Chuck and I spent a lot of time last year asking God to show us where He needed and wanted us to serve Him.   We felt strongly that we received confirmation of His call to us 13 years ago, to serve Him in Thailand.  Since returning to Thailand, our time has been spent primarily in learning the Ahka language and meeting with various partners with whom we have worked in the past as well as making connections with new partners who would like to involve us in their work and ministries.   One of our first visits was to Mehter Village, which was one of the first villages where Chuck worked to help with the issue of opium addiction 10 years ago.  We were invited to come attend a village wedding, and to see the results of a number of projects which have been launched in this village.  Our experience there was both an extraordinary reminder of God’s powerful interactions in the lives of these brothers and sisters, and a further confirmation for Chuck and me that we are where God wants us to be!

When we arrived, we were welcomed warmly by many who have been helped in breaking their drug habits through a 3 month long drug rehabilitation program.   35 people participated in the program, and 16  of those families have accepted Christ.   Because the village was still steeped in the Akha way, or animistic beliefs, these Christian families were kicked out of the village.  It was believed that having Christians living there would bring curses upon the village.   Life was VERY hard for them, but they remained faithful to Jesus through all the trials that came their way. 

One of our close pastor friends, Pastor Petru, worked with Chuck to help these families establish new homes and sources of income outside the village, once they were no longer welcome inside.  New places to plant rice had to be found, a water system had to be put in, a pig raising project was introduced, coffee was planted, and a church was built.  All these projects were helped in great part through the giving of American Baptist Churches, both to our projects and through the World Mission Offering.    How exciting to see how these programs have prospered over the last 10 years!

            But there’s more!  About the time that a number of the former drug addicts returned to their village 10 years ago, a group of women also expressed interest in getting involved in the Akha Craft program.  I suggested that any interested women come to the Women’s Retreat where they could receive information.   Unexpectedly, TEN women came down!  They were not Christian and had NO idea what they were coming to!  But God certainly did! 

On the last night of the three-day retreat, I had invited a group of Bible school students to provide special music.   At the end of the program, the students introduced themselves and suddenly there was a loud shout from the audience and the sound of a chair falling over.  When I went to make sure that the woman who had fallen was alright, I discovered that when one of the young men had introduced himself, this woman recognized him as the son she had given up when he was 3 years old. She had never seen him since!

            The son, Aso, was obviously in a state of shock!  What an incredibly difficult moment for him!  I had to leave them as I had responsibilities for the conclusion of the evening’s program, but as I spoke, it seemed that half the people were disappearing downstairs.  I couldn’t imagine what was happening, but when I completed my responsibilities, I went and looked down below.  There I saw Aso and his mother standing and talking with about 80 people gathered around them.  As I watched, I was astonished to see them embrace each other and cry.  How amazing that this non-Christian woman from Mehter and her Bible college son should be in the same place on that one particular night! 

            Now, ten years later, we were sitting drinking tea outside one of the homes in Mehter, waiting for the wedding ceremony.   We had not even thought to ask who was getting married, but as headed up the hill for the wedding, imagine our surprise when we saw Aso walking down the hill to meet us!  It suddenly dawned on me that HE was the groom!

 It turns out that he had become a pastor after Bible school, but then left the ministry for a time, got a job near Bangkok, got married, and had a baby.   Sadly, his wife then left him…and the baby.  He had returned to Mehter, and his mother had been helping him raise his child for the past 4 years!  He returned to the ministry a year and a half ago, and now had found a new woman to share his life with him.  What a tremendous blessing it was to be able to share in this precious moment and to see how God has been working in the lives of both Aso and his mother since that miraculous night ten years earlier! 

We couldn’t believe that we arrived on the one day when we would actually see the results of God’s intervention and timing in so many different ways.  We want to thank the churches and individuals who helped to make it possible for us and many other missionaries to respond to God’s call on our lives, and who continue to support us through your designated gifts the World Mission Offering.    Your gifts to the World Mission Offering this month will help spread the love of God to the world as we have seen it working in the lives of the people of Mehter.  Thank you!