FROM THE HEART OF ERIC FUNG / Executive Director, Asian Outreach Malaysia

 

Heading North of Chiang Mai, about a two and a half hour drive away and just 3 kilometres from the Burmese border is the village of Arunothai, a picturesque village surrounded by mist with majestic mountains as its backdrop. This area once belonged to Burma (now known as Myanmar) before it was annexed by Thailand. While most residents are of Yunnan Chinese origin and Burmese Chinese origin, there are also ethnic tribes like the Shan, Lisu, Karen and the Palaung in the surrounding hills. This far flung border settlement was originally founded by the Kuomintang who fled here after the communist took over China. There are also many illegal Burmese refugees living here too. There has been a progressive transformation of this once refugee village into a small town and the population has doubled over a decade.

Recently when I was in Chiang Mai, I was invited to visit a school and a children’s home in Arunothai, the En Hui Chinese School and the House of Grace. Equipped with only the little knowledge I had of its history and the village, I decided to visit the place. Ps Lee who oversees the School and children’s home offered to take Deborah and myself to visit Arunothai.

On the way to Arunothai, we were in awe of its stunning views and the cool, lovely weather. Just before entering the town there is a beautiful lake and we were told that the lake get fills up with water once every 8 eight years only for about 4 months and we were blessed to witness the water-filled lake. As it was lunch hour and as we neared Arunothai, I was told that the town was famous for its egg noodles and fried dumplings, and without hesitation Ps Lee headed straight to the stall that sells the best for our lunch.

Ps Lee’s ancestors hail from Yunnan and had settled in Burma along the Chinese border. His father quickly prospered in the drug business and became the richest and most powerful person in their village. As a teenager Ps Lee helped his father in the drug business. Although being so rich and having everything he wanted he felt no happiness but felt a feeling of emptiness. A friend introduced him to Christianity and he felt God calling him to enter Bible school. After completing Bible school he was excited to serve God but unfortunately he was lured back into the world of power and money.

He started a business and was doing very well but God had not forgotten him and was calling him back. A few years later Ps Lee had a stroke and he felt he was being punished for forsaking God and being disobedient.  He began to pray earnestly and while praying, God gave him a vision of Arunothai and told him to go there. He obeyed and left for Arunothai to work in the En Hui School.

The school and church was started 50 years ago by Ps Yang and another English pastor. When Ps Yang passed away, Ps Lee took over and continued the work in the school. The school caters to the poor children many of whom are Burmese Chinese refugees. The children would attend the Thai national school where they were taught in Thai (It is compulsory for all children to attend school) and then come to En Hui after school, where they were taught Bible Knowledge, Mandarin, English, Maths and computer. The school has 845 students with 28 classes from Kindergarten to Form 3, with a total of 35 teachers who are church members and 2 Malaysian missionaries.

The centre has given hope to many of these children to have a better future. With the effort and love put in by Ps Lee, the teachers and all the volunteers, the children are thriving. However, many of the parents cannot afford to pay the fees (a fairly small amount) but Ps Lee still takes them in and walks by faith that God will provide the finances needed to support the school.

Ps Lee knew that there were many orphaned and abandoned tribal children who were refugees or had been sold off by their parents to drug dealers just to satisfy their drug habits. Some of these children were abandoned when their parents were jailed for criminal offences or drug smuggling. A few were from a single parent struggling to survive. His heart was filled with compassion to see these children who were innocent and starving for love and a place to call home, with people to care for them and love them.

God called him to take these children and care for them and so the House of Grace was built. The House of Grace currently has 66 children from various ethnic groups. The population of Arunothai is about 40,000 people but only about 5% are Christian. This is the reason Ps Lee continues his work in Arunothai despite the many challenges he faces. He hardly gets any financial support as the people there are poor themselves. He depends on the Lord and walks by faith that God will bring willing financial partners to Reach, Touch and Transform lives through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The school is blessed to have two Malaysian volunteers, Sister Mavis and Su Han who have left their homes in Malaysia to help Ps Lee with the school and the home. Mavis’s ambition was to be a school teacher as she loved working with children. It seemed her dreams were fulfilled when she went she went to work in Shanghai and Nanjing and then ended up in Singapore. She was happy and loved her job but always felt something was missing. Mavis was a Buddhist and did not know the Lord. One day she fell ill and needed an operation so she returned to Malaysia to be hospitalized.

Mavis grandmother at that time also fell ill and they both were in the same hospital room where her grandmother’s friend who was a Christian came to visit them and shared the Gospel with them. Mavis heart was stirred and four years later she accepted Jesus and so did her grandmother. As she was seeking God to know His plans for her  she received an invitation from Ps Su Han to follow her on a mission trip to Arunothai. Working in the En Hui School and the House of Grace brought new meaning to her life and she felt God’s call to serve Him in Arunothai.

Su Han had completed Bible College and went to work in a church in Cameron Highlands for three years but her heart was in missions and reaching the unsaved. After leading a mission trip to Arunothai, she felt God calling her to help the children there. The two missionaries work in the school helping Ps Lee to teach the children and Mavis helps out with the accounts as well as helping in the home. They have been such a blessing to the school and the Home. Mavis and Su Han are not paid any salary but walk totally by faith. They have a bed to sleep in and food to eat (They eat simple meals with the children) and whatever funds they can raise from their family and friends they use to help with the fees of those children who cannot afford to pay.

I was deeply touched to see Mavis and Su Han’s commitment to God’s calling and plans for the school and the Home. They are two young women with a bright future ahead of them but they gave it all up to come to this little town far away from modern amenities and city life to serve God here and because of the love they have for the children. They also serve in church, teaching in the Sunday school and also find the time to visit the homes of the children, sharing the Gospel with their parents. I am reminded of this bible verse: Isaiah 58:10-11 “and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

After my trip I felt God impressing on my heart to reach out to His children in Arunothai. Being a father and grandfather myself, children have always had a very special place in my heart and I have said this often enough that even if I can make a difference in one child’s life it would be worth everything to me. Children are our future and every child regardless of race, colour or circumstance deserves a chance for a better life and to have their dreams and hopes fulfilled. As Jesus said in Matthew 19:14 "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Every child is a gift from God and we must treasure these little ones.

Join us in prayer to ask God to provide the necessary finances for the two missionaries to apply for their official visa at the cost of RM8,000 for both and to ask God to provide the necessary finance to run the children’s home. Let us trust God to speak to individuals to give generously to a worthy cause. If God moves you to support this ministry please send your contribution designate for ‘Thailand Projects’ and it will go to support the House of Grace, the En Hui School and the two Malaysian missionaries. 

Proverbs 22:9 "He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor."

Thanksgiving

Join me in giving thanks to God for sustaining and providing for me for the last 31 years, as I serve Him through Asian Outreach Ministry.

Prayer Points

1. We pray that all the needs of the school, Home and the visa fees for the two Malaysian missionaries to be met.

2. Pray for God’s favour and anointing upon Ps Lee, Ps Su Han and Mavis as they reach, touch and transform lives through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

3. Pray for more open doors and willing hearts among the people of Arunothai to be receptive to the Gospel.