Varin Artvilai (Ton) was one of the first to join the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand’s Immanuel Church Home of Praise leisure club. He was 8 years old when he joined. He loved the leisure club and attended all activities which include music, art, sports, and English lessons. The leisure club was his second home. […]

Varin Artvilai (Ton) was one of the first to join the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand’s Immanuel Church Home of Praise leisure club. He was 8 years old when he joined. He loved the leisure club and attended all activities which include music, art, sports, and English lessons. The leisure club was his second home. When Norwegian Mission Society’s missionary Solveig Johannessen started violin lessons at the centre, Ton started playing the violin. He was good at playing, and Solveig soon saw that he had an easy time learning. In the beginning he was a bit back and forth when it came to the exercises, and he found it boring to practice. This changed eventually and he became more and more serious.

After graduating from high school, Ton enrolled in the renowned music university Mahidol School of Music and completed his Bachelor in Performance (violin) in April 2014. Once finished, he got an assistant job in Thailand’s best symphony orchestra, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. The music school that Solveig had started in Immanuel Church grew steadily larger and Ton was constantly asked to help. He eventually realised that the two could not be combined, and instead of pursuing a career as a violinist, in June 2015 he chose to work full-time as a teacher at the music school.

During 2016 he took on greater responsibility for the music school in general, the organisation and training of the orchestras, individual teaching, music theory lessons and administration, and had the opportunity to go with Jonathan Mann to London and Cardiff to experience the high level of music making in Europe.

He wanted to contribute to his own local community so that the children there might know and experience the joy of music. Music would be something meaningful to do in their spare time and something that could keep them away from drugs, alcohol, and glue.

In 2019 one of Ton’s dreams came true. The local port authorities had noticed the great work that Ton and the music school were doing and decided to support them. They established the Music for Life Foundation in Ton’s and the leisure club’s neighbourhood. The Foundation is an independent organisation, managed by a board.

Twenty years ago, few people in Nong Mai had heard of Jesus and even fewer had heard of Immanuel Church. Today as almost everyone knows about Jesus, and through the work Immanuel Church and the leisure club, they get to experience God’s goodness and love.

If you would like to consider the opportunity to serve as a volunteer in mission, serving in practical ways, teaching English, teaching in the seminaries and institutions of our partner churches, or in local churches, you are invited to phone LCA International Mission on (08) 8267 7300 or email lcaim@lca.org.au. For more information, go to https://www.lcamission.org.au/join-gods-mission/volunteer/

Read more stories about volunteering at www.lcamission.org.au/category/join-gods-mission/volunteers/