Students Say “Thank You”

Not until one of our Thai-speaking teachers mentioned it at the end of chapel did I know that today was “Teachers Day.” As you can imagine, in a country where there is much idol worship, this holiday can be more like a day for worshiping teachers. So, being Christians, we made it clear that we didn’t want any of them worshiping their teachers but rather giving God the glory. We gave opportunity for them to express their thankfulness for their teachers and then dismissed them for classes.

With that in mind as I walked to class, I remembered something that I had been hoping to share with my class before the end of the school year. There are many ways of saying, thank you. While I appreciate any effort to say thank you, there is one way that I prize more than any other. That is when they make a part of their lives the things that I have sought to teach them. The most important, and really only thing of great value to me, is that they find a personal, saving relationship with Christ.

Some of the thank you‘s that I receive from these students will only be known in eternity. That makes me tremble. I know that my life has not been spotless. My responsibility–our responsibility–is great. People are watching from all sides. We are determining the destinies of others.

Yet even in our humanity, we have reason to know that not all our efforts to influence for good have been wasted or unappreciated. I wish you could see–yes, meant see not hear–some of the thank you‘s around here. Saw Eh Soe and Maung Soe Thay are just two whose lives say “Thank you” so loudly.

Saw Eh Soe’s baptism — March 2013

Saw Eh Soe was one of those naughty boys in the back of grade five when I first started teaching. Sometimes I wondered why he bothered coming to school at all. Months went by. He was disciplined with a group of boys for drinking. Shortly after, he began attending Friday evening Bible studies, and then last March he committed his life to Christ in baptism. There’s so much more to his story. His testimony brings tears to my eyes.

Maung Soe Thay is another one whose life, previous to this school year, brought us much concern. After running away from school, getting involved in drinking, and almost going to Bangkok, he is now influencing others to love God and follow Him.

Dah Kue Say — another one whose life is a constant thank you for our efforts and God’s amazing love.

During the last few weeks . . .

Students and teachers who were especially interested in mission work met on Sabbath evenings and shared personal testimonies. During the testimony time, Pa Nay Too, one of our oldest students, shared with great sadness how he felt he would likely need to delay his baptism until next school year since his father had not given him a direct “Yes” in answer to his request for permission to get baptized. Many of us felt that Pa Nay Too was more than ready for baptism, and our hearts were heavy as we heard Pa Nay Too’s decision. However, I was so encouraged as two other boys shared their decision to be baptized in spite of the fact that they had clear indication that they would face rejection or opposition by their family.

A couple Fridays later, Pa Nay Too told me he had gotten the dean’s permission to go home so he could ask his father again for permission to get baptized. We knelt and prayed with him before he left, and some of us fasted and prayed that the Lord would work on his heart and with his father–that Pa Nay Too would put God first, and that God would soften his father’s heart. We were thrilled when Pa Nay Too returned on Sunday and told us that his father said, “Yes.”

Now at least fifteen students are planning to commit their lives to Christ in baptism this coming February 15. Please, keep these students in prayer, as well as others who are still wavering, that their faith will be strong. These thank you‘s thrill our hearts. These young people are paying a price to follow Christ, and they’re counting it worth it.

May our lives speak forth that kind of “thank you” to our Father in heaven.