Day 8: Where Thai and English Meet in Worship and Prayer
by Selina Mudavanhu
"It often feels like a small taste of what heaven will be like, where people from every nation, tribe, and language stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, united in worship (Revelation 7:9-10). Many of our mornings begin with devotionals. We worship together in Thai and in English, take turns sharing what we are thankful for, and then share prayer requests.
The prayer time never follows the neat, orderly pattern of one person politely leading while everyone else bows their heads. Instead, we all lift our voices at once, praying simultaneously in Thai, English, and I add my Shona into the mix. It may sound chaotic to human ears, but to heaven, it must be a beautiful symphony.
Wednesday night’s small group was no different, except that instead of just the staff and the Canada team meeting together, the girls from the Agape Home joined us. We drove to visit a woman from the Good News Church who rents a building for her laundry business. Upon arrival, we were ushered upstairs to the second floor. It felt like an “upper room,” simply adorned with soft mats, no stained glass or chandeliers. Once again, we worshiped and prayed together in Thai and English.
This week, however, the small group followed a different format. The Mighty Oaks staff, the Agape Home girls, and members of the Good News Church took turns sharing testimonies of how the Lord had answered prayer requests they had written down and kept throughout the year. One by one, stories of God’s faithfulness filled the room. Nabosi, the house mother at the Agape Home, shared how she had been trusting the Lord to help her obtain her driver’s license, and He did. A young man had been praying for good grades, and the Lord honoured that request as well (Proof that God cares about both spiritual growth and report cards).
After the testimonies, we spent time writing down what we are trusting the Lord for in 2026 while worship music played softly in the background. I wrote down both big and small requests, for myself and for loved ones, each one anchored in Scripture. I believe in a God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask, think, or imagine, according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20). The same God who answered prayers in 2025 is the One I am trusting with my requests for the year ahead.
The evening concluded in true Thai fashion, with generous servings of fresh fruit and irresistible Thai desserts. Because after being spiritually fed, it only seems right to be very well fed physically too."
Day 9: New Prospect Visit
After morning devotions with bible trivia questions courtesy of Matthew Hudson, Steve's son, we went to the home of a church member whose son is at risk of having to drop out of school from grade four. He was a cheerful, friendly boy with a sister who completed high school and works full time to help the family. Life if complicated by a father who was injured in a workplace accident and has little use of one arm. The mother also has a heart condition that limits her work. The church helped them move to this rental home in a safer area. They would love Mighty Oaks to help them keep their son in school. We keep hearing so many stories of need each day. So we love it when we see and hear fruits of the Mighty Oaks ministry from our students.
On our way back to town to visit friends for lunch, we stopped at a Buddhist temple high up in the mountains overlooking Fang right on the border with Myanmar. I went for a tour inside the temple with Selina where we wound our way up the levels to the top. The temple is part museum, part worship space. We recognized that our Western minds couldn't really grasp the significance of what we were seeing. Serpents in Christian symbolism are tempters not to be trusted, but the serpents in the art of this temple seemed lucky and welcome. At the next temple we will bring a guide to help us interpret what we see. The view from the top of the temple was magnificent and we were glad for the exercise. The rest of the team took pictures on the ground level with my Mom and Steve.
Can you find Selina and I at the top level of the temple?
The evening was spent in preparations for Saturday where I will be speaking to the youth and children at our camp day, and Sunday where Mom will be speaking at the church while Selina wrote for our blog and Steve caught up on Mighty Oaks expenses. We are so grateful to have the ministry centre to work, rest, play and meet. Steve, Gan and David did such a great job anticipating what would be needed as they designed this space. We are so grateful to be able to meet needs simply and effectively while having lots of intersection points with staff and the girls home.
Day 10: No School Day!
Because there was no school today, the Agape girls were able to join us for devotions, practice worship with the band and go out together for a special lunch. David and Selina were able to pick up Amosin from the state school early for a weekend together. I caught a few beautiful childhood carefree moments as the girls played in and near the water at the riverside restaurant. Here is Amosin on the huge swing over the water.
Tables are set on platforms all along the river. Mom, Steve, Selina and I joined Gan, David and friends on the level above to have chairs to sit while we ate.
After more prep time for camp activities, we joined the girls after dinner for some sports, sharing, worship and games. Earn shared her story of how God placed her in a family at the Agape home even before her mother passed away. She never knew her father and was mistreated by an uncle. The Agape girls have become sisters and her bond with our MOT staff is beautiful to see. Gan, David, Tum, Noi and Bo all create such a warm, fun, godly culture for the girls to grow in knowing God's love and deep care for them. Steve has also spent enough time in visits every year that the girls all look to him like an older brother. He teases and jokes with them, but tonight as Earn spoke he was moved to tears and spoke words of truth and affirmation over her as Gan translated. These bonds are a big part of what God is doing in Northern Thailand to place the parentless in families - churches - and surrounded by Jesus followers who are the hands and words of Christ speaking life and hope to one another.
We closed with the song Fear is Not my Future as we pictured Jesus beckoning us into His character and Spirit of life, peace, strength, hope and love - above all love.
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