The Most Unlikely Friendship

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised:

You prayed that God would give me a Thai friend, and He has answered in an amazing way!  Khemtida is originally from Bangkok, spent several years in the US, and is now back in her homeland working for a non-profit organization.  She speaks excellent English and is a devoted follower of Christ.  I'm so blessed to be able to call her my friend!

Out and about with my friend Khemtida

And, as you'll find out if you read on, the Lord is also beginning to give me another Thai friend, though this lady is not a believer.  It's amazing how that friendship has come about, so read on.

Prayer Necessities:

1.  Pray that my new friendship with "Hannah" would grow and that I would have opportunities to share the Truth of Christ with her.

2.  Ask that the Lord would give me three women to begin training as disciples of Christ by the end of 2013.

3.  Continue to pray for ears to hear, a mind to understand, and a mouth to speak the Thai language.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know:

When the Lord first called me to this new ministry - making disciples of "ladies of the night," as they are called - I tried to argue with Him.  "I don't know how to do that," I said.  "I don't have any experience with that kind of ministry... or doing social ministry of any kind, for that matter.  And I can't personally relate to the life experiences of these women either."

And you know what?  I was right.

But, as I really should learn, you can't ever win an argument with the Lord.  Instead of being released from this new calling, the call remained on me... and even got stronger.

That's just a small part of how I wound up in Bangkok.  And, let me tell you, when I first saw the red-light district here, I was even more convinced of my utter inadequacy for this job.  You see, on any given night in that area, the depravity of man is on full display in all its inglorious decadence, and the darkness is so thick that you can almost feel it pressing on your skin.  To see it is to stare wide-eyed and be overwhelmed.

But God continues to confirm the call... and to assure me that He, and not I, will do this work.  That is why He likes it when I feel inadequate.  The truth is that I not only feel that way; I am inadequate.  And that feeling is what drives me to my knees in abject humility and dependence on Him.  I really cannot do this job.

But He can, and He assures me that He will.

My evidence of that is most readily displayed in a 32-year-old woman I'll call "Hannah."  I met her one night as a praying friend and I were standing outside the massage parlor where she works.  My friend and I were debating how we could start a conversation with the women inside when the Lord took it out of our hands by sending Hannah out to talk to us.

"So sorry," she said, fake smile firmly in place.  "Men only.  We specialize in happy endings."

What a coincidence, I thought.  So does my God.

I didn't know how to explain in Thai that we were praying over the area, so I opted instead for the only thing I could say really well.  I asked her name.  Upon hearing her native language on the unpracticed lips of a foreigner, Hannah's fake smile became a real one, and a friendship was begun.

Our next conversation took place in the lobby of her workplace, the very same place to which I had previously been denied access.  Like sin itself, it had an appealing entrance:  Cool, pleasant, even peaceful.  But I knew what went on deeper inside, and it made my heart heavy to think of my new friend's life.

After we chatted in Thai - hers perfect and fluid, mine halting and broken - she finally asked me why I was working so hard to learn the language.  I explained that I believe there is one God, that His name is Jesus, and that I have come here to tell people about Him.  She looked confused at first but then laughed and said, "You go to heaven, and I go to hell."

I could not have disagreed more strongly with that assessment, so I responded, "No, Hannah.  Jesus loves you, and He sent me here to tell you that."  I have never wanted so badly to miraculously speak this new language so that I could share with her the Truth that can save her, but I had to settle for assuring her that I would tell her more about Him as soon as I can.

The next time we spoke, almost the entire conversation was in English.  We began to discuss romance, and she proceeded to share with me some of the struggles of her life in that area.  The discussion was deep, much deeper than it normally would be for such a short friendship, and I felt privileged that this woman would trust me with such profound wounds from her life.

As I was leaving, Hannah told me that she had told her boyfriend about me and my belief in God.  Let me elaborate:  Pure Buddhism teaches that there is no God, and even the Thai variety of Buddhism may believe there are many gods but not really one True Creator God.  Yet my one comment made enough of an impact on her that she told her boyfriend of it in the few minutes a night she has to share with him via phone.  God is certainly at work in her.

There is honestly no human reason I should be friends with Hannah.  We have nothing in common beyond our gender, yet she has trusted me with deep parts of herself when she is not likely a very trusting person.  And I am filled with a supernatural love for her.  I so want her to be filled with the joy that she's searching for, the joy that I possess.  Our friendship can only be explained by divine means.

Yes, I am completely inadequate for this job, but my God is more than sufficient.

The evidence of it walks around in a massage parlor reserved "for men only."  Please pray that her heart would soon be reserved only for the One True God.

Fishing boats in the Malaysian sunset