Nan is located in the far north of Thailand on the border with Laos. The churches here are in various villages, some of them deep in the mountains. Simple bamboo huts are surrounded by playing children, dogs, chickens, roosters, and pigs. Most of the churches are very simple, but they all have a good atmosphere […]

Nan is located in the far north of Thailand on the border with Laos. The churches here are in various villages, some of them deep in the mountains. Simple bamboo huts are surrounded by playing children, dogs, chickens, roosters, and pigs. Most of the churches are very simple, but they all have a good atmosphere which reminds you that it is the people, not the buildings, which are important when gathering for worship, and that God is equally present whether one meets in a simple church with a dirt floor, or a cathedral.

Last year the Norwegian Mission Society started five Saturday clubs, four in Nan and one in Chiang Rai. This year we plan to start up two new ones, this time in North-East Thailand.

The desire to start Saturday clubs came from our church employees in Nan. They had a strong desire to do something for the children in the villages. They were worried about all the children who had to fend for themselves for a whole day because their parents were at work, out hunting or at work in the rice field. They therefore wanted to offer something for the children to do on Saturdays.

The focus areas of the Saturday Club are:
– Local music, language and culture. The children belong to different tribes – Lahu, Lua, Lisu and Akha – groups still fighting to be accepted in Thai society. The children learn about local traditions from the tribes to which they belong, traditions that are about to be forgotten, such as language, musical instruments, etc.
– Knowledge of how to take care of the distinctive character of the village and the environment. How one takes care of oneself and how one becomes a good member of society. The children and people in the village learn about recycling, and about how old items can be upgraded and used again.
– Children’s rights and tribal people’s rights in Thai society.
– The importance of education. Experience shows that children from these villages leave school early/ Many barely finish primary school before they leave school and start working. Many girls marry early and have children before they finish school.
– The children have a safe place to be on Saturdays, get a good and healthy meal and gain new knowledge. Parents can go to work, knowing that their children are in a safe place while they are there.
– Bible teaching. The children of the village become familiar with stories from the Bible.

After a year of Saturday clubs, a lot of good things have happened: More than 100 children are registered as members of the Saturday clubs, and on average about 80 children participate each time. The Saturday clubs are held in the local church buildings and last about four hours.

The leaders say that the children have become more confident by participating in the various activities, and now have different responsibilities during the services on Sundays. They also say that the children feel a greater pride in their own culture and language.

One of the activities that has been very popular in Nan is storytelling. The leaders have created their own books where local stories are told and their own written language is used (there is a Finnish missionary working on creating Lua written language, which until now has only been a spoken language). They have created detailed images based on local history and have used these as an aid in storytelling. The leaders first read and tell stories, and then challenge the children to retell the stories. At first, the children were very shy, but gradually they have become more and more bold, and the stories became more and more detailed. The leaders observed that the children remembered better when they were allowed to use their own language when story telling.

One of the goals of the Saturday Club is to make the children proud of their background. At school, children have to speak Thai and they only learn Thai, so the Saturday club is a valuable arena where they can speak and learn their own language.

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/