I got the results of my latest language evaluation, and I am a solid level 4! At level 5, I will be released from full-time language study, so I am pretty excited. Getting to level 5 is a much-anticipated milestone, and I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel after a full year of language study.
Prayer Necessities:
1. Please pray for the ladies who are learning Thai Bible stories with me every week. Pray that the stories would sink deeply into their hearts and that the Lord would reveal Himself to them through His Word.
2. Continue to pray for my language learning. My next evaluation will be at the end of March, so please pray that I will be diligent in practicing the language and in learning new vocabulary in anticipation of that evaluation.
3. Please ask the Lord to grant me wisdom on how my ministry should look once I am released to do it full-time. I still don't have a clear vision of how to do what He has called me here to do and need His direction in this area.
Inquiring Minds Wanna Know:
The highlight of each week for me is Thursday afternoon. That's the day that I get to go out and teach Bible stories to a group of ladies who are part of a ministry called The Well. We are currently working on the story of man's fall (from Genesis 3), and I love to see the eagerness and joy with which they are learning.
I want to tell you a little about my new friends but, to do that, I have to tell you a little about The Well. This is a ministry here in Bangkok with a goal of rescuing women from the sex industry and preventing those who are at-risk from entering that life. It is actually named for the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well from John 4. Their ultimate goal is to transform the lives of these women and children with the power of Christ. As these women often have husbands or boyfriends, The Well also seeks to lead them to Christ as well. The hope is that those whose lives have been transformed by Jesus will then go back to their homes and seek to transform the lives of their families as well. It is a great ministry, one that I am proud to work with and one that is truly doing life-changing work. For more information, check out their website here.
When the ladies are accepted into The Well's program, they receive a case manager who oversees their emotional, spiritual, and physical recovery. They meet weekly with their case manager and set goals for their development. They learn to work a regular job, and child care is provided for them. They make jewelry, clothing, or artwork that is sold in various Western countries. There are also a variety of classes offered to them daily, ranging from English to money management to, of course, Bible stories. :)
In my storying group, I have a group of 6 core women who have been there each week, along with five others who come on occasion. This past week, all 11 of the women were there, and it was fun but a little overwhelming. Since some of them don't know the creation story as well, I asked the ones who know it very well to teach it to the newcomers over the course of this week. I will find out on Thursday whether they followed through on that.
Let me tell you about these women. They are amazing and have truly wonderful stories.
Q has seven kids. She spent many years in prison, and each of her children were farmed out to different places. But the Lord has since reunited her with all of them and has truly tranformed her into a different person. She learns the stories almost as quickly as O and has a bright and happy-go-lucky personality. She is a comedian who is always making others laugh with her antics, but her love for the Lord and His Word shines through even when she's being funny. She always hates it when our classes are over each week because she says that they never last long enough.
I has three kids, ages 8, 4, and 2. She is trying to learn English and loves to practice with me after our storying class is over. She is a gentle, quiet spirit, but she learns very quickly and very diligently. She is not as vocal as O or Q, but she knows the stories just as well and is attentive to the details that they sometimes gloss over. When she acted out the story of the fall the other day, she played the part of God and quoted His curses on the serpent, Eve, and Adam almost exactly right. The curses are the most difficult part of the story - and one of the most important - so it was impressive for her to get them just right.
In addition to those three believers, I have three non-believers in my core group. I love that I get to teach non-believers these stories and that these ladies have been just as faithful as my more vocal believers. K and P are both beautiful and gentle, but they are quiet. Since they don't have the Biblical knowledge the others have, they are more inclined to be passive during the sessions but, when I nudge them, they will get up and act out the parts. And they are really getting the stories, too. A couple of weeks ago, I paired them up and had them act out the story of creation, and K actually remembered a part that others had forgotten. It was great to see!
I have one other non-believer who holds a very special place in my heart. B has two little boys. When members of The Well found B, she was in a crisis situation. She has not yet decided to follow Jesus but is learning about Him daily and becoming more open as she sees Who He is through those around her. She has been through such significant trauma, but she is slowly healing through His grace in her life.
I will be sending out a prayer guide within the next week, giving you a lady each day for you to pray for, along with a picture of each of them. I am so grateful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to know each of these women. My life is so much richer for knowing them, and they daily teach me so much more than I ever teach them. I would really appreciate your prayers for them.
