It’s the World Race.
Be flexible.
Don’t have expectations.
Arriving in Thailand, I was told that my team would be spending the month working in a village 2 hours outside of Chiang Mai. Unfortunately, two of the girls on my team became sick and ended up in the hospital, postponing our plans for entering the village.
The rest of us spent a couple days touring Chiang Mai and spending time with the teams that were stationed in the city doing bar ministry. One morning our team went out for breakfast and we decided that it wasn't good for us to just wait around while our teammates recovered. We wanted to be proactive in this fight against the spirit of apathy that plagues this country. If we weren’t going to the village, we needed to either join up with the other teams in the city or find our own ministry.
A few of us decided that we wanted to prayer walk some of the Buddhist Temples. So after lunch we went for a walk, praying that the Lord would guide us to the right temple, grant us wisdom to know what to say, and that hearts would be prepared for our arrival.
We walked 20 minutes and came to a busy road with temples on both sides. We paused, unsure of which one, but Jen quickly suggested the larger one. Through the front gate we walked, heading towards the base of the stairs leading up into the temple.
Like all the temples, it was beautiful. Grand in splendor of gold and mosaic tile. There was something special about this temple, something unique to the others. In front of the temple, there was a section of beautiful green grass. And right there out front was a statue of Donald Duck eating a bowl of noodles.
We laughed to ourselves as we climbed the stairs, removing our shoes and pausing outside the door, unsure if we could enter. A man smiled at us, “Go on in! It’s open.” We smiled and walked in.
We were the only ones in the temple so we decided we could pray aloud corporately without anyone seeing or hearing. Anika suggested we sit down, half-circle facing Buddha so it didn’t look suspicious. Before we could pray, a different man, shy and quiet, came in and turned a fan on for us. The other man yelled from outside, “1 baht per minute. Okay, I give you a good price…60 baht for 1 hour!” We couldn’t help laughing at his quick wit and he quickly returned the laughter. He stood up from his chair outside and walked in. Smiling and still bantering about the price for the fan.
He introduced himself as Toi (pronounced Toy), and as he continued making jokes, we grew at ease with each other. He told us about the pictures in the temple, and the different statues of Buddha. We asked questions. After a bit, he sat down with us. Conversation continued and he began mentioning other religions. As he mentioned Jesus, looking at us with a sparkle in his eye as if to say he had already suspected that we were Christians, we felt invited to share our faith.
As Toi had spoken with us about the “Buddha Way,” believed to be the way to God, we talked openly about Jesus and how we believe that He is The Way. Toi spoke of bad karma and how people often do bad things, but we need to choose for ourselves to do good. When we make mistakes, we have to put it behind us. “Forget it,” was his often used phrase. He’d smile and wave his hand behind his back. When we spoke, we referred to “sin” as “bad karma” and told Toi that we can try and choose to do good, but we often mess up continuously.
Toi’s religion as a Buddhist places the responsibility on himself, responsibility to do good and find the way to God on his own.
Following Jesus isn’t a religion or based on works. It’s a way of life that leads to freedom based on faith.
We talked for hours. I knew that day that Toi wasn't going to decide to follow Jesus, not yet anyways. We were simply watering a seed that had been planted in him nearly a decade ago when he became friends with a Thai Christian. In addition to watering that seed, we were laying the foundation for a new friendship.
As we left the temple and walked back onto the street, of these 3 things I was certain:
1. God had just invited us to be a small part of something huge, something he started long ago.
2. This was just the beginning of our friendship with Toi, and the first of many conversations to come.
3. Toi was going to know the Lord, not today, but someday.
