Have you ever heard the song “Where are you Christmas?” Y’know, the one that’s in that movie “The Grinch,” and the little girl, Cindy Loo Who, sings it because she can’t seem to find the joy in the Christmas season anymore. She feels outside and isolated from all the hustle and bustle of materialistic frenzy that seems to encompass and completely triumph over the holiday, and the whole season itself.
At the start of this Christmas season, man, did I feel like Cindy Loo Who. It seemed as if I was completely isolated from the outside world…and I kind of was.
You see, Mae Ai, Thailand is probably the last place I ever expected to spend the Christmas of 2016. Living in a shack, with no hot water, no beds, no toilet, and barely any electricity-not exactly my idea of “all is merry and bright.” A place where Buddhism triumphs over any other religion, and a lot of children at our school don’t even know the name of Jesus. These children don’t even know what Christmas is, or why Americans celebrate it at all.
So someone had to tell them, didn’t they? And I am so blessed to say that someone was us.
Because on Monday, December 26th, the message of the joy of Christmas was brought unto the children of Bankai School in Mae Ai, Thailand. This was the very first Christmas message to ever be taught to the people who work there, and the children who study there. All 400 teachers and students were able to hear the story of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ-they were able to hear the significance of his birth and the enormity of his sacrifice for us.
400 people were taught about a humble king, the King of the Universe, the king who was born to save us all. 400 people, at a Buddhist school, received the message of sacrificial, unfailing love.
Messages were taught, games were played, songs were sung, tears were shed, laughter was enjoyed, and joy was brought. At the end of it all, our team had the opportunity to pray over the school and all 400 students who attend the school. Jesus is alive and weaving his way into the hearts and minds of the people at Bankai School.
New life is raining down heavily upon Mae Ai, Thailand. I am so glad that I got to spend Christmas with the people there, and to be the hands of Christ as he builds His Kingdom throughout the entirety of Thailand.
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
-Dr. Seuss, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
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