It is good to be back in Austin, Texas! We had an incredible 10 days in north Thailand. Thank you for sending thirteen ABC members to go on mission alongside the International Mission Board. I wanted to share a recap and photos of what we were up to these past ten days.
We arrived in Chiang Mai where we lodged near the IMB’s regional offices and received orientation. Our team then divided into three subgroups for the next few days. One group was sent to focus on outreach in Chiang Mai through soccer camps and school ministry. They shared Christ with children and families, built relationships in the community, and prayer walked at community Buddhist temples.
A second group was sent north to Phrae and Nan to conduct English speaking outreach programs. We were the first English speakers to ever enter these schools and offer such a program. We taught these children about Jesus through this learning program. It was eye opening to us to see the lostness of the region. These Buddhist communities lack strong Bible-teaching churches, and there are few believers across their communities. While in Phrae, we were also grateful to have a chance to serve orphans and share Christ at a local children’s home.
Our third group was sent to Yangon, Myanmar where they visted our ministry partners at Love For Myanmar. They saw the ongoing construction of ABC’s sponsored Trauma Healing Center. This facility will minister to individuals in the community and centralize LFM’s ministry efforts across five orphanages and 20+ house churches. This sub group also connected with local IMB missionaries on the ground. I later spent some time with LFM’s leader, Gilbert, when he visited me in Thailand later that week.
All three groups safely returned to Chiang Mai where we spent the remainder of our time together. We supported local churches through various service projects in the community. We then had the privilege to serve missionaries at the IMB’s North Thailand Team retreat. Over 50 missionaries and children came together for two days of equipping. I delivered two sermons at the retreat, and we had the privilege of worshipping with these amazing families. Our team also put on a VBS style program for the kids while their parents received further training. It was inspiring to interact with these men, women, and children who have answered God’s calling and serve Jesus in a foreign land.
Amidst all the work, our team enjoyed a bit of tourism. We explored Thai cuisine through a cooking class. We shopped local markets and rode elephants in the mountains! It was an incredible trip, and I am thankful that ABC continues to offer trips like this to our church. I am proud that ABC gives away 10% of our contributions to support missions all around the world, including the IMB’s ongoing work in Thailand.
As we look to Advance in 2027, I hope you will join me in committing to Discover God through his word, Develop as a disciple in community, and Deploy on mission for him. We will offer several mission trips in 2027, both foreign and domestic. Where does God want to deploy you next year? I am thankful I was able to bring my daughter with me for her first international mission trip. If you have kids in the home, perhaps next year could be the opportunity for you to train them in the Great Commission.
I continue to pray for God to deploy some of you to the full-time mission field. Remember the two questions we are asking next year: “Who is your one?”, and “Who is our one?” Who is the the “one” God is sending you to reach here in Austin? And who is our “one” God is sending from ABC to full-time missions or church ministry?
Thank you for being a faithful church. Your generosity to The Great Commission Fund, which is the general fund of our church, continues to make missions like this possible. May God continue to use ABC to light up your life, your home, your neighborhood, and the world.
Onward and Upward,
Dr. Jonathan Spencer
