The morning sun rises over the rice paddies where new shoots poke up through the water. Cows and water buffalo bellow in the distance.

Roosters crow, and hens scratch in the grass along the roadside. Farmers head out to their fields. A restaurant owner opens her shop to serve her morning customers rice with vegetables and fish. Other small shops open for the day as well. A gong sounds as monks in orange robes walk through the town collecting alms and food at the houses they pass. These are everyday occurrences in a Northern Khmer village.

The Northern Khmer people are the majority in Surin, Thailand and in several neighboring provinces. Most make their livelihood through rice farming, supplementing as needed by opening small shops and restaurants or weaving silk. Some men choose the monastic life, and their needs are met by the generosity of the people. One of the most common ways of supplementing income among the Northern Khmer is to go to Bangkok and find seasonal work in construction and factories.

This migration of Northern Khmer people presents an interesting dynamic to missions. Please pray the Lord will help us create a portable, adaptable community of faith that can reach these migrant workers. Please pray these workers will become missionaries to other Northern Khmer people who have made Bangkok their home. We know the Lord has great plans for the Northern Khmer in Surin and in Bangkok.

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