ALMOST THERE!

Karl grew up in suburban New Hampshire with his parents and younger brother.  Through the ministry of a Presbyterian church youth group, he became a Christian and received a solid foundation in the faith.  During college, Karl was actively involved as a student leader with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and got his first taste of missions through a short-term trip to Poland.  Following graduation, Karl briefly worked for a publishing company before heading to Thailand for two and a half years to teach English and aid with evangelism and discipleship as part of an OMF church planting team.   Karl earned a Masters of Divinity (M.Div) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Master of Theology (Th.M) at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

Sun and her family fled from the killing fields of Cambodia and arrived as refugees in California.  Sun heard the Gospel in Sunday school and later prayed to receive Christ.  After high school, Sun sensed the Lord calling her into missions and pursued a degree in Biblical Studies from Biola University.  Following graduation, Sun went on a short-term mission trip to Cambodia and then taught elementary school for a few years before returning to Asia to teach English in Laos.  During her four years in Laos, she also earned an M.A. in TESOL through Azusa Pacific University.  In 2002, Sun sensed God leading her to a very large Asian country where served for two years.  Sun and her team shared the Gospel with top university students and partnered with churches.

Karl and Sun met in Colorado at OMF’s Candidate Course for new missionaries and were married in 2005. They have two children, Joshua (born 2006) and Caitlin (born 2009).  They did church planting ministry in Thailand from 2006 to 2010 and are currently on home assignment in the United States.  They expect to return to Thailand in February 2012.

During their past term of missionary service (2006-2010), Karl & Sun worked alongside a Thai pastor and his church to do new church planting.  Living in the town of Prabaht in Central Thailand, they sought to plant a new church in the farming community of Nong Doan, about 6 miles distant from Prabaht.  Karl assisted with preaching, pastoral visitation, and evangelistic outreach.  In addition to being a full-time mom to Joshua (5 yr old) and Caitlin (2 yr old), Sun enjoyed discipling some women who came to see her at home.  Karl and Sun saw at least two people come to faith in Christ during their past missionary term in Thailand yet no new church was planted during the time that they were there.  

Currently on home assignment in the U.S., Karl and Sun will return to Thailand in February 2012.  They will move to Bangkok and take on new ministry responsibilities.  Karl will be teaching church history part time at Bangkok Bible Seminary, and assisting with translation and editing at Kanok Bannasan (OMF Publishers Thailand), one of the few publishers of Thai Christian books.  Living right next to the seminary campus in downtown Bangkok, both Karl and Sun expect to have opportunities to invest in the lives of students, having them into their home and influencing the next generation of Thai church leaders.  In addition to these opportunities, they will also be involved in a local Thai church or church plant, laboring to see healthy models of biblical teaching and Christian living take root in the lives of Thai Christians.