Bald Spot

Nat in her shop
Originally uploaded by SierraSunrise

You can't tell by looking, but I do have some hair on the top of my head.  There are not very many and I think they are more annoying than cute, so I keep them shaved off.  But even if I didn't, you would hardly notice them.  One glance at the top of my head and you can make a quick judgment: "Oh, he's bald all right."

Last week we visited the southern tier of provinces in Isaan (Northeast Thailand)--Buriram, Surin, Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani.  We are looking for a place where God might be having us plant churches.  Our focus is on those areas that do not have them.

And so our travels brought us to a district (Amphoe) in Sisaket Province called Uthumphon Phisai (อุทุมพรพิสัย--and no, it is not as easy to pronounce as it looks).  According to some statistics we had there were no churches and no Christians in this district of about 110,000 people.

But the statistics were wrong.

Just like there are actually a few hairs on my bald head, so in fact we now know there is at least one Christian in Uthumphon Phisai.  Nat is a hairdresser who had moved away to Bangkok for a while, during which time she decided to become a Jesus-follower.  Now she has returned to Uthumphon Phisai where, as far as she knows, there are no other Christians in her province.  We found out about her when Judy, one of our team members, went to inquire about getting massages.

We were glad we were able to meet Nat and encourage her in her faith.  To help bless her, we each got a haircut, whether we needed it or not.

Nat faithfully reads her Bible, but still she gets discouraged sometimes.  Perhaps there are other believers in Uthumphon Phisai that Nat does not know about. 

Maybe the reason God led us to Nat was not only to encourage her, but also to make us consider Uthumphon Phisai as a place to move to in the future.  In any case, we will try to continue to encourage Nat by sending her Christian literature and music.

Pray for us as we continue to seek God's will as to where to locate to in the fall.  Pray also for Nat and others like her in Isaan who can easily get discouraged by their circumstances.

(Our) purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2,3 (NIV)