Buriram, Thailand
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
.
Mah Pra Yesu!
Our
team got up and met Roger in front of our hotel at 7:30am. We headed to
his orphanage to have breakfast with him and his wife. They are such a
neat couple with wonderful hearts. They would love it if IRIS Ministries
could set up a permanent work
in Northeast Thailand someday. After breakfast we went to the public
school and began to set up to show the Jesus film to over 100 students.
We led them in some children's songs in Thai while Jesse and others set
up the mobile projector and sound system...this would be our first time
using this awesome tool that God has blessed our team with. And it all
fits into one hiking pack! We tried to show the film outside under the
awning but there was still too much light to be able to see the film on
the screen. So we took the entire sound system and projector upstairs to
try it in a room at the school. It was a little better, but still
difficult to see. The funny thing is that our screen was set up
literally right next to their Buddhist idols.
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.
.
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The
children were restless and didn't seem too interested in the film. So
we fast-forwarded the Jesus film in order to cut it short. Jesse told
them about the gospel and his testimony. Kayla also shared with them.
Roger was translating. They still seemed distracted. Jesse asked how
many of them wanted to receive Jesus. Quite a few of them raised their
hands, especially the older children in the back. Not knowing exactly
how we could pray with them to receive Christ, since we didn't want anything missed in
the translation, I got up in front of the wild group of children and
asked their teachers to get them in rows in order of their classes and
to quiet them down. They all sat there with their legs crossed and their
hands cupped Buddhist-style. I then had them close
their eyes in the silence and repeat after me, "Mah Pra Yesu," which
means, "Come Lord Jesus." They just repeated this over and over after me
with breals in between to meditate on Who they were crying out to. Our
team prayed that Jesus would reveal Himself to them in His own special
way and enter their lives as they sat there and prayed in unison. "Mah
Pra Yesu." It was incredible! I know that it was a heavenly strategy to
lead the children to Jesus in a way that was more contextualized to
their culture. After we finished praying they shouted with me, "Korp
Koon Pra Yesu; Korp Koon Pra Jao," or, "Thank You Lord Jesus; thank You
Lord God!"
.
We packed up the Jesus film equipment, prayed around the school and met up for lunch with Narin and others from the Pentecostal
church where we ministered the night before. Then we drove 70km to the
highest mountain which overlooks the entire province. On this mountain
is the Hindu temple, Phnom Rung. We heard about the human sacrifices and
prostitution that took place in this spiritual stronghold 700 years ago
and gathered together to intercede and come against the strongholds,
principalities and powers, asking for freedom in Christ for the people
of this province. On a side note, it is intersting that most of
Thailand's prostitutes come from this Northeast province and on this
very mountain in the Northeast province, prostitution was rampant 700
years ago.
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From
there we visited Narin's home, church and orphanage, which is nearly
completely finished and sustainable. We prayed for Narin and his wife,
headed back to Buriram and had an amazing dinner with our new friends. I
can't imagine our trip to Buriram going any better or being any more
fruitful. After dinner we said goodbyes, got contact information and
boarded an overnight bus to Pattaya.
.
Christian Young
Pattaya, Thailand
