We were honored by a visit from two old friends today. Paul and Carol Friesen visited our class to talk about the extensive work they have done helping people in Malaysia through their work with Antioch Partners.
Paul and Carol and their background are well known to many members of this class, but we have recently joined class members that may not be familiar with them so I have taken the liberty of shamelessly copying some of their background from the Antioch Partners website and reproducing it below. To read more about Antioch Partners see <here>.
Paul and Carol first headed to Southeast Asia in 1984 with their eighteen month-old daughter, Hannah. After a year of Thai language study in Bangkok, they served as church planters with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship in South Thailand where their daughter Jessica was born in 1986. In 1989 they moved to East Malaysia to teach at Malaysia Evangelical College (MEC) in Miri where their son, Joshua, was born in 1990. In 1991 they returned to Minnesota for a two and a half year study leave during which time both Paul and Carol earned their Master of Divinity degrees from Bethel Seminary before returning to teach at MEC.
In 1995 in order to better meet the educational needs of their three children, Paul and Carol relocated to Penang, Malaysia. While in Penang, Carol taught at Dalat International School, while Paul continued to oversee church planting teams in South Thailand.
With the graduation of Hannah from Dalat in 2001 and Jessica in 2004, Paul and Carol returned to the States with Josh. After being ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2004, Carol accepted a position as Associate Pastor for Missions at Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX and in 2007 she earned her Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Seminary. Paul continued as a mission co-worker with the PC (USA) serving as Regional Liaison for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and making regular trips back to Asia. Paul was ordained in 2011 in the PC (USA).
After seven years in the U.S. and with the increasing independence of their children, Paul and Carol discerned God’s call to return to cross-cultural ministry in Asia with The Antioch Partners in 2012. Carol served as the chaplain at Sabah Theological Seminary (STS) in Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia and Paul taught at STS while continuing to come alongside Christian leaders in Cambodia and Vietnam seeking to reach the least reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Due to family needs, the Friesens transitioned back to the US in the fall of 2015. Paul is continuing his work in Southeast Asia as a Antioch Parter Partner, now based in the US. Carol has recently served in a chaplaincy program in Austin , and is transitioning back into Member Care work with the Antioch Partners supporting those serving in East Asia.
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