08/08/2026
Invitation to Pray for Thailand: Heavy Things Are Hitting Home
Thailand is not just a country on a map to us.
It is home.
It is the people we love, the streets we know, the churches we've worshipped in, the friends we've made, and for us, especially, Nonthaburi—a place where we have had the privilege of living, serving, and walking alongside people for a couple of decades.
And this week, some very heavy things have happened in our home.
With Mother's Day coming tomorrow, perhaps some of these stories will feel especially close. A young man who should have come home from a football match didn't. Families have been shattered by violence. Leaders are facing difficult decisions with consequences that reach far beyond the meeting room. And a refugee family we know personally is facing uncertainty about where they will safely live.
It is a lot to hold.
So rather than simply scrolling past the news, would you join us in praying for Thailand?
1. A young life lost on a football pitch
In southern Thailand, a semi-final football match was being played under dark skies when lightning struck the field. Twelve players were injured, and 24-year-old Sofwan Awae lost his life.
Just 24.
He was doing something he loved, chasing a ball and pursuing a dream with his teammates. He should have walked off that field. He should have gone home.
But he didn't.
With Mother's Day tomorrow, I can't help but think about his family—especially the unimaginable grief of a mother losing her son in such a sudden and unexpected way.
Please pray for Sofwan's family, his teammates, and everyone who loved him. Pray for the twelve injured players and for their recovery. And pray for comfort for a community trying to process a loss that no one saw coming.
2. Difficult decisions and our neighbors across the border
Thailand shares a long border with Myanmar, where suffering and instability continue to affect countless ordinary people.
Our leaders are having to make difficult decisions involving border security, regional stability, humanitarian concerns, and justice. These are not simple issues, and the consequences are felt most deeply by people who have the least power.
Please pray for wisdom, courage, and moral clarity for Thailand's leaders. Pray for protection for civilians living along the border, for refugees seeking safety, and for peace and justice in Myanmar.
3. Heartbreak in a school community
Violence has also brought devastating grief to a community just outside Bangkok, with the loss of teachers, staff, family members, and a young student.
Schools should be places of safety. Places where children learn, laugh, make friends, and dream about their futures.
It is heartbreaking when those places become places of fear and mourning.
Please pray for every family grieving a loved one. Pray for students and teachers who are carrying trauma. Pray for those who are trying to make sense of something that should never have happened. And pray that God would meet people in the darkest places of fear, despair, and hopelessness.
4. And finally, please pray for one family we know personally.
We've previously asked you to pray for one of the refugee families we work with. They are facing pressure to leave their current home after difficulties with a neighbor. They have found another place to live, but it won't be available for a few weeks.
That waiting period creates real anxiety.
They are worried about what could happen if the situation becomes more hostile, including the possibility of police involvement and immigration detention.
Please pray for protection over this family. Pray for peace with their neighbors, for wisdom about the timing of their move, and for every practical need to be met so they can make the transition safely and securely.
There is a lot of anxiety in a nation when difficult things begin to pile up.
And perhaps that's why we need to pray—not because we have all the answers, but because God sees what we cannot see, and He cares about the things that weigh heavily on us.
Tomorrow is Mother's Day in Thailand.
So tonight, perhaps pray especially for the mothers who are grieving, the mothers who are afraid, the mothers who are waiting, and the mothers who simply need God's peace.
And pray for Thailand.
The country we call home.
🙏🇹🇭
