“… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6 NIV)
A Thai graduate came to visit us at our student ministry office in Bangkok recently. She grew up in a family of a religion that we sometimes refer to as our “cousin”. When she was a student, she accepted Christ while studying abroad, and we met her when she joined our Christian group in the university after her return.
There was a lot of tension in her family because of her new faith in Christ. She had to hide her Bible in her locker and make sure people who knew her family did not know that she had become a Christian. In her 4 years as a student, there were many ups and downs. Towards her final year, she started drifting away from the faith and finally she said that she wanted to go back to her previous religion. We met up with her and prayed for her many times. Her friends from the Christian group were also very concerned for her as she was dating someone who was an extremist.
After she graduated, we kept in touch occasionally and visited her when she had a motorbike accident. At her home, she said that she felt like she was treading on the wrong path, and she wanted to go back to seeking Christ again. It was difficult for her to do that while she was still in Thailand, but an opportunity to further her studies abroad arose. She asked for a list of contacts so that she could get in touch and connect with Christian groups over there.
She visited us recently after she had finished her studies and updated us that she had found a job overseas. She also shared about how she had grown so much in her Christian faith and is very much connected to the Christian community there now. She even said that she was baptised recently!
We were so thrilled to hear that and gave thanks to God. She shared that she was baptised on the tenth anniversary of the day that she accepted Christ. She said that she wanted to share her story with others, and to encourage people like us on our journey in discipling young people. It may take a long time but take heart and keep faithful to what God has called you to do. God will bring every good work to its completion in His time and according to His Will. He uses different people at different points of time to create an impact – some till, some sow, and some harvest. All glory goes to God!
Her journey continues, and so does ours. May it be an encouragement to us to be faithful, to continue to invest in the lives of others, and to leave the fruit and outcomes in God’s hands.
Cherlyn Oh
