A Thai village plays follow the leader—for real.
It can be extremely difficult to share the gospel with a people group that follows another religion. Some groups will only do what their leader does.
In at least one village, they followed their leader to Jesus.
Suriyan Anupa lives with his family near Chiang Mai, Thailand. But their hearts are somewhere else.
Suriyan and his family
“My family loves sharing the Gospel, especially through house-to-house evangelism in places where no one has gone before to share the Good News.”
Far Away in Distance, Culture, and Religion
In 2025, someone introduced Suriyan to a Lahu village named Aela. Located within walking distance of Myanmar, this village is difficult to reach.
“It is a four hour drive from Chiang Mai and the road leading to the village is in very poor condition. There is no electricity and no internet access. They practice traditional spirit worship and believe in the power of spirits.”
In the spring of 2025, a group of four, including someone who spoke Lahu, traveled to the village to share the gospel, but the people didn’t want to hear. “The villagers did not welcome us because they strongly followed their shaman.”
The shaman is the Lahu spiritual leader who practices rituals, sacrifices, healings, and other rites. The Lahu believe their shaman can keep away the bad spirits and bring them good fortune.
“Without the shaman’s permission, they believed they could not change their religion.”
A New Door
But soon after returning home, Suriyan heard about Filter of Hope and water filters he could take to the people of Aela.
“The villagers relied on water from the mountains. The water was unsafe to drink, especially during the rainy season when it became very muddy.”
Things took a turn for the better. “We installed water filters in almost every household. After that, we returned once a month to follow up on how they were using the filters. We also took the opportunity to visit each home and pray blessings over the families.”
“After six to seven months, our relationships with the villagers had improved tremendously. We had become like family to them. They were very happy and grateful to have access to clean drinking water.”
The village children greet Suriyan’s team.
In December 2025, Suriyan and his team decided to organize a Christmas celebration in Aela Village. They hoped they had developed enough good will that the people might come.
The day of the celebration they extended a personal invitation to each family. “About 20 people from our team joined in and we went from house to house to invite the villagers to attend and to pray blessings over them.”
The team makes a plan for visiting all of the homes before the Christmas celebration.
The team visited each home, prayed blessings over them, and invited them to the party.
But Suriyan knew there was one person he must visit that day—the shaman.
Soon after he arrived with his Lahu interpreter, Suriyan noticed the shaman having trouble walking because of pain in his knee.
“I asked him if I could lay my hand on his knee and pray for him. I commanded the pain in his knee to leave in the name of Jesus. His condition improved significantly, although he was not completely healed yet.”
“I invited him to join me at the Christmas celebration, but I did not expect him to come.”
The First Christmas Celebration in Aela
About 50 villagers attended the gathering. In addition to receiving gifts and singing, Suriyan shared a message about the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of God.
The village gathered for singing, food, and gifts.
He gave a simple invitation. “If you recognize that you are living in the kingdom of darkness and want Jesus to help you enter the Kingdom of God, please raise your hand and come forward.”
At first, it seemed that no one dared to make a decision. “They were all looking around for the shaman. They weren’t going to do anything unless he gave his approval.”
But then someone sitting at the back stood up and walked toward Suriyan, while the Lahu interpreter translated the message.
It was the shaman! And he wanted to speak.
The shaman surprised everyone when he came to the front of the party.
Suriyan wondered what the shaman might say, but he had a request. “Someone prayed for my knee today and it’s much better. I decided to come tonight and I want you to pray for my knee again.”
Several members of the team prayed for him. “We declared healing in the name of Jesus. That night, he was completely healed!”
“He became the first person in the village to receive Jesus into his life.”
After that, almost everyone stood up to receive Jesus into their lives. Many people also experienced healing through prayer.
Today, several families in Aela Village have become Christians.
A New Christian Community at Aela
House churches have started, too. One meets at the shaman’s house. A Lahu pastor is taking care of the believers and helping them grow in their faith. “They are seeing answers to prayer and the village is a much happier place.”
The Christians are meeting in house churches and building a church on land one of them has donated.
Suriyan’s family still visits the Aela village. “They are always very happy to see us.”
“I am deeply thankful to God for what He has done in Aela Village. He opened the door for the Gospel through practical acts of love, building relationships, and prayer.”
“And we would also like to thank Filter of Hope for being a bridge that connects us with the villagers. What began as an unreceptive village became a community where many people encountered Jesus and chose to follow Him.”
