David and Sharon Filbeck On a recent trip to a restricted access country I met with 10 graduates of Lanna Theological Center. These young men and women were sent to LTC to be trained and equipped to be church planters among their people. They live in a country that opposes the church and persecutes those who serve the Lord.
During the trip I listened to their testimony of faith in service in difficult circumstances. Sirisuk (not his real name) a 2003 graduate of LTC, told of how the evangelistic team is involved in helping young women who come from the countryside to the big city looking for work. Most end up working in one of the many factories located in the city making clothes or shoes for export. They work long hours for little pay. Often the wages do not cover all the expenses and many fall into debt within a few months. The men of the city knowing this will wait outside the factory gates or at the bus station looking for a young woman who is in financial distress and take advantage of the situation. At some point the woman will become pregnant and the man will give her some money to either have an abortion or send her back to the village to raise the child on her own.
Once a young Khmu girl came to the city to work. She arrived at the bus station but could not find the person who was to pick her up. Men on motor scooters surrounded her and began to grab her and take her away.
Sirisuk just happened to be passing by and saw what what going on. He approached the young girl and ask her in Khmu if she needed help. “OH, you are Khmu!. Yes, I don't know what to do, my friends did not come pick me up” she cried. Sirisuk took her home where he and his wife ministered to her, helped her find a job and a safe place to live. She eventually came to know Christ and returned to her village.
Sirisuk concluded his story with these words “So you see, we do not just rescue the soul, we also must rescue the body. We have to rescue both body and soul”.
During the trip I listened to their testimony of faith in service in difficult circumstances. Sirisuk (not his real name) a 2003 graduate of LTC, told of how the evangelistic team is involved in helping young women who come from the countryside to the big city looking for work. Most end up working in one of the many factories located in the city making clothes or shoes for export. They work long hours for little pay. Often the wages do not cover all the expenses and many fall into debt within a few months. The men of the city knowing this will wait outside the factory gates or at the bus station looking for a young woman who is in financial distress and take advantage of the situation. At some point the woman will become pregnant and the man will give her some money to either have an abortion or send her back to the village to raise the child on her own.
Once a young Khmu girl came to the city to work. She arrived at the bus station but could not find the person who was to pick her up. Men on motor scooters surrounded her and began to grab her and take her away.
Sirisuk just happened to be passing by and saw what what going on. He approached the young girl and ask her in Khmu if she needed help. “OH, you are Khmu!. Yes, I don't know what to do, my friends did not come pick me up” she cried. Sirisuk took her home where he and his wife ministered to her, helped her find a job and a safe place to live. She eventually came to know Christ and returned to her village.
Sirisuk concluded his story with these words “So you see, we do not just rescue the soul, we also must rescue the body. We have to rescue both body and soul”.
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