Unsung: not given attention and praise that is deserved for doing good things; Hero: a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities
This is David Seawong and he’s an Unsung Hero.
He boasts a quilt work of family history- his mom is from an Aca tribe out of the hills of China and his dad is Chinese. They moved to Burma after marrying, welcoming the births of David and his siblings soon after. David lived in Burma until 2nd grade when his parents sent him to an orphanage in Thailand so he could get an education. The 8888 Uprising had just happened in Burma and schools were plummeting even more than they had been during the 20-year reign of a powerful socialist group—basically just a really corrupt government and an equally corrupt military. So, David was sent across the border to get a proper education. It was at that orphanage, run by Christians, that he met Jesus.
David now spends his days fighting for people to meet the same Jesus he met years ago in that orphanage. His ministry, Free to Serve Indochina, stretches across 4 nations- China, Thailand, Laos, and Burma (Myanmar).
Here’s how it all works:
They send missionaries into unreached hill tribes of all of these countries to share the gospel. As the gospel spreads through some of these villages, they seek out young people that have a passion for The Lord and bring them to Thailand for 2 years of bible training at their Training School in Maesai. After the two years, these men and women are equipped to go back into their homelands to live and preach the gospel, to pastor and to care for the people, to plant churches and to run children’s homes.
Pretty neat network, huh?
And it doesn’t stop there. David has been praying for countries like Vietnam and Cambodia- that they could plant even more churches there in the hopes that this spider web will ever spread, and through it The Lord’s name will be glorified over and over again through so many coming to know Him.
The thing about this organization is that it dares to go to dangerous places. Myanmar? Laos? China? Those are not places of religious freedom. In fact, FTS has 5 pastors currently imprisoned in Laos for preaching the gospel.
“But they are okay, and they are joyful, because they know they were preaching something worth being imprisoned for”, David said casually.
We were so honored to get to hear David and FTS’s story, to get to share it with the world in hopes that more people will come alongside them as partners in ministry. Please be praying for how you can support them, whether that’s through donations for their varying ministry needs or through prayer over the protection of their people in all 4 countries. You can pray for the potential to plant a church in Cambodia to grow. You can pray for the kids in the children’s homes. You can pray for the families that take care of them. You can pray for financial provision. ALL THE PRAYER PEOPLE, ALL THE PRAYER!
“I will go when the Lord says to go. Until then, I will stay.” –David Seawong
