Shared by Law Lu, we are pleased to share this story of how God is moving among the Lahu people through steadfast faith.

The Story of Law Lu

Law Lu is a Lahu man from Laos who joined our PET training program. His journey has been very challenging for both him and his family. He is the first man in his village to believe in Jesus, and also the very first Christian in his community.

When he began to share the gospel with his neighbors, the village chief found out and forced him to leave the village. As a result, Law Lu and his family had to live in another village for more than ten years. During that time, even though he faced rejection, he never stopped sharing the good news of Jesus wherever he went. He also had the opportunity to join our training program, which further encouraged him in his faith.

At the end of last year, Law Lu heard that his home village had become more open toward Christianity. Some people had accepted Christ, and the authorities had given permission to establish a church in the village. With this news, Law Lu decided to return to his original village.

However, when he returned, he was not free to live as he wished. He first had to wait for the approval of the village chief before being accepted again as a member of the community. Recently, he finally received that approval. Law Lu wanted to join the village church, but the chief did not allow him. Instead, he was only permitted to worship and pray within his own home.

Because of this, Law Lu began to open his home for worship gatherings and invited people from the village to join. At present, about three families come regularly to worship together with him.

From Charee
The Director of PET project

Prayer Requests

For Law Lu and his family: Please pray for God’s protection and care over them in this difficult situation.

For the house church and evangelism: Please pray for the growth of this new house church and for the gospel to spread throughout the village, which has over 100 households but very few Christians.

The post October 2025 Testimony from Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The post August 2025 Testimonies from Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

EFM’s relationship with The Way Foundation in Thailand is valuable in continuing the Great Commission work in Southeast Asia. The Way Foundation’s vision is to help establish a growing ministry that will continue to share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and be connected to churches around the world, including those in America, for many generations to come. 

We are excited to share this report from Yaw Sa Pa who is the Director of the Holistic Community Development Project.

Holistic Community Development Project

This is Ah-Bo ‘s family. Ah- Bo and his wife have been married for about thirty years.

The two of them often quarreled with each other, and Ah-Bo did not solve family problems well. His wife was very unhappy. These things continued in Ah-Bo’s family even after they both believed in Jesus Christ and became Christians. They both had the opportunity to learn about family life training, which our D4D team had been organizing. The team has organized activities and training about family life in JA SAW PA village for the past few years.

Ah-Bo ‘s wife saw her husband’s life begin to change. Ah-Bo has been calm, used reasoning when talking, and has started to show more love for the family. Now Ah-Bo’s wife is happier than before. Even though there are obstacles sometimes, they can solve those problems by understanding each other. Ah-Bo’s family is grateful to God and the D4D team for teaching about family life according to the Bible.

Please Pray…

1. That Ah-Bo’s family will be further transformed by God so that they can be role models for their neighbors in the JA SAW PA community.
2. That the D4D team will have the wisdom to carry out the mission that God has given the team to do for the glory of God.

Thanks for your prayers and your support.

From,
Charlee Kunakorn
Executive Director, The Way Foundation

EFM Thailand’s fundraising status is currently at 94% based on the commitments for monthly/yearly recurring giving that are needed for this ministry to be fully funded. Would you consider partnering with EFM Thailand? You can: Donate online on EFM Thailand’s webpage here. Donate by credit card over the phone at 303-421-8100. Mail a check marked with “EFM Thailand Support” to EFM, PO Box 771139, Wichita, KS 67277.

The post January 2025 Testimonies from Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Discipling for Development trip – Thailand, Jan 7 – Jan 18, 2025

David and Debby spent the Christmas holidays in Thailand with their daughter Alandra. She is teaching for a year in South Korea. They visited her in Incheon and then brought her to a warm climate for the holidays. Debby returned home, and David joined Scott Purser on January 9.
What is going well with our Lahu, Thailand Discipling for Development team?

• Yosapa loves building relationships in the village. He has a great relationship with his wife, Abba, and their two sons. A lot of our success comes from his ministry over the years, especially discipling and mentoring MaoPa as he disciples new believers and pastors the new local church in JaSoPa.
• Mana chose a good wife. He is smart and likes to study and prepare lessons.
• Scott Purser & Ronald Mazune coached our D4D team well on two trips in 2024. Ronald is from Uganda and has a lot of experience. His participation during my sabbatical has been valuable.

Local JaSoPa village pastor, MaoPa (maroon shirt), washing his wife, Eme’s, feet, and Yosapa (D4D team leader) (grey shirt) washing his wife, Abba’s, feet. This is part of one of the lessons they have been teaching on how to have a healthy, God-honoring marriage.

Join us in praying for:  

• Pray for unity on our D4D Team, especially between Yosapa and Mana.
  • Yosapa leads through building relationships in the community. He loves to visit and join people in the fields or at whatever they are working at. He is practical and “hands-on.” He struggles with long-term planning and preparing lessons.
  • Mana is more intellectual and can do well with lesson planning. Pray for him to grow in trusting God, in rejoicing, and in working well with Yosapa, his leader.
• Discipling in the Village of JaSoPa with marriage lessons.
  • Pray for Christ’s transformation in the lives of these new believers, especially in their marriages. Pray for each couple to gain the specific insight they need to apply in their marriage relationships that will lead to growth.
  • Pray for insight and thriving for MaoPa and Eme (the pastors) in their marriage.

How can we help the Thailand D4D project finish well within the next 1-2 years?

• Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” I am reminded how dependent on God we are for success. In Discipling for Development, we use key discipleship, coaching, facilitation, and community development skills, and we operate within well-reasoned and practiced Biblical principles. We do our best, and we depend on the Lord of the Harvest to multiply our effectiveness “way beyond all that we can ask or imagine!” Pray for God’s wisdom and favor to rest on us and on our Lahu brothers and sisters!

JaSoPa village families participating in D4D show the priority list of themes they plan to study, believing as they work through these areas using the Bible and a problem-solving process they will begin to move out of poverty and improve their lives. This priority list is what we will be discipling them through in the next couple of years ahead.

Thank you for joining us in prayer on this trip!

David Thomas

The post David Thomas: Join in Prayer for My Trip to Thailand! first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

EFM’s relationship with The Way Foundation in Thailand is valuable in continuing the Great Commission work in Southeast Asia. The Way Foundation’s vision is to help establish a growing ministry that will continue to share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and be connected to churches around the world, including those in America, for many generations to come. 

The post October 2024 Testimonies from Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The post August 2024 Testimonies from Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

EFM’s relationship with The Way Foundation in Thailand is valuable in continuing the Great Commission work in Southeast Asia. The Way Foundation’s vision is to help establish a growing ministry that will continue to share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and be connected to churches around the world, including those in America, for many generations to come. We are excited to share this report from Yaw Sa Pa who is the Director of the Holistic Community Development Project.

We are excited to share this report from Charee who is the Director of the EDU Project.

EDU Project Update

The man on the left in the photo below is C*. He is a PET (Pastors and Evangelists Training) student from Burma. He had the opportunity to explore Burma and found out that there was another type of Lahu tribe living there. This type of Lahu is called the Nan Kai people. After surveying this group, we found that there were approximately 47 villages that belonged to this type of Lahu tribe living in Burma. This type of Lahu has not yet heard the Gospel. They still worship evil spirits. This type of Lahu uses a language similar to the Yellow Lahu. C* is a Yellow Lahu and he is willing to share the Gospel with the Lahu Nan Kai.

As of now, he has already visited three villages in the area where these Lahu brothers and sisters live and has had the opportunity to talk with the tribal leader of the Lahu Nan Kai. The leader of this Lahu tribe’s name is U*. He is the one wearing a white shirt on the right in the photo.

I would like to ask all brothers and sisters to help pray for C* as he is doing evangelistic ministry and planning to start new churches with this tribe of Lahu people.

Thanks for your prayers and your support.

From,
Charlee Kunakorn
Executive Director, The Way Foundation

EFM Thailand’s fundraising status is currently at 79% based on the commitments for monthly/yearly recurring giving that are needed for this ministry to be fully funded. Would you consider partnering with EFM Thailand? You can: Donate online on EFM Thailand’s webpage here. Donate by credit card over the phone at 303-421-8100. Mail a check marked with “EFM Thailand Support” to EFM, PO Box 771139, Wichita, KS 67277.

The post May 2024 Testimonies from Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

EFM’s relationship with The Way Foundation in Thailand is valuable in continuing the Great Commission work in Southeast Asia. The Way Foundation’s vision is to help establish a growing ministry that will continue to share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and be connected to churches around the world, including those in America, for many generations to come.We are excited to share this report from Yaw Sa Pa who is the Director of the Holistic Community Development Project.

Discipleship for Development in the Community of Ca Saw Pa

In the community of Ca Saw Pa, we saw that the people there often had little unity, no love for one another, were only interested in themselves, and were unable to control themselves in speaking. They often used anger to speak harshly to each other, not caring about the other’s needs. This group of people did not have good relationships with each other, and our Discipleship for Development (D4D) team wanted to go provide training.

After the training, we noticed that those who participated were starting to have a different attitude than before. Those training participants began to see the need to develop their own lives more. Participants in the training learned and had a better understanding of God’s love for humans and this became the turning point for them to abandon their old lives to begin a new life in Jesus Christ.

Now we see the fruits of sowing the word of God and sharing the D4D lessons where we can so that we can help in community development. Those who participate in the training will begin to have more love for each other, will begin to know and help each other, will see the benefits of helping others before themselves, will have good relationships with one another in the Christian community, will be more patient with each other, and will be able to control themselves better. Participants in these trainings are aware of the importance of being an example for those who still don’t believe in Jesus so that they can be a channel for showing how God can change lives. They are a living witness to those who still do not believe in God.

Topics to Pray For

• Pray for the believers in the village to be good examples for those who still don’t believe in God and be able to bless.
• Pray for the growth of believers in the village, that they will develop knowledge and understanding in following.

Thanks for your prayers and your support.

From,
Charlee Kunakorn
Executive Director, The Way Foundation

EFM Thailand’s fundraising status is currently at 79% based on the commitments for monthly/yearly recurring giving that are needed for this ministry to be fully funded. Would you consider partnering with EFM Thailand? You can: Donate online on EFM Thailand’s webpage here. Donate by credit card over the phone at 303-421-8100. Mail a check marked with “EFM Thailand Support” to EFM, PO Box 771139, Wichita, KS 67277.

The post April 2024 Testimonies from Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

EFM’s relationship with The Way Foundation in Thailand is valuable in continuing the Great Commission work in Southeast Asia. The Way Foundation’s vision is to help establish a growing ministry that will continue to share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and be connected to churches around the world, including those in America, for many generations to come.

We are excited to share this report from one of The Way Foundations Projects!

Pastors and Evangelists Training Report

There is a family named Ja-ui who has completed training with us. After completing the Pastors and Evangelists Training (PET) course, he committed himself to serving God in pioneering the church and began to establish a new church called Ja U church. This month, four people became new believers in the village where Ja-ui is working.

We have seen this family’s dedication and faithfulness in evangelizing and how God is using this family to build his kingdom.

When we saw these things, it helped the instructors of this course to be greatly empowered in teaching the word of God and training those who are interested. Also, we hope that all of you who are involved in supporting this mission will receive joy and strength from God, just like what we received.

Thanks for your prayers and your support.

From,
Charlee Kunakorn
Executive Director, The Way Foundation

EFM Thailand’s fundraising status is currently at 74% based on the commitments for monthly/yearly recurring giving that are needed for this ministry to be fully funded. Would you consider partnering with EFM Thailand? You can: Donate online on EFM Thailand’s webpage here. Donate by credit card over the phone at 303-421-8100. Mail a check marked with “EFM Thailand Support” to EFM, PO Box 771139, Wichita, KS 67277.

The post February 2024 Testimonies from Thailand first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Thank you very much for praying with us over this trip. Our Discipling for Development coaching week was productive. My favorite part was visiting JaSoPa village, where we spent the night and also observed an excellent lesson with a root-cause analysis on garbage in the village. We were especially impressed with the high participation and excitement of the villagers as they talked about the negative aspects of trash and then the root causes of this problem.

This is their eighth root cause study. They have been studying the negative results of problems in their village, and the roots of these problems. Today happened to be a physical problem. It was encouraging to see in their discussions how they are integrating all aspects of life, spiritual, social, physical, economic, etc. as they seek to better understand their context and as they seek to find the key areas they want to problem-solve in a discipleship process in the next couple years.

Enjoy experiencing this moment with us, and thank you for your ongoing support of this work!

Check out this video to see a quick glimpse of what we do on these trips! 

Bless you!

David Thomas

Planting whole-life, disciple-making movements

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” Psalm 67:1-2

The post David Thomas Prayer: A Post Trip Report from My Trip to Thailand February 2024 first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.