Lessons from Ayutthaya

After five months of training and preparation, from 26 May to 1 June, NTU CCF sent a mission team to visit and support the work of their alumni in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Two students share their experiences and reflections on missions.

After many years, I thank God for the opportunity to embark on a short-term mission trip again. Unlike my previous mission trip to indigenous communities in Sarawak, the destination this time was Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand. Comparatively, this urban mission field brought me many new and significant insights.

Giving English tuition at Joyful Heart Bilingual House

The initial weeks of mission trip training gave me a profound and deeper understanding of the model of incarnational witness. To do missions is to emulate how Jesus took on human flesh and stepped into the world, while constantly considering how the gospel can be contextualised for the lives of the locals. In Ayutthaya, we had the privilege of meeting missionaries from diverse backgrounds and listening to their testimonies and life stories. The most unforgettable one was my conversation with Ben. He shared that he started a tuition ministry as a platform to reach out to the higher social class, shattering my previous stereotype that missions could only take place in rural, impoverished areas. Just as Jesus reminded us through the parable of the lost sheep, the Heavenly Father cherishes and values every individual; people from the middle and upper classes also urgently need the gospel.

Through the tuition and temple ministries, the missionaries have managed to reach many families and further extend their care through home visitations. Due to the limited number of spots, I was unable to participate in the home visitations, but through my teammates’ sharing, I deeply felt the extreme needs of these families in terms of their lives and the gospel. While I had the privilege of knowing God since childhood, there are still many families in the world who have yet to have the opportunity to hear the gospel. It is through long-term, tangible care that the missionaries gradually bring the love of Christ into their lives.

Performing a skit on Jesus calming the storm

Another unforgettable moment was the outreach ministry at a playground in the Santisuk neighbourhood. We organised games for the local children and put on a skit in Thai about Jesus calming the storm. Although it was difficult to memorise the script in Thai, using the language that they were familiar with allowed the children to immerse themselves in the story and even attracted the attention of onlookers. I hope that this outreach ministry will draw the attention of the local community and thereby plant the seeds of the gospel.

On the last day of the trip, we participated in the sports day organised by the local church. After a change of weather, everyone got together and connected through different games like tug-of-war, football and others. However, due to the language barrier, we were unable to have deeper interactions with the locals. This made me realise that language is not only a communication tool but also the key to building relationships, and it plays a vital role in missionary work. If I have the opportunity to come to Thailand again, I think I need to study and practice my Thai more.

Overall, this mission trip to Ayutthaya allowed me to experience the unique aspects of urban missions. I also found out that Thai society has a very open and welcoming attitude towards non-Buddhist religions, even allowing us to do ministry work outside the temples. My spiritual life had been on a lull for several years, but this short-term mission rekindled the calling I had received when I was young. Faced with the reality that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few,” I asked the Holy Spirit to illuminate my eyes, so that when the situation calls for it, I may humbly offer myself to the Lord as a living sacrifice.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed …”

May the parable of the mustard seed inspire us to move forward in faith and continue to intercede for missionaries. Missionaries imitate Christ and scatter seeds in the field. These seeds may seem small at first, but they will surely grow bigger and lead more to come to God.

– Chin Chin Lee, NTU CCF, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Year 1

Before embarking on this mission trip, I believe I was prepared – mentally and spiritually. We had gone through training, programme planning, and I had heard stories from the mission trip last year. We’ve also been told repeatedly that this mission trip is not one where we can actively share the gospel, but where we go and share God’s love instead. With all these in mind, I thought things would go as I envisioned them. But God led me to experience something even greater.

Identifying with the Poor
One concept we learnt was “identifying with the poor”. Before, I understood it as a ministry concept – learning to empathise with people from a different social background, and not to unintentionally flaunt our material goods. However, it was only through interacting with the children that I began to understand what it meant.

Ministry at the school

In previous overseas trips to cities such as Beijing and Japan, I could often rely on simple English to bridge the language barrier. Ayutthaya was different. Many children could not understand basic English, and I suddenly became very aware of the divide between highly developed cities and more underprivileged areas. It made me realise something uncomfortable: English is not a universal language – it is the language of privilege.

This left me feeling unexpectedly helpless. I wanted to connect with the children, play with them, and share Christ’s love with them through conversation and presence. Instead, I felt crippled by my inability to communicate. Using the very limited Thai we learned during our training, I tried speaking to the children. To my surprise, they actually understood me. However, some of the children began excitedly tapping me and speaking long sentences in Thai that I did not understand. Nonetheless, I began to grasp that identifying with the poor is not simply about providing help, but about entering into their world by speaking their language and intentionally building connection and trust. In that process, there is a desire to make others feel seen, loved, and heard – though I am very aware that I did so imperfectly.

Preaching In and Out of Season
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Tim 4:2) Through this mission trip, I saw that our mission to make disciples of all nations does not happen only through events and evangelism, but also through living out a Christ-like lifestyle.

A surprising opportunity came to us when the English teaching team headed to Santisuk Church to teach. It was early in the morning, so the three of us sat quietly in the Grab for most of the journey. Just before reaching our destination, the Grab driver suddenly asked if we were Christians.

He then used a translation app to tell us, “Christ’s love makes us radiant”, which caught us completely off guard. Throughout the journey, we had been mostly silent, and none of us had mentioned anything about Christ or God.

He was not a Christian, and we were unfortunately not prepared to share the gospel with him in such an unexpected, “out-of-season” moment. This encounter became a reminder to us that we never truly know when God will give us an opportunity to share His Word, and that we should always be prepared to respond when those moments arise.

One of the local missionaries, Phi Daa, also reminded us that we should not spread only parts of the gospel, but the full gospel. This is because we will never know when a person’s life might come to an end. Hence, we should take every opportunity to let others hear the full gospel and never assume they have another chance to hear the “second part.”

As I conclude, I am reminded of the Great Commission, “to make disciples of all nations”. Looking back, many things I did during the mission trip can be done by a non-Christian; in fact, some student groups are doing it. Many volunteer to teach English, care for the underprivileged, etc. However, as Christians, it is our mission to spread God’s love to all people. Doing missions is not optional but it is an inseparable part of our Christian life.

– Heng Sin Yi, NTU CCF, Public Policy and Global Affairs, Year 1