Dear Friends,

At a recent retreat for the international missionary community of the Church of Christ in Thailand some of the leadership of the church, who had come to faith through work such as ours, gave their personal testimonies.

"I remember attending Dara Academy as a young girl," said a woman. "We used to laugh at this Jesus who was talked about, to whom the "farang" (foreigners) prayed. Whether it was in the songs we sang, the Bible lessons we were taught or during the annual "renewal" activities. I remember how hard-hearted I was. I would never succumb to such nonsense. I was too bright, too good. I didn’t need that stuff. I was Thai, and like all good Thai that meant I was Buddhist.

"Not once during the 12 years of my attendance did I relent. I looked forward to getting out of that Christian environment and into a good Buddhist university.

"Upon graduation I took the government test. Unfortunately, my score was not high enough to get into a government school. But guess who was taking students who couldn’t get into the other schools? Payap University, the Christian university. My father tried to convince me not to go. He said I would marry soon and that I didn’t need to go to university. But I would not relent. As I left, he told me to remember that I was Thai and that meant that I was Buddhist. I wasn’t worried. I was secure.

"While there I discovered that the Christian students often went to the villages during their school breaks to preach, to teach, and to encourage people in their Christian faith. And there was a man who usually led them. I called him Mr. Big Book (because he always carried that Big Book—a Bible—around). One day he asked me to go with the group. I was intrigued that these students would give up their school break for this activity, so I decided to go. I watched them and was impressed by their work, but it wasn’t for me. I was Thai and I didn’t need that stuff. Well, three of those trips came and went and I went along as their cook. And Mr. Big Book was always leading them.

"They were dividing the group to go to different villages to teach Sunday School and one of the students got sick. They needed someone to stay at the host church and teach that class, so Mr. Big Book asked me if I would do it. I laughed. I said ‘I don’t know anything about this.’ He said ‘no problem. It is all written out. You teach them a few songs, and lead them in this study.’ I said, ‘I don’t know the songs.’ He handed me an audiocassette and said ‘no problem.’ What could I do? Mr. Big Book had an answer for everything. The next day I taught. At the end of class, four people approached me and said they wanted to give their lives to Christ. I was stunned. I ran to get the pastor and figured he would know what to do with them, I certainly didn’t. He asked them some questions about why they wanted to become Christian and during their answers something clicked within me. I leaned over to the pastor and whispered ‘me too.’ Stunned, he asked ‘What?’ I repeated myself and he asked me ‘Why?’ I whispered ‘Don’t do this here. If you want me to become a Christian you’d better do it now!’

"Well, five people were baptized that day. And boy was Mr. Big Book surprised when he returned. But the trouble was only beginning. Returning home to share my "good news" I was immediately labeled "stupid" by my father. That’s a difficult word for a daughter to hear from her father. Then my grandfather died and my parents consulted a medium to see why. They were told that a stronger spirit had entered the house and that they would have to get rid of it to appease the weaker spirit. My brother died soon afterward in a motorcycle accident and my parents received the same word from the medium. My parents sat me down and told me to reject this Jesus or leave. As I walked out the door my mother followed sweeping my footprints away as I walked and warning me never to let my footprints darken their house again.

"As I sat crying on the seminary steps, a missionary came past and as I explained the story to him he asked me one question. ‘Are you ready to follow him?’ Incredulous I asked ‘What?’ He simply asked again, ‘Are you ready to follow him? Don’t answer me, answer him.’ Of course, I had already made that choice, but his question helped me to understand what I had done.

"What followed was begging for food, for a place to stay (as I had no money) and letters asking me to pay my bills. One day I was summoned to the president’s office and offered a scholarship; it was for the brightest and best students those with a 3.9 or 4.0 grade point (offered by Christians in the West). The president had taken the tenth person’s name off the list and replaced it with mine. (I had a 2.6). And he called me deserving. What wonderful words to hear.

"Wedding bells rang afterwards—for me and who else, Mr. Big Book—a beloved child, after four miscarriages, a chance to go to seminary and later to study in America . . . all of this for a hard-hearted Thai Buddhist, through the Grace of God which brought you missionaries here. I will never, ever be able to say thank you enough."

Mission Matters.

The Halleads

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 171