We sit with Buai, six other evangelists and Pastor Amnuay. Her face lights up as she speaks of her joy in being able to share the good news of Jesus with people (the Lua people), living in Huay Mee village in the mountainous Nan region in Northern Thailand. Over recent years, Jesus’ love has come […]

We sit with Buai, six other evangelists and Pastor Amnuay. Her face lights up as she speaks of her joy in being able to share the good news of Jesus with people (the Lua people), living in Huay Mee village in the mountainous Nan region in Northern Thailand.

Over recent years, Jesus’ love has come to life in Buai’s life and the lives of the many people in her village through the ministry of Pastor Amnuay. Huay Mee village and other villages in the Nan province are where you, as a member of the Lutheran Church of Australia or New Zealand, have been sharing Jesus’ love through the Word and in actions.

Your prayers and your giving have made it possible for former LCA missionary Simon Mackenzie (Simon and his wife Oiy now serve in the LCA Illawarra and South Coast Lutheran Church in New South Wales), Pastor Amnauy and evangelists to preach the word and live out the love of Jesus in practical ways.

Today Buai is an evangelist, too. She was one of the first young people to commit her life to serving and living among her people to bring the good news of freedom in Christ Jesus to people living in fear and darkness.

Her face lights up as she speaks of her joy in being able to share the good news of Jesus with her people.

The Lua people are marginalised and poor. They fear the spirits that they see in all aspects of nature and in their own lives. Spirit doctors have ruled over the Lua, coercing them with curses and demands; reigning with fear over them.

A new house has been built for Buai and her husband next to the small sala (open-sided structure) used for worship. The sala, originally built by an LCA Mission Thailand team, is already too small for the growing number of worshippers in Huay Mee village. It’s exciting to see that even the former spirit doctor is now a part of the worshipping community at Huay Mee. She, too, is now our Lutheran sister in Christ.

In 2007, there were 47 baptised Lutherans in the Nan province. Today we praise God that, through his Spirit’s power at work in people’s lives, there are more than 1110 baptised Lutheran believers (members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand) in this region.

The Nan region now has four congregations, five preaching points, two preaching places and seven Lua evangelists working to share Jesus’ love on your behalf with the Lua people.

Praise God that, through the power of the Spirit, your partnership in the gospel has brought the love of Jesus to life in Huay Mee village.

This story was also published in the November 2015 edition of Border Crossings, the magazine of LCA International Mission.

Many of our partner churches are working in new territory for the kingdom of God; therefore, spiritual attack is their everyday reality. As a member of a congregation, school, or family, or a couple or individual, you are invited to commit to praying for our partners in mission. For regular prayer point updates, go to www.lca.org.au/international-mission/act-now/pray

Read more stories about our partner churches in Thailand at https://www.lcamission.org.au/category/stories/international-partners/thailand/