Exciting Events

Now, I know, I know: something's up. Daniel is writing an update much sooner that the hoped-for two weeks & even much sooner that the usual 3 or 3.5 week interval. Well, that's because something _is_ up.

On Tuesday this past week, I was given some pretty awesome news. I was told that last week Saturday, one of my students decided to pursue a relationship with Jesus. This guy's story of salvation has been a long one coming. When he first started coming to GES a few years ago, he was—as many students are—all out Buddhist, but after many positive interactions with the Christian staff, he became interested in the Jesus Christ character.

One day before my time, students were given the chance to choose to follow Jesus & at that time, he declared that he wanted to become Christian, but when he went home & told his parents that he was going to become a Christian, his mother broke down crying & pretty much said that it would kill her if he decided to reject the Buddhist faith & that no son of hers would ever think of doing such a thing to the mother that he loved. Seeing how distraught that this made his mother, he decided not to follow through with it, and he said that he wouldn't become a Christian because of her.

Years passed, and this student has been somewhat partial to Christianity. At the beginning of school last year, however, he was still wearing the Buddhist protection amulet around his neck & under his shirt, but as the months & seasons have progressed, his desire for Jesus has also grown. By the end of last year, I didn't see any amulets any more, and at the beginning of this year, he started to come to some church services with us & he even chose to respect Christian prayer. The one thing, however, that was keeping him from committing his life fully to Christ was the fear of his mother's reaction.

This past Saturday, I was told that Katak chose to relinquish that fear & embrace a relationship with Jesus despite the cost. He was on a trip with his best friend's family (who are Christians) & when they were at a Saturday church service, the pastor called people forward, first for healing (this just happened to be the same pastor of the same church where the quadriplegic man & the paralysed woman were healed), then for socio-emotional problems and finally, he asked if there was anybody in the room who wanted to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Katak went forward, prayed & wept, but he wept with tears of joy I'm told.

It excited me to no end, knowing that he has decided to follow Jesus, but I also know how difficult that the choice must be for him. Pray that he would be encouraged & strengthened by the Holy Spirit as he grows & becomes established as a Christian in a very non-Christian country. Pray also for his family, that they too would be moved to receive Christ—pray that Katak's decision would provoke curiosity & interest in this Jesus who means so much to Katak that he would risk the spurning of his mother. Pray pray pray.

Another really exciting thing is that the new church project that I've been mentioning in my past updates—the one which seeks to provide a spiritual home/community for the 16-36 year-olds (primarily, but not exclusively) in Nonthaburi & the surrounding area—has a potential site lined up! It's a less than 5-minut taxi ride from GES & would serve as a great hub for Christians in the area that don't have a spiritual home. P. Pang, the mother of some of my students, is heading up this project with her husband & the support of other Christians in the area. She meets with the bank on Monday to discuss mortgage possibilities for the building & the land. Pray pray pray, please pray that this site would be what God has in mind & may that be made apparent. That's my round about shy-on-faith way of asking you to pray a.) for the building to come into possession for the purpose of this church & b.) that the financial requirements for this building would be met.

Remember, she meets with the bank on Monday—that's Sunday evening for you guys, so I would urge & plead with you to be in prayer with us at that time (and even up to that time, and even after that time) about this project. My soul leaps within me when I consider the potential impact that this ministry could have on the spiritual well-being of the Christian church in this part of Thailand.

That's all I've got for now. School begins its second term on Monday & we head out on a "camping” excursion at the end of next week. I'll let you know how that goes next time ;)

Peace.