God brought this special lady to my church in Rensselaer, New York on a cold winter Sunday morning in 2007. Po Shur along with thousands of people from Burma from different tribes were living in refugee camps along the border of Thailand. Some of them lived in the camps since they were babies. They were on a long waiting list to resettle in a new country. Po Shur shared with my church about her people, and my church started and outreach ministry for them.
At 16 years old I got involved with the ministry doing whatever I could. First I volunteered to help teach the children's English class on Sunday afternoon. Eventually I became closer to the children and families who were coming over from Thailand. I taught them about America, and they taught me about their country and culture. When I got my license, I began picking up the people for church - sometime that included several trips overflowing my van. My care and love for these people just kept growing, and some of the people became my closest friends and like family. I wanted the children to know I cared for them outside of church, so I began taking them bowling, planning picnics and activities for them. When it was time for me to go to college, going to Bible college was my first choice and deciding to study English Education was as an easy decision. I wanted to continue helping immigrants and refugees though TEFL ( Teaching English As A Foreign Language).
God used my interest in cultures, languages, and more importantly the people from Myanmar and Thailand to put me in the direction of going to Thailand as a missionary to bring light to their spiritual darkness. Although my heart was for the people, I was exactly planning on going to Thailand besides visiting the land where my friends came from. While home one summer after my second year of college, my church had a tent meeting. Pastor Sinoy and Bro. Bob DeWitt were speakers at this conference.
After one service, Pastor Sinoy told me about his ministry in Thailand on the border of Myanmar. At that time he had a church and an orphanage. He then invited me to come visit and work in the orphanage for a month. I was excited, but never thought that would or could happen. My life at the time was consumed with working to pay my school bill, my studies, and life and ministries at Hyles-Anderson College in Crown Point Indiana. Pastor Sinoy stayed in contact with me for two years. My Sr. year of my bachelors was coming to an end, and the following semester I was planning on taking my masters in TEFL. Two months before my last semester was over, the teacher who ran the TEFL program called me into his office to tell me he was resigning and that program would no longer be available. This came as a shock to me. "What was I to do? Where was I to go?" In less than two months, I would have to be moved out of college. This was not my plan. I immediately try to fix things. Before the ladies on the dean of women would me, they told me I should speak to Dr. Moore ( director of the missions board at the church I attended) because I was interest in missions. Temporarily I had lost my interest in missions, so I thought. Also I was asked what would I do if Dr. Moore told me I should go to Thailand. I said I'm not ready to leave the country - I thought I needed more education and perhaps a husband. After speaking with Dr. Moore for about five minutes, he asked me if I would be interested in going to THAILAND. Previous to the meeting, I decided to that the next door God opened, I would go through. Dr. Moore arranged for me to serve with a team of missionaries in Hua Hin, Thailand. I would help with their children's ministries and school. In two months God provided all the money I needed to get to Thailand - plane ticket, visa, and passport money. I saw God provide for me and answer prayers. This was one of the first steps I took in the direction of being a missionary.
God was preparing my heart as a high school girl. I'm so thankful that I listened to him even though he had to get me back on track a couple of times. I learned his plan was better than my plan.
At 16 years old I got involved with the ministry doing whatever I could. First I volunteered to help teach the children's English class on Sunday afternoon. Eventually I became closer to the children and families who were coming over from Thailand. I taught them about America, and they taught me about their country and culture. When I got my license, I began picking up the people for church - sometime that included several trips overflowing my van. My care and love for these people just kept growing, and some of the people became my closest friends and like family. I wanted the children to know I cared for them outside of church, so I began taking them bowling, planning picnics and activities for them. When it was time for me to go to college, going to Bible college was my first choice and deciding to study English Education was as an easy decision. I wanted to continue helping immigrants and refugees though TEFL ( Teaching English As A Foreign Language).
God used my interest in cultures, languages, and more importantly the people from Myanmar and Thailand to put me in the direction of going to Thailand as a missionary to bring light to their spiritual darkness. Although my heart was for the people, I was exactly planning on going to Thailand besides visiting the land where my friends came from. While home one summer after my second year of college, my church had a tent meeting. Pastor Sinoy and Bro. Bob DeWitt were speakers at this conference.
After one service, Pastor Sinoy told me about his ministry in Thailand on the border of Myanmar. At that time he had a church and an orphanage. He then invited me to come visit and work in the orphanage for a month. I was excited, but never thought that would or could happen. My life at the time was consumed with working to pay my school bill, my studies, and life and ministries at Hyles-Anderson College in Crown Point Indiana. Pastor Sinoy stayed in contact with me for two years. My Sr. year of my bachelors was coming to an end, and the following semester I was planning on taking my masters in TEFL. Two months before my last semester was over, the teacher who ran the TEFL program called me into his office to tell me he was resigning and that program would no longer be available. This came as a shock to me. "What was I to do? Where was I to go?" In less than two months, I would have to be moved out of college. This was not my plan. I immediately try to fix things. Before the ladies on the dean of women would me, they told me I should speak to Dr. Moore ( director of the missions board at the church I attended) because I was interest in missions. Temporarily I had lost my interest in missions, so I thought. Also I was asked what would I do if Dr. Moore told me I should go to Thailand. I said I'm not ready to leave the country - I thought I needed more education and perhaps a husband. After speaking with Dr. Moore for about five minutes, he asked me if I would be interested in going to THAILAND. Previous to the meeting, I decided to that the next door God opened, I would go through. Dr. Moore arranged for me to serve with a team of missionaries in Hua Hin, Thailand. I would help with their children's ministries and school. In two months God provided all the money I needed to get to Thailand - plane ticket, visa, and passport money. I saw God provide for me and answer prayers. This was one of the first steps I took in the direction of being a missionary.
God was preparing my heart as a high school girl. I'm so thankful that I listened to him even though he had to get me back on track a couple of times. I learned his plan was better than my plan.