Recently, my friend and former professor, Dr. Derek Morris, asked me what the most important lesson is that I have learned while sharing Jesus with Buddhists in Asia. One important lesson (though not the most important—to read about that, see Ministry Magazine’s June 2012 editorial page) is that a missionary needs patient endurance and the ability to take prompt action when a golden opportunity arises. As the saying goes: “Rice is not sown and harvested in the same day. Nor will the grain wait on the stalk forever.”

Poen, the daughter of two of our members, is an example of this. She has been associating with us off and on for more than a year. Very polite and extremely shy, she never showed any interest in baptism. We and her parents often invite her to church, but to no avail. That is, until her parents were baptized. Then she began to show new signs of spiritual life. When we began a small-group Bible study in her parents’ home, Poen could have just stayed in her room, but instead she joined us and began making refreshments for the group. She even started coming to church. Then, a couple weeks ago at our small group, she said she would like to be baptized. Finally! However, in just over a month, she will leave to study in a Catholic boarding school in another province. We can only imagine the tests of faith and influences she will face there.

So now Poen is on the fast track to baptism with several studies a week. It’s not the most convenient study schedule, especially for the teacher who is trying to get lessons written. But hey, when the harvest is ripe, you have to move. The grain will not wait on the stalk forever.

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