MAESOT BIBLICAL TRAINING CENTER, MAESOT, THAILAND
HISTORY OF MBTC
On March 21, 1974, Ah-Cha and our three month old daughter Leah and I left our parents in Burma, northwest on Burma-India border. We walked fourteen days in jungles across the mountains nearly 17,000 feet above sea level. I remember it rained so hard on our way into the jungle, a lot of leeches were waiting on the path to suck our blood. One day, we stopped for a little while to feed milk to our three month old daughter, Leah. My wife looked at me and shouted out. I rushed to her and said, "What?" "Hurry! Pull out this big leech from my baby’s mouth," she said. I looked in our baby’s mouth and saw a big leech - it was full of the baby’s blood. I took it out and washed the blood out from our daughter’s mouth. Another night, one leech sucked my blood on my head and the other one suck on my back. When I felt the itching and woke up, both leeches became two balls. After fourteen days of walking we arrived in a small town. Then we flew from there to Myitkyina, where we could take a train. From Myikyina, we took a train, buses, and trucks. After seventy days, on May 31, we arrived at our journey's destination in Thailand. There for the gospel of Jesus our Savior. Why did it take seventy days? Why does God use the number of seventy? We still do not know, but we Christians know that the number seventy is used by God many times to his people for special purposes. So, I just believe this is number is special!!!!
There were a handful of Christians among the Lisus and Lahu tribes when we first came to Thailand. They all worshiped ancestor spirits, and evil spirits. Their main occupation was to raise opium and heroin for their living income. Both their religion and their occupation was worse before our God. When I went to their villages to share Jesus with them, at first they hated me and attacked many times. They told me that I am just helping to get food for American giants. They were so strange to missionaries. Around that time, one missionary from America was killed on the way to a Lisu village and later, a couple of our fellow-preachers were also killed in their home. Not too long after that, one of my very close friends was killed in a village. It was left to me and my wife to take care of his four kids and his wife. Friends are gone one by one, but the harvest work is not yet done. For me and my family, God’s grace is so sufficient in this sensitive area.
In 1974, two months after we arrived in Thailand, Ron Morse and I went to Banmai village and preached the gospel of Jesus. Two families in that village accepted the message of the gospel. So, we prayed for them and destroyed their spirits shrines. Then, we took them to a river near the village and baptized two couples. That night we encouraged them and taught more about Jesus and his love to sinners. Next morning, as we were ready to leave from there to next village, two men with weapons came to us and said, "Take these two families with you! They cannot live here any more because they are not my people any more. If you do not take them with you, we will expel them from this village by force." However, after 45 minutes of negotiating at gun point, the headman and his man in that village calmed down and released us to go to the next village. At first they were so angry with their fingers on the triggers. We faced such attacks not only in this village, but also in many other places.
At first we started from number zero. But, after thirty six years of being a hard labor warrior, we won over ten thousand souls among the Lisu and Lahu tribes. These souls cost the lives of American missionaries and native missionaries in Thailand. Jesus gave His life for such as these, and he is the only ONE worthy of praise and thanks. Thanks be to God for his wonderful blessings upon us then and now. From May 31, 1974 to May 31, 2010 is the thirty six years in mission field in Thailand from my native land on the Burma-India border. My wife and I visited the land where we used to live only one time in 38 years. Thanks be to God so very much, for the past thirty six years He has watched over us and used our lives for His precious, holy work. We continue to wonder how we can get closer to Him day by day and how can we can serve His harvest field as He wants. Please pray for us so that we can get through another thirty six years on the battlefield for Jesus our Savior and Lord.
The first six years we were in Chiangmai and traveled to villages to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus. We also stayed one year in a village as a shepherding task for new Christians. However, later, as the Lord called us, we moved to Maesot on Thai-Burma border which is 280 miles away southwest of Chiangmai. We believed the reason God called us to move Maesot is: 1. To take care of shepherding new Christians who were in eighteen villages among non-christians, and 2. to help the Christians inside Burma, especially the churches in northern Burma. For these reasons, we evangelize, preach, and teach every month to villagers in the mountains among the Lisu and Lahu tribes in Tak, Kamphengphet, Sukhotai, and Phetchabun provinces. The more we remain active in the Lord's work, the more God multiplies new believers in every village. As the numbers increase in the family of God, we also need more leaders who are willing to dedicate their life for God's work.
Through doors that God opened, I came to America for further biblical studies. In 1990, at Roanoke Bible College in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, I received a degree in ministry. As soon as I had done my biblical education, I returned to Thailand to continue to serve God on the mission field in Southeast Asia.
Upon my return to Thailand, God had set up ahead of me what I had to do. That is the establishing of Maesot Biblical Training Center, Maesot, Tak , Thailand, on Thai-Burma border. This is the leadership training center that we asked God for in many prayers on our knees in the early years. The Bible tells us that if we sow the seed, God will bring the increase. God brought the increase.
In 1994 June 4, we founded the Maesot Biblical Training Center. It is located in Maesot city, on the Thai-Burma border in Tak province of northwest Thailand. The school is producing well-trained evangelists, ministers and leaders for local churches, especially for those who do not have high school educations. In Thailand, because of poverty and high schools located very far from primary schools, less than 1% of the modern young people in the village can attend high school. Therefore, this school was established for the people who do not have much education. Many of them cannot even read and write in Thai which is the official language of Thailand. We firmly believe that the gospel is not just for the educated. Therefore, we need workers for the Lord from different levels of living standards. The school motto is “You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8. The school was started in nine small bamboo houses with grass roofs in 1994. As the Lord has provided, we now have 15 acres of land, seven concrete buildings, and six houses that made of half concrete and half wood and one wooden house. So, the total is fourteen buildings and houses for class rooms, dormitories for boys, girls, married housing, cafeteria, and houses for faculty/staff.
The school requires a student to be trained at the school for three years. The school awards the Diploma of Ministry. The first graduation of MBTC was held on February 14, 1998. Fourteen students were graduated at that time. Thirteen classes have graduated since then and 87 young people are now serving in full time ministries in local churches. Many others are also serving in Bible training schools and orphanage centers. Others are traveling to villages all over northern Thailand to proclaim the gospel of Jesus our Savior with the people who are lost. We are expecting more students to come. Please pray for MBTC so that we can send out more laborers for Christ’s harvest field. Many young people and adults want to come, but have no money for tuition. Most students need financial assistance even at only $350 for a year in MBTC. Please pray for these needs. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Matt. 9:37,38.
When we first talked with our parents in Burma, we were to be in Thailand for a couple of years to preach and teach the gospel with our missionary Morses. But, it is now thirty six years in Thailand. The more we preach the gospel, the more we win souls for Christ in each village in the mountains. We can not leave these baby Christians and to go back to our native land of Burma. Our parents and most brothers and sisters in Burma are all gone to our heavenly home. We will not go back to Burma in this world, but we are waiting to go home from mission field, Thailand. No country in this world is our home. We will be in the mission field for the Lord Jesus until He calls us home. As we surrender our lives for His great commission, our mission station will be based in Maesot, Thailand where we will continue to work for God in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, Burma, northeast India and southwest of China.
Please keep us and our ministry in your prayers. Thank you God and thank you all my brothers and sisters who send financial support and prayers for us and the Good News Mission. May God richly bless upon you all!
Contact Info: Ezekiel Fish, Director — ezekiel.fish@goodnewsmission.org or ezekielfish@yahool.com
Forwarding Agent & Field Representative: Gene Langley, 3144 Martin Johnson Road, Chesapeake, VA 23323, ChesRangerRet@aol.com
Gifts & Donations: Make checks payable to “West Park Missions Account” please write
“Good News Mission” in the memo area of the check.
Mail checks to: West Park Mission Account, c/o Gene Langley,
Forwarding Agent & Field Representative: Gene Langley, 3144 Martin Johnson Road, Chesapeake, VA 23323, ChesRangerRet@aol.com
Gifts & Donations: Make checks payable to “West Park Missions Account” please write
“Good News Mission” in the memo area of the check.
Mail checks to: West Park Mission Account, c/o Gene Langley,
3144 Martin Johnson Road, Chesapeake, VA 23323
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