Hello everyone!
We made it through songkran with much R&R to be thrust into daily life and then some :) However, I have a great story to share that came out of the chaos! Hopefully you can stay with me as storytelling isn't my forte!
Jodi, one of the students who has lived with us over the last couple of years received news from her University that her student status had been
terminated. She called her supervisor and met with her several times over the following days but to no avail Jodi could not re-enroll as the enrollment for this school year had already been closed. All of this was terrible news as Jodi's student termination was of error. To make it all worse her parents are very upset with her and place most of the blame on Jodi when truly it's not her fault. In there eyes she has caused them to "lose face" putting their whole family in shame. Through the last week or so we have spent much time encouraging Jodi. As I write Jodi is in China we will miss her as one of our own family but we know this will be a good time for her to grow even closer to God as her faith will be tested. We are confident that she will be a light shining in China for her family and those around her! There is much possibility that she will be returning to Thailand in the next 6 months to a year so we are praying and looking forward to the day she returns to fulfill her dream of getting a masters degree from a good Uni. here in Thailand! The next part of the stor
y.....
y.....The night Jodi left we had our English class. In the English class we have 3 Chinese students and 2 Thai students. It just so happened that that night we had been talking about how our different cultures display affection. For example it's normal for men to kiss each other on the cheek in some European countries, however, this is not normal in America. One of the things we had talked about was if guys in America normally hug girls that are their friends and so on... so we explained that usually men don't hug female friends unless it's a hug goodbye to a dear friend, it doesn't happen on a daily basis :) We later learned that hugging in China was reserved for family mostly. Not long after that, it was time for Jodi to go. I came down all teary eyed with her, already having said my goodbyes. Jodi gave Jared the biggest bear hug I've ever seen a girl give :) The students sat in awe at the display.
Jodi drove off and we continued class breaking off into pairs so they could practice speaking english with each other. Jared's partner asked us why we came to Thailand. So he proceeded to tell her "that God had told us to come." She then asked if we were "Christmas." He then replied, "Do you mean Christians?" She said "yes, you pray before you drink water and eat." Jared then proceeded to very briefly tell her why we pray, why we love people, why we love God, why He loves us, and why we ask God for answers and direction in life. This was HUGE. The only thing LuLu had heard about Christianity was Christmas, a couple of her acquaintances were Christians, and she new the names Adam and Eve. She had never heard about Jesus. She had never heard the name of Jesus! Later all three of the girls commented on how much Christians loved each other having witnessed Jodi's love at times when they would see each other out in the community and what they had witnessed in our home that night. They concluded it was very good! Praise God that the doors are now wide open for these girls to learn more about the love of God! We will continue to cultivate our relationships with them and see what God does!
Isn't love such a powerful and amazing testimony! Be encouraged that if you take the time to love others around you they will take notice!
Thank you all for praying for us.
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