In the hills and forests that trace the 1,200-kilometer border between Thailand and Myanmar, more than a million refugees live lives defined by displacement — and yet, in these lives, there is something more enduring than despair: perseverance.

As the World Communion of Reformed Churches prepares to gather for its General Council in Chiang Mai this October under the theme “Persevere in Your Witness,” this story — of survival, service and faith — demands our attention. It is featured in Stories of Perseverance, a WCRC resource lifting up voices from communities on the margins of global visibility.

Told by the Rev. Chun-jung Huh, a Korean missionary with the Church of Christ in Thailand, the story paints a sobering portrait of long-term suffering and ongoing resilience along the Thai-Myanmar border. These are people who have fled military violence, ethnic persecution and civil war in Myanmar — many of them since the 1960s, with displacement sharply increasing after the 2021 military coup. An estimated 100,000 new refugees arrived in 2022 alone.

What is most striking is not simply the scale of the crisis, but the lack of recognition. Most refugees here exist without legal status — stateless, undocumented, invisible. Without the protection of either government, they are denied land rights, education, employment and health care. They are vulnerable to exploitation, illness and violence, with no official structure to protect or support them.

And yet, from within this landscape of loss emerges the voice of Say Day Paw, a 45-year-old mother and medic whose personal story is nothing short of extraordinary.

Her husband was killed by a land mine a decade ago, forced to carry military supplies for Burmese soldiers through the jungle. At the time, she was pregnant. Left to raise two children alone, Say Day Paw not only survived — she chose to serve. She trained with international medical NGOs and health institutions affiliated with the Karen National Union, eventually becoming a licensed medic through the Karen Department of Health and Welfare.

Today, she works in a small hospital in Ta Kwee Htoo village, part of a resettlement area for Karen refugees. With support from the Korea-Mesot Cooperation Center — a Korean Christian development organization — she and a team of seven treat 10 to 20 patients daily and reach up to 500 each month. The clinic provides free medical care to those who would otherwise have none.

But the work goes beyond treating illness. Say Day Paw and her colleagues travel to neighboring villages, schools, churches and Buddhist temples to provide public health education, disease prevention and mine safety training. Their outreach touches the lives of more than 5,000 people. The hospital, once a dream, has become a hub of healing, education and hope.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, their work became even more critical. The team distributed masks, assisted with quarantine measures and provided emergency relief to families struggling with economic hardship.

“People see the hospital as their hope,” Say Day Paw says. And indeed, it is more than a medical facility — it is a testament to what perseverance looks like in practice. It is witness born of compassion, of faith refusing to be extinguished.

As the WCRC prepares to meet in Chiang Mai, just hours from communities like Ta Kwee Htoo, this story offers both challenge and inspiration. To “persevere in your witness” is not only a theological theme — it is a lived reality for people like Say Day Paw and the thousands she serves.

Stories of Perseverance is a resource that reminds us of our shared calling: to stand with the stateless, speak for the silenced and act with those who carry hope even in exile.