‘My name is Minh and I am 38 years old’, says the man sitting across from me. He smiles a broad and bright grin, his teeth white against the deep darkness of the night in the mountain village of Ban Den. I sit with three other girls on the cold concrete floor listening intently as […]
The Lua people are a marginalised group who, over time, migrated from neighbouring Laos and settled in very difficult terrain on the Thai/Laos border. They are not Thais and do not speak their language (lua dialect has not yet been officially recorded). These are the animistic people, controlled by spirit worship and resultant fear. More […]
Crouched in the doorway of a tiny hut, I’m praying for the health of the former “spirit doctor” of Hoey Torn village. I’m overcome and amazed by the power of God at work in the life of this man, and his wife, and so many villagers in the remote Nan province in Northern Thailand (about […]
My prayer for all of us who call ourselves Lutherans here in Australia is that we will all have “a pain in the gut”! Let me explain…I’m not a great theological scholar so when a pastor challenged me about my understanding of the word “compassion” I fumbled around with words such as “empathy”, “feeling sad […]
Children living in the Bangkok’s largest slum in the Klong Toey district experience the fresh blessings of God’s love each new day as they arrive at Home of Praise. Discarded cardboard boxes, splintering plywood, rusting and battered sheets of corrugated iron and plastic wrapping mix with walls of mould covered bricks and mortar to provide […]
Most of us know about this innovative mission, where used stamps are cleaned, sorted and sold for the best prices, usually ending up overseas. Rita Seidel, a stamp receiver in South Australia, has been saving, cleaning, sorting and packing stamps since she was 15 years old. She is now 86. ‘For some years we have […]
‘Mission is not about written reports: it is about people and hearts and the saving grace of Jesus. It is the work of the Holy Spirit.’ The LCA supports a variety of mission partnerships in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Sabah, China and Cambodia. These include supporting theological education through scholarships, support […]
This is Miu. She’s seven years old, has a killer smile and loves to play the violin. She has private lessons with a Norwegian teacher three times a week after school. She is learning English and, like many children her age, she enjoys playing on computers. Miu lives in the Klong Toey district of bustling […]
Jeab is speaking in her native Thai, so I can’t understand a word she’s saying. Yet I have no problems following her story; her facial expressions are telling me most of it. She has the most extraordinary elastic face, which reveals her every emotion in lucid detail. She’d make a terrible poker player. Just a […]
Lutherans from across the globe have heard how churches in South-East Asia are growing despite political and economic diversities. On 12-14 May representatives from eleven countries met in Cambodia for the annual Mekong Mission Forum and three-yearly Partner Churches Consultation. Glenice Hartwich attended on behalf of the LCA. Over fifty delegates from the Mekong Mission […]