The first quarter of 2025 was a time of growth and evolution for New Heights Ministry. Our team of evangelists grew from nine at the end of 2024 to fourteen. We now have eleven Karen evangelists and three Akha evangelists. Using tribal-native evangelists who live in the mountains of Thailand enables access to remote villages because our evangelists speak the tribal language and live the tribal culture. Last year, Jung Dangshing, Director of Missions for New Heights Ministry, was led to visit a Myanmar refugee camp in Northern Thailand. The Myanmar-Karen refugees live in nine refugee camps along the northern and western borders between Thailand and Myanmar. These Karen refugees are closely related to the Karen who have lived in the northern Thailand mountains for centuries. The citizens of Myanmar are largely Buddhists, some animists, and approximately six percent Christians. These Myanmar refugee camps were started in 1993 after the 1990 military coup retook control of Myanmar. There are approximately 120,000 Myanmar-Karen refugees in the nine Thai refugee camps.
Jung felt that New Heights Ministry (NHM) might be able to raise up new Christians within the camps that someday would be allowed to return to Myanmar and become the nucleus of a Christian movement. Myanmar is closed to all Christian organizations. After a few visits to a particular camp by Jung and the NHM evangelist delivering non-perishable food, Jung was introduced to the Thai camp officials. Jung boldly requested permission to conduct a week of Bible Training in the camp. Surprisingly, the officials agreed and offered Jung the use of a medium-sized structure. Our evangelist was able to identify approximately fifty Karen refugees to attend the week of Bible Training scheduled for January-February 2025. God opened a door. In late October 2024, camp officials notified Jung that the Thai government ruled that no outsiders could enter the camp. We thought this to be a major setback, but God responded quickly. With the help of another NHM evangelist, a small Thai Christian church was identified in a village that was only a 2-hour walk from this refugee camp. Camp officials agreed to allow the selected refugees to leave the camp and return daily. God kept the door open. However, just before Christmas, we were told our refugee students would not be allowed to attend the Bible Training. This latest setback was no surprise to God. Another NHM evangelist was aware of an existing Bible School located in proximity to the Mae La Refugee Camp in western Thailand on the border with Myanmar. This Bible school was in the Thai-Karen village of Nong Bua (see photo above). The Nong Bua Bible School has 46 students who were refugees from the Mae La Refugee Camp with special authorization from Thailand to reside at the Bible School to complete the two-year program. These students were second-generation refugees born in the camp and would be required to return to the camp when they graduated. Myanmar refugees have no official citizenship. They are no longer citizens of Myanmar, and they are not granted citizenship from Thailand. They have no papers that would allow them to leave the camps and establish a life for themselves. Until the civil war in Myanmar is concluded and a political settlement is reached to close the camps, our Nong Bua Bible School students will be forced to live in the refugee camp.
What we didn’t know before our arrival in Nong Bua was that the Bible School was down to one Bible professor, the Director of the School. But this director, Mee Chai, was also the pastor of the church located on the Bible School campus. The school’s only full-time Bible professor died in early January. Pastor Mee Chai was glad to have us teach for one week.
God led NHM pastor, Ron Oholendt, to lead a study on 1 Peter. The Apostle Peter wrote to the scattered Christians in Asia Minor to prepare them for the persecution and suffering that was present in the Roman Empire and would grow greater in the coming years. Peter teaches that since these Christians were growing into the image of Christ, they will be persecuted and suffer like Christ. But, as Christ overcame His suffering, they too can overcome their suffering and persecution. Peter calls his readers to have the mindset of Christ and the ministry of Christ. Peter also taught his readers how to live and love like Christ towards each other, within their church, and among their enemies. The study of 1 Peter would resonate greatly with the Nong Bua students.
Jung preached in the campus church on Sunday morning after we arrived (right). Jung also led devotionals in the Student Center every morning and evening. Pastor Mee Chai interpreted Jung’s Thai into the Karen language. Pastor Ron taught three 90-minute Bible classes in the Student Center, Monday through Friday, with the help of interpreter, Paw Eh Wah. NHM gave each student a new, leather-bound Bible in the Karen language (shown below). Our students were all born in the Mae La Refugee Camp and were graduates of the schooling provided in the camp. They were in their late teens and early twenties. They were all serious students working towards a vocation in ministry as a pastor, Bible teacher, evangelist, or church staff member. Jung quickly realized that God had these students in mind from the very beginning of our effort to minister to Myanmar refugees. After graduation from their two-year Bible program, these students will be required to return to the Mae La camp and hopefully can serve Christ in the camp. It is our prayer that they will be allowed to return home to Myanmar and will begin churches of their own.
One of our earliest objectives, when we began to plan for this mission, was to love on these refugees. That is why we purchased new Bibles. We also paid for the students to have two special meals each day that included ample amounts of protein. We also provided cookies and served hot coffee and tea for the breaks in between classes (below). Jung arranged to have a local ice cream ‘tuk tuk’ provide ice cream for the students after Bible classes each day.
The students were easy to love. But they loved us even more as they would show throughout the week. As stated earlier, we paid the school for two meals each day. They had breakfast at 7:30 AM and dinner at 5:30 PM. They never had lunch. Five different students would have the duty to prepare and serve each meal. Their typical morning and evening meals consisted of rice and a veggie dish that was either served raw or in a hot soup. Providing extra food gave us an additional opportunity to love and lavish on these special young adults. The photo on the right is breakfast prepared by the crew of students. They began preparing breakfast at 5:30 AM. When the meal was ready they rang a bell and the rest of the students arrived very shortly thereafter. With our funds, the students had four dishes instead of just rice and vegetables adding boiled eggs and a hot soup with meat. The same was repeated at the evening meal except it would include a second hot dish with meat. The meals were fantastic.
To recognize the importance of this Bible Training, we need only to consider the reality of the refugee camps. I am sure that the Mae La Refugee Camp is no different than other refugee camps around the world. Though we can’t help all the refugees in the world, NHM can make a difference in the Mae La Refugee Camp. God showed us during the week that these Bible Students were the most effective way to take the Gospel into the Myanmar Refugee Camps in Thailand. The seeds planted in these students by NHM with your support are about to sprout. We are praying that the nineteen students who will graduate from the Bible School this April and return to their families in the camp will bring the “living hope” of Jesus with them. We are praying that the graduates will work together in serving the Lord by modeling Jesus to other refugees. We are praying that someday soon, they will be released from the camp and God will establish each of them in some form of ministry whether in Thailand or back in Myanmar. New Heights Ministry is committed to maintaining this ministry to the refugee camps along with our ministry to the tribal people of Northern Thailand. The photo below was taken to commemorate our mission visit.
In keeping with our core primary mission of meeting needs, evangelizing, and building up the Church of God, Mission Director Jung Dangshing led a commissioning service on February 16, for our evangelist Chakrapan Chairaksapan who has become the pastor at the Beroa Village Church. The Beroa Church’s previous pastor did not perform his duties properly and many of the villagers stopped attending. The Beroa village leaders contacted the NHM and requested our help to revive their church. NHM offered our evangelist, Chakrapan, who lives nearby to help the church as a temporary pastor and evangelist. Chakrapan Chairaksapan was in the Royal Thai Paramilitary Force for many years. After he left the Paramilitary Force he went to Bible School and became an evangelist. The fruit of our labor is the church’s decision to call Chakrapan as its new pastor. Through Chakrapan’s efforts, villagers have returned to the church. The church has also appointed congregants as church elders and the deacon board. The church members are happy and thankful for their church to come alive again. NHM will continue to support the Beroa church in its mission to the villagers of Beroa.
We praise God for His rich blessings upon the New Heights Ministry. God has expanded our team of missionaries and evangelists. God has expanded our team of donors. God has expanded our influence among the small Christian Churches in villages throughout northern Thailand. This is all possible because of you who support our ministry in prayer.
Please pray that we will continue to passionately pursue the work where God leads us. Pray that we will continue to minister to villages through community development projects to improve the quality of life in the villages. Pray that we will equip our evangelists with the training and resources to effectively share the Gospel and the love of Jesus with villagers. Pray that we will effectively partner with village Christian Churches throughout northern Thailand. You can learn more about NHM at our website, https://www.newheightsministry.org/. If you have any questions, please contact Ron Oholendt at ron.oholendt@newheightsministry.org or (719) 201-8410.
In His service,
Jung Dangshing
Director, New Heights Ministry
Del Giddings
Chairman, Board of Directors