News from Thailand
Contributors: Andrew Sharp and Lynn Troyer, from the January Beacon
New Team Members
We are excited that Joe and Lynn Troyer, with their son Brennan, recently joined the Thailand team in Bangkok for a two-year assignment as missionary apprentices. They will focus on learning the culture and language in their first year, then transition into more outreach and ministry in their second year. The Troyers are from Hartville, Ohio. A short introduction to each of them:
Brennan is currently five (his birthday is July 10). He will be starting kindergarten in May 2012. Joe and Lynn are hopeful that during their first six months in Bangkok, he'll do well with language acquisition and socializing with other children. His current interest is playing with toys, and Lynn says it will be wonderful if he's that passionate about beginning school in Thailand. In addition to dinosaurs and cars, Brennan likes snakes, fish, and spiders.
Joe just completed his fifth year as youth pastor at Hartville Mennonite Church. He enjoys running marathons and drinking mochas at unique coffee shops. He has traveled to India, Mexico, Australia, and Haiti for various missions opportunities, and is looking forward to calling Bangkok home. In Thailand, Joe will be studying at the Unity Thai Language School each morning for six months and getting immersed in the local culture. He relates well to students and plans to get involved in a university setting, tutoring in English and mentoring. He is also interested in the possibility of building relationships in local running clubs.
Lynn has a passion for living overseas, ever since spending two and a half years in Australia. She values “genuine friendships, modesty, iced tea, and creativity.” She enjoys sewing and has a small business venture selling sewing projects. Lynn is interested in creating an interactive website or blog as a resource to teach Thai women and girls how to sew various items to give them opportunities for income. She is looking forward to studying Thai in the afternoons and becoming part of the local community, as well as supplementing Brennan’s kindergarten education.
Please pray for the Troyers as they learn to make Thailand their home and try to live as Jesus would in the Buddhist culture.
A Difficult Change of Plans
When Efraín Artola left Thailand for his home country of Nicaragua in September of 2011, it wasn’t because he was homesick or tired of his work there. Efraín, who works with RMM’s team in Bangkok, was partway through his second year at a university on the edge of Bangkok. He and fellow Nicaraguan Nixson Jarquín were sharing their faith on campus and had formed a small group for believers and people interested in learning more. Then the Thailand team was shocked by Efraín’s diagnosis with acute leukemia, a rapidly growing form of cancer.
Efraín had to leave almost immediately for Nicaragua for chemotherapy treatment, leaving Nixson suddenly in charge of the group at the university. The whole team was shaken by the sudden absence of a friend who was an important part of their lives and work.
Efraín had a lot of support. Fellow students and friends in Thailand gathered at the airport to say goodbye, and back home in Nicaragua a big group of more than 50 family members and friends met him at the airport. Nicaraguan churches gave money and prayed for him, and the team in Thailand organized fundraising to help pay for his medical bills.
He kept his usual good attitude as he dealt with his illness. Dan Byler, RMM’s regional director for Asia, accompanied Efraín back to Nicaragua and reported in an update, “His mind and attitude are quite good considering the situation he faces. In general he has quite a positive outlook on life which certainly helps in situations like this.”
By November, Efraín was responding well to the treatment. In an e-mail, he asked for prayer for an upcoming examination and expressed confidence in the outcome. “I have faith in the Lord that I have been healed and that the results of this exam will be negative,” he said. While it was not known at press time if the cancer was completely gone, the results of the exam were negative, just as Efraín predicted. He was continuing with less intensive treatment at home. Still thinking about missions, Efraín was excited that his improved condition gave him the chance to participate in a youth conference in early December and share his vision for missions.
