The Extraordinary Challenge of Faith of Burmese Parents in the Midst of Pain

Losing a baby could be a powerful and understandable reason to give up a mission. Not for Nathan’s parents. The one-year-old son of Lagyi Sin Nang and Sarawut Sikrinpacdekun, a Burmese missionary couple in Thailand, died recently. He was seriously injured when an audio speaker fell on him during a worship service. Despite the deep sadness, his parents have decided to keep holding onto God and trusting Him, working among Burmese migrants in Bangkok.

It is still a hard moment for Sin Nang, Nathan’s mother. The day of the accident, she was preaching in a worship service of the Grace Community Mission Church of Bangkok, a Burma ministry from Thailand Christian and Missionary Alliance, which she joined as a minister in 2018 under the leadership of Rev. Than Tun, the pastor. On June 28, 2020, Sin Nang’s husband was controlling the audio system while their son, Nathan, was sleeping beside his father. He usually slept there during services on Sundays. As Sin Nang prayed and preached, she heard a noise from the back of the worship hall. Her husband picked the baby up and shook him but there wasn’t any response. People at the back told Sin Nang that a speaker had fallen on her son. Sing Nang and Sarawut rushed to the emergency department of the nearest private hospital. Later that day, Nathan was moved to the biggest public hospital in Bangkok and underwent four hours of surgery from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. the next morning. He then was placed in ICU for 12 days but went to be with the Lord on July 9, 2020 at 8:05 p.m.

As the doctors were doing everything possible to save Nathan’s life, there were overwhelming examples of love on Facebook. Hundreds of people in prayer chains shared with Nathan’s parents in posting about the situation.

It was a very painful time for Sing Nang, but she and her husband experienced love, God’s “love, His children’s love around the world,” this young minister said. “We felt we were not alone. We felt warm. We felt peace. We felt that forgiveness is the greatest gift that we have from God and we practiced it to the family and someone who touched the speaker’s stand.”

Sing Nang and Sarawut are planting a church among Burmese migrants in Bangkok with the vision “to become a disciple-making church among the Burma migrant workers.” Most migrant workers are Buddhists and the couple is targeting people in Thailand. According to the vision given by God, they try to understand their needs and help the migrants by praying, teaching English, teaching Thai, teaching people how to sew clothing, keeping and teaching their children. They are building a bridge of friendship and sharing the message of salvation with love.

In the midst of this amazing mission, Sing Nang and Sarawut thank God for teaching them many things through this accident. They hope readers will be encouraged to pray for their family and ministry.