Dear Ministry Partners,
As we conclude three years of ministry, our mission director, Jung Dangshing, thought it would be beneficial for you, our ministry partners, to know more about the hill tribes of northern Thailand that we minister to. In the Golden Triangle of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos, there are six culturally distinct “hill tribes.” These include the Karen, Akha, Lisu, Hmong, Lahu, and Miens. Each tribe has its own culture, language, and dress. Residing in small mountainous villages, the tribes have preserved their distinctive heritage that has remained unchanged over time. The hill tribes are happy people and desire to maintain their tribal heritage and village lifestyle. In general, the hill tribes are animists influenced by Buddhism. Animists believe that all elements of the natural world—including plants, animals, objects, and phenomena—possess a spiritual essence or soul and are therefore considered to be alive and conscious beings.
As God has opened doors to guide the efforts of New Heights Ministry, we have been led to mostly Karen villages. This path has resulted in the majority of our evangelists being Karen natives, as well. Our evangelists speak Karen, know the culture, but are also fluent in Thai. The photo below shows nine of our eleven Karen evangelists gathered in the Sop Moei District with Jung for two weeks of daily Bible training, evangelism, and ministry to Karen villagers.
Three of our evangelists, Anurak, Waymu, and Yupawpa, who are not pictured in this photo, had contracted Dengue Fever and were hospitalized. They have since recovered and are back in the field sharing the Gospel.
This extended time in the Sop Moei District and with our Karen evangelists allowed Jung to learn more of the Karen culture and how best to reach this tribe for Christ. Living with the villagers, listening to their stories, tea-time chats, answering questions they ask during Bible classes, and casual discussions provided Jung with invaluable insight into the Karen people.
Jung reports, “In my conversations with the villagers and the fireside stories I heard during my Sop Moei trip, I noticed the Karen have many religious traditions that closely follow the Bible accounts of creation, the fall, a great flood, and other similarities. These similar beliefs offer strong evidence that in bygone ages, their ancestors somewhere were in touch with people of God, very likely Christian missionaries. An elderly man said, along with their ancestors’ spirit worship, they have retained a belief in a supreme being and long looked forward to the time when God’s Word, which they had lost, would be restored to them. He said the Karen believe in one eternal God, creator of all things, who is like the air and lives in the sky, as does the wind, and like the wind goes everywhere. On the other hand, he said, the Karens look upon God as having long since deserted them because of their sins and left them to the persecution of evil spirits that cause sickness, death, and all the ills of life. For the Karen, therefore, the term spirit worship hardly conveys an encouraging notion, he said. For them, the spirits are malevolent beings who must be looked up to with fear and propitiated by regular offerings. He echoed what his ancestors lamented, that the evil spirits are so near and God so far away. But then he stood up for his ancestors and said, his ancestors were in no way disloyal to God when they offered propitiation sacrifices to evil spirits. They merely seek to placate the spirits until God’s promised return.”
Our New Height Ministry evangelists shared with Jung the challenges they face in the villages. After sufficient exposure to God’s Word and having their questions answered by the evangelist, some villagers can transition from their heritage of spirit worship to the eternal God of the Christian faith. Their ancestral belief in the character and attributes of God is so similar to the teachings of Christianity. One of their sayings of the elders handed down from generations is, “All things in heaven and on earth, God created them. Never forget God, pray to Him every day and every night.”
While the tenets of the Christian faith, such as a loving God, grace, forgiveness of sin, victory over death, and eternal life in heaven, are attractive, there is an inherent hesitancy for the villagers to move beyond their ancestral beliefs. Additionally, grace is a difficult concept for villagers that operates in the harsh realities of their physical existence. Many villagers need time to dwell on what they are taught by the evangelists and to pray for understanding. This extensive time element is what drives New Heights Ministry to rely on and equip native evangelists who are able to spend one-on-one time with the villagers over a period of years. The villagers strive to live in harmony. So even for new believers, there is a hesitancy to be baptized as it could be viewed by others as being different than the rest of the village. The hesitancies of the villagers are the reason that New Heights Ministry begins interacting with villages through rural community development projects such as fresh water storage tanks and food distribution. It is through the community development projects that the winsome love of Christ is experienced by the villagers. This allows the difference between Christianity from Animism to be seen as good.
Jung adds, “My sincere belief is that the New Heights Ministry and evangelists are God’s servants to teach and demonstrate the knowledge of the one true God that was long looked forward to but only vaguely known by their ancestors through sayings and traditions handed down from generations. The rewarding part of our ministry is when the villagers accept Christ, receive the Holy Spirit, and experience a personal relationship with God. Their joy is uncontained, and then it is easy for them to want to be baptized.” New Height Ministry rejoices in the many baptisms that have taken place recently.
After celebrating the baptism of the new believers in Sop Moei, Jung and several evangelists traveled to Mae Ka Kalang to distribute food items from New Heights Ministry. The photo below indicates the great need for supplemental food that isn’t easy to acquire in the villages. New Height Ministry understands the value of meeting the basic needs of the villagers. The food benevolence we provide is rewarded by the villagers’ acceptance of our traveling evangelists.
The strengths of New Heights Ministry are the Biblically trained evangelists, the gifted skills and vision of our mission director, Jung Dangshing, and your prayers and financial support. We are excited to announce a new opportunity for you to directly participate in the mission work of New Heights Ministry. We are praying for people to sponsor a specific NHM evangelist. Your gift of $35 per month and daily prayers enable an evangelist to pay for the gasoline, food, and lodging needed as they travel to multiple villages each month. You can select an evangelist on our NHM website using the following link: https://www.newheightsministry.org/donate/ and make your donation specifically for your evangelist using the following link: https://www.newheightsministry.org/donate/, click on “DONATE ONLINE,” then at the top of the next page click on the top box label “Use Where Needed Most” and then select “Evangelist Outreach. Then write in the name of your evangelist in the “comment/request” box at the bottom of the form. For your information, New Horizons Foundation is the nonprofit organization that provides our donation services and ensures strict adherence to all legal requirements for our nonprofit ministry.
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.
In His service,
Ron Oholendt
Jung Dangshing
Director, New Heights Ministry
Del Giddings
Chairman, Board of Directors