Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand: Korea Nazarene University (KNU) organized a Nazarene Missions Team (NMT, formerly Work and Witness Team) in Ubon, Ratchathani in Thailand. The team of twelve students and three faculty and staff conducted a Language and Culture Exchange Camp in a Thai-Chinese school from 27-29 June 2023.
This is the first Nazarene Missions Team that had the opportunity to visit an unreached area for a developing Nazarene Church in Thailand. The city of Ubon Ratchathani (also called Ubon), is located in the lower northeast part of Thailand, about 630 km (390 mi) from. Thailand is a Buddhist nation and only 1% of the population is Christian. This Language and Culture Exchange Camp is a great opportunity for sharing the love of Jesus in a creative way.
During the three-day camp, the team was able to connect with the Thai students through sharing of cross-cultural experiences. The Korean students demonstrated how to cook famous Korean street food like Kimbap and Teokbokki, while the Thai students shared traditional Thai cuisines like Pad Thai and other delicious Thai dishes. The team also did a wall mural where they combined Korean and Thai art to advocate against the use of illegal drugs, cigarettes, vaping, and alcohol.
Pastor Decha, Thai local pastor and Mireu, a pioneer missionary from South Korea also had the chance to meet with the school principals and provincial education officials from Ubon. God opened their hearts through the Korean NMT. One of the officials said, “We are Buddhists, but we know Christians are good. You can open a club in the schools and teach Christian belief as well.”
God is opening doors even in closed and unreached areas like Ubon. God can use every opportunity to impact the lives of the people in places where it is difficult to preach the Gospel, just like how he used the team from KNU. The SEA field is praying for more opportunities like these to share God’s love with the people in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
