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HARVESTFORCE 2021 • 3
THE JOY AND PRIVILEGE of Ca-Tu, a 35-year-old member of Santi Methodist Church in North Thailand recalls:
M Lyndon Gan Lay Ministry Staff at Kampong Kapor Methodist Church. He considers it a great privilege to have been involved with the ministry to the Lahu in North Thailand from the early days of MMS. He continues to be involved with MMS. Apart from a passion for God’s Mission, Lyndon enjoys wildlife photography and where time permits, he can be seen with his camera in our parks and forests.
y parents divorced while I was still in my mother’s womb. My grandmother raised me and I hardly had any contact Ca-Tu (today) with my parents. is a leader of When my grandmother moved to Santi Village, I was the oldest Santi Methodist Church boy among all the children there. I became the leader of the children. At that time, I had little interest in studies and I led the other children to hide in secluded spots along the river where we would drink alcohol and sniff glue. One day, when I returned to the village from school, I heard that a team from another country had come to teach about Jesus. Out of curiosity, I stood outside my house to observe. The foreign team was teaching about Jesus but I did not know who Jesus was and what Jesus was all about. Ca-Tu (2000) when he Not long after, Pastor Ca-Suh came to the house of the village was a beneficiary of the chief, Pak Kheh, to teach songs. I went along to learn but did not Student Sponsorship Scheme that paid for his believe that Jesus was a real God. My family followed the Lahu school fees. religion and I just followed what they believed and practised. Pastor Ca-Suh soon came to stay and built a church in the village. Although I did not believe in Jesus, I still went to church to play guitar and sing songs. I also attended the church services. Slowly, I understood that Jesus was different from the Lahu religion. Slowly, I came to believe in Jesus. I received water baptism when I was studying in M2 (secondary 2). About a year after Pastor Ca-Suh came to the village, he announced that Kampong Kapor Methodist Church (KKMC) in Singapore was offering scholarship for students in the village to attend school. This was a great opportunity for me as my family was poor. I completed my secondary education (M3) at Pong Nam Rong School near the village. I went on to study engineering in Lamphun. After earning a diploma, I found work in Taiwan. After six years, I returned to Santi Village to work in my farm. One day, a Christian woman came to the village and asked if I had any prayer request. I told her that I was praying for a wife. Within three months, I met a girl from Chiang Rai who I had never known before. In our second meeting, I asked her if she would marry me and she agreed! Her parents were also very nice to me and treated me well. This all came as a surprise from God. He provided me with a wife and daughter and is providing for my family. I am so grateful to God for all He has done. Thanks also to KKMC for helping to start Santi Methodist Church in this village.
Ca-Tu shared the above testimony when I visited Santi Village in December 2016.
