Many people in Thailand face isolation, loneliness, and depression every day. For elderly people in remote areas, maintaining community is difficult. They fall into despair, asking themselves the question, “Does my life even have any meaning?”
For listeners like Somphit, the answer is a resounding yes.
This Life Has an Answer
Somphit heard the Gospel during a dark and lonely time in her life. She was in a hospital suffering from a muscular disease that made her unable to walk. Somphit was constantly tired and out of breath. To make her situation even worse, she had no family and lived alone.
Somphit suffered from severe loneliness and despair. The one thing that made her feel less lonely was listening to an FEBC program called, “This Life Has an Answer.”
The program focuses on encouraging listeners and providing meaning for one’s life through the Gospel. A phrase Somphit heard on the radio and now lives by is, “Stand firm in the Lord.” She now listens to the program every day on her radio.
Reaching the Hard-to-Reach
Other FEBC listeners in Thailand are isolated physically. Unlike in the US, many remote towns and villages in Thailand do not have paved roads, or cars to drive to church. For many elderly locals, their prospects are riding a motorbike, or walking on dirt roads riddled with potholes. The nearest churches could be over an hour away.
Sumrej is elderly and suffers from several severe medical conditions. Sumrej is a Christian, but because of his health he can’t travel to church.
“When I received an MP3 player from FEBC that helped explain the Bible to me, it made me feel closer to God’s Word. It also helped me know that God loves me and has good plans for me. Even if I don’t have chance to go to church. He still cares for me.”
A Friend to the Lonely
Grandma Thongjuea also listens to “This Life Has an Answer.” She often calls in to talk to the FEBC team that produces the program.
At first, Thongjuea didn’t even believe that God existed. But because she lives alone and was lonely, she found herself calling in frequently for conversation. As she talked to the staff, day after day, they became some of her closest friends.
After listening for weeks, she felt like she wanted to change her life. Thongjuea called in one day to ask one of the broadcasters about how to commit her life to the Lord. The FEBC Thailand follow-up team contacted a local church near her, and they came to visit her. She was baptized by the pastor, and Thongjuea gave her life to Christ that day. Now, she regularly attends the church that brought her to Christ.
Please continue to lift up listeners like Thongjuea, Sumrej and Somphit in prayer as they grow in their faith and share Jesus with others.
Because of your partnership and support, FEBC is able to continue sharing the Gospel with people who are desperate for hope – Thank you!
