Beyond Barriers: Missionaries in Thailand Seek the Unreached

Several years ago, Jessica* and Peter* left the United States to serve as missionaries in Thailand. Since then, their family of five has labored among the Thai community and built deep relationships — and the Lord has done extraordinary work through them.

In Thailand, 95 percent of the population are Buddhist, 4 percent are Muslim, and the remaining 1 percent are Christian. Although missionaries have journeyed in and out of Thailand for over 400 years, the country remains largely unchanged, and most Thai people have no personal connection to a Christ follower.

With the goal to reach the unreached, Jessica and Peter’s aim is to form relationships with mainstream Thai Buddhists — your average, everyday type of person. “Our focus is: How do we get into people’s lives to share the gospel?” Peter says. “Instead of trying to get people into a church, how can we go to people in a ministry among, versus a ministry to?”

As Americans living in Thailand, Peter and Jessica have made it a priority of their ministry to engage deeply with Thai culture and communities as they work toward making disciples. Whether through learning how to cook Thai foods or participating in various groups and activities, Peter and Jessica have become a part of the fabric of their local community, forming close relationships with Thai families.

Malai’s story

One relationship that Peter and Jessica have formed is with a committed Buddhist named Malai*. Over the years, they have seen the Lord work in miraculous ways in Malai’s life.

Malai began working for Jessica and Peter as a house helper seven years ago, and she quickly formed a close, trusting relationship with their family. Jessica explains that they have been observers and guides in a relationship where God has started to clearly lead Malai.

“Jesus is encountering her in her own culture and context — and is offering her life,” she says. “As we’ve continued on in our relationship with Malai, she’s had dreams — a dream of a Middle Eastern man in white: white beard, white robe. She had a dream where this man offered to feed her. This man told her, ‘Feed me. I’m hungry.’ I thought of Revelation 3:20, and so I was able to share that with her.”

Recently, Malai’s niece, Nin*, needed help with the expenses of secondary education. Peter and Jessica told Malai that they would keep praying and trust that God would take care of her niece. Soon after, Malai had another dream. This time, Malai was at the temple and a man dressed in white — whom Malai said was Jesus — was riding in a horse-drawn chariot. Malai was there with Nin, and Nin bowed down on the floor. When Jesus came to her, He stopped the parade, picked Nin up and brought her into His arms. He told Malai that He was going to take care of her. “Malai woke from the dream with a confidence that God Himself was somehow going to take care of Nin,” said Jessica.

The next day, Malai was informed that Nin had received the scholarship to pay for her education.

Another time, Malai had a dream of Jesus where He encouraged her to share her faith discoveries with her estranged sister, Lin*. Though Lin initially refused, Malai relentlessly pursued her, and now they have made the first steps towards reconciliation — even bringing God into their new relationship. Malai recounted that at one point in the conversation, she declared that “the old Malai is dead; a new Malai has been born!”

As Malai has continued in her spiritual journey, she’s started to read the Thai Bible more and has grown in her interest in Jesus, often asking questions about God to Jessica and Peter. She’s even started to share Bible stories and her dreams of Jesus with her family members.

“We look for opportunities to interject and to plant the seed or stoke the flame of what God might be doing in her life,” says Peter.

Ongoing work as missionaries in Thailand

Malai is just one of the many relationships that Jessica and Peter have formed as they’ve engrained themselves into their overseas ministry. Thai culture is intricate, and Jessica and Peter have walked carefully within the tight social circles of the Thai community. Often, their pioneering efforts are a day-to-day, step-by-step process as they foster relationships with one person at a time and work their way into communal networks.

“It’s easy to lose sight of the work God may be doing because it’s often underneath the surface,” says Jessica. “But then seemingly out of nowhere, Malai* will let us know that she has had another dream and it’s clearly Jesus. We are trying to walk alongside her as she journeys with Christ, filling in the gaps of understanding of what she is encountering. Her language continues to change, too, talking about God more and more often and even referring to God as the Creator God, a concept totally foreign to Thai Buddhism.”

While Jessica and Peter don’t always know what is going on behind the scenes in Malai’s heart and mind, what continues to excite them is that Malai is sharing her new discovery of Jesus in her familial and community circles.

Peter and Jessica are experiencing the work of the Lord up close — what it looks like to be part of God’s royal priesthood, ministering to and among His people (1 Peter 2:9).

“I think what’s driven our ministry is seeing ourselves as priests, and taking seriously that we are a part of the priesthood,” says Peter. “God has placed us in this season and time and in these relationships.”

*Names changed for privacy.

Discipleship Tip:

Peter and Jessica have worked hard to build deep relationships with those in Thailand, doing life with their Thai friends so that they can eventually reach their families and communities as well. Sometimes, focusing on discipling one person at a time can be the most effective method to create spiritual generations. Who is one person that you can do life with and intentionally pursue today?