A's Story

When I went to my hometown, I brought a couple of my American friends.  My father asked, "Are they Christians coming to serve Father?"  "What?"  I asked, confused.  (My dad is Buddhist.) 

"You know, the Father of the world." Dad has worked outside of Thailand, in Singapore and places like that, so he is familiar with a lot of religions.

(Could he really be referring to God?  I wondered to myself?) 

"Yes they are." I responded hesitantly.  Still unsure I was understanding correctly.

"Do you believe in the Christian God?"  Dad asked.

I stood silent.  I hadn't told them yet.  Then my mother shouted from the other side of the room, "Don't you go changing religions on me." 

My dad nodded at my silence.  He understood.  Mom, on the other hand, is very concerned about which of her children are going to make merit for her after my sister became Muslim.

My whole province is full of very strict Buddhists.  It's not like most of Thailand where people are cultural Buddhists.  My neighbors are serious about what they believe.  All over the province are many important temples, honored monks, and sacred bones of past monks.  There's not a single church near my parent's house. 

I wasn't surprised when my parents wanted me to go to the temple to make merit.  They actually wrote my name down on the paper to make a new giant bell for merit ringing.  I was really uncomfortable, but I didn't feel like I had a lot of options.  I didn't participate, but everyone asked me why.

That's one reason I was hesitant to go home since I became a Christian.  

***
6 days later...

"Julia!  I told my mom I am a Christian and she was okay!"  Were the first words out of A's mouth when I saw her.  "She said I can do whatever is good for me." 

A was glowing.  Freedom, relief, and joy, filled her face.


***Praise God that as students have gotten up the courage to tell their parents they have decided to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior, God has prepared their parents to hear it and love them anyway!***

Happy LOVE Day

LOVE is on our minds.  Even in Thailand. 

We gathered to show God's LOVE. Sure, it was a Valentine party. But really, we gather like this every week, and our intentions are the same. 

This Friday night, five countries were represented.  Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and none-of-the-above. Prostitutes, computer techs, missionaries and som tam vendors.  Mothers in wedlock, mothers out of wedlock.  Students, kids, retired people.  Lesbian, gay, single, married....the list could go on and on.

But our similarities outnumber our differences. We are all God's creation. We are all in need of his LOVE and mercy.  We are all sewn into God's plan, whether we like it or not. 

Earlier in the week, during English class, I asked students to complete the following sentence about their life.

"It wasn't part of my plan to..."

My student from Japan continued, "...get married in Thailand."
My student who came in late said, "...sleep in so long this morning."
Another shared, "...be in an accident." 
"...see the sidewalk sign for English class."
"...have foreign friends." 

What if God uses that sidewalk sign and those foreign friends to forever alter a life's "plan."  Am I ready for that?  Am I ready to adjust my plan so that His plan of LOVE can shine forth?

One year ago we were just throwing around the idea of English classes.  There was no coffee shop.  We had no pastor.  We knew a handful of students, but none of them were involved in a small group Bible study.  M, P, N, A, P, and G weren't Christians. 

When I am reminded of God's plan, I am in awe.  To try to take credit for any part of those things happening would be ludicrous. 

What if in the next year some of my students could say, "It wasn't part of my plan to meet God, but I did, and He is AWESOME!"

So this Valentine's Day, an expanded idea of LOVE is on my mind.  LOVE that  can see ahead to the bigger picture.  LOVE that counters my plan and pushes on towards His.  LOVE that spans the differences, so that He can be treasured more deeply.

From Sister to Sister

BJD students enjoying dinner together.

7 Months Ago...

"A new girl is joining us at BJD."  One staff member told me.

"Have you met our new BJD sister?"  A student asked.

"She came last night."  Another student added.

"She's kinda quiet."  A third pitched in.

After two days of hearing about our new mystery student, I finally met P. 

As warned, I only got a few words out of her.  And I felt like I was pushing just to get that many.  I took the hint, tried to give her a warm welcome and then gave her some space.  Understandably, a dorm of 15 girls who know each other well and like to laugh loud, could be a bit overwhelming.

As time went on all the girls and I invited P to lunch, invited her to dinner, invited her to the market, invited her to watch TV, invited her to sit and chat, but P declined each invitation.  She preferred to spend time alone or sleeping.  "She's a tough one." An outside friend warned. 

We weren't daunted.

By month two, we knew the answer would be "no" before an invitation was extended, but we kept inviting.  I don't know if it was more of a cultural thing, or if it was our only way to try to make P feel included, but we did.  Maybe what gave us hope was that every once in a while, in a long long while, she would agree to join.  Probably because she had run out of food in her room, but the reason didn't matter to us. 

On arrival at BJD, P wore a Buddhist bracelet around her thin wrist.  The bracelets are  given for long life and good luck.  I'm not really sure when, but it eventually disappeared.

And she, like all students at the dorm, attended Bible class twice a week.  While she showed up grudgingly at first, God, like he so often does, was at work. 

This past week he did something really special.

"It's hard to explain, but there were many things.  The main thing is that I know is that God loves me a lot, more than anyone else in the world."  P shared.

P has gone from dorm sister to eternal sister.  We are all praising God and celebrating with her!

This morning while eating breakfast together, our younger sister joked along with all the other girls.  Smiles extended around the table.  Christ's freedom and joy was abounding.