Written by a Cafe 1040 Grad serving with the IMB

“Recently I had the most incredible opportunity to go visit a village in the middle of the mountains about four hours or so from where I live. It was the most beautiful place, full of orange trees and rolling hills, but the most beautiful part was that this village is made up of mostly believers! Isn't it crazy and so exciting to know there is a village in the middle of nowhere Thailand full of people who are following Jesus!?

The backstory of this village is even more incredible. While there, I discovered that the people of this village actually originate from Burma (a neighboring country just above Thailand), but relocated to Thailand over the years. As a result, this village is believed to be a direct result of the work and faithfulness of Adoniram Jusdon, an American missionary who moved to Burma in 1813 and spent the rest of his life there sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

He faced much hardship (sickness, not seeing anyone come to know Christ for six years, dangerous living conditions, prison) and suffered much loss (death of wives, many children, family members, even an early death for himself), but yet he persevered, sacrificing everything for the sake of the Lord. But through all of his sacrifice, God produced so much fruit - believers I got to meet now, 200 years later! What an incredible testimony of faithfulness!

I am so thankful for the story of Judson's life and the powerful reminder that unlike what the world and even my emotions might tell me sometimes, my life is not my own to do what makes me happy. We were not made to live selfish lives, but instead, are called to give away our lives to proclaim the name of the Lord to those who are separated from Him - wherever or whatever that looks like.

As John Piper says in a short biography about Judson, "Jesus calls us to join him on the Calvary road, to take up our cross, and to hate our lives in this world, and fall into the ground like a seed and die, that others might live."

Life following the Lord won't be easy & sometimes won't look like how we may want it to but nonetheless, He is worthy of it all.”

"Who will labor so long and so hard, persevering so that in two hundred years there will be two million Christians among the 10/40-window peoples who can scarcely recall their Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist roots?" -John Piper

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

-John 12:24-25