How do we create movements when we feel stuck? What keeps us from seeing what could be? What keeps us holding onto hope when things are hard?

This is not just something we see in others. It is something we have faced within our own team and organization. It takes courage to be honest and say, “We are struggling, too,” but learning to show up with that kind of openness is shaping the way we do ministry.

Becoming, Not Doing
As we work to establish a Seventh-day Adventist church-planting movement here among the Isan people of Northeast Thailand, we are finding that the focus cannot simply be on what we do. It has to be on who we are becoming, and who we are helping others to become.

Much of our work centers on building trust and walking alongside leaders as they move toward healing and wholeness. Over and over again, we see how past wounds can keep people stuck, making it difficult to imagine new possibilities or step into leadership.

In the past several years, we have seen friends, young people and caregivers struggle with burnout, broken relationships and deep emotional and spiritual pain. Often, it is not a lack of desire, but a lack of safe space and support to process what is happening inside. Without that, people can remain stuck in patterns that limit their growth and their ability to lead.

Open Up, Heal and Grow
Recently, Tonya and Nilubon traveled to another region of Thailand to partner in a field test of Project Renew, a new initiative from the International Center for Trauma Education and Care at Andrews University. Over the course of nearly a week, they worked alongside ministry partners, professors and students, helping provide trauma care training for Seventh-day Adventist pastors and ministry leaders. Many of these leaders are serving in communities shaped by intergenerational trauma where relational dysfunction and woundedness have fed an unending cycle of pain and fear. But as the participants learned new skills and methods to address the trauma, there was a sense of hope that spread among the group.

This was a meaningful opportunity to live out an important part of AFM’s mission by supporting the local Seventh-day Adventist Church and working together to bring greater awareness to trauma and healing engagement in ministry.

In addition, Tonya and Nilubon recently facilitated a weekend retreat for Seventh-day Adventist women in leadership roles who wanted to learn more about trauma care and healing. It was powerful to see the courage of these women as they opened up and created a safe space for one another.

As Tonya shared, “It was a really good program. There were so many tears. I can tell this group has all been holding so much pain inside. It was beautiful to see them sharing, crying and supporting each other. Many of them highlighted how important it is not to judge each other as they were learning about the effects of trauma and the grief journey. We also focused on how important it is to be patient with ourselves and others.”

Nilubon added, “I feel that it took a lot of courage for these women to show up, open up about their pain in front of each other and be willing to cry.”

Real Discipleship Is . . .
As we seek to establish a Seventh-day Adventist church-planting movement here among the Isan people of Northeast Thailand, it can be easy to fall into the trap of defining success by outward standards or the expectations of those outside the arena. We can start to think that a real movement should look a certain way, maybe measured by how well people follow certain teachings, or how clearly they can explain church doctrines, or even how well they adhere to some particular methodology of church growth.

But I believe Jesus points us in a different direction. He reminds us that the clearest sign of real discipleship is not just what we know or even what we do, but how we love one another. As He said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). That truth is shaping the way we think about movement. At its core, it is not just about knowledge or outward behavior, but about lives being transformed, relationships becoming whole again, and courageous leaders emerging in the process.

Open Doors
We also have new opportunities ahead. We have recently been invited to partner with other Seventh-day Adventists and fellow Christians to facilitate trauma healing groups in new communities across our region, places where we have not worked before. We would appreciate your continued prayers so that, as we step into these new spaces, more people would find the tools and support they need to move forward and no longer remain stuck.

As healing takes place, we are seeing people, families and even communities begin to move forward with a new vision and a sense of hopefulness. And we believe this is God’s desire for the people of Northeast Thailand, to experience healing, to become unstuck, and to move forward with a clear vision of a movement defined by love for God and for one another.

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