Adrian Uriarte
Oct 24, 2023
As a kid who grew up in The Philippines I always wondered if I would get the chance to be the missionary instead of being just the recipient of such service. Partnering with Medical Missions Outreach to minister to the Thai people provided me such joy and peace to be doing what God has called every one of us to do - to go out into the world and share the good news of God’s love.
Thailand has about 71 million people and only about 1% identify as Christians. We, as missionaries, were presented with such a group that had been taught that the path to enlightenment is through good works and keeping to the precepts of Buddhism. It was such a wonderful opportunity for us to share with them that our message is that Jesus Christ died for every single person because He loves us and He didn’t ask for anything in return for such a sacrifice on the cross. God showed His mighty hand yet again for the furtherance of His work.
During the clinic, my wife and I served as patient educators after the patients had seen providers and been prescribed medications. We had a wonderful translator, Miss Wee, who shared her testimony with us. We taught our patients about diabetes and hypertension management, medication-specific practices, and other disease-specific topics. The local church members shared the Gospel with everyone who came through the clinic and got their contact information so they could follow up with them. We saw people from all walks of life in the clinic. We had teachers, farmers, government officials, and even monks came by.
God’s Word went out and was heard and seen and experienced by at least 1,400 patients, government officials, and volunteers. It was an amazing and fruitful trip!