Rev. Dr. Wallapa Wisawasukmongchol was born into a family in Thailand of devout Buddhists. She lived a good life, helping others, and never considered believing in Jesus. She didn’t understand or recognize His love or believe He would have any effect on or place in her life. In fact, Dr. Wallapa questioned whether God really existed at all.
In 1982, while working as a nurse at the Bangkok Christian Hospital, Dr. Wallapa was surprised to find that every patient’s room had a picture of Jesus. She didn’t think much about it; she assumed that the picture must be an important person in the Christian faith. Late one night in April, Dr. Wallapa dreamed of a long-haired man wearing a white coat walking towards her. At the time, she thought it was the repetitive image from the hospital, the picture of Jesus. The following night, she had the same dream again. The “dream picture” was very clear. Dr. Wallapa knew this wasn’t just a normal dream or a memory of the picture from the hospital ward.
She felt a strong desire to get to know the man in her dream. She described these feelings “like a person falling in love.” She was sure that the picture and her dream were one in the same: “It’s Jesus!” Dr. Wallapa consulted her husband who was studying medicine in obstetrics and gynecology at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. She expressed interest in becoming a Christian. But he strongly opposed her conversion because, “Our family is very strong in the Thai Buddhist Religion.”
Dr. Wallapa said, “Things about the long-haired man in my heart were very exciting to me,” so she decided to talk to the hospital chaplain. He taught her a little about God and gave her a Gideon Bible. He challenged her to make a decision for Christ. She cried within herself: “Why!?! Being a Christian is so difficult!” Dr. Wallapa decided that day to refuse to have any relationships with any Christians moving forward.
However, Jesus wouldn’t let her go. She continued to study and read the Bible alone, describing herself as “hungry – because I wanted to know Jesus – who He is.” Then, one day, she began reading Galatians 2:20-21: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” While she was reading these words, she felt a strange, warm feeling, and tears of love and joy began flowing down her face. She says: “I was crying, and I prayed to welcome Jesus myself, according to the teachings at the end of the Gideon Bible.” Dr. Wallapa had no doubt that the Holy Spirit inspired her to invite Him into her heart that day.
That day was a turning point. She described her former self as a person full of misery and distrust who was transformed into a person full of deep peace and joy, even amidst the suffering or problems that arise. Because of her faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ, she came to see the fulfillment that only Christ can bring to complete her life.
Dr. Wallapa’s husband, Dr. Wirach, was amazed at the changes that occurred in her. Even so, he resisted Christ’s pull on his own life until 13 years later: “God led my husband to welcome Jesus Christ. He then brought the whole family, including the three children, into the way of God.” Dr. Wallapa’s husband is still a medical professor at Chulalongkorn University and also serves as the Pastor of Bangkok Trinity Alliance Church and the president of Hands of Hope Foundation.
Dr. Wallapa and Husband, Dr. Wirach, at the Hope Center Dedication in Phetchabun, Thailand
Dr. Wallapa declares that the Lord has led and changed her life completely, explaining that He prepared her life and used her and her family to fulfill His mission at the right time. Dr. Wallapa challenges everyone “to seek righteousness through Jesus Christ first, and you will see the blessings overflow. His Highness will add to us all things.” She shares that her family adheres to the way of life mentioned in Joshua 24:15: “And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Bishop Talmadge Gardner, Executive Director of World Missions Ministries, speaks highly of Dr. Wallapa and her impact in her native Thailand: “Dr. Wallapa Wisawasukmongchol serves as the National leader for Thailand. Her vision and passion for Thailand has placed IPHC’s ministry presence in that Country on an unprecedented growth trajectory. Transformational leader!” Rev. Dr. Wallapa holds a Ph.D in Organizational Development and Transformation and serves as the National Director for IPHC Thailand, founder and chairperson of Alliance Church Association, founder and chairperson of Thailand Theological Seminary, President of the Thai Foundation for Education, Board Secretary for Hands of Hope Foundation, and Founder of Hope Center Ministries for Women in Thailand. She also serves as the first woman elected to the Pentecostal World Fellowship Board, alongside Rev. Eddy Kwok, Hong Kong’s Field Superintendent, and Presiding Bishop A.D. Beacham, Jr. Presiding Bishop Beacham shared this: “Dr. Wallapa and her husband Dr. Wirach are two of the most amazing people I have ever met. Their commitment to spread the gospel challenges me to greater faith and commitment in my own life. I’m so thankful for these kinds of leaders IPHC has in Thailand and around the world.”
Dr. Wallapa, Dr. Wirach, and Government Officials at the Hope Center Dedication in Phetchabun, Thailand
