Thailand Missions (2016) "But God had a Plan"
Soon after, a few high school students we taught last week arrived at Phami. Lillian invited them the night before when we ran into them at the Maesai night market. It was funny because Lillian told them what we were doing and invited them to come, but she didn't know the address! As Lillian told us about that encounter, I thought to myself, they probably will not come since it is somewhat in the mountains and they didn't know the address.
"But God had a plan...." -Evangecube
To my surprise, four of them showed up and even brought a bag full of snacks for the children we were working with.
Rochelle, Ashley, Doris, and I started talking to them about random things through broken Chinese and English. After a while, Doris asked if we would share the Evangecube (the Gospel). A little taken aback, we decided we would do it... In Chinese. This was especially challenging for me because my level of Mandarin is low, so it was hard for me to memorize it. Rochelle and I actually started learning the Gospel in Chinese the week before, because we had a student that we wanted to share with. (The student actually turned out to be a Christian so we never finished learning it. So by the end of last week, we just tried to equip the students who are Christians by giving them a mini paper pocket version of the Evangecube.)
Milky, who spoke Mandarin and Cantonese, just happened to be nearby, so we called her over in case translation was needed. Rochelle started off with the first picture on the Evangecube and then it was my turn. Thankfully, I still recalled one picture talking about how people crucified Him. After that, it was all Rochelle haha. The Holy Spirit was definitely with us because it went smoothly. Rochelle also shared her testimony of how God provided and was faithful during her time away from home at college and in her loneliness. This testimony was geared toward these students because a lot of them live away from their parents just to attend high school. At one point, we were stuck because the students were not asking questions or sharing their thoughts. But soon, Milky was asking them whether they think they were going to heaven or not. The three Buddhist students (and one Islamic student) said they were definitely not because it is too hard. Milky also asked if they have felt peace through their gods. They replied no and she explained how God loves us first and how it is not through works, but by faith that we are saved. She also asked whether they want to go to heaven, in which they replied yes. She then gave the call to faith and the three Buddhist students responded!!! When I saw that, words cannot explain the joy and excitement that I felt. I hid my tears.
She then led them through the sinner's prayer and I secretly could not stop crying. After, Milky explained to them that they are Christians now and that they can go tell their family. They looked very surprised. This could have meant a variety of things; they either didn't think it was so easy, or didn't know how to tell their parents. We don't know exactly what it really meant for them, so please pray for them since it is hard to be a Christian here, let alone in a family of Buddhists. Also, continue to pray that God will reveal Himself to them, and that they will continue to have softened hearts and a curiosity that cannot be contained. All glory be to God!
The girl on both of my sides and the boy in the green jacket are the ones who responded!
From left to right: Da, Jeen, Yang, and T-Rex
After lunch, we came back to BBI to rest for a few hours. During this time, we learned hand motions to "Unchanging", prepared crafts, and put together an elefuñata.
This is all for tomorrow as we have an 8am-3pm Happy Camp for the kids, which includes games and songs. Please pray that God will continue to sustain us and provide us with energy as the team has felt worn out recently. Unsure of how we were going to serve in Thailand, God's provision for our team has been perfect as now we have many opportunities to serve Him. Also, pray for the children at Phami because not all of them are Christians. Pray that they will be able to see God's love for them through us and Paul and Milky.
At 4:30, we headed back to Phami and had dinner. Then at 5:40, we started our English lessons. It was difficult because the children are younger, and the classroom walls allow for echoing and loud noises in general. We had to shout the whole time. Pray that we won't lose our voices for we will be teaching everyday of this week. We finished teaching at 7:35 and then Paul took us for a quick trip to eat ice cream and see the night view of Chiang Rai. This was a good time for us to just relax as a team and to end the night.
-Kristy
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