• Languages
    • English
    • Français
    • हिन्दी
    • Português
    • Español
    • Kiswahili
  • About ANN
    • Reproduction Requirements
    • Styleguide
  • Subscribe
  • World
  • Americas
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East & Africa
  • Oceania
    • ANN Video
    • ANN In-Depth
    • ANN Profiles

The official news channel of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X
  • YouTube
  • Trademark and logo usage
  • Legal notice
  • Privacy policy
© 2026 General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists
12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904-6601 United States +1-301-680-6000
  • World
  • Americas
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East & Africa
  • Oceania
  • Media
  • Languages
    • English
    • Français
    • हिन्दी
    • Português
    • Español
    • Kiswahili
  • About ANN
    • Reproduction Requirements
    • Styleguide
  • Subscribe
Seventh Day Adventist Logo

ANN and Adventist.news are the official news channels of the Seventh-day Adventist church.

Seventh-day Adventists are devoted to helping people understand the Bible to find freedom, healing, and hope in Jesus.

Learn more

  • Adventist.org
  • Adventist Mission
  • ADRA
  • Adventist World Radio
  • Hope Channel

General Conference

Amid Covid-19, small boy helps Bangkok prepare to meet God

May 11, 2020

Bangkok, Thailand

Jessica Cebuhar Atwell
AdventistMission 1 Amid Covid 19 small boy helps Bangkok prepare to meet God

AdventistMission 1 Amid Covid 19 small boy helps Bangkok prepare to meet God

Asher chased down everyone he saw, exclaiming, “Prepare to meet thy God!

My 6-year-old son, Asher, approached me in our home in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Mom, I want to hand out flyers to people,” he said.

I wasn’t sure what he meant. After some questioning, I figured out that he wanted to distribute a small Thai-language tract called “A Love Letter From Jesus.” My heart skipped a joyful beat as I realized that my little boy wanted to share his love for Jesus with the precious people of Bangkok.

But Friday didn’t seem like a good day to go out. The global Covid-19 pandemic was keeping people indoors. In addition, I was busy preparing for the Sabbath.

“It would be too much of a hassle to leave the house,” I thought.

During my devotions on Sabbath morning, I remembered Asher’s request and felt impressed to take him out with the tracts.

“I’ll take him,” I promised God.

But I didn’t.

That afternoon and evening, I watched Sabbath sermons with a friend. One preacher ended his sermon with an appeal from Ellen White: “As a people who believe in Christ’s soon coming, we have a message to bear, ‘Prepare to meet thy God’ (Amos 4:12).” The passage came from “Gospel Workers,” page 52.

“That’s exactly what I want to tell Thai people!” I thought. “We need to translate the Bible verse into Thai.”

On Sunday morning, I opened the EGW Writings app to read that day’s scheduled devotional message. Guess what I read? A passage that included Amos 4:12: “Prepare to meet thy God.” I was cut to the heart.

At breakfast, Asher gazed at me longingly. His father and his little brother and baby sister sat nearby.

“Mom, I want to hand out flyers to people,” Asher said.

I promised that we would go out no matter what.

After Asher memorized Amos 4:12 in Thai, we got ready to leave.

My husband, Brian, and I had to make a delivery of fresh bread from a bakery at an urban center of influence that we helped establish after arriving from the U.S. state of Washington in 2014. Usually, when we make deliveries, Asher and his brother take their bicycles and ride around with the neighborhood children. But Asher announced that Sunday that he did not want his bicycle. He would be too busy to ride it.

“Drop me off at the beginning of the soi [street], and I’ll walk down and hand all these out,” Asher told his father, referring to the small tracts.

It was a 1-mile (1-kilometer) walk to the neighbor who had ordered the bread. We decided to take extra loaves to try to sell on the street. The urban center of influence has fallen on difficult times during the pandemic and could use the money.

I put baby Prudence in a stroller, and Asher and I began our walk down the street. Asher chased down everyone he saw.

“Prepare to meet thy God!” he exclaimed in Thai, extending tracts to passersby.

We wore face masks, as did the passersby. Social distancing rules are unevenly observed in Bangkok, and rumors have swirled that white-skinned foreigners were responsible for bringing Covid-19 to Thailand. But no one could refuse little Asher’s earnest appeals.

“Prepare to meet thy God!” he repeated as person after person accepted tracts.

Asher also placed tracts on motorcycles and cars and into mailboxes. He was ecstatic when we headed back home less than two hours later. He had distributed nearly 100 tracts.

“I want to do this every day!” he declared with a big smile.

God worked two other miracles during the walk. We managed to sell all but one loaf of bread, and baby Prudence didn’t cry once even though she had forgone her customary nap.

God truly wants the mighty city of Bangkok — and the people of the other big cities of the world — to be ready. “As a people who believe in Christ’s soon coming, we have a message to bear, ‘Prepare to meet thy God’ (Amos 4:12).”

 

This article was originally published on the Adventist Mission’s website

Jessica Cebuhar Atwell

Topics

  • Adventist Mission
  • Mission

Related articles

Adventist Church workers deploy across northern Botswana for week of ministry

Adventist Church workers deploy across northern Botswana for week of ministry

August 8, 2026

Ministries

Zambian Adventist Church ordains 14 chaplains at military chapel ceremony

Zambian Adventist Church ordains 14 chaplains at military chapel ceremony

August 8, 2026

Adventist Mission

Venezuelan girl invites friends to small group, four baptized

Venezuelan girl invites friends to small group, four baptized

August 7, 2026

Children

Solusi Adventist High School hosts 542 students at Commerce Subjects Symposium

Solusi Adventist High School hosts 542 students at Commerce Subjects Symposium

August 4, 2026

Education

Subscribe for our weekly newsletter

Related Topics

More topics

Mission

Literature outreach reaches coastal Papua New Guinea community

Literature outreach reaches coastal Papua New Guinea community

July 16, 2026
May 8, 2026

South Pacific Division Technology Supports Global Adventist Mission

May 5, 2026

South Pacific for Christ Opens with Torch Ceremony

May 1, 2026

South Pacific Division Launches Global OneVoice27 Initiative

More from Mission

I Will Go

Mass Clean-up Across Honiara Supports Solomon Islands for Christ Preparations

Mass Clean-up Across Honiara Supports Solomon Islands for Christ Preparations

April 5, 2026
More from I Will Go