Mission Minutes 3

Sarah, a worker in Isaan writes; "One night I was eating dinner with some friends from the church at Bow and Bew's house. Bow became a Christian about a year and a half ago on a church trip to Singapore. She came home and her life was radically changed by Jesus and sometime in the next year Bew, her sister, became a Christian also. Another church trip to Singapore was approaching so Bow and Bew began praying for God to give them the money to go. In celebration of God answering their prayers, we found ourselves at Bow and Bew's house eating dinner.

It was a usual dinner; it didn't seem like a special evening or anything. Someone casually mentioned to Bow's mom about how great it was for God to bless the girls with the money. She agreed with the statement and then Bow asked her mother if she believed in Jesus and wanted to become a Christian. At this point, all other conversation had stopped and everyone was staring at Bow's mom waiting for her response. I'll never forget what she said...she said something to the effect of "sure, I'll become a Christian". Her reply is quite difficult to describe in words, but in my mind, it lacked emotion, and commitment, and sincerity. The words she used in Thai suggested that she could take Christianity or leave it. All around me was joyous celebration of this new believer, and although on the outside I was celebrating with them and in my head I knew she believed everything that she should believe in order to become a Christian, and yet there was this nagging feeling inside me that something wasn't complete.

Even as I left their house that night, the feeling was still there. Is it possible for this lady to be sold-out for Jesus without some type of dramatic or at least a visible difference? I got my answer about a week later. I was told about how one night Bow's mom had a dream. In the dream, someone had come and painted her house, but she noticed there was a spot that had been left unpainted. As she went to inspect that portion of the wall, she noticed that it was where all her Buddhists idols were. The next morning when Bow's mom woke up, she went to those idols and she took them down and threw them away. When I heard that story, my heart was convicted. God is all-powerful and all we have to do is believe and His Spirit will teach us everything else we need to know. No big shows, no fancy prayers...just the honest belief in the power and love of God. Bow's mom has closed her shop on Sundays and faithfully attends the church services with her two daughters every Sunday."

Some Isaan Christians have stories about how God performed a miracle in their life that was significant in their decision to become a Christian. Some mention how God revealed Himself through a dream as did Bow’s mom. When you awake in the morning, the Isaan should be getting ready to go to bed. Would you say a prayer for the Isaan people?? Pray that God will reveal Himself to them through their dreams at night and through miracles in their lives.