Thailand

Within sight of the border with Myanmar in the mountains of northern Thailand--in the notorious Golden Triangle--lives a tribe of people called the Akha, who migrated from China in the 1930s. A man known as Teacher Lee directs our work there, which consists of churches in two villages and a school.

In 1991, the leaders of Hong Kong Conference felt a burden to reach the Chinese people of northern Thailand, particularly the Akha people. Peter Lee, the Hong Kong superintendent, had some contacts in Thailand, and they secured the services of Teacher Lee, a teacher living in the mountains along the border with Myanmar.

Our work in Thailand started in 1994, when a Chinese-Thai school was begun for elementary age children in Loh Mah Village. A church arose in that village. A great deal of persecution took place as people came to Christ. They were not allowed to live within the village. Over time, the Akha in that area have become more tolerant, and actually appreciative of what they see in the lives of Christians.

Later in the 1990s, Teacher Lee planted a second congregation in a second village. In 2005, through a VBS project, the investment of a partnering UB church in Pennsylvania, and the involvement of Hong Kong Conference, land was acquired for a church in a tea plantation, and a church has now been built.