Sharing Jesus with our Neighbors in Thailand, Burma, and Laos

29 Jan 2014 by Adeline Lum CM-

 

Thanks to the early missionaries to Malaysia, the seeds of the gospel were planted and grew into churches and ministries today. Perhaps, this is the season where we should send missionaries to bless other nations as well.

Pr Randall Chee, founder and chairperson of the Vineyard Outreach Foundation in Thailand, was called into the mission field 16 years ago. Feeling a burden for mission work, he asked God to show him five signs to confirm his calling from the Lord. Typically, Randall would not go affront for prayer in church. But he asked the Lord to guide the speaker at the pulpit to specifically single him out and prophesy for his calling as a missionary.

 

 

You are called to be a General

The first sign came from the prophetess Susan Woodman from United States who told Randall who was in his forties, “Don’t let the youth pass you by; you are called to be a leader.” The second prophetess was Kerry Southy who prophesy, “As a man of integrity and defender of the word, you’re a cutting edge for pioneering work.” After that Anne Vanikde came and prophesies over him, “You are called to be a general. You have the spirit of Joshua and the courage of David.” He was also told he was given a prophetic ministry and gift of healing, and that he was given the light of the sword.

Since the first three speakers who prophesied for him were all foreigners, Randall wanted the local pastors to speak to him. Pr Ong Sek Leang came to speak at his church and confirmed his calling. And finally, his own church pastor became the final person to prophesy for Randall. Although his pastor did not typically visit home cells at that time, he felt prompted to visit Randall’s cell group on a particular night. His prophecy for Randall was, “You are holding a golden key on your left hand. The present door you are holding is not the right door. The next door will be opened for you.” He immediately recognized in his spirit that the current door meant a business he was starting, while the second door is the one leading to the mission field.

 

Dig the troughs and pave the way!

Shortly afterwards, the church sent him to Thailand to build an orphanage. After completing his assignment, a retired army officer brought him to visit many hill tribe villages in Northern Thailand. The living conditions were wretched—ruined road infrastructure, no electricity and water supply. “It was not only hard for us who visit, but also for those staying there as well,” said Randall.

 

 

Their spiritual need was even greater than their physical needs, so much so that when Randall shared the good news of God’s love, many became believers. The villagers kept inviting him back because they were hungry and wanted to know more about God. “They know there’s a divine super being but lack the knowledge to find it. So, when the gospel is presented to them in context of their understanding just like what the Apostle Paul did on Mars hill, many accept Jesus Christ as that divine super being and Savior,” said Randall.

During those days, there were not so many churches or Christian work among the hill tribes. There were many places where the villagers have not heard about the gospel. This realization made him felt even more burdened for the villagers, especially for those who accepted Christ into their hearts. The thought of sheep without shepherd kept ringing in his mind, “How can we lead someone to Christ and then abandon them?”

 

 

Randall decided to plan for some strategies to bless the villagers in 1998. From there, he got to know a few pastors and evangelists working among the hill tribes in Thailand. Together, they planted 8 churches and a couple of dozen preaching points.

And truly, their hard work paid off.

 

At present, Vineyard Outreach Ministries had planted 8 churches in Thailand, 10 in Myanmar and 2 in Laos besides the Children Homes for orphans and children from destitute family background. There are over 60 preaching points spread out in the Golden Triangle region, with the latest in Yunnan, China.

 

 

Vineyard Outreach has two operation centers. One is at Mae Chan, Thailand and the other is at Tachilek, Myanmar.

 

Evangelistic tools

The Lord impressed in his heart to touch hearts so that lives can be changed. So the mission statement was born, “Touching hearts and changing lives.”

Video ministry is use as a ground-breaking tool in pioneering and church planting effort. Gospel movies and educational movies are shown before presenting the good news. Many villagers would come out to watch these movies in open compound, out of curiosity or entertainment. Whatever their reason may be, it gave Randall and the team an opportunity to present the gospel message to them.  At places with no electricity, he had to bring his own generator and projector. When there was a big enough community of believers, a multipurpose hall was built to serve the community as well as a congregation of believers.

 

 

Medical program is also an evangelistic tool to touch hearts as well, a tangible expression of God’s love. Many villagers would not go to hospital or clinic because of poverty and/or distance. Most would suffer in discomfort or die due to chronic situations. Non-believers would also come for treatment when a medical clinic is conducted in their village, giving Randall and the team an opportunity to reach out to them.

 

 

Distribution program is also an evangelistic tool to improve lives besides touching hearts. Normally, good-quality used clothing, footwear, toiletries, utensils, and provision are distributed to the poor and destitute families from time to time.

Community projects such as community hall is used as a church. At other times, it is used for meetings, marriage and other functions. Pastors would also take care of the pre-school goers at this center while the parents go to work.

Water project involves digging well water or connecting the water from the mountain source through pipes to the villagers for house bathing, washing or farming.

Livelihood program is introduced to help improve the standard of living of the hill tribes. Very often, we think of sharing the gospel that we forget about the other aspect of helping believers to rise up to bless the nation. Selected families are provided with facilities and training so that they can have a better quality of life and take care of the families need. Many families have benefitted from the agriculture and farming project, pig rearing and breeding project, small business enterprise, etc.

 

 

Children Home is key to reducing the poverty cycle is to help the poor, needy and under-privileged children by giving proper education, skill-training, and instilling good moral, spiritual and social values.

 

Prov 6:22

When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

 

Matt 4:4

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

 

 

The purpose of the Children Home is to provide a caring and loving home setting for orphans and under-privileged children in their growing up years. At the home, the children are provided with proper food, living-skill training programs, healthcare, and education, at a decent-living place. From a tender age, the children are taught on discipline, character building, spiritual significance, good moral values, leadership training, personal hygiene, team spirit, and the importance of education, etc.

 

Eph 6:4

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

 

Training programs are designed to provide a well-balance input in their growing years. Hopefully, when the children mature in age, they will be able to face the challenges in life and contribute positively towards the welfare and development of their community, society, and nation.

 

 

To reach the villagers, Randall would need to drive more than 40 hours from Kuala Lumpur to Chiang Rai riding on motorcycles, not to mention hiking up mountains, and also taking boats. In fact, he was so passionate for the people of Thailand that he would stay one to two months in the village itself to relate to and understand them. Because the locals tend to view foreigners in a higher regard, they were more receptive of Randall’s teaching.

“There are many, many miracles. Miracles are meant to draw people to God,” said Randall.

He shared how a particular man could not work for three months due to a swollen leg. Hence, Randall prayed for him and the next day, his leg became normal again. The witch doctor of the village heard about the miraculous healing and came to see Randall. Embarrassed, the witch doctor waited for everyone to first leave the house before asking Randall to pray for his deaf ear. Randall prayed for him, and the next morning, he could hear very well. Today, he is no longer a witch doctor but a fervent evangelist for Jesus Christ.

 

Hear the Cries of Burma and Laos

 

 

In ministry, we cannot claim any achievement for ourselves. It is not about us but the Lord working through us. The pre-requisite is to submit to God and do His will; obedience and faithfulness are the keys, we need to have zeal and knowledge, zeal without knowledge is disastrous.

Through these years, Randall has witnessed the faithful providence of the Lord for his work through brothers and sisters-in-Christ who sowed into this ministry.

“When we flow with the spirit of God, our work becomes easy, enjoyable and fulfilling. When we start something, we need to think about how to sustain it (count the cost). It is not the starting that counts but the finishing is more important,” said Randall.

 

 

Walking hand-in-hand to the Mission Field

Philip Ong, one of the pioneering members who joined Randall in 1995, caught the vision after four years of witnessing Randall’s faithful trips to Thailand. He was touched to see how Randall would stay amongst the villagers to get familiar with the locals and to be available in praying for them. Another pioneering member, Aaron Andy, also shared that the greatest joy is to see a community of people being transformed. We are just glad that we are a small part of the whole thing,” said Aaron.

 

 

Randall added, “Our mission statement is touching hearts and changing lives.” We need to touch people’s heart so that they are open for us to share the gospel and change their lives. I believe the hill tribes is precious people to God, they will eventually move to the city to work. If we put a godly foundation in them, they would bring the gospel to the city and impact the community and nation.”

 

Calling to serve other Nations

And such are the seeds sown by Pr Randall in Thailand, Burma, and Laos, to raise our neighboring nations that God love. Praise the Lord for the early missionaries who came to Malaysia! Because of them, we can now raise leaders to impact nations in Southeast Asia as well, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Would you like to join a missionary trip in Thailand, Burma, and Laos? For more information, do come and meet Pr Randall Chee in a fundraising dinner for these nations on April 5, 2014. Please leave your comment below for more information.