There are many reasons. But let’s start with how I got here. I moved to Thailand with my family when I was 10 years old because God called my parents to move to Thailand. So my 2 younger brothers and I had to move too. At first I did not understand why I had to leave my country, my friends, my family, and my “world”. When I arrived in Thailand I hated to be away from everything that I had ever known because the people, language, food, environment, even their faces looked very different. It was not easy for me to adjust but I didn’t get much of a choice. After a while I started to learn how to live in Thailand. One of the many things that helped me figure it all out was the friends I made while studying at the international school here. After a while I got used to living here and started seeing the beauty of this country and it’s people.
So why am I still here even after being done with school and being able to return to the Netherlands? Well, that is quite easy. I noticed that all of the missionaries here have financial support from their home countries, their churches, to do God’s work here in Thailand but they do not have the people here to support them with all the other things. Like when they have problems with their computer(s) and all of the other IT/technical stuff. I saw this happen with my parents and many of my missionary friends. And given my skillset I started praying about using my skills to help the missionaries and ministries here in Chiang Rai and the rest of Thailand with those needs.
The second reason is the people. I saw that the people here need Jesus to set them free. I cannot teach them the Bible but I can show them Jesus through my life, I can help them to know about God through helping and supporting his missionaries in the things that they cannot do. A couple of examples of the ministries I help is a relatively young church here. I help them with their technical needs which was especially important throughout the first and second COVID outbreaks when they couldn’t meet in person and had to go online. I helped them figure out a way to still meet online through livestreaming and more recently helped them buy their own gear to be able to continue livestreaming. Another example is the international school I used to study at. I help them with their website and other IT/technical needs as they are a Christian international school that serves a lot of missionary families with quality Christian education. By helping the school I am allowing them to help the missionaries get a good education for their children. My last example is of 2 ministries that I have been helping for 4 years now with their IT needs. One is the ministry my parents work at and the other is a ministry under the same legal foundation. I regularly go to both these ministries to check their computers and network and resolve issues.
The third and final reason why I am still here is that I just recently got married to Pim, a beautiful Thai Christian woman, who captured my heart from the moment I met her. She isn’t just beautiful though, she also has a big heart and is extremely smart. She is passionate about serving God in the church and different ministries here in Chiang Rai. She is able to serve these ministries because she is a native Thai speaker and is mostly fluent in English allowing her to communicate more easily with the locals than the missionaries can.
When the time finally came for me to return to the Netherlands I spent a lot of time praying and asking God what was next for me. Part of His answer to me were the observations I made earlier about the missionaries needing help in the area of IT. Another part of His answer had been set in my heart a long time ago when he made me with a servant heart, the drive to see change happen in this world and the skillset to make it happen.
Now how can I do all of this and still put food on the table for my family? Well, that is where you come into the picture. We need your (continued) support to be able to live here and do the work that God has called us to. Your support will allow us to pay the bills, eat, have a place to stay, etc.
Thank you in advance for your support, both in prayer and financially!
Peace, Chester and Pimpa Bak
For more information or if you’d like to be added to our mailing list you can contact us any time by sending us an e-mail at [email protected].
You can support us by donating using the following information. (No tax-deductible options)
In the US:
ACH Payment/Transfer
Account holder: Chester Bak
Routing number: 084009519
Account number: 9600 0001 2450 1221
Bank Address: (TransferWise) 19 W 24th Street, New York NY 10010, United States
PayPal
Email: [email protected]
In the Eurozone:
Wire Transfer
Bank: ABN-AMRO
Account holder: C. Bak / Bak C
Account number: NL81 ABNA 0532 1962 95
BIC: ABNANL2A
Bank: N26
Account holder: Chester Bak
Account number: DE10 1001 1001 2626 4040 32
BIC: NTSBDEB1XXX
In Thailand:
Bank Transfer/Deposit
Bank: Kasikorn
Branch: Central Plaza Chiang Rai
Account holder: Mr Chester Bak and Ms Pimpa Bak
Account number: 092-3-47500-1
