While we were looking for a house to rent in Mondulkiri, we prayed that God would put us where He wanted us to be. We felt Him leading us to the little house that we now rent. It is not a very pretty house, though the termites seem to like it. On clear days, the sun heats it up like an oven, and in heavy downpours the rainwater seeps through the walls. We have found discarded snake skins under our bed, and we get frequent unwelcome visits from rats.

Sometimes I wonder why God led us to this house, but then I remember Tommy. Tommy is our nine-year-old neighbor boy who almost always arrives with a sunny smile. When we first moved in, Tommy loved to come and see how people with white skin live. He also helped himself to some of our things. He constantly wanted Enoch and Josiah to come out and play. He didn’t seem to understand that they had time during the day set aside for school. Though I liked Tommy, I began to find him a little irritating.

During our worship time one morning, we made a list of people to pray for. The kids all wanted Tommy on the list, so we started praying for him. We noticed that he became more respectful of our things, and stuff stopped disappearing. We kept praying. He still loved to play with the boys, but he didn’t come during school time unless they went outside. We kept praying. He asked where we go every Friday evening and Sabbath evening. We told him that we meet together with other people to worship God. We kept praying. He asked to come with us to vespers one Friday. He seemed to enjoy it, especially the time afterward when the kids play together. He came with us more often. We kept praying. One Sabbath when he didn’t have to go to school, he asked to go to church with us. He listened attentively through Sabbath School. We kept praying. This last Sabbath, we invited him to go with our church group to a waterfall for Hannah and Bethany’s baptism. He came and asked lots of questions.

Tommy is young and doesn’t stop to think seriously about things very often, but he seems to enjoy the Christian atmosphere of our family and our church. I don’t know what he will decide as he grows. We are still praying for him. You can put him on your prayer list, too.

• Twitter