Refreshing, exciting and just what we needed! That describes our discipleship training in Chiang Mai.
When we were on furlough, Rene had attended a discipleship conference to learn more about house churches and movements. Some friends who are also planting house churches told us about the conference and introduced us to a couple in Thailand who are successfully training others to preach the gospel. We quickly connected with them and scheduled to attend the training they offered, as we wanted to see what other Christians were doing in a Thai context. Once we arrived, we discovered that about 10 Thais were also attending. Their enthusiasm and testimonies were a continual blessing.
One of the focuses of our training was on prayer walking—not just walking and praying, but also talking to the people walking around us and praying with them. That Saturday night, we were sent out to practice prayer walking with the goal of sharing the gospel with others in a simple way. This called for boldness. As we walked, we prayed for God to show us with whom we should share.
After a couple of hours, it was clear that this couple was experiencing so much success because they were constantly praying for God to bring the people who were ready and hungry for the gospel. When they are on their walks, they offer prayer to everyone around them while looking for those ready to hear more.
Now that we are back home, we go to the local university for lunch (a dollar per plate) every Tuesday and to prayer walk, looking for people ready to hear the gospel. The first time at the university, we tried our best and talked to one person. When we got there, we were overwhelmed by the number of people, where to begin, and being nervous about being so direct with strangers.
When we returned today, we had a plan—to spread out as a family and sit with different people. Seeing three young ladies sitting alone at different tables, I approached the one with more food on her plate. I figured that this would allow me to talk longer, while she had her soup.
“May I join you?”
“Yes,” she said with a smile.
“Your soup looks so delicious. What is it called?”
She gladly told me the name, which I cannot remember, but it was just what I needed to kick off our conversation.
We talked about what she studied, and she asked me what I did. I was straightforward, told her I was a Christian missionary and asked if she knew what a missionary was. During our time together, I shared the gospel and invited her to our home for worship on Friday nights. She told me that she sometimes visits a Christian church here in Khon Kaen. We also discussed her remarkable ability to learn languages and how she has friends from Colombia and Venezuela, where I am from. When it was time to go, I asked for her phone number. After our exchange, I told her she was welcome to text any time and that I could teach her some more Spanish. Several hours later, she had already sent me a text in Spanish.
Rene also had a good time connecting. He decided to introduce himself to a young man holding a basketball and wearing a Stephen Curry jersey. This was the perfect opportunity for Rene to start a conversation. He approached him and asked if it was ok to join him at a table, where he asked about the young man’s favorite basketball player and team. Warriors. Stephen Curry. Hence, the jersey. The conversation flowed naturally because it was about sports, and Rene felt it would be good to connect a little more and next time be more direct and ask if he could pray for the young man. As they said goodbye, they exchanged phone numbers.
These were two people we did not know this morning and now do. While this approach at the university is a departure from the more organic way we develop friendships with people in our neighborhood, I believe God will continue to bless us. We pray He leads us to people who are ready and gives us the tactful and winsome words to say as we introduce ourselves—disciples praying to find other disciples. Please pray for us as we pray for them and all the others we will meet on our Tuesday and Sabbath prayer walks.
