“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” These words from the book of Proverbs generally serve as a guide for Christian parents who seek to raise their children in a Christian home. However, there are two significant challenges in fulfilling this duty in the Hmong villages. The first is that most children do not have Christian parents to train them. The second challenge is that many children are sent far away from home to receive a free education at Buddhist temples simply because their parents cannot afford the cost of education in their home village.
[slideshow=33]

The Baan Ruam Thai 9 Hmong Lutheran Church is in its second year of a program to bring these children back home, and it ensures that these children are receiving Christian training and education in the process. The fittingly named “Bring the Children Home” project provides funding for families to send their children to school in their home village on weekdays. The children then spend Friday night through Sunday afternoon at the church. There the children are provided with not only food to eat and a safe place to sleep, but most importantly a Christian education from the village evangelists.

Each weekend, the evangelists teach about Biblical truths, alongside classes in Hmong literacy, music lessons, and much more. The evangelists in the Hmong villages work tirelessly to share God’s love. Instead of taking the weekends off, they are teaching Bible classes, along with instruction in music and Hmong literacy, to the many children who stay at the church over the weekend. In the process, these children are gaining very valuable skills which will prepare them for a life of Christian service. In a homeland that primarily worships and fears spirit gods, how sweet is the sound of these children at Sunday morning worship singing praises to the Great I AM! As the church continues to “bring the children home” to their families in Village 9, it is a great blessing to know that through the Christian training provided, these children are being prepared to be brought to a heavenly Home someday.