rai and show us several villages and ministries that he is apart of. This national pastor is actually from the Akha  hill tribe, a group of people who live in some of the mountainous regions in northern Thailand. While on this trip, Pastor John shared with me about how his tribe first received the gospel over a hundred years ago.  Another hill tribe, the Karen people, who have migrated into Thailand from Myanmar (Burma) were the first to share the gospel with the Akhas. Pastor John then asked if I had ever heard of an American missionary named Adoniram Judson.  With Adoniram Judson being one of my heroes, I was blown away by the fact that Judson was the one that reached the Karen people. Although Judson has  now long ago passed on to be with the Lord, his ministry still continues to bear fruit. God used this story of a missionary’s faithfulness to encourage me as I looked around Thailand and saw so much spiritual darkness.

During the trip, it was hard not to notice the overwhelming need for Christ as we saw Temples, monks, spirit houses, and idols everywhere. Thailand has millions of people who have literally never heard the name of Christ. We left the country two weeks later knowing that God had placed a burden on our heart’s for these incredible people. The following summer of 2006, after months of preparing by sending out packets and making hundreds of phone calls we began deputation to raise support to come to Thailand!