The past few weeks have certainly had their share of stress and problems (see the earlier entries about our visa woes) but we’ve also had the privilege of seeing God at work. In what turned out to be my second of three trips to Laos in March I went with Lan to visit Pon. We spent several days together without much agenda. Lan was tired out after a stretch of working multiple consecutive shifts as a security guard – sometimes working 36 hours straight, so he spent a lot of time sleeping. We also spent a lot of time hanging out in Pon’s room – sometimes talking, sometimes just individually reading the Bible and then asking questions or sharing something that impressed us. I wasn’t sure how much I should prepare in the way of Bible studies for this trip – but I think that the laid back approach worked well. Both Lan and Pon enjoy reading the Bible and it was encouraging to see how they read – looking for practical applications to their lives and remembering the passages that had encouraged them in the past.
For someone who just began reading the Bible in January, I’m amazed at how much Lan has learned and how he is immediately using what he’s learning to teach his friend, Kaminee. Even before he began reading the Bible Lan had an experience with God. While visiting Pon a year or so ago he read part of a Christian book that Pon had and then, without telling anyone, prayed. After that he felt like someone was watching over his life but he didn’t really know what to do next. So, when Pon had another opportunity to talk to him about God late last year, Lan was ready to listen. I don’t know if even he could point to a time when he became a believer, but he’s now talking very clearly about his faith and what God means to him.
Last night he and Lung Seri came over for supper and then we studied part of Matthew 18 – Jesus instructing us to have faith like a child and the story of the lost sheep. We had a good discussion and Lung Seri shared with us how he sometimes feels like he is between two religions. We encouraged him to not get bogged down in comparing religions and talked about how our faith is not a religion but a relationship with Jesus. Pray for him as he continues to reflect on this. You can also pray that over the next month we would find more time to meet with these friends – and with others who want to study.
We leave tonight for Chiang Mai where we’re attending (and Candice is helping to coordinate) a retreat for Anabaptist workers in this region. We’ll get back to Bangkok Sunday morning, be home for the week of Songkran (the Thai New Year holiday) and then leave on a long-anticipated trip to Morocco to visit family there.
-Tom
