We have previously reported on the various activities of missionary couple Andrea and Christian Thiele, for instance on the presentation of their project of establishing children's villages in Northern Thailand. After having returned to Thailand, they found the time to answer our interview questions in detail:

Would you please tell us something about yourselves? Could you provide for some biographical details, elaborate on your background and your activities?

We are Christian and Andrea Thiele, parents to a grown-up son living in Germany, while we have been living in Thailand since April 2007. Both of as are native from Paderborn and know each other since attending school together. Our parents have been Catholics, respectively. We were married to each other in 1990, while meeting a group of Christian believers in 1996, who taught us to to live within a close relationship with God. In the Fall of 2002, we decided to dedicate our lives to Jesus Christ. Concomitantly to us devoting to lead a life for God, the idea arose to do some charitable work aimed at children, like establishing an orphanage or a children's home.

Even though we have developed some interesting proposals, we have never been able to set up such an institution in Germany. Nevertheless, our urge to support children in need grew more intense, to provide them a solid foundation for their lives, as well as spreading the loving words of God we have been listening to ourselves. Therefore, by the end of 2005 we decided to join missionary organisation To-All-Nations (formerly known by ICW) in going to Thailand for erecting Christian orphanages and kindergartens there. During our first visiting year in Thailand, we have been to various children's homes, as well as working there. At the same time, we have been starting to learn the Thai language. In February 2008, we have laid foundations for our first home in Mae La Noi. During our stay there from March through May 2008, God sent the call to many people to take care of a foster child in Thailand. This enabled us to establish two more children's homes here in short time. Until now, the Lord has been bestowing us with his grace, such that we have been able to build the fourth home in Sobtschom, and the fifth one in Chiang Rai. At three sites (Mae Ho, Sobtschom, and Khun Yuam) we were able to erect completely new buildings. In total, we provide a new home for as much as 105 children.

You are working as missionaries, as you have been explaining on your web page www.thaimission.de. Could you please elaborate on on your working and your mission, as well as telling us about your relationship with missionary organisation To-All-Nations?

We have come to Thailand to help children in need. Of course we are aware that there is much need for help around the whole world, even in Germany, yet we are dedicated to the needs of Thai children. We want to provide a good, caring home for them, allow them to attend school, and care for them all over. After they have been attending school, we want to enable them to learn a proper profession, such that they may have a good start into life after living at our homes. Therefore, we are planning to establish some apprentice schools. Also, we are planning to erect even more children's homes next to those already operating. But to do this, we need some more help and support from people from Germany, as well as from the local foster parents.

To-All-Nations is the name of the missionary organisation that has been sending us from our Christian community (Paderborn South) to Thailand. They take care about all the details like: managing the sponsorships for the respective foster children, help and assistance while we are at home in Germany, administrating the donations for our projects, organizing our travels, and so on...

You have started establishing children's homes in Northern Thailand in 2007. Why did you choose Thailand for your projects? Have you ever been to Thailand before, for instance for spending a holiday there, or was it a totally unknown country for you?

In 2002, we have been to Thailand for the first time for spending our vacations there. It was quite a nice experience, but we do not think we had gone there for a second vacation. We became interested in the country after we have chosen to devote our lives to Jesus Christ. That is why we went there as missionaries in 2008. Thus, going to Thailand has been a completely new experience for us, since by going there on a vacation you may not get a proper impression of the country.

Where are the homes located, and how many children are living there? Are these places orphanages, or do they also serve as kindergartens and schools? How is the children's everyday life there?

We are running the following homes and boarding schools:

Mae La Noi, with 11 children; Mae Ho, 22 children; Khun Yuam, 28 children; Sobtschom, 24 children, and Chiang Rai, with 20 children. All these places are located in Northern Thailand. In three of these, children of the Karen mountain people are living exclusively, while at the other places Thai children as well as children from Hmong and Lahu mountain people are living.

Most of the children living with us are orphans. But we also have children whose parent have been divorced, or who would not take them to their new families after being married again. Also, we provide a home for children from socially challenged families, mostly from families living in remote villages in the mountains with no schools.

The typical day for the children starts with having breakfast, followed by a short prayer. After that, it's school time. As typical for Thailand, the children are learning there until the afternoon. When they have returned home and finished their homework, they have time for playing until supper is ready. Later on, they are getting some additional training in English by foreign volunteers (mostly young women from Germany), since the English classes in school are not sufficient. At night, we are holding another prayer, with the children singing and praying together before bedtime. In Thailand, however, this tends to be quite early in the evening, since you also rise early in the morning.

From Paderborn to Thailand - you have come quite a long way there! How was it like moving there, how long took the preparations to go there, what obstacles were there to overcome initially? Did you have the time to learn the Thai language beforehand?

Well, to start with the preparations: From our initial plans to go on our Mission until departing, it took about 18 months. In this time, we had many interviews, attended to talks and seminaries, run official errands, and made preparations for our leaving. We have sold most of our furniture, while the rest has been shipped in a twenty-feet container. Luckily, we did not encounter any problems which could be solved easily. We would really like to thank everybody helping us during this time! Unfortunately, we could not learn the language in advance, since we did not know Suchada and her Thai classes back then!

How do you actually build a home for children? Have you been able to do some planning and order some construction works in advance, or did you have to start from scratch when coming to Thailand?

We really did start working from scratch there. First, we did visit places where no Christian children's home had been established until then. Then we have been searching for Christian communities there who were willing to cooperate in helping children in need. After we have had some discussions, we chose some appropriate sites and went back to Germany for presenting our activities for getting people to sponsor the children. We are grateful to have found many foster parents in a short time, such that we could start building the first three children's homes. First, we started building them employing the simple and fast Thai design, made of bamboo and wood, with roofs made of leaves. Later on, generous donations enabled us to erect solid buildings in three places, and buy some real estate.

How is your standing with the Thai people? You are working there as Christian missionaries, are there any conflicts because you are working in a Buddhist country?

None at all! We are met cordially everywhere, and the people learning about our work are glad to hear we are able to help their children, regardless of their our our religious beliefs!

Even though you have moved to Thailand, every now and then you come back to Paderborn, your place of birth. Did living in Thailand change your point of view on Paderborn, or on Germany in general?

We are always happy about getting the chance to return to our home, for our son and our respective families are living in Paderborn. Nevertheless, at the moment we are feeling completely at home in Thailand, we like living there. Staying in in two different countries, you cannot help yourself but compare them, and find living in Thailand totally different from living in Germany. Luckily, wherever we go, we do not have much trouble adapting ourselves to that place.

Do you have any message or final words for our readers?

We are quite grateful, because wherever in Germany we tell about our activities, we meet open-minded and interested people with a heart of gold, who want to share their money they have in excess as compared to people in Thailand. But there are also numerous people in Germany who do not own much money, and who are still willing to donate to support us helping Thai children in need.

We are grateful for every donation and everyone becoming a foster parent to a child – for every sponsorship changes a children's life!!!

Nobody may stop all the misery in the world on their own.

We may not do take care of everything, but this should not stop us trying to do so.