Challenging

 

One of the ways I try to encourage the girls in my dorm is through challenging them to step out of their comfort zones.  Weekly, we go to the campus to invite students to English classes as well as to our night of dinner and worship.  Some girls look forward to our Tuesday outings, and others try to avoid them as much as possible. 

This week N agreed to join us.  She was hesitant but willing.  As she and I walked through the campus we agreed that I would get the conversation started and then she would build on it.  From my point of view, these conversations were quite hilarious because I can never tell how much people understand of what I say in Thai.  The great thing is, N has been listening to me speak long enough to understand me and clarify what I said. 


I began in Thai with something like, "Hi.  How are you?  Do you speak English?"  (They always said no.)  "We have an English class every Wednesday, and today we eat dinner and worship Jesus Christ.  Would you like to come?"  We would all laugh as I forgot important words or said things with the incorrect tone, but it was a good way to get a conversation going.  N took over from there.

 

New friends, ready to hang out.

As much as I prayed for the students we were talking to, I also prayed for N.  My prayer for all the students in the dorm is that they are not only enjoying knowing Christ themselves, but that Jesus grows in them a desire to tell others about Him.  The community within the dorm is amazing because it is built around loving God and loving others.  However, God doesn't want us to get nice and cozy in our comfortable, loving, Christian cocoons and stay there.  I pray God turns the girls' eyes outward, growing their hearts for all the others here in Thailand and around the world.

While I would love for some of the students we spoke with to come to English class and worship night, I pray N and the others become more comfortable, willing, and even excited about telling others about the God who changed their lives so radically.

 

Enjoying dinner before Tuesday worship.