“If I am not able to make it to your church on Saturday, is there still something I can do to make merit anyway?” asked Mam.
Caught off guard by her question, I paused for several seconds, not sure how to answer.
When Thai people go to the temple, they believe that they accumulate “merit,” which will supposedly help them in their next life. Much of the motivation behind the religious activities they engage in is driven by the desire to accumulate merit. So it is not surprising that they would assume that attending a Christian church service would also bring them merit.
Recently, I began teaching English to Mam using Bible stories. Moments before asking me about making merit, she had asked me if our church or school had any activities she could help out with. In my response to her, I wanted to be sure to clearly communicate that Christians don’t believe in making merit. At the same time, I didn’t want to belittle her belief. So I sent up a silent prayed for wisdom to know what to say.
I began by explaining to Mam that Christians don’t believe in making merit in the same way that Buddhists do, but that people who are not able to go to church can still support the church by giving an offering or by praying.
Seemingly satisfied by my response, she eagerly asked if I had time to teach her how to pray. Caught off guard once again, I continued praying silently that I would know how to explain prayer in a way that was practical yet not oversimplified.
As our conversation continued, Mam asked me what she should do if she wanted to learn more about the Bible. Out of curiosity I asked her why she was interested in the Bible. She responded that she was curious to know what it was that caused me to leave America and become a missionary to Thailand, and she wanted to learn more about the life of Jesus. After sharing brief parts of my personal testimony, I explained different ways she could learn more and assured her that we would be happy to teach her if she wanted to study. After we discussed different options, she told me she would prefer to use part of our class time for Bible study!
As we made plans to begin doing Bible studies the following week, I stood in awe of how God had orchestrated this situation. Initially, Mam had begun studying English with our student missionary, Tiffany Steinweg. As Tiffany was finishing her term of service, she asked me if I could continue teaching Mam. Initially I didn’t want to since I try not to get too involved with English teaching. But since our team had already started to minister to her, I felt we should continue. I told Mam that I would be willing to teach her English, but that I would teach by using Bible stories, and she agreed.
I praise God for how He is creating an interest in Mam’s heart to know Him. Please pray that her interest will continue to blossom and grow.
