August 2001

This article first appeared in the magazine for the Methodist Missions Society (MMS - Singapore) under the title 'Winds of Revival in Thailand' written by Daniel Loo, who is one of the founders and current director of The Surin Foundation in Australia.

Mission Trip to Thailand

From 14th August to the October 11th 2001, I was in Thailand on a short-term assignment under the Methodist Mission Society of Singapore. After a week acclimatizing in beautiful Chiang Mai with the Missions coordinator, Henry Yeo, I flew down to Bangkok to begin my attachment with the Rangsit Methodist Church.

One Door Closes – Another opens

Two months earlier I had arrived in Singapore to commence my theological studies at TTC. But after many difficulties in obtaining a student visa I was forced to discontinue my studies. This is when the Lord spoke to me and told me to go to Thailand.

How mysteriously our Lord works at times! Two weeks later our enrolment had increased to twenty students and we were forced to start a second class. One student was so impressed with the lessons that she persuaded ten other friends into joining. By the beginning of October we were running adult English classes from Tuesday to Friday evenings, a primary school class on Saturday and a class for school teachers on Sunday afternoons. Our final enrolment was 41 students.

Rangsit Methodist Church

My ministry was primarily focused in two areas. The first was to teach English at the Rangsit Methodist Church. A Thai member of the church who is fluent in English assisted me in this project. We organized a weeknight program of ten lessons spread across five weeks. This was advertised through a moderate campaign that included signboards and leaflet distribution. Many of leaflets were handed out to school students at the bus stops. However, when the course began we only had an enrollment of two students; both of them were church members!

Ministry through the English Classes

Besides teaching English, the classes were great opportunities to build relationships with the local community. Nearly all the students were non-Christians and had never been to a church before. After each class we provided snacks to encourage an atmosphere of talk and friendship building. Some of the students had previously attended other professional English classes where as soon as the class was over, it was lights off and everyone goes home. These students were especially touched by the individual care and the time we were willing to set aside for them. Sometimes the students would join the church cell group that began a little later in the evening. This happened particularly if they were caught in a storm at class-end. On more than one occasion a student would stay back late into the evening to inquire about the gospel.

In one of the lessons we held a cooking class where I taught the students to make spaghetti and mashed potatoes, Australian style. The pastor and his family joined us for the meal, which became a beneficial bonding session for all of us. In the final lesson we combined all the classes and held an evangelistic concert with drama, mimes, and the gospel presentation followed by a pot-luck dinner. Every student was given a bible to take home.

The interest in many of the students to continue studying English has prompted the church to continue the course for at least another term.

Sirisuksa School

Years of visitations by mission teams have been effective in opening this school to the gospel. A once resentful neighborhood now welcomes the activities, songs and love that the missionaries bring. Even the school principle is a converted Christian through the good she has seen in mission work.

My role was to teach English to the students from Primary 3 to Secondary 3. My teaching style included activities and songs which children enjoyed as it was a change from the pages English grammar that Thai system enforces on them. Occasionally I included a bible lesson into the curriculum. For the primary 3 and 4 classes, this was their favorite time.

On my last day at the school we had a concert where some classes were to present an item that I had taught them. This included Christian songs and skits. The Youth from the Rangsit Methodist Church were also there to present a puppet show, a mime for the song ‘Shout to the Lord’ and a drama. I preached a simple gospel message. When the call for commitment was made, at least half children came forward to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. In a school which is 80% Buddhist and 10% Muslim, this was a truly miraculous event. Bibles were distributed to many of the students.

Let the little children come to me… (Matthew 19:14)

The school principle is keen for us to start up a Christian Fellowship in the school. This would be a great way to follow-up on the new Christians. Any volunteers?

Finally…

I get a feeling that the winds of revival are beginning to sweep through Thailand. Every week at least one person walks into the church requesting to hear the gospel. Every Sunday there is an average of five new visitors. Many of the visitors come looking for answers to their problems; broken families, financial problems, abuse, children involved in drugs, fathers destroyed by alcohol... They realize that Buddhism is no longer a workable solution. If there was ever a time that the harvest is ready, it is now. My prayer is that we won’t wait till the crops wither and dry.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field. (Matthew 9:37,38).

Daniel Loo