The Other Side of the Story
Paul is a key Ethnic Thai faith community leader and we ’ ve heard his inspiring story from team members over many years . Here we are privileged to have Paul share his own story .
My name is Paul . I live in Ban Luang District , Nan Province , Thailand .
I am a follower of Christ Jesus
Paul ( right ) with Dema at Paul ' s leadership commissioning .
When I first heard of God , our creator , and the son of God , Jesus Christ , I was in year eight in a Catholic school in Bangkok . At that time , I was not a believer and did not pay any attention or show any interest to find out who God is and who Jesus Christ really is . I had spent many years of my adulthood in the USA and had attended a few church services with friends in all those years , nevertheless , I had very limited knowledge of Jesus Christ and God , and therefore , had no faith in Christ and in the God who sent Him . I was still a Buddhist then .
About 10 years ago , I was going through a family crisis and was having a lot of stress . I had no one to talk to . Being a Buddhist , I tried to pray and meditate the Buddist way , but that did not help , instead , my suffering increased . Then , one day , I met a man at a local coffee shop , his name was Dema . I found out later that he was an intercultural worker with Global Interaction . I was so ecstatic to come across someone that I could speak English with .
Dema invited me to his residence and introduced his lovely family to me , his wife , Carolyn , as well as his two children , Grace and Daniel . After our first encounter , Dema and Carolyn often invited me to dinner at their house and I joined them in the Bible study afterward . I really enjoyed this and was very happy to be a part of it . We became good friends .
Not long after , I told Dema and Carolyn about the problems I was facing and the suffering I had to endure . They were really good listeners and offered me a lot of valuable encouragement and support . After each of our meetings , before we parted , Dema and Carolyn always prayed for me and my family and encouraged me to pray to God in Jesus Christ ’ s name to ask Him to help me with my problems . Dema and Carolyn also gave me my first Bible from which I learned more about Jesus Christ and God .
Whenever I had any question , Dema and Carolyn would try to help get the answer from the Bible for me . The more I read about Christ , the more I was drawn to Him and the better I felt about myself and my problems . I thank God that I had met Dema , my friend , and his family , and for sending this lovely family to our community to tell people the truth about Jesus Christ and God .
Eventually , God freed me of my problems . I always thank God for not abandoning me , and for bringing me to Jesus Christ , my Savior , whom I have vowed to follow till my last breath .
resonate · issue 36 · page 13