Tony’s and May’s stories begin on the other side of the world. Both of their parents immigrated to America as refugees from Southeast Asia. Tony and May met each other on their first day at San Diego Christian College. God had prepared their hearts for missions early on in their spiritual walk.
Tony was born in 1982 in Boston, MA, a year after his parents came from Laos as refugees. His family relocated over a dozen times from east to west coast trying to escape the hardships of urban life and poverty. Tony grew up in a Buddhist household and broken home. He found his identity in gangs, which led to violence and petty crime and eventually juvenile hall.
In high school, Tony was sharing one bedroom with three cousins in Los Angeles, CA. They invited him to his first Bible study where he met other troubled youth and delinquents. More importantly, he encountered the love of Christ displayed through Rick and Nicky Davis, missionaries with a love for Southeast Asians. They became his surrogate parents, and with several others moved to San Diego to start a multi-ethnic church in one of the neediest parts of the city. Tony was an active participant in the church plant and developed a love and passion for missions.
Tony has traveled extensively throughout Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. He graduated from Christian Heritage College with a degree in biblical studies and a minor in intercultural studies. He also holds an Executive Master Degree in International Development from Geneva, Switzerland and is working on a Master of Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary.
May was born in 1982, in a small bamboo thatched house on stilts in a remote Iu Mien village in northern Thailand. Her family were deep Animists who lived a life of extreme poverty in the mountains and jungles of the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand). When May was three, her family entered a refugee camp in the hopes of being relocated to a better life in the U.S.A. It was here in the camp that her parents heard the Gospel and became “Christians” because they wanted to escape the worship of spirits. Through a church sponsorship, May’s family immigrated to the U.S. where they continued to practice animistic traditions and rituals. With the help of the church, they grew in their faith and eventually fully embraced God’s gift of eternal life through His Son.
At a young age, May started going to Sunday school and asked Jesus into her heart. She was deeply stirred and committed her life to missions when she heard a missionary from Thailand speak. The turning point in her life came when her older brother passed away due to a tragic accident. During this time, she recommitted her life to the Lord and to His mission. May graduated college at the top of her class and is a credentialed elementary school teacher.
Tony and May, along w/ Tirzah (11), Taliah (9) and Zion (7), currently serve as church-planters and leadership coaches in a restricted Southeast Asian country where they have lived for 12 years pioneering the Gospel among unreached people groups. They have served through business, development, church planting and discipleship. They are passionate about catalyzing movements of indigenous churches reproducing churches. Their discipleship trips usually take them over mountains, valleys and rivers. They have been privileged to witness the start of generations of churches and disciples