Rev. Dr. Fungchatou (Fung) and Dr. Kalia Lo
Rev. Dr. Fungchatou (Fung) and Dr. Kalia Lo were born in Laos to two non-Christian families. By the grace of God, their families immigrated to America as refugees from Laos and became Christians. In 2000, Dr. Fung graduated with his Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Fung was a university professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and at St. John’s University in Minnesota for a total of ten years. In 2007, Fung graduated from St. Louis Seminary, was ordained as an LCMS Pastor, and accepted his first call as a foreign missionary to Indonesia. In 2018, Kalia got her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from Bethel University in Minnesota. Dr. Kalia was a teacher for the Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools prior to the Lo family’s departure to serve the Lord in Thailand. The Lo family served as foreign missionaries with the LCMS’s Office of International Mission from 2007-2013. For the past four years, the Los have been missionaries in Thailand to the Hmong people in Southeast Asia.
Working in partnership with Mission of Christ Network, LINC-International, and the Hmong Mission Society, the Lo family is currently serving the Lord as foreign missionaries to the Hmong in Southeast Asia. Their primary ministry focus is to seek, save and equip the Hmong people for Kingdom growth. Their specific ministries include, but not are limited to, theological and discipleship trainings with Hmong pastors and leaders from the countries of Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. They are also working with the local Hmong congregations to start new ministries and plant more churches. During the last fiscal year of 2020-2021 alone, the ministry had 639 baptisms, started 13 new ministries, and added 8 new sites to their theological training program.