Good News and Goodbyes

A Letter from Sharon Bryant, serving in Thailand

Fall 2019

The good news is that the rains finally came to Thailand and, fortunately, some of the rice crop was saved. Unfortunately, many of the same places that were struck by the drought earlier this year have been experiencing once-in-a-lifetime floods as they received more rain than normal. It is a devastating situation for those who are barely making ends meet and struggling to put food on the table for their families. Please keep Thailand in your prayers.

August was a month of goodbyes. One of the most difficult for me was saying goodbye to Rev. James and Goodwill Riggins and little James Alex. An American Baptist who attended Pittsburgh Seminary, James was the first volunteer I recruited back in 2012 and we have become good friends over the past eight years. During that time, the program has gone from nothing (with James often serving as my guinea pig) to a solid, well-articulated mission and ministry experience that receives strong positive reviews from volunteers and supervisors alike. It is hard to say goodbye to any volunteer, but as the first and longest-serving, James holds a special place in my heart. James is now teaching at a university in China and completing his doctorate in intercultural studies at Biola University.

We also said goodbye to Aaron and Anna Silco, who came here last fall after being joined together as man and wife in a beautiful summer wedding. Both are enrolled at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in Hyde Park. They took a one-year break from their studies and came to Thailand to serve the church in a new way – teaching at Bamrung Wittaya School in Nakhon Pathom. In August, they headed back to finish their seminary education and continue on the path to becoming pastoral leaders of congregations within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. They take with them new skills of sharing God’s love with others across cultures – skills they practiced with the teachers and students at the school. Finally, we said goodbye to Bianka Walter, who came to us from Germany via England. A member of a nondenominational church, Bianka was completing an internship in hotel management for Sheffield Hallam University in London. Her internship placement was at a facility in South Thailand belonging to a large international hotel chain. She contacted us, frustrated by things she observed in that environment that were unchristian, and asked whether we might be able to help her find a Christian hotel management experience. We helped her to move to Bangkok Christian Guest House, a 55-room facility owned by the Church of Christ in Thailand in Bangkok. For the last six months, she has served there and completed her internship.

Finally, it is with a great deal of joy that I report that Ms. Mesetshou Losou, a CVT from Pfutsero Town Baptist Church in Nagaland in India, has been accepted to study at Truett Seminary of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Mesetshou taught at Khoonchae Christian School in Chonburi for one year and then at Wattana Wittaya Academy in Bangkok for another year, sharing God’s love with the students at both schools. She is currently searching for scholarship funds to be able to begin her studies in January 2020. She plans to return to India after her seminary studies to serve God in the church there.

Thank you so much for the opportunity that you have given me to serve in Thailand and the support you provide through your prayers and your gifts to Presbyterian World Mission. Keep following us through my blog: www.thailandtales.wordpress.com. Also, please consider a special donation to Presbyterian World Mission during this final quarter of 2019. Your gift sustains many who are working around the world for the glory of God.

With joy,

Sharon

Please read this important message from Sara Lisherness, interim director of Presbyterian World Mission

Dear friend of Presbyterian Mission,

Greetings in Christ! As the interim director of Presbyterian World Mission, I am grateful to have the opportunity to thank you for your continued support of PC(USA) mission co-workers.

The above newsletter bears witness to some of the many ways in which God is at work in the world through long-standing relationships between global partners and the PC(USA). These partnerships are nurtured and strengthened by the presence of mission co-workers in over 40 countries; you are an important part of this partnership too, as you learn about and share how our church is involved in global ministry; as you pray for our partners and mission co-workers; and as you take action to work with others for God’s justice, peace and healing.

I write to invite you to continue joining us in partnership in three ways. First, your prayers are always needed. Please pray that God will continue guiding the shared work of the PC(USA) and global partners as we engage together in service around the world. Pray, too, for mission co-workers, that they may feel encouraged in the work they are doing under the leadership of global partners.

Second, please consider making a year-end gift for the sending and support of at least one mission co-worker.

Finally, I encourage you to ask your session to include one or more mission co-workers in your congregation’s mission budget for 2020 and beyond. PC(USA) mission co-workers’ sending and support costs are funded by the designated gifts of individuals and congregations like yours; your gifts allow Presbyterian World Mission to fulfill global partners’ requests for mission personnel.

Faithfully in Christ,

Sara Pottschmidt Lisherness
Director, Compassion, Peace and Justice Ministry
Interim Director, Presbyterian World Mission