peanut butter & jelly evangelism and a storm upon our souls

15 Jul 2011 5 Comments

by pbwillsb7 in Uncategorized

Let me tell you what happened yesterday. If you ever wonder if the stuff you read in the Bible is true, if you ever wonder if God is faithful or if He can really use a sinner like you and me…read on because He confirms all of that again in this story.

This story starts with a miracle. It starts with Panida. Many of you know about Panida. She is the Thai woman who was Muslim, she was Grace’s first language school teacher. Grace was the first of us to share the gospel with her. You can read more about her in posts from last year. Long story short, God moved in on her and she became a Christ-follower. I have had the privilege of discipling her and watching her fall more and more in love with Jesus. She is a witness in the truest sense. She tells people about Jesus, as best she can safely. She has some Muslim friends/family she is not safe sharing with (yet) and that is understandable. Yet even in that, she is seeking to grow and do more. Someone asked me recently what I love most about being a missionary in Bangkok. There are many hard things and it is critical to remember the things that brought you here and that power the ongoing desire to stay here in this work. My immediate answer was teaching the Bible (one-on-one or in a very small group) in Thai to Thai women. Particularly someone who has no idea what Jesus is about or what being a Christian means. So, naturally my favorite part of being in Bangkok has been times with Panida. She became a believer last September.  She was publicly baptized (just let that sink in for a minute…former Muslim, publicly baptized). We meet twice a week to study the Bible and she teaches me Thai. She continues to dream of how she can open a Christian library or center for kids and adults to come to hear the gospel. We are praying for direction on that right now. Recently, she asked if she could bring a friend to our time together. She did it again this week and here is where the story picks up…

I knew very little about this woman. I knew Panida had met her a little while ago on this  small island near where we live called Phra Pradaeng. She shared the Gospel with her and the woman said she wanted to come to church with Panida to hear more. The woman was a Buddhist. We will call her “ J ”.

When they arrived it was 3:45 PM. I did not think they would want to eat, so I did not prepare food. Wrong. I am learning to always have food ready. Always. So, all I had in the house was…..are you ready for this…….PB&J sandwiches, chips and tea. I needed to go to the grocery store!  But thankfully, they really like PB&J and hot tea, so we were ok. We made the food and went to the living room. There are two couches and two chairs, but they both sat on the floor. So, we all sat on the floor and ate and talked. Yes, this is Asia.

“J” immediately started telling that she thinks all religions are good and people are good.  Panida had told her why our family was here. She told me she was Buddhist, but she had heard of Jesus and wanted to hear more. We talked for while about family. She explained that she has four children. She is 48 years old. Her husband has taken another wife too, and that wife hates her. She said her husband had tried to kill her, so she had to leave the house. She has the four children with her. That was roughly five years ago. She also described suicide attempts, hopelessness and grief. Panida explained that the Bible teaches a lot about family, marriage, hope and life and that it all comes down to Jesus.  Panida told her how captivated she was at seeing the peace in Christians, in their marriages and their families and in their struggles.

Panida suggested I tell her first about God creating the world, and go from there.

So we prayed first. I prayed for help. I mean I begged for help actually. I could hear it raining and thundering outside and I felt like God was very, very near.

I remembering specifically praying, “Lord, as we speak of You and tell her of You, please Holy Spirit come and do what only You can do…open her eyes and heart to know You, to know the truth of Jesus. Basically Lord, I am asking You for YOU. Please come and give us more of You. In Your right hand are pleasures forevermore, and our desire and pleasure is You. Please give “J” your peace.”

So we talked on that and then began a DVD Panida had brought called “Chuiwit Mai” or New Life. It starts with Genesis 1 and then explains through Revelation. It was clear and thorough. It taught on original sin, sin today as a result of that sin, Hell and Heaven, Jesus’ life, teaching, death and resurrection and even judgement to come. It was 45 minutes long. I had never seen it presented like that in Thai.

When it ended, Panida asked “J” what she thought. She said, “TRUTH, that is truth”.
I was stunned. I think I may have even gasped. She explained she had never heard that before. She said she believed it all. Panida started to cry. I’ve never seen her cry, I am usually the one who cries. We talked more and more. “J” said she felt covered in peace. She said she felt like if she died right then she knew she would be ok because of Jesus. She said she never knew how to be forgiven, but now she saw. She said she wanted to tell her family, other people she knows. She said very few people here know about this. Panida confirmed that, she continually tells me that.

So, we prayed and asked and answered many questions. It was 5 hours of intense discussion. In the end, Panida lead her in a prayer of salvation. She will begin meeting with us weekly to study the BIble. I am going to pick her up at the pier Sunday and take her to church with me. Panida is out of town on an evangelistic outreach retreat. Amazing, isn’t it? God changes everything. EVERY THING.

Please pray for her and for us all. Things rarely look like we think they will…PB&J, sitting on the floor in Asia watching a storm move in upon our souls. God is saving people.
here we are…just before they left

I finally got them to sit on the couch for a picture! Five hours on the floor, one minute on the comfe couch!

Thank you for reading.
-paula

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