Running for the Future with Hope

A Letter from Barry and Shelly Dawson, serving together as World Mission’s Regional Liaisons for Southeast Asia, based in Thailand

April 2018

The women are running, filled with overflowing emotion. Unbridled joy! New-found hope! Resuscitated faith! Awe-struck, wide-eyed wonder! Straining, stretching, gasping for oxygen. Willing their muscles to work harder, to take them faster, to share the extraordinary good news confounding their brains, bursting in their hearts, exploding from their tongues. “Jesus is alive! He is risen!” their Easter morning voices shout, as they run with boundless elation, unashamed jubilation, and soon-to-be infectious celebration.

Echoes of those ancient messengers of world-changing, clock-stopping truth are heard in this Eastertide season throughout the mountain villages and burgeoning cities of Southeast Asia, as the Risen Christ’s people run toward a future where darkness is yielding to light, and despair is being shattered with new signs of hope. In the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar (PCM), our sisters and brothers in Christ are running toward the future with full-throated voices and exuberant spirits, rejoicing in the hope of the Risen Lord.

• At the PCM General Assembly in February, delegates took an historic action when they approved the ordination of the first woman to pastoral ministry in their denomination.
• Agape Hospital, a PCM ministry that serves many diverse ethnic people groups and has no full-time doctor on staff, had a “transformational” experience in January when a new electric transformer was installed to provide uninterrupted electrical service and upgrade its patient service capability. The transformer was a gift from the Japan Mission, which is in partnership with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The gift is a tangible expression of the ever-increasing partnership ties among the Japan Mission, its Yodogawa Christian Hospital in Osaka, the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar, and the key leadership actions of PC (USA) mission co-workers in Japan, Rev. Dr. Bill and Ann Moore, as well as our own work in facilitating the initial stages of that mission relationship.

Our Transition as Regional Liaisons for Southeast Asia
As many of you already know, we have relocated from our home mission base in Bangkok, Thailand, to a temporary location in the state of Delaware in the United States. We are still continuing to work in our same position as the regional liaisons for Southeast Asia for the Presbyterian Church (USA), as we resource our PC(USA) mission co-workers in our region of responsibility, and also continue to work with our partner churches and ecumenical mission organizations throughout Southeast Asia. However, on June 30, 2018, we both will be ending our service as mission co-workers with the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The primary reason for our transition is that for more than a year we have been engaged in a prayerful process of listening for the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and discerning whether we are being called to remain in Southeast Asia or pursue a different form of Christian service. Throughout this past year, Barry has been sensing that God is leading him to return to pastoral ministry in a church. Thus, we are now seeking to discern where God is calling us to serve, either in an international church or in a church in the USA, during the next phase of our ministry journey.

We Are Now Doing Mission Interpretation Visits to Churches in the USA
During the course of the next three months, we will be visiting churches, presbyteries, and individuals who partner with us in our mission work in Southeast Asia. If your congregation, or a cluster of nearby churches, would like to hear more about our mission work in the nine countries (Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines), please invite us to come and share the inspirational stories of faith and hope that certainly will have a positive impact in your congregation.

Next Steps in Southeast Asia
Even though we are searching for God’s call to another form of ministry for us, the Presbyterian Church (USA) will maintain its strong mission partnerships in Southeast Asia after our June 30 transition. Therefore, it is our sincere hope and fervent prayer that you and/or your congregation will continue to support the mission co-worker(s) who will serve as the next regional liaison(s) for Southeast Asia. Your continued support will have a cascading effect and lasting impact in the transformation of individuals and communities, from the house churches in Vietnam to the economic empowerment of women’s micro-finance groups in Indonesia.

Thank You for Your Partnership with Us
Our mission partnership with you has been a treasure, and our friendship with you has been transformational. Your constant prayers, generous gifts, and compassionate companionship in solidarity with us during our years of service in Southeast Asia have been tangible signs of hope and an authentic expression of your desire to impact the world with the Savior’s love and justice. Please know that we will continue to hold you in prayer and value you as our friends in Christ. Our prayer is that our partnership with you that has been forged in the crucible of our common commitment to Christ’s mission in Southeast Asia will continue to unfold in each of our respective fields of ministry, as we all seek to be answers to Jesus’ prayer that God’s will may “be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

In a spirit of thanksgiving and joy for your partnership in Christ’s global mission,

Barry and Shelly