Mennonite Weekly Review

When Jeff Wintermote, pastor of Trinity Mennonite Church in Hillsboro, Kan., bought a wall-hanging from a Hmong woman in Thailand, he did more than help provide her year’s earnings.

U.S. delegation members gather with local Christians at Ban Nahontai, Thailand. U.S. congregations are raising $10,000 for a new church building to replace the one shown here. — Photo provided by Jeff Wintermote

He heard her story and shared Christ’s hope.

The woman, a double amputee, shared her story of tragedy with Wintermote and a delegation that traveled to Thailand in December to connect with Hmong Christians.

The delegation included several other members from Trinity, a member from Zion Mennonite Church in Elbing, Kan., and several members from Hmong Mennonite Church in Denver and Hmong Mennonite Church in Fresno, Calif.

“At one of the churches we visited, a woman had four wall-hangings with her,” said Wintermote, who bought the largest hanging for $36. “The pastor asked if we could buy them, because they were her only source of income. She worked on them for a year and would sell all of them for $62.

“She told us about how she escaped from Laos after the Vietnam War. When swimming across the Mekong River to escape into Thailand, they shot her, and she had to have both feet amputated. But she now walks again with a cane and sews for a living, using her handiwork to create stories about the Hmong’s history and their people.”

Her story was one of many shared with the delegation that traveled to Laos and Thailand Dec. 1-17.

Wintermote — who has engaged for several years with the Hmong, an ethnic group from the mountainous parts of Southeast Asia — went to Laos Dec. 1-4 to deliver toothbrushes and Mennonite Central Committee school kits.

The other delegates later joined him to attend a Hmong church conference and then to take a whirlwind tour of 13 villages. They worshiped with the Hmong and lived in their homes, many of which have dirt floors.

As they mingled with the villagers, the Hmong shared their need for pastoral training and other resources. For example, the church at Ban Nahontai has purchased land on which to build a new church building, which will cost about $10,000.

The Hmong shared how they’ve struggled to be faithful in the face of poverty, religious persecution and prejudice since the Communist government came to power in Laos after the Vietnam War.