Moberg Final Update from Thailand 2024-25

The fields are white for the harvest to eternal life  

Sawatdee (Thai greeting) family and friends!

In a couple days, Lord willing, we will be back home in the United States after spending five months here in Thailand doing what we have been led by the Holy Spirit to do. It’s really nothing different than any follower of Christ has been sent out to do, except that we have the privilege to do it in a different land and culture than our own. Jesus said to His disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21) One Bible commentator on this passage says that this greeting of peace on the night of Christ’s resurrection was a complement to Jesus’s words on the cross as He was being crucified, “it is finished”. The meaning here is that the work of Jesus was accomplished so we could receive the forgiveness of our sins, the peace of reconciliation with God, and inherit eternal life. With this understanding, we have gone overseas to bring this amazing message to those who have never heard. Jesus was sent to this world to bring the good news of salvation and continues to do that through His followers who bear witness to the reality of His first coming and promised second coming, when He will judge the world and make all things new. 

Our plans to join a short-term medical mission team from the USA in Cambodia abruptly changed for a couple reasons. We felt Lyndell should return to the states for a short time to be of help to our youngest daughter, Moriah, in Arizona who had just gone through a long and difficult labor and delivery of their first child. In addition, there were no native English speakers available for the month of February at our branch of the Santisuk English School. The enrollment of students had gone up considerably from the previous month and they were desperate for native speakers. Therefore, we first flew to Cambodia to meet the team from the U.S. and deliver the medical supplies that we had left over from our previous outreach in western Thailand in January and renew our visas at the same time. Then Lyndell traveled to Arizona for a couple weeks and Gary taught two more classes at the school back in Bangkok for the month of February.

After Lyndell returned, she began to teach again and we had three more classes for the month of March with students not only from Thailand, but also several business age individuals from China, a high school teacher from Korea, and a couple from Iran. Gary was also given the opportunity to preach a couple more times and conducted a baptism class in preparation for baptisms that we held during a weekend overnight camping trip for the students and staff. The men’s startup fellowship group that Gary led was able to continue meeting a couple times in February. We are praying that this ministry will continue after we leave.

We are always thrilled when we get to share the message of Jesus with our students through the course curriculum and the Lord also provided several opportunities to go deeper with different individuals outside of the classroom sessions. One young man from China said that although he was only going to be in Thailand for one month, he believed that God had arranged for him to be here to not only learn to improve his English, but to learn about God. He said that he was sad that he now had to leave and go back to China. Another woman from China, who was working on her PhD in Chinese folkdance, said she was very thankful to now know that there was a God and was planning to return to Santisuk to learn more, after she returned to China for a couple months. She was a bit disappointed after finding out that we wouldn’t be teaching in the summer when she returned. We sensed that the Lord was working in her heart to know more about the God she now knew who had made her and wanted a personal relationship with her. 

For many of our students the concept of grace from a Biblical understanding is not known. To receive something beneficial that is not earned, goes contrary to their beliefs that we only get what we deserve. We tell them the parable of Jesus in Matt. 20, when the owner of a vineyard pays some of the workers what they had agreed upon and when they later find out that some who had only worked an hour received the same pay as they did for a full day’s work, they became upset and expected to be paid more. Yet, it was because of the owner’s demonstration of grace that one worker had been paid more than expected, while the owner’s payment for the others had been fair and honest. God demonstrates His grace toward us as sinners, being willing to forgive us for our sins through no work of our own. This forgiveness is based solely on the work and merit of Jesus for us. It’s a concept that takes a person, especially a Buddhist, hearing this good news many times before it seems to be fully understood. Our prayer is that we have helped add to that knowledge of truth to those we were given the opportunity to share these past five months.

After our March teaching session we invited a missionary couple, who are also our friends from northern Thailand, on a 5-day trip to Phuket for some R&R. We had a very restful time there in a very beautiful jungle-like setting on the ocean. It was a bit surreal after having just experienced the earthquake that had created a good deal of fear and apprehension among the people during those frightening moments. 

We had the opportunity to share about Christ with a young woman who worked selling memberships at the resort. Later she said that she would probably believe in Jesus if God would give her a sign. We explained that Jesus was given a similar request, and He said that His death and resurrection would be the only sign given. Then we told her that she needed to now consider that sign and the meaning of what Jesus did on the cross for her and God’s offer of the gift of eternal life that would be abundant and filled with peace and joy.

Now we turn our thoughts towards going home to reunite with our family and friends, but our hearts are yearning already to soon return to this land where the field is white unto harvest and laborers are needed to fulfill the plan of God to bring more souls into His kingdom.

Thank you for your support and hopefully you will partner with us when we again return to Bangkok. Have a Blessed Resurrection Day. Let us all be renewed in our amazement for what the reality of Jesus rising from the dead means for all of us who believe.

Blessings in Jesus,

Gary and Lyndell

Level 1 February morning session


Level 2 February afternoon session

Group photo after class

The usual class dining out after last class

Grammy with newest grandchild in Arizona

Our baby girl (Moriah) with her baby boy (Clark)

Economy class can be a little tight in SE Asia

                                                                              

After flying from Thailand we met with Cambodian team leaders
while enjoying a cup of Vietnamese coffee

U.S.A. team for medical/dental mission

We found an actual white elephant in Phnom Penh
(or at least a facsimile)

Cambodia's Royal Palace grounds

Cambodian Royal Palace built around 1860

Silver Pagoda on Royal Palace grounds

Mandap Hill, a historical landmark said to be 
the founding site of Phnom Penh in 1372

Meeting with faithful 30 year missionary veteran from Philippines

Independence Monument of Phnom Penh

Tuk tuk riding very fun and economical.
Most rides $1-2.

Sunday worship service in Cambodia

Tried an authentic Cambodian dish

It was very delicious

Men's fellowship group

Level 1 March morning class

Level 1 March afternoon class

Lyndell's Level 2 class March session

Lyndell's Level 1 class session

Lyndell's Level 2 class final session

Praising God for new believer

Peace of Silom Church

Peace of Silom Church

Camping trip away from busy Bangkok

Three new believers baptized

Very special moment indeed

Scene downtown after earthquake.
Tens of thousands evacuated from buildings.

Park where we held out for several hours

Outside cracks in our condo high-rise

More evidence of damage

Supper in our condo with women from
the international church we attend

Retreat setting for some R&R with friends

Time with our 20 year veteran Thailand missionary couple

The lizards grow a bit bigger over here

Crossing the river one last time before going home

"For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord."
(II Cor. 4:5)

Heavenly Father, may you shine the light of your beloved
Son, Jesus Christ, on this land so they may see your glory
and turn to you, the living God for their salvation.

Moberg Update from Thailand 2024-25

   Moberg’s Update from Thailand

 

Dear family and friends,

 

Sawatdee from Bangkok. We wanted to provide you with some of the things we have experienced here in Thailand since arriving here about two and a half months ago. God was faithful to provide us with a condo to rent in the same building where we have lived the past three years and after getting settled, we began teaching again at Santisuk English School.

 

We had three classes for the school’s last month-long session of the year. Gary gave the Christmas sermon at Peace of Silom, the church plant at the school and we distributed many Christmas stockings stuffed with various goodies to our students and the people we have come to know who work in and around our residence. Each stocking contained a tract describing the meaning of Christmas. One 39-year-old student from China expressed that he was so happy to have received the stocking as his first ever Christmas gift.

 

We were able to take two of our students to a performance of Handel’s Messiah where a beautiful brochure was provided to explain the scriptural basis for the various parts of the production. Both expressed a desire to learn more about Jesus and we’re praying that they or others will accept our invitation to help them to learn the truths God has for us in the Bible.

 

It was a blessing to be here for the pastor of Calvary Baptist International Church’s farewell program and hear Pastor Martin deliver his final sermon before moving back to the states after serving in this church for the past 23 years. Gary felt privileged to be asked to offer the closing prayer after the program and pot-luck dinner given in honor of the pastor and his wife, Carrie. The following week we were able to join the Calvary Christmas choir and sing at a joint Christmas Eve service with the Burmese, Nepalese, Thai, and Karen churches that meet in Calvary’s building.

 

Before Christmas our school’s church family also went to a neighboring slum community and presented a program for the children and adults, while distributing food and prizes. Several of the children have been coming to Santisuk after their school to do their homework and are also attending the church during the bi-monthly Friday evening services. Some have also recently professed to believe in Jesus as their Savior. Our prayer is that the love shown to the children of these poor families over the past couple years will also help to draw their parents to have a relationship with Christ as well.

 

During New Year’s Eve we hosted a gathering at our condo to eat, sing songs, share testimonies of God’s faithfulness, pray, and watch the fantastic Bangkok fireworks from our balcony. The most exciting part of the evening was when one young college student asked Gary to pray with and for him to ask God for forgiveness from sins and to become a Christian. He is from a Buddhist background. What a sweet and glorious symbolic way it was for all of us to see an individual end the year and begin a new one as a new creation by God’s grace, drawn out of darkness and into His marvelous light. It’s such a joy to see him hungering and thirsting to grow in his faith and study God’s Word. Please pray for Nont.

 

Then on January 5^th a team of 5 doctors came from the states,  two of them being our sons (both dentists in the military), to join us and a Burmese pastor, wife, and son to serve on our Health Teams International mission team for two weeks. We drove about 8 hours to an area northwest of Bangkok to bring medical/dental care to refugee and asylum seekers from Burma (Myanmar).

Over 150,000 refugees are said to live in refugee camps along the Burma/Thailand border, however many thousands more are living in makeshift villages not recognized by the United Nations. They all have fled Burma over the years to avoid being killed after many had their villages bombed and burned down by the corrupt Burmese army. They are a mixture of Buddhists, Christians, Animists, and some Muslims. We were able to see, treat, and share the gospel of Jesus with around 500 during our 5 clinic days. These people have very limited access to health care and the condition of their teeth was very bad in many cases. Thousands are living in very primitive shelters and do not possess any proof of their identity (no passport, visas or ID cards). They see no hope for their future, but we know as believers in Jesus that a person’s true identity can be found in Christ as a child of God who has a glorious future beyond this broken world. “For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether—the past is finished and gone, everything has become fresh and new” (Phillips trans.). This is the message of hope we brought to these people along with providing relief from some of their physical suffering and pain.

 

The second week of our health care outreach was to slum areas of Bangkok. We were not able to serve many people because the poor do have access to medical facilities at a very low cost. The planning for next year will be to remain in the rural areas for the entire time our team is available to serve. We trust that the 150 or so people we did provide care for and who heard the news of salvation in Jesus Christ will have come to know the love of God through what we said and did for them from these slum communities.

 

Our sons Matthew and Jared remained with us for a few days after the clinic days were complete and we toured the city a bit and gave them the opportunity to spend Sunday afternoon with us ministering to the refugee families from Pakistan and Sri Lanka that we visit every two months. Our team from Calvary Church goes out twice a month to bring food supplies and spend time visiting with the families, sharing words of hope from the scriptures and praying for their needs. Our boys also got to be a part of the beginning of a men’s fellowship that met at our condo. Gary was asked to lead this group and explain why a men’s fellowship was a means that God could use to help encourage the young men in their walk with Christ. As we were finishing up with the meeting an unexpected display of fireworks erupted outside that we could watch from the balcony. One young man mentioned that perhaps God was giving us a sign of His approval of what we were trying to accomplish by starting this group.

 

Now we are preparing to embark on our second HTI outreach beginning on February 7th for two weeks in the jungles of the northeastern part of Cambodia. Most of the team members will be coming from a church in California. After we return to Thailand, we plan to again teach at Santisuk until we go back home in mid-April.

 

Please pray for this upcoming trip to Cambodia, that hearts would be opened to receive the gospel and churches could later be planted by those local pastors who will remain to follow up with the people. Pray also for the health and unity among the team members as we serve together with a common goal of sharing the love of God for the poor. 

If you feel led to help support this outreach, we ask that you make your contributions through the means below:

 

Online giving option instructions:

Go to Bethlehem’s “Give Now” page at https://bethlehem.church/give/

Click on “Give Now” contribution option.

Log in or “Give As a Guest”.

Click on “Mission Trips Giving” tab in the center of top panel.

Select “MM Thailand 11/24” from the dropdown menu on “Select Mission Trip”

tab in the middle of the page.

Select “MOBERG, GARY” from the dropdown menu on “Select Team Member”.

Follow the rest of the prompts to complete your donation.

Greeted by security guard friend when checking in at our condo

Arrived during Loy Krathong Festival
(flower baskets with candles are floated down the river)

Notice what's missing? Took a while to find a knife.

Quickly found some of our favorite dishes

The food is absolutely delicious like we remembered it

Zoom in and discover spice levels can be requested

Gelato to cool the jets after a spicy meal

Always something new at McDonald's

Maybe a healthy version of a McFlurry

Haircut with twice hair wash and head massage for $6.00

Same price for Lyndell

Riding skytrain to school a bit crowded for morning commute 

Lyndell's evening English class

Gary's evening English class

Gary's morning English class

Thanksgiving Dinner with Santisuk Founders

Lyndell's birthday dinner with some staff and students

School Christmas Party

(costume contest)

Preaching Christmas message at Peace of Silom Church

Christmas outreach to local poor community

Presenting food bags to community members

Signs of Christmas 
(actual gingerbread that smelled so good)

Meaning of some symbols like the star not known by many

Attended wedding of Thai woman with Burmese man
(ages 53 and 19)
She said she will take care of him now and when she is old, he will take care of her!

Pastor Martin and wife Carrie's farewell event

Joint Christmas Eve service

After Pastor Martin's last sermon at Calvary

Candlelight singing in parking lot of Calvary Church

New Year's party in our condo

Fireworks viewed off our condo's balcony

Van ride to our first clinic in a refugee camp

Washing clothes in the camp

Typical house in the camp

Local food vendor in the community

Sharing the gospel with translator

Health Teams International members with translators

Dental team members with helpers

Now let's get to work

What Dad can do, I can do better

Matt has a certain charm with the children

Like father, like sons
A true joy to serve with our boys

A little teamwork needed with this case

These infected teeth won't be bothering them anymore

Lyndell served where needed

Lyndell's sweet translator and coordinator for out clinic

Also served as our team's pharmacist

Lunchtime at the clinic

Little downtime after lunch 

Prayed to receive Christ as her Savior with local pastor

Prayed to become a Christian with one of our translators

Spent time to pray with each patient

Prayer for their salvation as well as for healing

Help them Lord to know your love

Physical healing is temporary,
spiritual healing is for eternity.

Let the Buddhist monks come to know Christ Jesus

Ok, which one do I examine first?

The old has not the stamina as the young

Sharing the good news of Jesus before being treated

Clinic set up in a local church among the poor

Young translators age 19 and 14

Boys will be boys, enjoying an elephant ride

Refugee team preparing for home visitations on Sunday afternoon

 "For what we proclaim is not ourselves,
but Jesus Christ as Lord." (II Cor. 4:5)

Thanks to everyone who is partnering
with us in prayer and financial support. 

May the all the people of Thailand one day come to know and receive the gift of salvation that is freely offered to anyone who would believe in Jesus Christ as the one who has come to release them from their bondage of sin and give them everlasting life in God's Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy.