01/07/2012: Into the Highways and Byways

Into the Highways and Byways for Thailand

The branch Sabbath school not far from where the Stecks live.

Life certainly does not lack variety around here. Not only has the Lord opened up opportunities for us to teach and lead worships in our school and treat the sick in our nearby villages, but also to hold branch Sabbath schools, preach in a nearby church on Sabbath, and hold Wednesday evening worships in different homes.

The Karen people are very warm and hospitable, and they really appreciate when we come and worship with them. At times their appreciation is shown by feeding us wonderful food. They are very good cooks.

We are truly blessed by hearing the students sing at the tops of their lungs the wonderful songs of Jesus. Also, it is very rewarding to see them so eager to understand the Bible better.

 

A Branch Sabbath School Story

The man, with his three children, whose family are the lone believers in his village.

In a village that is 30 minutes north of us lives a family with three small children. They are the only Adventist family in their village, and they are longing for fellowship. The father has tried to evangelize the village, but nobody is interested. Just recently he told us that his wife decided to go to Bangkok for work, leaving him with his mother-in-law and three small children to take care of. So far, we have visited this family three times, and they are always happy to have us come and worship with them. Once they served us a wonderful coconut-rice treat! Since then, they have attended the school church at least once.

 

Harvey Preaching at a Nearby Adventist Church

One of our teachers was to teach Sabbath school the next Sabbath. The lesson was about worship and Revelation 13, but she did not understand Revelation 13 very well, so she asked Harvey for an explanation. Harvey invited her to visit us so he could explain it to her. When she visited us and they began to discuss it, she soon felt she did not have the time and ability to grasp the subject before Sabbath, so she asked Harvey if he could come to her church the next Sabbath and teach the Sabbath school lesson, preach the sermon, and give an afternoon presentation. Wow! Harvey said, “Yes,” which was

Harvey Steck preaching about Bible prophecy, along with the lady that invited him.

great, because he told her that in order to understand Revelation 13, they needed to understand Daniel 2 and 7. So he gave a study on Daniel 2 and 7 for Sabbath school, a study about the first beast of Revelation 13 for church and then the second beast of Revelation 13 in the afternoon. The church members were very appreciative of the messages. These truths were very new to some of them.

The more I am around Seventh-day Adventists in this part of the world, the more I realize that they are very deprived of the light we have in America. They do have the King James Version Bible translated into the Karen language, but the only Spirit of Prophecy book they have in their language is Steps to Christ—and that was just recently reprinted thanks in part to some of our supporters. They do not understand many of the Bible prophecies and doctrines, and they understand very little about Sabbath-keeping and healthful living. Even some of the church leaders do not understand much. What a privilege and opportunity to work with these people to help them understand the light the Lord has given us!

As funds allow, our plan, Lord willing, is to get more Spirit of Prophecy books translated into and published in their language, as well as further develop the medical/evangelism training course we recently started here at our school. We need your prayers and support for these projects to get started.

 

A More Recent Worship Experience

A more recent worship we had was at a village a half kilometer south of here. In this village there are no Seventh-day Adventists, but the family of one of our students lives there. Naw Nay Wah is a girl who has been delivered more than once from devil possession. She was a dorm student for a while, but then her stepfather told her that she should leave this school and come home. So she went home. Her parents wanted her to go to Bangkok where she would likely try to help support her family by selling her body. That next Sabbath, one of our staff decided to bring her to church. After church, they were able to have a heart-to-heart talk about what was going on, and an appeal was made to Naw Nay Wah to give her life to God rather than Satan. They had prayer together, and she went back home. The next Monday, she was able to come back to school. Praise the Lord!

Thara (teacher) Mu Gayle sharing some thoughts.

During the time that Naw Nay Wah was gone, a couple of us treated a nasty boil that her stepfather had. He was very thankful for our help, and to our surprise, a few days later, he invited us to come to their house and have worship with them the next morning. With school going, the only option for us was 6:00 am. So off we went the following morning,

along with other staff and students, to sing, read the Bible and pray with them. Her parents really seemed thankful that we came. And as the tradition seems to be, they fed us a treat—noodles! These people are poor; I do not know how they manage. It was just wonderful to see how our prayers are being answered!

We are praying that this school will be a shining light to this area and beyond—like a rippling effect upon water. What Eric B. Hare and others started with the Karen people, we and others hope to finish. Please keep the work here in your prayers.

By Brenda Steck. Email:

missions@thesteckfamily.com. Website:

missions.thesteckfamily.com. The Steck family, who works among the Karen people on the border of Thailand, is this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Project. See the back of the magazine for details about supporting this special and important work.