Letters from the Field – The Spiritual Hunger of the Persecuted Church

Two flights from Chiang Rai, Thailand, an overnight bus, and a 90-minute drive into the mountains. That’s what it takes to get there.

The place: a Hmong village in the mountains of a Southeast Asian Country filled with oppression.

It still seems surreal to be in places like this. Just a few years ago, I was living in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. A few years before that, Frankfort, Kentucky. Before that, Washington, D.C., Tulsa, OK…the list goes on and on. The journey to this village is hard to process and even harder to understand.

Our team was there to teach through the book of Philippians; a local pastor had asked us to come and train his leaders. Over the past twenty years, he has planted ten churches along a valley in the remote mountains. Each church has two leaders who minister in their own section of the mountains.

It’s beautiful up there. Because of the elevation, it’s cold. And, it’s foreign to every sense I have.

The language spoken isn’t English, Spanish, or Thai: they speak Hmong. The food, while delicious, is exotic. One meal included something most Western nations consider a pet.

But, even with the government restrictions they live under as followers of Jesus, these leaders hunger for God’s Word.

We went through Philippians in nine sessions over two days. No one ducked out early. No one stepped out to take a call. They were dialed in 100%. In the breakout sessions, they were eager to discuss and process what they had learned. And, when we finished, they begged us to stay another day so we could teach even more.

It’s humbling to see their faith and their drive when part of me – the hypocritical part – still feels angst when a pastor goes past noon.

But in this remote village, God is leading. God is moving in ways I never could have imagined.

In the final session, I called on the church leaders and some of their church members who had joined us to lay everything aside and fully embrace Jesus’ sufficiency, so we can see things the way Paul saw them. Prison? God’s “new” mission. Suffering? God’s “uncomfortable” gift. Challenges/persecution? An opportunity for prayer and gratitude.

In this moment in this rural village in Southeast Asia, I recognized the risk of an American who is probably perceived as having a privileged life, calling on them to see Jesus as sufficient, no matter what their persecution or lack. But God’s Word united us. My Hmong brothers and sisters in Christ and I met in that moment to worship one Savior as united followers of Jesus: one church.

When we moved to Thailand, I thought the work would be within the country. Who knew God would pull us into other countries where Christianity is restricted and followers of Jesus are persecuted? But He is moving, and we are joining Him.

If I could go back ten years and sit down with the greatest missiological strategists in the world, we couldn’t have drawn up on a white board a roadmap to this place and this ministry. Now, the pastor here has asked us to plan a two-year biblical training program for this group. It will require frequent visits, extensive planning, and a financial investment, but WOW, IS IT WORTH IT!

Only God. Only His guiding hand and His still, small voice, calling us closer and inviting us to take each small step His way. Our amazing God holds all things together, not us. He calls people to Himself. Every good thing comes from Him.

I’m so thankful to be part of it.

To those of you reading this: many of you have given to and invested in this mission; a mission that now includes restricted nations and unreached people groups. It’s an honor to be in this with you.

Let’s keep walking forward together!

With Love from the Field,

Justin Ross