2025 North Thailand STM: Saying Goodbye to CCEC

Aimee and Jessica Chang

(Aimee) After spending 2 weeks at ACC during the N. Thailand Missions Trip, this mission trip was very fun for me. I really enjoyed teaching the kids English and having fun playing games with them. I also enjoyed watching them grow in their English speaking and the difference between when they started and when they ended English camp. These kids made me laugh very much 😁 I really enjoyed my time here. And I really want to go again. The former principal/founder, Ma Lao Shi, really wanted me to come back or to stay longer. And English teacher Ms. Sabine kept saying you amaze me to me. This mission was really fun and I was able to get to know the older youth girls better. Thank you for supporting our trip. And for praying for us.

Our team with the amazing teacher Sabine

Celebrating team birthdays, picking mango from a tree, last day with 6th grade students

Our last prayer time with CCEC staff and dorm students

CCEC students lining up to say goodbye

(Jessica) I can’t believe 2 weeks have come to an end and we are now back in Bangkok in my parents’ house. It was really hard saying goodbye and our long 4 hour drive back to Chiang Mai airport was filled with stories, laughter and tears as we remember our interaction with school students and dorm students.

The last night before we left, we joined dorm students for worship one last time. Then we got a chance to do some sharing. Some from ACC Mission team shared, and students also shared their impression and their thanks. We all gave glory and thanks to God for the opportunity He has given us to bring us all together. Two weeks went by so quickly but I know that the school, the students, and the time we spent there will be forever stamped in our hearts.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t initially want to come on this Mission Trip. I had been to Mission in Northern Thailand before, and part of me didn’t even want to publicize that I could speak Thai. I think I didn’t want to be the designated translator. I also felt like after having lived in the States for more than half my life, I didn’t feel a super strong connection to being a ‘local’. I also wanted to be selfish and spend my entire summer with my parents, and longest I had been away from any of my kids was 4 days. But God changed my heart, Aimee really wanted to come on this trip and she needed a parent chaperone. Both Joshua and my parents also said not to worry about the other kids. As we started preparing for the trip, I felt a stronger connection, and God reminded me that if I kept telling Him, I am for mission work - if God called our family, we are ready to go any time, how can I be so unwilling to go on an STM? How can I name my children after missionaries (Aimee for Amy Carmichael, Taylor for Hudson Taylor and Kari for William Carey), but not live a life that showed them God’s mission work is for everyone, especially our family?

The moment we arrived, God showed me that my whole upbringing, is exactly suited for being a member of this team. I could teach in English, I understood and could help translate Thai. The founder, Principal Ma, is Cantonese, which I spoke at home growing up with my parents. And the 2nd most spoken language at the school other than Thai, was Mandarin Chinese, which most of our team members spoke (except some youth), which I could also speak because I took it in High School and College. My Mandarin and Thai has significantly improved in the last 2 weeks :D

God showed me that all my 40 years of upbringing, is exactly so that at this moment, I could serve Him in this way for these 2 weeks. This is how I can love my God. A song we sang on the last night of worship with the dorm students goes along the lines of: “If God ask, do you love me? How will you answer Him? Have you thought about it?…I would put my hand to my heart and confess, I love you more than anyone or anything in my life. With all my heart and my life, I will love and be loyal to you.”

How will I answer Him today? If you were standing in front of God and He asked do you love me, how will you answer today?

Fueling up and eating with team members a last time before we get on our different flights

Arriving back in Bangkok and reunited with the family, but we miss CCEC

Thank you for supporting our family all throughout this journey. We are thankful to God for your friendship, support and prayers. God is so good for letting Aimee and I have this opportunity to see His faithfulness in our lives and in the lives of the people in Chiang Rai. May God receive all the glory.

Prayer Request

• Please pray that we will not forget what God has showed us, and how God will continue to show us as we reflect on our trip, and how Aimee and I (as well as each individual team member) can continue to serve Him.

• Please continue to pray for CCEC, that God will take the offering of the staff and teachers, and multiply it for His glory, that students and dorm students will come to know that God is the only God and that Christ is the only Savior.

• Please pray that if it is in God’s will, one day Aimee and I will get to go back.