The opportunity came out of the blue… Our local community was going to celebrate the “Khaochi- Festival”. For that reason they invited us to join in and produce a Swiss style Khaochi. Khaochi is made with sticky rice, which is the basic food for the Isaan people. The sticky rice is put around a stick, […]
When we moved to Isaan a few years ago, we had some contacts, who seemed genuinely interested in the gospel. But after some months, most of them were gone. Later, we realized that they were afraid of their community, because there were people who told them that if they became Christians they would not be […]
Mrs. Pat nicknamed her new baby boy “First”, although he was her fourth and last child. When she initially discovered that she was pregnant with First, she was not ready to have another child, because of the economic strain on the family. However, a Christian neighbor encouraged her to continue the pregnancy. This neighbor showed […]
Nothing is left to coincidence in Thailand. Today while reading a book I learned that even a house plan in Isaan has a deeper thought behind it. It has to do with auspiciousness. The four wind directions have different meanings in Buddhism. ‘’East is auspicious, represents life, is sacred (the Buddha shelf of the house […]
Often, we find that people are wondering how they can be involved in mission. Probably one of the most important ways is in prayer. In addition to prayer, coming on a short-term trip is a good experience. By being involved in a short-term team, people find that they can taste a little bit of what […]
Last year, we had an outing to the nearby mountains with some of our Thai friends. As we walked along through the forest, they continued to point to the many species of plants and flora that were edible. It seemed to me as if nearly everything around us could have been eaten. This is not […]
Mother Khong saw another turtle along the road. She wanted to pick it up, but she hesitated. She did not have to bring the turtle back to the turtle temple. A few months ago, she would have brought back lost turtles to the temple. In this temple, a turtle with a god inside is honored […]
In February, we bought our banana tree. “When will it have bananas?” I asked the shop owner. “After about a year and a half;” she answered. At that point, I was noticing that it only had three leaves; with one of them turning brown already. Ewoud planted the tree in our garden and at first […]
Some Sundays ago, I realized that single mother, Mrs J and her daughter S had not come to church for a few weeks. I asked others in the church about her. Some hadn’t noticed that Mrs J had stayed away and no one knew where or how she was. She is one of our faithful […]
For one week a team of 15 church members (12 of them students aged 15-22 years) with their pastor and his wife and the youth pastor escaped life in the city of Hong Kong with all its busyness, skyscrapers and cramped living spaces, and came to the Northeast of Thailand with all its simplicity, agriculture […]
It is 6 o’clock in the morning. As the sun comes up I sit in front of our house in Yang Sisurat and enjoy a cup of coffee. This is our last morning in this house. Today we will load our stuff in a big truck and leave for Bangkok. I see the first people […]
“I want to be baptized by water, I want to obey the Lord” said Mr. Mii who is over eighty years old. He said this as we were studying the conversion of Saul from the book of Acts at the Bible study group in his home. We talked about how the Lord had called Saul […]
Like all other missionaries we have come here to Thailand to bless people with the good news of Jesus Christ the Saviour. We hope to be a blessing to the Thai people we meet. When we arrived in Isaan (North East Thailand) six months ago we were told there wouldn’t be any Christians in the village […]
Noi is a 38 year old lady that came to the church in Yang Sisurat for the first time during a special Christmas outreach. She was very interested and wanted to hear as much as possible about God. After her first church visit she kept coming back and it became clear that she loved reading […]
Rainy season in Thailand has officially started. If you haven’t experienced the thunderstorms and showers at night, you would notice God’s creation changing around you. Yellow paddy fields are turning fluorescent green, trees that seemed to be dead are blossoming. The nice scenery and low temperatures are very welcome after months of heat and drought. It […]
It’s the middle of the night and we are awoken suddenly. A desperate cry chases the silence of the night away. The corpse of our neighbour’s son has arrived home. It’s another tragic story we hear about a young person – only 36 years old – he has died in a traffic accident. We see […]
Pa Thon and her husband Lung Khay first came to church a year ago. Lung Khay was suffering from cancer and the prayers of church members made a difference. Into Pa Thon and Lung Khay’s hands were given Bible tracts and booklets to read as well as an MP3 player containing gospel songs and sermons […]
‘Are you going to tell me the story about the two sisters? I now know that story! Mae Lop told me that story yesterday!’ Phi Niam is on her way back home. She has been in the rice fields the whole day looking after her cow. Near home she ends up chatting with her neighbour. […]
One day, after several months living in Isaan, I glanced at my feet and to my surprise, noticed a strange new growth from the sides of each one of my feet (I will spare you the picture!). At first glance, I became quite concerned that these were either massive plantar warts, an infection, or […]
Miu contacted Nampu-Fountain Ministry about one year ago. She was 23, already had three children, and was expecting her 4th. The family did not see how they could provide for yet another child since the husband had no job at that time. We visited and looked at the socio-economic situation and possible help. We prayed […]
I still remember the scene. I looked across the paddy fields in front of our house. A cow was grazing in the paddy field. Suddenly a whirlwind appeared and I saw the trees behind the cow bend back and forth quicker and quicker. Then, the forefeet of the cow were lifted and the cow turned […]
It is nine months since we started learning the Thai language in Lopburi and attending a local church. At first it was nice to be back with people we knew, as we had visited this church some seven years ago. But soon it got more difficult. After several weeks you discover how little you actually understand of […]
It is getting darker and darker. Not only because the sun is setting, but also because traffic lights vanish the further we leave Khon Kaen behind. Khon Kaen seems to be the center of the Isaan Joint Venture, the team we will be joining next year. Today we had our first team meeting, this evening […]
Since the beginning of this year Uncle Kanhaa started to have more and more health issues. Almost weekly he was admitted to the hospital to receive treatment. At times he would be confused and discouraged. It was very special to see that coming to church or joining for worship together with other Christians at his […]
We first met Uncle Kanhaa during door-to-door outreach in our village. He had suffered a stroke and could not use his hands and legs anymore. He also had kidney failure and needed dialysis four times a day. On top of that his daughter had passed away recently and his twenty-something son had not been in […]
Jane, a Thai lady, and her newborn daughter are first fruits of Nampu-Fountain Ministry, a crisis pregnancy centre in North East Thailand. Here is her story (but not her photo). Jane ran away from home when she was 10 years old after her parents had separated. She lived on the streets of Bangkok and learned […]
Sitting in a Tennesse Starbucks, a Thai girl called Tina was asked why she was wearing a Buddhist amulet around her neck. For the first time in her life, she looked inside herself for a reason and realized that she did not have one. The question came from a young woman who had just moved […]
On my first day in a small village in Mukdahan province of Northeast Thailand, I was sitting in my host’s house and noticed an eight year old girl who seemed to be leaning over a fence. When I observed her for a couple of more moments I realized she had fallen into a barb wire […]
I was recently discussing the temptation and sin of man in the Garden of Eden with a small group of Isaan people. I talked about how the serpent, which in the Thai Bible is the same word as snake, tempted the woman to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and […]
“If he joins the Bible study, we won’t.” A few ladies looked at me for my response. I had no idea where this statement was coming from, so I asked them. “He is a phiipohp, if he is coming, we won’t come any more.” He had been attending the Bible study meetings for a few […]
