It wasn't long after we left that Maw So Thay and I got into a deep conversation about spiritual things.
He said very humbly with remorse written on his face, "Teacher, my heart is very dirty. I want very much to have a clean, new heart. Oh! I want it very much. You know the song, it says, 'Nothing but the blood of Jesus can make us clean,' right teacher?"
"Yes, nothing, but Jesus can wash us."
"Mmm...Teacher, I want Jesus to wash me."
He was so sincere. There was no doubt in my mind that what he was saying was genuine.
We also talked about the importance of prayer and how we should always be watching and praying often so that we will not fall into temptation.
Along with this, we talked about the calling that God has given to us--to be missionaries to all those around us--including my calling to be a missionary to my students and his to his classmates.
It really hit him when I mentioned about the mission that God has given to him to be a missionary in the classroom.
"Oh, teacher, I never thought of that before. 'All the time.' I am to be a missionary all the time even during classes. Ooo...very serious. Mmm..."
Talking about prayer and our high calling to be missionaries led us to talk about our deep burden for the Adventist students who wondered away from God like lost sheep and went to Bangkok.
There was one student that we talked more specifically about...
"Yes, we must pray a lot for him (Kay Jaw). But--but, teacher, I'm afraid that there is no hope for him (spiritually speaking)."
We paused for a brief moment of silence, and then I spoke.
"Do you understand what 'miracle' means So Thay?"
"Yes."
"You know, God can work a miracle in his life. Maybe, he will come back to God someday. We cannot see and talk to Kay Jaw everyday now. But we can do a lot to help God be able to work in his life by praying a lot for him. Prayer can do a lot. Right now, we may not see any evidence of hope. But we must not stop praying for him."
"Mmm...Yes, teacher. Very true."
Later on, he said to me with urgency in his voice, "Teacher we need to get ready. The time is near! We must get ready. Jesus is coming soon."
"Yes, no time to wait. We must get ready now--today, everyday!"
After we got home and he was headed off to the dorm and I to my hut, we waved good-bye and he said, "Teacher, thank you. Talk to you again, later."
"Yes, we will talk again, later," I replied. I was so glad that God opened the door for us to have that conversation and I hope that we will have more alike conversations later on.
I often think of that conversation and his life today. And it brings so much joy to my heart.
He's one amazing miracle himself.
I remember last school year. He was one of our Adventist young people whom Satan was working hard to pull down. He looked less and less happy as time went on. One day, he and some other boys drank alcohol here at school. He was the one that showed the most remorse for what he had done. Then he began to fall away again. Near the end of the break between the previous and this current school year, some villagers reported that he had been looking for alcohol.
When he returned to school at the end of the break, my father and one of the other teachers talked with him about the need for him to either leave the school or to turn from the ways of this world and set a good example for his fellow students.
The conversation that my father and the teacher had with him shook and woke him up so much, that he, through the working of the Holy Spirit, made a major turn-around. He became a new soldier in God's army of youth. Today, he is one of the most consecrated and active missionaries in our group of Adventist young people. Pray for him that he'll continue to grow stronger and that this bright light will never grow dim but ever grow brighter.
Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, I can hear our heavenly Father exclaiming,
"For this My son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found...."~ Luke 15:24 ~
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