When asked about what he wanted to do after finishing high school, 17-year-old Scott Downman said he wanted to be a missionary.

The funny thing? The Australian was not a Christian and had not even heard much about the faith at that time.

Yet Scott saw mission work “as something honourable, a calling with a higher purpose”.

“Even as a non-Christian, I felt it was meaningful, and I wanted my life to have meaning,” said Scott.

But at the age of 23, Scott found himself at breaking point.

“Life felt incredibly meaningless. And so, I forecast a date – November 23, 1995 – to kill myself,” he said.

When the day arrived, Scott splurged A$1,000 on clothes and other material items – his last-ditch effort to find happiness. But he still came to the aching realisation that he had nothing.

Just as he was about to take his own life, he heard an audible voice that said: “You can either die now or you can live with Me”.

In that moment, Scott felt a profound shift. “It was like a switch clicked,” he recalled.

Nearly three decades later, Scott, now 52, recounts how that moment changed the trajectory of his life.

Knowing who the voice belonged to  

Months before his suicide attempt, Scott – a journalist with a Gold Coast newspaper – often had conversations about life with a Christian colleague.

During those chats, there were opportunities to think about his own faith and learn more about Jesus.

Little did he know that his colleague had prayed for such opportunities every time they got into the car to go to work together. 

So when Scott heard the voice urging him to choose life, he knew: It was time to follow Jesus.

“It was like scales fell from my eyes. It was an incredible move of God’s Spirit that enabled me to recognise Jesus as my Saviour.”

Immediately, he called his colleague, who came over to pray with him. That night, Scott chose to follow Jesus.

A change of heart

Within six months of becoming a Christian, Scott’s interest in mission work was piqued when he went on short trips to Asia to support missionaries there.

Over time, he and his wife Chrissy visited villages in northern Thailand, witnessing the horrors of human trafficking, which they felt compelled to address.

Scott would eventually go on to start his own NGO, running English camps and equipping youths with other skills. 

In 2003, they connected with New Life Center Foundation, a pioneer in the field of anti-trafficking.

Although the woman who ran the centre was welcoming, she did not just accept them with open arms.

“She pointed a finger at us a few times and told us that we weren’t the ‘white saviours’ who were going to solve the problems of the world, and that we really needed to think about why we wanted to do it. And if we were accepted, we needed to make sure we were consistent,” Scott said.

She also explained that the ministry was not so much about telling others about Jesus. Rather, it was a “ministry of presence”, where Jesus’ love is demonstrated by coming alongside victims of human trafficking.

“Sometimes it’s not even doing anything, but just being with them – playing a game, sharing a meal or building a meaningful relationship. Sometimes you have the opportunity to share the Gospel, but other times you only have the opportunity to demonstrate it,” said Scott.

Pursuing a PhD in anthropology and conducting fieldwork with a tribal group, Scott lived in Thailand for a year with his wife, supporting anti-trafficking efforts. 

He juggled research with writing an English-language curriculum that she taught to victims of human trafficking.

That year, most of their anti-trafficking work focused on rescue and rehabilitation.

Biting challenges

In 2007, two years after their daughter Sariah was born, Scott and Chrissy returned to Thailand – this time focusing on curbing human trafficking via intervention strategies in youth projects, as well as training local Christian workers.

Over three years, Scott served as a field worker with Tearfund Australia, collaborating with local non-governmental organisation (NGO) Mekong Minority Foundation. 

But within three months of arriving, Scott and his family faced a nightmare: Their rented home was overrun by bed bugs.

Their daughter suffered severe bites – even requiring hospitalisation.

The miracle extermination of bed bugs from the Downmans’ home (pictured) in the Nan Province reminded them that Jesus was watching over them.

Despite daily efforts to eradicate the bugs with boiling water, the infestation persisted.

On the brink of returning to Australia, the desperate family gathered in their lounge, praying and crying out to Jesus.

Within 10 minutes, an army of ants marched in, clearing the bed bugs.

This miraculous intervention confirmed that Jesus was watching over them. It also reminded them to depend on Him, even in their darkest moments.

“It was a real confirmation that we were in the right place, that Jesus wanted us here and He was going to look after us,” Scott said.

“Sometimes we feel like giving up because it’s too difficult, but that’s when we have to depend more on Jesus.” 

Making a stand – gently but effectively

Scott had always considered himself to be the kind of person who would stick up for people who were unable to defend themselves. This tendency often got him in trouble during his school days.

But after becoming a Christian, this trait “followed through” in a different form.

“There’s a gentleness that comes from Jesus,” he said. “Before, defending others might have been more combative. Whereas after Jesus, it’s more defending someone in a gentle way that respects the person and the one giving them a hard time.

“It’s understanding that none of us are perfect, and we need to exercise that love even in conflict. And sometimes it’s not what you say, but how you say it.”

This gentleness, combined with his desire for justice, has also helped Scott and his family to care for their neighbours.

Scott, Chrissy and their daughter Sariah dressed in traditional Hmong clothing and celebrating the Hmong New Year in 2009.

Scott recounts that his nearest neighbour was a drug addict who used to beat his mother and his son.

Hearing it happen night after night, Scott and his wife knew they could not just ignore it.

But when they sought advice from neighbours, they were told that it was not their culture to “get involved in other people’s business”.

One night, Chrissy “had enough”. She stormed out and stood in front of the neighbour’s house, illuminated by a streetlight.

Although she did not say a word, the neighbour noticed her and stopped.

Scott and Chrissy took turns do this each night. 

“People were quite fearful; they told us not to do it or he’d turn on us,” Scott said.

Even so, they persisted until the neighbour’s abuse of his family ceased. 

“Nothing was said, but it was making him know what he was doing wasn’t good, and that was enough to make it stop,” Scott explained.

Surprisingly, this incident improved their relationship with their neighbour, who came to talk to Scott and spend time at their house. 

The neighbour’s mother also came to thank them for caring and intervening.

A rainbow of hope in the Nan River valley, where the Downmans lived.

The genuine relationships Scott’s family had built with their neighbours was reflected in the touching farewell they were given when they eventually packed up to return to Australia.

As they drove down the lane, each neighbour stood in front of their home with a bowl of water. As Scott and his family stopped at each house, their neighbours washed their family’s hands, a gesture that demonstrated respect in Thailand.

“Our neighbours were quite suspicious of us when we just moved in, and it was lovely that in the space of a few years they trusted and respected us.

“They didn’t come to faith, but like anything, you sow the seed, and it’s not for us to know what God will do with that,” Scott said. 

Sowing seeds, seeing impact

Their commitment and love for others led the couple to carry on with mission work even after returning to Australia.

In 2010, they set up an NGO, HELP International, and fundraised to help local Christians continue their work in northern Thailand. 

Programmes include identifying youths with leadership potential and training them up in the English language and other soft skills, and equipping them to make an impact – such as disrupting trafficking – in their communities. 

Two years later, the journalism lecturer was also awarded the Future Justice Prize, which recognised HELP International’s efforts to bring change, hope and justice to vulnerable and at-risk communities.

Then in 2015, Scott received a call requesting to pool together money to allow a boy from Myanmar to join the programme.

“We could have said, ‘No we don’t have funding, he’s just going to have to miss out.’ But we were able to find the funding to include him,” said Scott.

Scott’s daughter, Sariah, with the boy, Adul Sam-on.

Who knew that three years later, this beneficiary and his football team would be trapped in the snaking 10.3km-long Tham Luang cave system underneath a mountain range in Chiang Rai?

That boy, Adul Sam-on – the only English speaker in the group – would go on to win hearts all over the world as the interpreter between the team and the two British divers who found them after nine harrowing days. 

Adul was also the only Christian among the Thai cave boys.

Unaware that there was a dangerous search and rescue mission that was watched anxiously by millions of people around the world, he prayed and trusted that God would send help. 

“This showed God’s hand at work,” said Scott. “This underlies the work we do with incredible young people who have been through really terrible things. God just does incredible things in their lives.”

A screengrab of a telecast of the Thai cave rescue mission on CNA.

Today, Scott is the Principal and Academic Dean at Trinity College Queensland, developing new courses to help future pastors minister to culturally diverse communities.

Looking back on the day he almost ended his life, Scott is profoundly grateful for how God intervened and gave him countless opportunities to bring hope to others.

The relationships formed and the lives impacted are something that he and his family will treasure for years to come. 

A version of this story first appeared on Stories of Hope.

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