By Rev. Karen L. Weiss
Rev. Karen L. Weiss, In Mission Together partnership coordinator for the Thailand Mission Initiative and a provisional member deacon for Susquehanna Annual Conference, shares an update concerning new sustainable mission projects in Thailand.
Gary Moon has been a Global Ministries missionary in Thailand for more than five years working alongside his wife, Cindy. Together, they are bringing their creative strengths to designing projects that are helping local communities in Thailand become self-sufficient.
One example is a farming project that the Moons helped facilitate in a village near Chiang Mai. The project was initiated in 2014 in collaboration with Mejo University, a local elementary school and The United Methodist Church.
The university’s agricultural department sent students to work with the elementary school children to set up a fish farm, a mushroom farm and a chicken farm. In addition, 600 coffee trees were planted on the elementary school’s property to provide additional educational opportunities for the students and resources for the school. The children are assigned a certain number of trees to tend during the school year while learning farming practices and personal responsibility. Many students may not continue to junior or senior year because they will have to start working to support their family’s income. Through farming education, these children are taught the skills they’ll need to help their families while also allowing them to stay in school.
