Paid In Full

“‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts.” Haggai 2:8, NKJV.

Athirat put his faith in the LORD during a Sunday School class at the age of eleven. Shortly afterwards he left his home to study in a hill tribe dormitory in Chiang Mai. It was at the dorm that God began calling Athirat to surrender to full-time ministry.

Before moving to the dorm Athirat admitted that he had a nonchalant attitude towards the Bible. “God began using the Bible to speak to my heart,” he said. “The scriptures came alive to me.”

Instead of going home on school breaks, Athirat stayed in Chiang Mai and continued to work. His parents had little money, so he needed to work in order to continue his education. In ninth grade Athirat had to quit school because of money. He returned to the village for a year.

When an opportunity came for Athirat to move to Bangkok and work in a factory, he jumped at it. He worked all day at the factory and took night school to finish his high school education. “The quality of the education was not good in night school,” admitted Athirat. “But it was my only chance to finish.”

While living in Bangkok Athirat became involved in a local church. His pastor discipled him, along with three other young men, every Saturday afternoon. Athirat enrolled in Bangkok Bible College shortly after he completed his high school equivalent. It was a five year program, and he received a four year scholarship.

In his fourth year Athirat went to Nan province for his internship. He worked along side a Filipino missionary as a church planter. As his internship was coming to a close he began to think about tuition for his final year of Bible College. Three other students were serving their internships in the same area, and had the same problem with funding for their final year.

“We began to meet and pray together,” said Athirat. “I believe God put us together to begin teaching us to rely on Him for our provision.” When they got back to Bangkok all four of them found a receipt in their mail box – 10,000 Baht, paid in full.

“I never did find out who sponsored me for my last year of college,” said Athirat. “But I knew that God met my needs when I prayed to Him, and I could trust Him with my future.” Today Athirat is a church planter in Northern Thailand. He is a faith missionary, who trusts God to provide for his family and ministry. “God has always met my needs,” he said.

Pray that:

God will bless Athirat’s ministry in a new city with no existing church.

God will meet all the physical and spiritual needs of Athirat and his family as he serves by faith in Northern Thailand.

God will provide a reliable vehicle for this family.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.