We're getting to watch a surprising amount of hockey while in Thailand! The Cougars play an 8am game on Sunday morning here, which means it was a 6pm back in BC, so a great way to kick off the day!
After some hockey we took the kids to the pool for a little bit before Dave picked us up to go to their place for lunch at 12:30. It was really nice - Dave picked up some candy for them so they could do an Easter Egg hunt! We had some homemade quiche and muffins made by Dave, and sat and chatted. We were also the beneficiaries of some of his fancy blueberry-note coffee. We drank it straight (over ice) and it was actually nice! It was not bitter at all and didn't have a nasty aftertaste or anything like that. Dave is quite the coffee afficionado (which I guess comes in handy with the work they are doing with the coffee company in Myanmar) so we learned a bit of what makes some of the coffee different here versus back home.
Louise drove us home around 2:15 so we had a short amount of downtime before heading back out to the church. Dave picked us up just before 4pm, and by the time we got to the church they had just started filling up the baptism tank! (and by that, I mean a grey tarp lining the inside of a metal frame, which had a major leak in it so we had to keep the water running to keep it full!) We socialized and talked with people, listened to some of the rehearsal for the violins that were going to be playing, and waited until everyone who was supposed to be there for the baptism had arrived (probably around 5:15).
Jayzin has quite the story (I'll provide a brief version of it here, but if you're not subscribed to Dave & Louise's newsletter I'd highly recommend it! It's possible she puts more of his testimony in a future one). Jayzin is here by himself, at 15. His parents sent him here 6 months ago when the military conscription started in Myanmar. He is from a Buddhist family and didn't know anything about Jesus...but the uncle and aunt he was sent to live with became Christians a little while ago! When he first arrived they asked him if he wanted to come to church and he said "yes", although he didn't know what that meant. He came and they started having a prayer time, and during that time he had a powerful encounter with Jesus and has decided to follow Him!
The church service was amazing. Most of the music was in Myanmar, but there were a few English songs they included, as well as some dual-language songs. Similar to what we experienced at Kingdom Life Church in Chiang Mai, it was so great to be able to worship together with those who serve the same God on the other side of the world! Louise preached, with translation help from Pastor Stephen, and although our kids did OK...by the time we hit 7:30 they were done so we had to cut our time there short. We caught a Grab to the mall to grab some dinner and then came back to the hotel to get ready for bed.
One thing that we've heard over and over again from Cynthia and Dave & Louise is the actual "cost" to choosing to follow Jesus for Buddhist people...it is a big deal. For them, they are choosing to put their trust in Jesus to save them, rather than their own "making merit" to earn a better place in the next life. The countries of Thailand and Myanmar are also so embedded with Buddhism that it is not just religious but also cultural. When they leave this to choose Jesus it often creates division with their family, communities, and everything they know. It is a BIG deal and it is one that they don't choose lightly because of the cost. Please pray for Jayzin and all of the Buddhist people that are making the brave decision to follow Jesus.
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