New Fuel

I opened English class with a question to get students sharing.  "Tell me something exciting you did this past week, and if nothing exciting happened, tell me why your week was boring."

"My week was boring because I had to study every day."
"Celebrating my birthday with my friends was exciting."
"Boring.  I had to work and did nothing fun."
"I went to Kyle's house and learned about the Bible."  "It was exciting because it was my first time."

Unknowingly, this last student made my day.  He made every task in my week seem more meaningful.  He reminded me that God is working through all the responsibilities.

The small group and student Bible study Kyle and I are a part of has admittedly fallen under the "chore" category occasionally.  We have both taken our turn at being discouraged about students' inconsistency, other priorities they put first, or silence when we ask questions that dare to touch their heart.  A statement like this is fuel to keep pushing forward. 

The following Sunday, this student came to church for the first time.  As David, our new pastor, introduced himself and his family, he shared part of his testimony.  "I don't remember what the pastor preached about the first time I sat in church.  But I knew God was drawing me to himself."  I pray this is part of this student's testimony someday soon.

The Time Has Come

"Do you know that this week I decided to become a Christian?"
"Yes, I heard that, praise God!  Welcome to the family!"
'A' smiled and laughed hesitantly. 

"Do you have peace in your heart about your decision?"  I asked her.
"Yes, but sometimes I still don't understand."
"There are things I don't understand too," I admitted. "But when the time is right, God will help us understand."

For over a year, 'A' had been attending Bible studies and learning about Christ.  Her first exposure to the gospel came through an English class.  At first, attending Bible study was more for English practice than Bible learning.  But as the months went on, God slowly, gently, transformed her heart.  'A' became hungry to know more about Jesus.  Then it didn't matter what language the Bible study was in, 'A' was ready to learn. 

"I know God is real, but I'm just not ready."  She told me a couple months ago.  Her main hesitation has been disappointing her family.   It's a scary prospect, espeically in a culture where everyone is taught to do everything possible to 'safe face' and not disrespect family.  Now, God has given her peace even in that area.

Marveling at the journey Jesus had taken her on, I asked, "Why did you decide to believe now?"
"The time had finally come."

Welcome First Years!

"Are you a Christian?"  Mec asked me only minutes after the first-year student sat down to visit with us on his first day school. We had already asked the usual, name, subject studying, from where questions. 

Now it was his turn.  "I've been a Christian for a couple of years, but I don't have any Christian friends."

"Well, you've come to the right place." We responded.

Obviously this was a God moment in bringing Mec to our table.  The university was crawling with new students and crowded with tables set up advertising many different clubs.  Over a game of Uno, we had the chance to talk about the importance of fellowship, when we have worship at BJD and how Mec heard about the BJD community.  I am hopeful that God will raise Mec up to be a strong leader and devoted disciple. 

 As you can see, a lot of students came for orientation.  

And this is just half of one of the 10 classroom buildings!  

 A lot of people, a lot of potential relationships, 

and a lot of lives for God to impact.

Hope Found

  A soul seeking merrit.

Longing to please, but seeing no point.

Tunnels of the eyes leading to a hopeless heart. 

 What is life, but to suffer?

What is the point of life if nothing 

is good enough?

A friendly smile.

A genuine heart.

A story of hope.

A story of sacrifice.

A story of someone who was good enough. 

Some make merit by adding to the temple coins bowls.

Now comes the battle inside. 

A tug-a-war between culture and truth.  

But family. But reputation.

A struggle between fear and unsurpassable peace.

Big sigh, the fight is over. 

The Creator won. 

 Peace is already flowing through all veins of the heart. 

The road ahead is not easy, some warn. 

But it is worth it.

There is hope.

Uarn's Journey Continued

 No-bake cooking night with friends from English class at UniteBKK.

Uarn's story started a few weeks ago.  Start here to read from the beginning. 

"I believe in God but my dad won't let me."  Uarn shared during conversation time after English class.  I put down our English worksheet.  No amount of English is more important than this. 

It just so happened (in a completely God way which means not as a coincidence), that the three people sitting closest to us were Thai Christians who had also com to English class.  Uarn knew this was a place she could find out more about this God who loves her.  She admitted, however, "It doesn't look like a church." 

As she shared her desire to "see" God, Mii opened up a Bible and pointed to a section for Uarn to read.   After reading the story to herself, she looked up in awe. 

"Have you ever read the story of Zacchaeus before?"  One of the others asked.

"No..." Uarn said contemplating what she had read with a smile on her face.  Then her smile faded.  "My dad won't let me read the Bible.  I want to be a Christian.  I believe in God, and I love God."  Passion streamed through Uarn's young voice.

"If you really believe in your heart, than you are a Christian already.  It doesn't matter what your ID card says.  God knows your heart." Mii encouraged Uarn.  She shared how Jesus sought out Zacchaeus and wanted to spend time with him even though he was a sinner, just like he wants to spend time with Uarn. 

We are praying that Uarn can keep coming to English classes and hopefully to church and small group Bible study.  How amazing it would be to see this high school student grow in her passion for God and begin planting seeds of the gospel throughout her circles of influence--with her family, friends, neighbors, schoolmates, and teachers. 

New Life Celebration

 Sunday afternoon, we gathered at the condo pool of one of our teammates. 

"There's nothing special about this water." Brandon clarified, as he gestured to the swimming pool while explaining the command and symbol of baptism.

Time was taken for prayer, committing this new life to God's work, glory, and Kingdom.

Kyle shared how great it has been to see God grow understanding, love, and passion for Christ in this new brother. 

Funny Story: A foreigner learning Thai used the wrong word once and said, "No we will drown..." instead of "baptize."

 

 No one was drowned here!

About half of the Thais who joined us aren't believers.  What an opportunity for them to see and be a part of the celebration with us.  :)

The last baptism was Bakery (right).  How cool must it have been to watch another Thai brother (left) get baptized too. 

We went to eat Swensen's Ice Cream afterward.   (We didn't make it all the way to the original shop in San Francisco, but luckily there's a Swensen's shop in almost every mall here.)

Over ice cream, we were able to explain the reason for baptism again to this friend.  Understandably, it's a strange idea, especially for people who grow up with a background of doing things to make merit.

Thanks to an awesome team and all the Thais who came to celebrate with us!

God on YouTube

Mexican Food Night at UniteBKK

13 year old Uarn sat down at the table after our Friday night event with a big smile.  "I got into the high school I wanted!"  She announced.  Uarn is younger than most of our University student friends who come to UnteBKK, but she is excited to be there each week. 

As she jabbered away about school she played with Taam's iPad.  Uarn opened up the YouTube application and switched the keyboard to English.  Handing it to me, she said, "I want to see God."  My face must have communicated my confusion because she tried again, speaking slowly and as clearly as possible in English.  "I want to see God...Ggoodd." 

We didn't cover this one in Missionary Training School.  Here's to improvising!   

As I took the thin machine, Uarn looking at me expectantly, my mind raced through my options.  Do I explain how very few people have ever seen even glimpses of God, or just say that he can't be found on YouTube? 

Curious myself about what would come up, I typed "God" into the search bar and pressed enter.  Uarn stared at the screen.  As expected, I needed to scroll through the first few options, Jesus hanging on the cross, famous preachers with their hands extended.  Finally I clicked on one titled, God of Wonders.  As we watched the video's beautiful images of stars, mountains, rivers, and delicate flowers, we talked about how God created everything in the universe, from the planets to the oceans to "Me!" Uarn said. 

"Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?"  The bright, inquisitive young girl asked once the video was over.   I shared the entire magnificent story of creation, sin, separation, forgiveness, and ultimate love with her.   In a God's-perfect-timing way, just as we began to get to questions and answers on the outside of my Thai vocabulary, Taam came over and joined us. 

This wasn't the first time Uarn had heard these stories.  She had obviously been mulling over these ideas for a while.  And God was obviously speaking back to her. "I believe in God...When I think about God before I sleep, I have good dreams.  If I think about Buddhist ideas, I don't sleep well."

What a privilege it is to see and be a part of God working in the hearts and lives of Thai people!