They don’t know ANY of the stories many of us take for granted, not one verse, no baseline of cultural assumptions about Jesus.  Starting from scratch.

As best we can tell, this is what you do………..

LIFE ON LIFE, MISSIONAL DISCIPLESHIP.

You open your home, your family, your parenting, your marriage for all to see and watch. You pray for compassion and love to flow from you and through you. You pray you are a good witness, a good example. You pray that they will see Jesus in action and go deeper into understanding who He is.

It is messy, time consuming and very tiring. But it is the very essence of “go and make disciples” and it is worth pouring your life into.

Remember the woman who came to Christ a few weeks ago? We call her “J”. She is now part of our group and we are meeting weekly to disciple her. Remember our helper, P-Ou, who came to Christ at Christmas time? She is here too!

The Thais are leading it, the younger Christians are watching the more mature Thais lead it and they are learning how to lead too. All of this while the new believer learns for the first time. It is multiple levels of discipleship and we are super excited about it.

Would you please pray for us as we do this in our home weekly?

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

Recently, after a morning there while having some noodles with the kids, I asked a little girl about food. I asked her is she likes to cook. She replied yes, but what she really wanted was to one day make a cake. I told her, “Hey, I can teach you that!”

For the first time since moving to Asia, I was glad to own a toaster oven as my only oven. Its portable! Gkanika really wants to help the kids learn English (second only to the Bible) so I had the idea to teach the cake baking while teaching the English vocabulary of the ingredients too. Fun and English. All that came AFTER the Bible lesson I assure you!

It was really fun! The kids loved it! They were afraid of the hand-held mixer though, which surprised me considering the machines they are so near everyday!

Here is Da praying for some of the healthy kids

But I kept thinking about the sick ones and wondering if we could pray for them too…

Later as our time was ending in the slums, I went to one of the women who leads the children’s ministry outreach (Knot) and asked her about maybe praying for any of the kids who were sick. She agreed and quickly began asking around if there were sick children we could go to and pray for. One little girl (probably 7 years old) came running up and said yes, her little brother had been very sick and could not come outside. She said she would take us to him. So Knot, Bobby and I began the trek deep into the slum to find the area this family lived in.

My mind started to wonder, is it going to be ok with his family if we show up like this? What if people are drunk or hostile toward us? The deeper we walked the more graphic the scene became. Water everywhere, tin sheets as walls, visible people lying around. You can see into each room/area, zero privacy. It is filthy, it is incredible poverty. The little girls seemed oblivious. They were skipping and laughing, holding my hand and my arms. Smiling and excited that were we coming with them. I began to pray silently in my heart…”Lord, please give us courage, let Your Spirit fall upon this place. Keep us calm and protect us, please help these people.” We kept walking deeper into the slum community, turning down paths and seeing more and more people.

Finally we got to the place where the boy lived. Knot spoke for us and explained that we wanted to help. Could we see him and pray for him? The father agreed and brought him out. He was maybe 3 or 4 years old and covered with chicken pox. I could tell Knot was concerned. She whispered to me in English…”be very careful, don’t touch him. It is very contagious.” She also said, “Pee Paula, I have never had chicken pox”. I knew that both Bobby and I HAD had it and we would be ok. So, we knelt down, reached for his little hands, and began to pray for him. I could hear Bobby and Knot praying as I did too, yet all else went very quiet. “Lord please heal this child. Lord, let Your love be known by this miracle to all who live here. Let your healing power come upon him and give him Your peace. Please protect this family from getting sick and please open their eyes to Your love”.

After we finished and opened our eyes, this little boy was kneeling before us perfectly still and silent with his eyes closed. I feel certain no one had ever prayed for him like that. It was really surprising to see him still kneeling there, eyes closed and perfectly still. Maybe God’s peace was already upon him, I don’t know, but it was beautiful to see!

The girls followed us all the way to our cars as we were leaving. Here is a picture of them:

Recently we were back to the slum community behind Kaset University, to do work with the childrens’ ministry from Covenant Church. Our team of six people from Perimeter Church was here and we took them as well. We played games, sang songs and just had a great time with the children.

We taught (with a skit) the Bible lesson of Moses and God opening the Red Sea. As always, many of the adults watched from a distance…but they watched and I know they can see our love for the kids (and for them too). We taught English to the kids too, simple 15 minute lessons practicing pronunciation.

The first time I went, it was ok. The second time, I felt more of a burden than a blessing. This is a common feeling for first term missionaries. We go wanting to teach and serve and wind up seeing that we must be willing to be, well…humiliated. Our language skills are still growing. But if we are willing to be laughed at, stared at, and pointed at…we can be used by God. Of that I am certain. They call me “Ajaan” which means teacher, but I still have to rely on their help. Being a native English speaker does provide a tangible valuable tool for these people, I thank God for that. If they can learn to speak English, it radically changes their employment opportunities. So, here we are, together bound by mutual desires. I desire to share the Gospel in Thai to them, they desire to learn to speak like me (and I desire to speak like them, isn’ that funny!).

Anyway…this past Saturday was different………

I prayed more before going.

I worked on translating the material more (it is a CEF brochure about the Lord and people in crisis), she had asked that I teach English for an hour. So off I went.

When I got there, a Japanese missionary was there (Ajaan Cheep) and he was playing the guitar with 9 kids around him in a circle. I met him once before, he is awesome. I sat down in the circle and started trying to sing with them too. We were worshipping the Lord, the kids doing hand movements to the songs. After a few minutes, Ajaan Cheep turns to me and says (much to my surprise) …”Ajaan Paula, do you have a Bible lesson to share with us today?”  Well………..sure. How could I ever say no to that? I say a silent prayer and ask the Lord for His desire.  “Matthew 6, about the Lord knowing our needs, He knows the birds needs and provides for them, much more for us”…ok, go with that…

So I start in Thai explaining this passage.  I explain that we all have stress. I ask the kids what kinds of stress they have? They respond with: fears about family members who have gone to the country, fears about failing in school, fears about family conflict, fears about the work they have to do in their homes, money fears, etc. Then I tell them that when I first came to Thailand, I was really struck by how many birds I saw. They are everywhere! The we read the Matthew passage, 6:24- end of chapter. I explain that the Lord knows our stress, our needs, our worries…but when we see the birds we can remember what Jesus is saying…He knows and he cares for us- like He does the birds-  He loves us even more than the birds. The I prayed for us in Thai and we sang a few more songs. I am thinking…”Wow, Thank You Lord for getting me through that!”

When we were done, something else new happened. A big thunderstorm had come upon us. I could not leave on my bike. One of the kids asked if we could play a game. Ajaan Cheep turned to me and asked (are you ready for this?)…”Ajaan Paula, do you have a game for us?” Well………..sure. Again, I prayed to the Lord. I grabbed a toy nearby and explained a game where…………….thanking God for such on-the-spot provision. The kids opened up and laughed, danced and sang. It was so joyful!!! The rain and thunder poured upon us and we laughed and loved each other more and more. It was a breakthrough as far as I can tell!

For weeks they had been quiet and shy, now they were playing and having fun, taking pictures and singing solos, holding my hands and wanting me to pick them up. I was overwhelmed with joy!

Riding my bike home, in a tropical rain storm…I could not help but think…

THIS IS THE LIFE.

Thank you Lord.

No doubt the Lord made us and we are His, in His right hand are pleasures forevermore, nothing satisfies our souls like His presence. I hold on to these moments. At the end, Ghanika asked me if we could have monthly gathering at our house, bring all the kids from the slums who would come. My hearts swelled. Please pray with me as we work to get the details ironed out. I am praying for this community. Please join us in prayer for many more children and older kids to come out, join us, and ultimately hear of Jesus and be saved. Hallelujah!

Sometimes I am overwhelmed at the overtly demonic daily experience of life in Thailand. Last week the news reported on a Buddhist nun who was offering karma adjustments. Women could have their bad karma “adjusted” if they allowed a young man to touch them sexually. A few months ago, there were thousands of aborted fetuses found in the Buddhist temples in Bangkok. The “Thailand’s Got Talent” (like American Idol) favorite contestant is a woman who is actually a man and sings in both high and low voices. The crowds love her (him). Those are just a few recent examples.

We want to help the Thai Christians cast the vision for the church to step into this darkness and bring healing to the people.  However, it is a deep darkness and it will take city and village pastors working together in the power of the Spirit to change things. One thing is for sure…the people living in darkness need rescue.

Bobby and I were recently told of a Thai village ritual. This is heart breaking. When a every young girl in the village has her first menstrual period, she is locked in a hut for a week and any man in the village can come and have sex with her. For an entire week. Every girl, first menstrual period. Desperate for rescue.

The night after we were told of this ritual, I had a dream.

I dreamed I lived in that village and I knew the young girl was being dragged to the hut that night. I waited. I watched and hid. When the men shut her inside and walked away, I quietly slipped inside. There she was; shaking, crying, terrified. I whispered to her comfort and hugged her. I told her we had to act quickly. I told her to go to my house and hide.

I was staying in her place.

She listened to me. She looked up at me- confused, conflicted…yet she agreed. She left and headed in the direction of my house. So I sat and prayed. I waited. In a few hours I heard footsteps. The first man was coming to the hut. I knew in his heart was darkness. Total darkness. His intentions were clear…rape of a young girl.

I walked to the door- I realize I am wearing a white tunic and I am barefooted. ?.

I am not afraid. The Rescuer has a plan and He is mighty. I know I belong to Him and He will work a mighty work somehow. This is how rescue happens. It is messy and someone has to be willing to step into a role of almost…sacrifice. 

The man enters the hut. He does not see me yet. He turns and locks the door behind him. I recognize him. He is a man I know from the village. He turns and looks at me, our eyes connect. He quickly steps back, a look of shock and fear, anger and confusion sweeps over his face. I am silent and I point to the corner of the room.

Something is there. Something now very bright. Something that draws him over.

He walks toward it and begins sobbing, he falls to his knees and weeps. Somehow I know it is Jesus there, he sees Jesus there. For the first time he sees Him and he knows what is wrong here. Everything is wrong here.

This goes on for hours. Many men from the village come to the hut and have this encounter. Falling on their knees, feeling the weight of their sin, seeing such beauty in the face of Jesus, awakened from the darkness.

By dawn, the hut is a church. Sounds of worship come from it and people come to find out what has happened. It has begun, rescue has come to the village.

I woke up really moved by the dream. I thank God for such beautiful and powerful images. And I realized in a strange way, that is how each of us came to God. We were like those men, walking in total darkness. We were not interested in God, in the light, we were dead in our darkness. He stepped out as a sacrifice. He pointed us to God, He opened our eyes to see, He reached out to us and it changed everything.

Please pray for us and for the people in Bangkok. It is a challenging thing to live with such things everywhere, but it is a task worthy of the calling. We need your prayers.

Thanks for reading,

-paula

She is maybe one inch taller than Grace! She is precious! So full of joy, so full of the Lord and His love. A few days later, Grace and I went to help her with a little Saturday morning children’s activity. We played games and then even taught English for a little while. I didn’t take pictures because it was our first time there. We will be going weekly, so I will have pictures soon. There were 10-12 Thai kids there. It was fun!

Please pray for her, “Gha-nee-kha” and the community. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to fall on the community and to open the eyes of the people, pray that they come to know the one true living God, Jesus.