Testimony

Towards the end of summer 2010, Bob van Rijn migrated to Thailand. A big decision which required quite some preparation. You can read more about Bob’s journey on this page. At the bottom of this page, you find more information about his life and work in Thailand.

Why Thailand?

In the beginning of the 1990s, already before Bob joined the Evangelical Missionary Church “De Ark” in Tiel (the Netherlands), the Lord helped Bob during his weekly nature walks to discover his calling in life: help those in need in Thailand, the Philippines or Cambodia. Bob had never been to any of these countries but decided to visite them in this particular order. After visiting them all, he would decide which country he would move to.

These plans made a flight when the Mulders Family, whom he knew from “De Ark,” moved to Thailand in 2005. Bob himself visited Thailand for the first time in February 2006. He stayed three weeks: one week in Bangkok and two weeks at the Mulders family in Hua Hin. Bob: “Regarding networking and exploring the area, it was very convenient for me that they lived here.” It was because of them that Bob came into contact with the refugees and Bible school in Pala U.

After this trip, Bob decided to speed up the process and travel to Asia twice a year to visit the other countries. Next on Bob’s list were the Philippines, but plans changed when the Mulders family told Bob that they would move back to the Netherlands in 2007. Bob: “I realised that it would be easier to build a network in Thailand with the Mulders family around than without them.” Therefore, he visited Thailand for the second time in Spring 2007. Around this time, he also informed the Evangelical Missionary Church ‘De Ark’ about his plans to move abroad to do missionary work.

When planning his next trip to Asia, Bob felt the urge to visit Cambodia before going to the Philippines. Bob, thereupon, searched the Internet to find people to meet with in Cambodia. After some research he found the telephone number of the father of a missionary family in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. It appeared that this family had moved back to the Netherlands, but they could give him the email addresses of five missionaries still working in Cambodia. Bob wrote them all, explaining who was and what he indented to do in Asia, and asking if he could meet them and learn more about their work. Three people invited him to come by and talk about their work. Drawing upon these discussions, Bob found out that he preferred starting his missionary work in Thailand. Therefor he decided not to visit The Philippines anymore.

In May 2008, Bob visited Thailand for the third time. During this trip, Bob received a phone call from Curtis Foley (Curt), an American missionary friend working in Pala U who was temporarily in America because of health problems and to raise funds. Curt asked Bob to buy shrimp paste, salt, cooking oil and 500 kg of rice for the Bible school in Pala U. The school ran out of supplies because he stayed away longer than previously planned. Bob used his network to arrange a car with driver and bought all items on the shopping list after negotiating. Bob: “After all, one should use the resources available economically.” Upon delivering all groceries to the school he could conclude that his first, unexpected mission was a success.

Migration

Based on these experiences, Bob decided to move to Thailand. The only thing he had to do before setting off to Thailand was selling his house. Unfortunately, due to the global financial and economic crisis, his home stayed on the market for a very long time. He visited Thailand two more times while waiting for a buyer. This additional “preparation time” turned out to be very useful as it enabled him to expand his network and learn more about Karen and Thai cultures.

The final departure date was set when Bob had sold his house. On 22 August 2010, the Sunday service in “De Ark” was marked by Bob’s farewell. It was a wonderful service, which was also attended by many of Bob’s family members and friends, and by Karen refugees living in the Netherlands. The members of the church sent him away with their blessing. Bob visited the Netherlands once a year until the death of his parents, after which he reduced the frequency of these trips to once every two years. When in the Netherlands, he stays in his former house or with his family in Wijk bij Duurstede. In 2018, he stayed with a missionary couple in Cali (Colombia) to exchange experiences, and in 2020 he went to family members in Australia.

Life and work in Thailand

Bob has started and supported many projects since he moved to Thailand. Almost immediately, he took over a small food project that supports widows with rice, shrimp paste, salt and oil. While distributing this food, he learned about the living circumstances of the Karen community living on the Thai-Burmese border. He saw children who were cared for with minimal resources and started the diaper project. Gradually, Bob became a regular visitor of the Power of Love Church in his hometown. This congregation distributes clothing and food in slums. Bob joined them on one of their rounds and saw the poor living circumstances in the slums with his own eyes. He now also collects clothes to deliver here, and with the help of the congregation he supports a single mother with children by paying the rent of their house.

Apart from these monthly recurring projects, Bob also provides ad hoc (emergency) assistance, such as after the 2017 Southern Thailand floods. In order to meet people in need of help closer to his hometown, Bob contributed in his first couple of years in Thailand to initiatives distributing free medical devices, such as wheelchairs. Incidentally, he also paid medicine bills of the Karen community.

A couple of years after his migration, Bob met people working for Rescue Phetkasem Hua Hin. This is a foundation that owns three ambulances and one hearse, and provides first aid on a voluntary basis at people’s homes or on public roads. This involves a lot of work – Thailand’s roads are ranked the second most lethal in the world. In a convoy of 15 to 20 four-wheel-drive pickup trucks, volunteers of Rescue Phetkasem Hua Hin regularly visit isolated villages in northwest Thailand to provide them basic needs. About once or twice a year, Bob buys some things on behalf of the foundation and joins the convoy to take these goods to the villages.

Networking

Bob is a true networker. Although he had not expected that God would use him in this way, on multiple occasions he has offered a number of people from abroad, including Dutch people, a listening ear and talked with them about life. He also met a German who executes small charity projects for the German embassy. With the help of the German embassy, Bob could refurbish an old children’s home in Pa Deng; leaking roofs have been renewed and the children’s rooms received new tiles, wall paint, desks and wardrobes. The shelters of the animals, the children’s home cares for, have been refurbished as well. Since the death of its former supporter, Asia Care Foundation already supported this children’s home with supplies of rice, shrimp paste, cooking oil and salt.

Other projects aim to make people who receive monthly help independent. These activities are mainly concentrated in a village near the Bible school where Bob has delivered food for many years. For instance, Bob and his foundation helped one family to set up a goat farm with which they could provide their own maintenance. This “goat project” has been successful as the family in question is now independent. Another project entailed helping a family to complete their house after the father of the family had died.

Via a Dutch acquaintance, Bob also got in touch with other people who help Karen refugees in the same area in Thailand. As a result, Asia Care Foundation now also supports a travelling eye doctor and a group of people who founded a college in Mae Sariang in the province of Mae Hong Son.