Bearing Fruit Together 

Written by Allyson - Serving in Thailand

This past year, I had the opportunity to teach Special Education at Grace International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and support missionary/Thai families impacted by disability. This was my first year living overseas, and I am so grateful for the people who showed me the incredible value of community and dependence on God. This season marked my first year teaching full time, learning how to drive on the left side of the road, remembering countless new things (like names of people/places, which market to go to, Thai vocabulary, etc.), navigating my first-ever surgery, and adjusting to living in a new culture, among many other new experiences and challenges. Amidst all the new and uncertainty for me, God allowed me to step into a role where I got to depend on Him each day, and He sure did provide. 

This year would not have been possible without reaching up to God and then reaching out to the body of Christ; a wonderful teaching team and students who taught me a ton, coworkers with amazing stories of faith and resilience, third culture kids (TCKs) with a variety of passport countries and backgrounds, our weekly girls Bible Study (learning from one another and God’s Word), team leaders who took me in and helped me recover from surgery, some amazing friends to “do life” with, eat meals together, play games, and adventure with, those who hosted the Disability Ministry Asia Pacific (DMAP) conference in Taiwan and are living incredible lives of ministry, the Stronger Together/ Wheelchair Project/ Joni & Friends staff + volunteers, Night to Shine participants, Grab drivers, FBR folks who love people like Jesus, my physical therapist and doctors, missionaries and international workers who have been on the field for a variety of months, years, or even decades, the local Thai church, mentors who asked me challenging questions, my family, friends, and ministry partners, and countless others who openly invited me into their homes and lives. Each of these people and ministries has been a true gift. When asked about what I love about Thailand, I can genuinely say, “the people,” and the way that God cared for me through each one of them.  

What was once a mere prayer/idea during college of wanting to learn more about faith, culture, and disability would not have been possible without the grace of God. I prayed that my story would be one that is only possible if God was the one who wrote it, and I can say that He answered this prayer. Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it, there was Jesus. As I step into summer in the US and plan on returning to Thailand for a second year, I am excited to continue learning what it looks like to bear fruit together as a beautifully diverse body of believers. After all, we are designed to be stronger together when connected to the true vine and one another. 

“For this is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” - John 15:8