Thailand Mission 2023

SHREVEPORT, LA. – After a couple of years of being unable to complete a mission trip due to restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arkansas-Louisiana (ARKLA) Conference was thrilled to see the 2023 mission endeavor move forward. Jeff Villegas and his wife, Darlynn, along with Benjamin Orian and his wife, Silvia, headed to Thailand with 41 other members from our conference. After approximately 22 hours of travel on airplanes, airports and a scrappy truck, work began. One of the projects was to work on building a church in the Chiang Mai region along with several other outreach projects. An eye clinic was a huge success as people from the communities poured in for testing and treatment. In the evenings, Orian, along with a layman and a retired pastor from the mission team, held evangelistic meetings in three different sites resulting in 26 baptisms. Although the church building was not completed, it was functional to the degree that Orian preached the first sermon in it at the completion of the trip. The 14 days that the mission team spent on their trip was well worth the time and effort and we hope to inspire others to join us on our 2025 mission endeavors.

By Frances Alcorn