Learning Thai

Thanks so much to those of you who have been praying for Efrain, our friend and teammate from Nicaragua. He and Dan left late last night on the long trip to Managua. We’re praying that Efrain can rest on the plane and that his pain will be manageable. He already has an appointment with a specialist later this week and it is important that he begin chemotherapy as quickly as possible.

We said goodbye to him last night before he left for the airport. Our team and a small group of Thai friends tied strings on his wrist as a symbol of our bond in Christ and wished him God’s blessing. As always, Efrain is remaining positive even though this is obviously a very difficult situation. He gave a very moving testimony in Thai last night – telling his friends that he didn’t want to leave but reminding them that since he has God in his life he feels confident. Tukdaa made the long trip from her home province to say goodbye to him and she tearfully talked about how she dreaded seeing Efrain since most of the sick people that she has known seem so sad and hopeless. But she was encouraged by Efrain’s cheerful spirit. He certainly is leaving behind a powerful example of faith in God and I believe this will continue to impact his friends here.

In true Thai fashion a large group of his classmates showed up at the airport for his midnight flight. Since our kids had to get to bed we didn’t join them there –but here’s a picture from a friend’s Facebook page. These are two of the guys that Efrain and Nixon have spent the most time with and who have made decisions to believe.

-Tom