Miracle of the Lam Yai Trees
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5uRoGCUFuc?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque]
Some property was recently donated to Love for Asia for an office and TV studio by our friends Ian and Buaket to help the spread of the Gospel in Thailand.
On a small plot of land in northern Thailand stood a grove of Lam Yai trees. The couple who owned the land the trees grew on had leased it out for farming for many years. About two years ago, God impressed them to donate a portion of that land for the Love for Asia foundation to build their own office and studio. The couple saw how God was using the Love for Asia team to help fill the huge need for Christian media in Thailand (of which there is very little) and provide missionaries the legal status to stay in Thailand. Love for Asia has been renting a small house and using it as an office. The team has been praying for a long time for a studio with the space to film seminars, health videos, and other Bible-centered programming. This property was a huge answer to those prayers.
Before they could start preparations to build, they had to go through a lengthy procedure to get the land zoned for building. The process took around two years and the property was officially deeded to Love for Asia this spring. The next step toward building the studio was to clear the land and fill it in with dirt to prevent flooding.
To do so, the Lam Yai trees on our side of the property line had to be cut down. The people that were leasing and farming the land asked if we would wait to remove the trees until they could get one more harvest. We really wanted to start clearing the land but decided to wait four months so they could have one more crop.
Lam Yai, also known as Longans, are a popular fruit in Thailand. They have a hard but thin shell that gives way to a sweet fleshy inside.
When the fruit began to appear, they noticed something strange. The trees on the piece of land NOT donated grew heavy with fruit and provided an abundant harvest. But the trees on the donated land produced no fruit at all. One tree was on their land but grew over our side. It was full of fruit on their side and completely bare on ours! It was like an invisible hand had extended the property line straight up to the top of the tree.
The Lam Yai grove. The stick marks the property line.
A closer look - you can see the fruit on the right, but just leaves on the left..
As soon as the farmers realized what was happening, they told us that we could begin work whenever we wanted. They recognized that God had honored the land owners' gift and claimed it as His, and it is time the land is used for His purpose.
We are excited to see this evidence that God’s hand is over this land and this project. We pray that through the new Love for Asia studio, God will be glorified in the minds of many Thai people.
Please join us in praying for the planning and funding of the new office and studio. The total cost for the new studio will be around $70,000. This will be used to prepare the land, construct the building, and outfit it with the necessary equipment.
If God has given you a burden for the people of Thailand, or for media ministry, and you would like to help make this new studio a reality, you can do so by clicking the button below.