Supporting Missionaries

Every house and business in Thailand has a “spirit house” on their property to offer gifts to their gods. They believe the more you can spend on an elaborate spirit house them more you will be blessed.

For this month’s post, we want to give you a better idea of the new direction in which we’re moving for ministry. Ruth normally writes our blog posts, but I’m chiming in this time around.

The reasons we left our previous country of service are varied, and have to do with persecution, health problems, our gifts and abilities, and long term vision. We’ve also been taking a look back at the road we’ve travelled and the experiences that we’ve had, and we can see that God has been equipping us in unique ways for an important new type of ministry – which is to support, care for, and equip missionaries on the field in Asia to enable them to stay on the field in their respective countries and fields of service for the long term.

One of the things that has enabled us to remain on the field in a closed country these past three years has been the existence of some important support ministries in Thailand. And we’re not alone in this; a survey was taken by OMF (a church planting organization) recently about the effectiveness of their missionary guest house called The Pines, and while workers in Thailand had good things to say, workers in the neighboring closed countries reported that it was absolutely vital to their ability to stay on the field! Many come to Thailand for medical and dental care for their families, trainings and conferences, the birth of a baby, Biblical counseling, waiting for a visa back into their country or for a vacation. Thailand’s openness and geographic location make it very strategic for all these activities as it is surrounded by closed countries, whether Muslim or communist.

Walking down a street in Bangkok looking for a taxi.

Our vision is to support and encourage missionaries, and we’re pursuing the goal of operating a guest house specifically for pastors and missionaries in these closed fields. There are a few such ministries in place in Thailand, and historically they’ve had trouble filling the director roles since most people coming to the field want to do so in a church planting or direct relief role with the nationals. Upon completion of an intensive language course in Thai, we intend to step into the role of director at one of these. Our goal is to offer a listening ear, compassion and encouragement along with the practical solution of an inexpensive and safe place for families to stay while getting to interact with other missionaries. Just being able to talk with other missionaries and share each other’s stories can go really far in mitigating the loneliness and isolation that most missionaries struggle with.

Please pray with us as we pursue this new direction in ministry. Our two greatest needs at the moment are increased monthly funding, and a volunteer “homeschool tutor” to accompany us during our first year while we make the transition to Thailand, which will allow Ruth and I to both study full-time.

-Lance, for the Baker family

A few snapshots of Thailand

Residential house in Bangkok

The traffic is similar to many developing countries.

This shrine is in the Bangkok airport.

Buddhist temples can be seen everywhere.

Like many countries, the economic situations vary greatly.

Shrines and spirit houses sometimes litter the street.