After Travel Reporter: Beyond borders adventure

Third time in Thailand

I have been to Thailand three times in three consecutive years, for sheer coincidence or as believers would call it, Providential plan: once in 2013 because of a piso sale promo package we were blessed to avail of for me and my friends' Bangkok trip; in 2014 during my layover en route to Burma; and now, in 2015 as I wished to visit some friends in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai.

During my latest visit, truth be told, I had no idea what to expect, I only wanted to learn how it is to be in the mission field. I started contemplating on visiting our missionaries in Mae Sai with one of my good friends from Australia. It was part of our 40-day Purpose Driven Life goals: to go on a mission trip. Unfortunately, my friend could not make it a few weeks before the planned trip, although I was exceedingly nervous of traveling alone and of the possible repercussions of what recently happened to the Rohingya people of Burma , I had a nudging feeling that I had to go. The trip was not for sheer pleasure, I said.

Although most part of my immersion was dedicated to get a feel of the place, learning about the culture through tours (read on: Hill Tribes, The Golden Triangle, Scorpion Mountain, the Northernmost Thailand, Mae Fah Luang establishments, the Royal family and Thailand government politics) to cooking their delicacies and learning of their daily life and riding Pastor Joey’s pick-up truck, I have been immensely blessed by the experience.

For all these, I will be forever grateful for the lives of my wonderful hosts.

Pastor Joey and Tita Narlin during one of our lunch breaks as they graciously regularly treated me for food. ;)

In addition, to feeding and touring me around, they also took care of my photo ops and are responsible for my solo pictures in this blog post. God bless them.

From Malasiqui to Mae Sai

During a short mission exposure trip to Laos and Thailand, our resident pastor and his wife from Malasiqui Baptist Church, Pastor Joey and Narlin Dela Paz felt the urging of the Lord to begin a mission in Mae Sai. In their website, they attest to the age-old nature of God's calling, they say “the moment we laid our feet in this land, the Lord spoke to us clearly that this is where He has called us to be a missionary.”

Mission work does not come easy and is not for the faint of heart. Their family had to be relocated or separated: only two of the most difficult decisions any parent can ever make. On this predicament, the family was of firm belief that if they go on the mission field, they go as a family and that God will make a way to make it all work out.

After two years of training they finally embarked on their mission work. In 2006, the Dela Paz family rode an airflight to Bangkok and a gruelling 12-hour ride to Mae Sai. Their mission is to “To make Christ known among the unreached people groups along the border of Thailand and Myanmar by proclamation of the gospel, equipping leaders and doing social ministries.”

From deciding on homeschooling the kids to finding a place to live, the missionary family have fought through and thrived with God’s grace. They have started bible studies for boys in the out of school youth sector (c/o Pastor Joey), english classes for girls (c/o Tita Narlin), seminars and trainings for adult women and men on hygiene, basic parenting, and english, and their major concentration: fostering a home for abandoned or orphaned kids.

Their stories of struggle after struggle coupled with triumph after triumph will leave one inspired.

Tita Narlin started networking with other missionaries through her involvement in a Day Care Center

Nine years after, they continue trusting God for the needs of the ministry: from the heaps of essential requirements of their foster kids aged 2 to 13 (as of even date, I believe there are 15 kids in the ministry), their three biological kids who now live in the Philippines to continue their tertiary education to their own personal needs.

Photo of Pastor Joey, Tita Narlin, and Reuven (their youngest son)
with some of their foster kids: Sam Ching, Ai Pang, Mike, Tilek, Ayueng, Pia, Tina, Dina, Muey and, Chai

Photo courtesy of Beyond Borders Ministry

How they prospered within meagre resources is beyond human explanation.

This is the ministry's rented home. Since this photo was taken, it has long been restructured to house a library, an outdoor kitchen, laundry room, and outside separate bathrooms for boys and girls. The owners of the house graciously welcomed the ministry and told them to use it as long as they deemed it necessary.

Photo Courtesy of Pastor Joey Dela Paz of Beyond Borders Ministry

The downstairs.

The library is used for the free english and bible study lectures. However, given that the boys and girls are growing up to be young men and women, the family thinks it is good sense to provide a separate floor/house for the boys. As a bandaid, they are praying to convert/extend the library to house the boys (boys live in a separate bedroom from the girls on the second floor of the house).

You can help out by contacting the Beyond Borders Ministry website.

This serves as the office for the spouses at work and the living room where the kids do their assignments and Friday movie night.

They have praise and worship every night after dinner before going to bed. Someone is asked for at least 3 song choices and everyone is encouraged to share their prayer requests.