Imagine you just understood the Gospel and had finally come to the point where you truly decided to live for this thing you now understand. You have seen who God is and realized who you are as his beloved child. Imagine you believe in this relationship to the point that you will do whatever you are called to do! Pastor Panya and his wife Rapee are a true example of this amazing movement that has been shaping the world as we know it.
Pastor and Rapee are native Thai Karen people. They have been married many years and have lived a life full of adventure, challenge, and of course blessing. Let me explain…
Roughly 9 years ago the Lord called them to go share this Good News to those who have never heard of Jesus. The Lord led them to a small village in the western mountains of Thailand near the B/urma border. They started off their journey with only a small pack each and a huge heart full of love. As they went closer to the village (the first one they would stay in for a period of time), more and more oppression hit them. First off they have to be invited into the village (culture) and in order to do that they had to have an “in”.
You see these villages are full of animistic beliefs and are controlled by witch doctors. On top of all that the people were living a life of oppression, depression, and addiction. Opium or Morphine was largely grown and many people, especially over the age of 13, were addicts. They would shoot up and live their life accordingly.
The land was used for growing opium and not for vegetables or grains. Basically the people were starving drug addicts.
Now pastor and Rapee lived on the mountainside in the wilderness. They would hunt their food, catch fish in the river, and drink from the streams. They were building relationships with the people they would meet outside the village. They would pray for those who were getting their fixes and for those who they met along the many paths on the mountainside. They were building relationships. In this time of a couple of years Pastor and Rapee both were struck down by malaria and another time by dengue fever. Both life threatening without treatment. But because the Lord had led them here, they cried out in faith for healing. And they were, both of them, from all illnesses. Life was hard for them, but they stood their ground for the message that they were carrying. And I won’t even go into the spiritual attacks in their dreams, the visions they had or the times they were oppressed.
One day the Lord brought them a man who was high and was crying out from within to stop. He was hooked and wanted freedom. So this was the door that would eventually open a way for them into the villages. This young man seeked them out and recieved prayer. As time went on, addicts went to Pastor and Rapee to pray for them when their body needed that next fix. And over time the Lord had delivered many people for their addictions and eventually came to the Lord. The elders and witch doctors then invited them into the village to stay and that’s where the Holy Spirit came down on that place.
It has been 14 years since that day when Pastor and Rapee took those first steps toward that village. They knew it was going to be tough. They knew it was going to be a hard. They stepped in faith. They trusted that call that was given to them. They believed in what they were called to do to the point where they decided to endure the hardships even when it was easy to pack up and go home. But they didn’t!
Since then they have seen that first village come to Christ. I’m not just talking about a few of them or only the push-over ones. I’m talking about every single family confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord over their lives. All the witch doctors have repented and changed their ways. 8 more villages had had Pastor and Rapee come through. Some have requested that they come to visit them and share this Good News with their families. Many aren’t believers yet. And there are many conflicts still as well. The spiritual realm in these places is quite something. I spent 2 weeks in the villages and every one I stayed in (4 in all) had it’s own feel and oppression. But God is good to His people. He will deliver those who follow him from captivity and bondage when we call upon his name.
I thank the Lord for giving me the chance to spend 2 weeks with Pastor and Rapee. I got to work alongside them in their ministry first hand. They have such peace about them that they know what this Christ Following thing is all about. It’s one step at a time!
