Thai ’08 Journal 1

Walla Walla University has adopted Thailand as its contribution to mission in the 10/40 window – a geographical region around the globe between latitudes 10 and 40 where the majority of inhabitants are non-christians. Thailand is predominantly Buddhist. Therefore, I believe that missions should be more wholistic evangelism and less of the solely traditional proclamative evangelism that is common to Christian regions. That’s what I have attempted since our outreach began in 2004. Our mission trips are also more and more interdisciplinary. In 2005 we focused on the School of Education and Psychology; this time it is the School of Nursing.

The team of 30 includes 19 students and 11 others – faculty, staff, a couple alumni (a lawyer and a dentist), and 3 children. Our base will be Mission College. We will be working alongside students, faculty and staff of the College doing 3 projects: The first is Community Nursing: Eleven nursing students registered for the course “Nursing and Mission” in the Spring, taught by Trudy Klein. Fred Troutman will supervise them in the practicum for the class in Thailand.

The second is an English Camp: Part of the rest of the team will engage students in the Public High School in conversational English. They will use Bible stories and religious games as a basis for the classes. And the third is a Community Service project: The rest of the team will assist on the farm of a Thai farmer who lost the use of his lower body due to a train accident. Mission College’s Campus Ministries students built him a new house last year. He visited a SDA church for the first time last November when I did a Week of Prayer at the College here. Further ministry and community service will be done in the surrounding village.

I, along with my wife Violet, and our friend and alumni Lorraine Jacobs have come a week earlier to visit previous mission trip sites and to make advance preparation for the rest of the team. First we will visit Mae Sot where in Christmas 2004 I led a team from Walla Walla College (along with some Student Missionaries from Ekamai School in Bangkok) in assisting in the building of a church for the Kanehchue Orphanage. The team at that time raised the funds for the building. On this trip we will spend 2 days painting the inside of the church.

Then we will go to Chiang Mai Academy. In 2005 another WWC team assisted in building a dorm for the Elementary students; conducted a Week of Prayer; and professors from the School of Education and Psychology conducted Continuing Education Workshops for the teachers. Many of the team members “adopted” needy students and continue to financially sponsor them. On this trip we will visit the Academy and audit the progress of these sponsorees and also visit with WWU Student Missionaries, Michael and Summer Lee.

As a Vice President, Board member, and Chair of the International Service Committee of Rotary of Walla Walla, I’ve been instrumental in obtaining matching grants for a Hostel in Chiang Mai for children of the poor LaWa tribe. We also give an annual scholarship for a student or two to attend University in Chiang Mai. We will spend an afternoon visiting and encouraging the staff and children at the Hostel.

Please note my new cell phone # in Thailand: 011-66-849-036-933