“Teacher Jared, we just found out that the mother of one of your students tested positive for COVID-19 this morning. He already went to your school. You need to go and tell him to go home.”
I was passing by a little grocery stall on foot, visiting our students from house to house, when the grandmother who owns the stall reported the news about our student to me.
“Thank you, Grandma. I will go back to the learning center and talk with Teacher Ming and Teacher Tonya about the situation.”
When I got back to the school, I learned that Phineas, an 11-year-old boy who has been our student for nearly six years, was the one whose mother tested positive. Phineas lives with his grandmother, but his mother had come to visit briefly that morning from another province. We explained to Phineas that we would take him home and help him and his grandmother get tested. Phineas started to cry. He was afraid about what would happen if he or his grandmother tested positive. Teacher Ming talked and prayed with Phineas until he relaxed, and then I gave him a copy of an illustrated Bible for kids and youth to read at home.
Luckily, Phineas and his grandmother tested negative that day but still had to stay home for several days and test again before they could leave their house. Over the next few days, we brought food to Phineas and his grandmother. Later that week, they tested negative a second time and were able to go outside again.
To our surprise, when Phineas returned to the learning center, he told us that he had finished reading the Bible we gave him in only three days—all 350 pages. He also told us that his grandmother had read nearly half of the Bible herself. Then, he surprised us even more.
“Teachers, I really love the Bible you gave me. I especially liked the last story about the prophet John who, while on the island, saw heaven. Every story points to Jesus.”
We can see the Holy Spirit moving in Phineas’ family.
Recently, while walking and meditating on the book of Acts, I realized that if the Holy Spirit is like a fire, that fire needs fuel to burn. What is the fuel? The fuel is God’s Word and all the amazing stories in the Bible that point to Jesus and provide us with a context to understand how God can work in our lives today. Repeatedly in the book of Acts, the spreading of the Word preceded the moving of the Holy Spirit. I am convinced that increasing biblical literacy among the unreached Thai Isan people—fueling them up with God’s Word—is critical in preparing the way for a disciple-making movement ignited by the flame of the Spirit.
Please continue to pray for our team as we spread God’s Word and train the children and families with whom we work to do the same.
