On 20 March 2024, an extraordinary milestone in the ministry of the Methodist Missions Society of Singapore in Thailand was reached. It was the day the Dedication Service of Little Candles Methodist School (Primary) took place in the town of Phrao, Chiang Mai, in north Thailand. The event, presided over by Bishop Dr Gordon Wong of The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS), was the culmination of a building project that began two and a half years earlier in November 2021 and completed just days before the Dedication Service.
The story of the Little Candles Methodist School, however, truly began in 2008 when my wife, Sharon, and I first arrived in Phrao as missionaries. The question on everyone’s mind then, and even now, was “Why Phrao?” After all, Phrao is just a small countryside town where the biggest “shopping centre” is a 7-Eleven convenience store.
My wife and I were answering God’s call to assist a local church in setting up a dormitory for hill tribe students. When that project finished, we stayed on at the request of some parents to provide English tuition for their children. This led us to start a nursery in 2010, which grew into a kindergarten in 2012. In 2016, we joined Methodist Missions Society (MMS) and in December 2020, the school’s building and land was transferred to the Muangthai Mettakij Foundation, the subsidiary of MMS in Thailand. The plan was to extend the existing school to provide primary school education.
Col (Ret) Quek Koh Eng, Regional Director for East Asia, Laos, Thailand and Timor-Leste in MMS, coordinated the proposal for a primary school in Phrao, known as Little Candles Methodist School Primary Building Project, that was passed at the General Conference of MCS in 2020. MMS then appointed a school board led by BG (Ret) Prof Emeritus Lionel Lee to steer the school through its transition to primary-level education and lead the fund-raising committee. A building committee, led by Lip Jin Ho, was selected to oversee the construction of the school which was completed within budget and only six months late, despite being constructed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Dedication began with a ribbon cutting ceremony by Bishop Dr Wong, His Excellency Nirat Pongsitthithaworn, the Governor of Chiang Mai, Mrs Jinda Kamlangprasit, Deputy Provincial Education Officer of Chiang Mai, and Mr Suchad Chiaranussati, Chairman of the Muangthai Mettakij Foundation. The guests were then ushered into the new multipurpose hall to be captivated by Thai dance performances by the school students. This included students from P1, the first cohort of primary enrolments (numbering 42) who commenced in May 2023, and students from K3 who will form the second cohort (expected to be at least 39) commencing in May 2024.
Similar to the Methodist schools in Singapore, there is a strong partnership between church and school. Little Candles Methodist Church (LCMC) runs Christian programmes for the students and provides pastoral care for the school staff. LCMC is regarded as the heartbeat of the school, so it was only right that the LCMC team led the worship.
Drawing from the name of the school for his sermon, Bishop Dr Wong challenged the staff and students at the school to always be “little candles of light” by doing good deeds and showing kindness to those around us every day (Mathew 5:16). Next was the unveiling of the plaque, and then tours of the school, followed by lunch which was a scrumptious selection of Thai dishes including pig trotters. To top off the excitement of the day was a taster of burgers and drinks from our very own Daniel’s Burgers restaurant, which supports our ministry and has become an iconic feature of Phrao.
Reflecting on the past two years, it has been a long journey for the staff of both Little Candles Methodist School and LCMC. The challenges in opening the first private primary school in Phrao have brought us closer together and more dependent on God. We have also learnt gratefulness from the generosity of those who gave to the building of the school. Besides providing quality education, the purpose of the primary school is to walk with the children on their journey of faith to a higher level—which was not possible with a kindergarten alone. That this goal is already being achieved is evident among the new Primary 1 students who have shown a growing intellectual ability to ask deeper questions about God, and some even joining the Sunday worship at church.
Praise God for Little Candles Methodist School!
