First Church of the Nazarene
244 Avenue D S.W. P.O. Box 819
Winter Haven, Florida 33882-0819
Church (863) 293-0690
Fax No. (863) 299-4146
Email: jyongue@nazarenewh.org
Missions
General Church of the Nazarene
Prayer Mobilization Line Requests
Mission Country of the Month of May 2009
Mission Country of the Month
Thailand
$ Thailand is part of the Asia-Pacific Region for the Church of the Nazarene.
$ The Church of the Nazarene officially entered Thailand in 1989—just 20 years ago.
$ Dr. Michael and Rachel McCarty, veteran Nazarene missionaries in Indonesia, were the pioneer missionaries to Thailand.
$ Interesting Fact: Thailand is the most Buddhist nation in the world, as 95% of the population are Buddhist adherents. This fact has impacted the growth of Christianity.
$ Last year, Thailand reported 1,661 Nazarene members. There are 33 churches and missions on 2 districts.
$ There are 21 ordained elders and 8 licensed ministers. Great Fact: Both of the district superintendents are nationals.
$ Bangkok, the capital city, is the home of the Southeast Asia Nazarene Bible College.
$ Nazarene missionaries in Thailand today are Rolf and Debbie Kleinfeld, Tomo and Ceny Hirahara, Lisa Lehman, Kent and Kathleen Pelton, Samuel and Lumae Yangmi (see related article in this newsletter about the Yangmis).
$ Interesting Fact: Tomo Hirahara is from Japan, and his wife, Ceny, is from the Philippines. Together, they are serving our church in Thailand.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will break down the barriers created by Buddhism.
Meet the Yangmis,
Nazarene Missionaries to Thailand
Samuel was born in Burma, the son of a Lisu (Chinese) refugee family. His family gave him up for adoption at the age of five months due to hardship, and his parents returned to Communist China. Samuel was adopted by Christian missionaries, who immigrated to the United States in 1970, settling in Joplin, Missouri. Samuel attended high school there and then enrolled at Ozark Christian College. He served as a youth pastor for three years.
In 1976, Samuel went to northern Thailand to work among the hill tribes people. Two years later, he married Lumae, a Lahu (Chinese) Christian girl. According to Asian custom, their marriage was arranged by relatives. At the time of the wedding, Samuel and Lumae could not speak the same language. (How’s that for communication in a marriage?) Note: The Lisu and Lahu have distinct languages and cultures even though they both settled in northern Thailand.
Samuel and Lumae have four daughters: Nellie, Julie, Samantha, and Anzie.
After serving in Thailand for four years, the Yangmis came to the United States. They attended MidAmerica Nazarene University, with Samuel earning a degree in agri-missions in 1984. They returned to Thailand to continue work among the northern hill people. Samuel used his agricultural skills to help opium growers find legal means of generating income. He was instrumental in helping the Church of the Nazarene get visas to begin the work in Thailand in 1989. He also helped in opening Nazarene work in northern Myanmar (Burma).
The Yangmis are wonderful missionaries— just one couple in our dedicated mission family representing us around the globe.
—Wes Eby