Michaela Weeks http://www.servantworks.com/253 Helping turn the tide of brokenness en servantworks 2006 120 hello from the heartland http://www.servantworks.com/304  It's great to send you an email from good old America.  I'm so happy to be home with my family, Nick and my friends, but I sure miss Prang, her family, our women, waking up to the sunrise and Thai food.  Ate rice tonight for the first time since I've been back.  It's not the same on this side of the ocean  :)
 
My last week in Buriram was marked with very precious goodbyes.  We were so busy, which was great.  We had a 15-year-old, Pah, start to work for us a couple weeks before I left.  This is the beginning of what we hope to be many more young teens in Buriram who will choose not to find work at the bars.  Prang threw me 2 goodbye parties.  All sorts of neighbors, teachers and kids came over to hang out.  They honored me with a very traditional Thai blessing by tying pieces of string around my wrists.  Some of them stuck some small bills in the string as well.  They typically do this at weddings or when a boy decides to enter the monkhood.  As they tied the rope, the ones who knew me well hugged me and told me reasons they appreciated having me live with them.  The most memorable for me was Prang's sister, Si.  She told me that when we started working, she didn't know how to sew.  No one else would have employed her, she said.  She told me that I was so good at encouraging her as she took quite a while to learn.  Her goodbye was so precious because I've seen her blossom personally and spiritually as she's blossomed in her sewing abilities.
 
Another precious moment before I left happened during our morning devotional time.  We were about to pray and were talking about how we wanted others to pray for us.  I explained how I was scared about the upcoming financial culture shock.  After living among the poverty in Buriram, I was worried about going back to middle class America.  I was worried about buying coffee for $3 - enough to feed a family for a day - and being overwhelmed with guilt.  No, I've never been a $3 cup a day kind of person (maybe a $2 cup a week), but I was just making a point.  As I talked, some of the others started tearing up.  One woman was crying.  I thought they were feeling resentful that I lived with them only to pack up and go back to my middle class life.  Then Prang's oldest sister looked at me and said, 'Michaela, we have a good life now.  When we're hungry, we can buy food.  Our families can stay together and we have work everyday.'  Another woman was crying because she said sometimes she didn't even have $3 to feed her family each day.  But they made it work.  She told me she was so grateful that I understood their life and loved them.  She gave me two pink pillows for my car before I left.
 
Living with them sure didn't seem like poverty, it just seemed like life.  I lived with them and in most of the same conditions they did just because Jesus called me to love people in Buriram.  We can't love people very well when we don't understand them.  But living poor wasn't an effort to 'try' to understand them.  It was just what happened when these precious people become more important to me than Starbucks or new clothes or going somewhere exciting.  Praise be to Jesus, who is our treasure  :)
 
I will be selling purses, jewelry and cards from the Well as well as helping with some fundraising.  If you are interested in looking at the products or hosting a party, you can email me to chat.

]]> Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:22:47 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/304 Michaela Weeks when being here feels so worth it http://www.servantworks.com/296 Today was one of those days. One of those days when missing Nick or longing for a chat with one of my best friends seems no more painful than a minor bruise. Not because I talked with Nick or ate ice cream and chatted all night, but because all the gut-wrenching hardness of being here alone felt so gloriously worth it.

One of Prang's sisters, Suk, sat with us while we ate fruit after dinner (rambutan's – if you've never eaten fresh ones, the 6 unripe pieces you can buy at Trader Joe's for $4 are a poor example of how great they are!). Suk nervously told me she had something she wanted to ask. I knew exactly what was coming, so I smiled and told her "Sure, go ahead!" As I expected, she wanted to talk about borrowing money to build a new house. Some of you reading this blog have seen the house she, her 2 kids, and her husband live in. Her family jokes that when it rains hard, her house will wash away. In all honestly, it's probably not far from the truth. Prang built it for her with old wood, sheet metal and about $200 when Suk came home asking for work.

Before this year Suk often moved around looking for work or a new husband. One day she joked that usually in Thailand, men are leaving for a new woman, but she was the other way around. She would leave for a new man. For quite some time, she has talked about staying here and building a permanent house. I thought if she got serious, she'd probably ask to borrow money from me. I didn't think she was serious enough.

Now it seems she's serious. I get the sense she's ready to be here. She's ready to build her family, to work with Prang, to help people in the village. Since I'll be gone soon, I may give her money with the plan for her to repay the ministry instead of me. I think she'll be motivated to repay her loan knowing it will enable everyone here to help more people. I'm not sure if or how much I should lend Suk. But that's not important tonight. Because Suk asking for a loan isn't about money, it's about a change in heart. And a change in heart is priceless. It's why the father gave his irresponsible, immoral, prodigal son his best robe and threw him a feast when he returned home.

...seems anticlimatic to keep writing, but I have to... Prang's youngest sister, Nah, who just had a baby boy, came in the kitchen too. I asked her how she was feeling, if she was tired. I knew the answer was yes, but just wanted to show that I cared about her and noticed how hard she is working to take care of her baby. The answer was more along the lines of "I feel really pressured."

I told her I thought she was amazing, and I was impressed with how much she was enduring. Taking care of her baby without his father must be extremely difficult. Yet everyday I noticed how she continued to endure in order to love her son. She got a little teary, said thank you, and went outside to eat dinner.

She came back after everyone had left. I was washing dishes alone. She started crying, "MEEkayLah, thank you so much for understanding me. I feel very hopeless, very weak, very tired. Taking care of my baby alone is so difficult. Thank you for understanding me. I feel so weak because I feel like no one understands me, no one notices how difficult it is for me. I don't have a husband to share my pain. When I'm tired, I still have to wash clothes by myself, hold my son by myself, do everything myself." She hugged me, crying harder. I don't think she's ever hugged me before. I was crying too.

"Nah, I see you everyday and see how much you're enduring for your child. I understand only a little of what you do, but God understands everything. He knows how difficult it is for you to take care of himalone, and I really believe He's going to bless you for it." She asked me why I was crying. "Because I see how much you're enduring. I want to help, but I don't know how. So I'm trusting that God will bless you because He sees everything."

"MEEkayLah, I think I can understand you, too, when you cry. I understand how much you miss Nick, and everyone at home. I feel the same way. I miss the child's father, and my friends in Bangkok. When I see you cry, I cry too, because I can understand how you feel. When I see how much you endure, I am encouraged to keep going. Thank you so much for understanding me."

God's words to Moses about His plan to rescue the Israelites out of slavery have been coming to mind often lately. I think God really wants to remind me of the fact that just as He indeed saw the misery of his people thousands of years ago, heard them crying out, knew their suffering, and had come down to rescue them, so He sees and hears us now. He knows our suffering, understanding what no one else can understand, and has come to rescue us. I do believe and hope God will pour out His blessing on Nah. She is indeed suffering much right now to raise a baby boy alone. And while I can't understand everything, and surely can't rescue her, I can trust the God who can.

]]> Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:12:15 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/296 Michaela Weeks show them the well http://www.servantworks.com/292 This morning, I began to teach through Joseph's story with the women here.  Prang has started teaching the Old Testament more and encouraging the women to read in it by themselves.  After all, the majority of the Bible was written before Jesus came she explained.  My hope and prayer is that in reading through the stories of God and Israel, these women will see an amazingly loving and powerful God.  Joseph's story is an incredible testimony of God working His good plan through the most unlikely of circumstances.  His story constantly encourages me to trust in God's timing.  To trust that, if we endure, we will see God's goodness even through the hardest of trials. 

My hope in teaching about Joseph isn't to impart any unique knowledge.  My hope is simply to guide them in reading about God's gracious plan for His people.  To give them a thirst to see and understand more of our awesome God.  We'll take several days to read through the story.  Today we left off at a good point - thus far, Joseph has only been obedient and upright before God.  Yet he's been sold into slavery, sent to prison and forgotten.  What is God doing?  After we finished the Bible study time for the morning, some of the women weren't leaving the table.  They were avidly reading on, wondering what God will do.  Prayer answered.  We don't need to give people water, we just need to show them where the well is...

]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:04:19 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/292 Michaela Weeks leaving a piece of my heart http://www.servantworks.com/291 Yesterday, I could feel myself wanting to pull back a bit from Prang's family. I felt like I needed to keep my distance since I'm leaving in under 6 weeks now. Frustrated, I called Jim and told him how I was feeling. "Don't let yourself do it," he encouraged me. "It's going to break your heart to leave these people, but don't be afraid of the heartache."

I journaled for awhile after talking with him. I felt confused, even angry with God for calling me to come here. Not only have I felt the burden of missing my family back home, but now I'm beginning to feel the burden of having to say goodbye to my family here. Why did God call me here for such a short season like this? Getting engaged this year didn't catch me or Nick or Jim or Prang off-guard: we all knew my time in Thailand was somewhat short. But I also knew I would not be a good steward of my time if I chose to spend this year in America. God's call to come to Thailand, even for a year, was very strong on my heart.

Jim told me that it was natural and good to leave a part of my heart here. So I decided that with my 6 weeks left, I'm not just going to leave a piece of my heart here, but I'm going to throw it - throw it into these people and their lives. Trusting that just as God called me to say goodbye to my family in America in accordance with His good plan, He will call me to say goodbye to my family in Buriram in accordance with this same good plan. It's a bit scary. I know my heart will break when I go home, just as it broke when I came here. But our God is good, we have nohing to fear :)

]]> Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:55:56 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/291 Michaela Weeks Amazing Grace - how sweet the sound http://www.servantworks.com/285 Prang has told me before about Jesus coming to people in their dreams.  People who are curious about Christianity, even hungry for it, yet not ready to make a decision about believing.  Yah had a dream, a local twenty-something town drunk had a dream.  And Prang’s always had to tell me because my Thai hasn’t been good enough to understand.  But today I got to hear it for myself...

I was going for a bike ride.  Prang was running errands.  We planned to meet to visit a family in her village.  The family is taking in a nephew so he can continue going to school.  He finished elementary school, and his parents can’t afford to bus him to a school with secondary education.   He’s moving to his aunt and uncle’s near Prang’s so he can go to 7th grade here.  We needed to talk with them because we had agreed a month ago to help support the nephew's schooling.  His aunt and uncle hardly have enough to provide for their own family.

I got to the house before Prang and was talking with the aunt.  She was telling me how the nephew can hardly read; what a pity, she said.  What can she do? How can she help?  God will help, right?  I assumed she just slipped that in because she knows we’re Christians.  To my knowledge, she hadn’t been interested in being a Christian.

Then she told me about getting a book at the big tent meeting we went to in March.  She read the entire book, she told me.  (It was a new testament.  Quite a feat for anyone in less than 2 months, let alone someone with her 6th grade education.)  Then she had a dream.  Jesus came to her wearing a white outfit.  He had long hair.  He came to her and offered her a present, neatly wrapped.  She took the present.

By this time, Prang is talking with us.  Did she know what the present was?  No, but after the dream, she stopped praying to spirit houses and buddhist idols.  She quit arguing with her husband all the time.  She started praying to God.  Prang’s asking her how she prays and explaining why we pray in Jesus’ name.  The aunt then tells us that as the 3 of us Christians are here talking together, God is with us.  Yep, right on, we agree!  She goes on to say that she's always been discontent in her poverty, always wanting this and that.  She feels that she now has enough.  She feels happy.

It’s one thing to hear stories about God working miracles and appearing in dreams.  But it’s quite another to hear and understand this from someone myself.  God is amazing, amazing in His power, and amazing in His grace, and it is quite sweet to hear about it in Thai.

]]> Fri, 16 May 2008 07:15:39 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/285 Michaela Weeks Nah's baby boy http://www.servantworks.com/283 Nah's baby

Nah, Me, Baby Boy Ni (pronounced like Nick - I take that as a compliment!) and Si (a sister) 

All of our ladies, and especially Prang’s sisters, are really doing a great job showing Nah how much they love her and care about her.  Si, pictured here on the right, spent 3 nights at the hospital on the floor with a straw mat.  Others took turns spending the days with her and coming for visits.  What a great group of people we’re working with!

]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 23:34:22 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/283 Michaela Weeks Mother's Day http://www.servantworks.com/281 I miss my mom.

I miss a lot of things in Buriram...  Nick, crisp apples, vanilla yogurt, long conversations with my bestest of friends, reliable running water, shower heads, fresh coffee...  It’s easy to have a pity party if I get myself started.

But today I miss my mom.  Prang had to take herself from leading worship today in order to discipline her daughter.  She has an understanding about parenting many people don’t. She realizes that one of the most important aspects of raising good kids is spending the time to show them they’re lovable, to show them they’re precious.  Parents in Thailand often send kids home with grandparents or aunts while they work in the city.  As Prang put it, Grandma’s give in to kids.  They’re supposed to, right? :) So kids often grow up doing whatever they want, and not getting much time from mom or dad.  It’s easy for me to be disgusted and impatient with some of the behaviors by kids and teens here... but when I learn that a disrespectful 13 year old is being raised by an aunt responsible for about 6 kids, my disgust quickly turns to compassion.  Misbehavior, whatever the form, is a symptom of an illness.  An illness whose cure is nothing less than pure, selfless, unconditional love.  Acting lovable requires feeling loved.

Since today is Mother’s Day, I’d like to thank my mom for spending the time to help me understand that I am indeed lovable, that I am indeed precious.  I think of the special birthday dinners when we’d all get dressed up to eat Chinese stir-fry and fortune cookies at House of Hunan.  And the 6-mile-bike rides on the Keystone trail where we played on the jungle gym at the halfway point.  Riding around in our way cool red minivan jamming to Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffett and Weird Al.  Car trips to Michigan with coolers full of snacks and a new surprise toy for the long drive.  My mom did an amazing job planning all sorts of creative ways for our family to spend time together.  One Mother’s Day we asked her, “Mom, when is Kids’ Day?”  She laughed, “Kids Day is everyday.”  So true.  Yet Kids Day she planned.  I think we went on a bike ride.

Thanks, Mom!  I love you!
Mothers

This is my mom’s first Mother’s Day without her mother, pictured here between us.  We had a great dinner at a Thai restaurant and my Grandma June enjoyed every minute of it, even the food!

]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 02:55:51 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/281 Michaela Weeks Starting school http://www.servantworks.com/280 Fi and I went on a bike ride last night. We went to Maew's house. It was fun.  :)  They're both very happy to be starting school and to be seeing friends.

]]> Tue, 06 May 2008 21:47:37 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/280 Michaela Weeks Fi and Maew http://www.servantworks.com/279 Fi and Maew are a few days from starting school for the year, so they aren’t coming back to work.  But I think things are okay between all of us.  After having time to talk with each of them more, it seems that cultural and language misunderstandings made a small matter much bigger than it was.  They want time off before they have to go back to school, and we were nearly done with their main summer project.  During their internship, we had some great conversations and fun nights together.  I’m hoping these don’t end because of a one weird, misunderstood conversation.  I don't think they will.

...before that conversation, when I noticed some of their work was getting sloppy, I debated in my head whether it was a good idea that I had entrusted something as “precious” as Save-the-Date cards for my very own wedding to 2 teenagers who didn’t have much experience making cards.  I was very humbled as God brought to mind that He was in fact entrusting me to spend time with and to love 2 very precious teenagers who are beginning to choose for themselves which direction their lives will take.  Sure, they may be amateurs at making cards, but I’m quite the amateur at influencing lives for God.  Yet He lets me do it anyways...

Fi and Maew are so precious.  Please remember them as you pray. :)

]]> Mon, 05 May 2008 20:34:07 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/279 Michaela Weeks the lure of the foreign boyfriend http://www.servantworks.com/278 She’s 46. I met her last night because she’s home, broke, and living off her mom for a few weeks. She’s friends with Prang; they used to work in the same bar. She used to have a foreign boyfriend who sent her money every month.  He's not supporting her anymore, so she's looking to meet another nice guy. Her family is thrilled about her sister’s upcoming wedding. Her sister is marrying an American.

“Prang and I used to work together... you know,” she explained, “I know you speak Thai, but I’m telling you this in English because I don’t want everyone else to understand. Prang, she’s a nice woman. She didn’t like to go with customers, but I like to go. I like working in the bars. I want to meet a good guy there.”

Though it’s not acceptable to speak about working in the bars, looking for a foreign man is okay. Many families even encourage their young girls to go find a foreign boyfriend in the city.  Support from him could sustain their entire family.

I think about Yah’s daughter... Where could she end up in a few years if her family’s debt is still monstrous and her parents don’t understand love as Jesus shows? Prevention work isn’t solely about keeping a young girl in school. It’s about loving her family so her family will love her.

]]> Fri, 02 May 2008 21:55:26 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/278 Michaela Weeks Something Disappointing http://www.servantworks.com/277 Fi and Maew didn’t show up to work today. (They’re the 14 and 16 year old I wrote about here .) We had a short meeting last Friday morning before work. I noticed Maew had been very distant, even abrupt, for a few days. And they did some sloppy work the afternoon before. I asked them how they were feeling about the cards. They didn't say much, nor really even look at me. I thought maybe they were frustrated with my lack of organization with the cards. So I asked them if they were upset with me. They still didn’t say much and were looking down in their laps. (In Thailand, it’s usually considered rude to look at superior when being corrected. Though I waited to bring up the sloppy work, they probably knew what was coming.) Prang and I ended up asking them if they still wanted to work with us. They still wouldn’t answer.

After more time of not talking much, and then going back to Fi’s to watch TV, they came to work. Prang and I thought it was a small misunderstanding that would blow over. She talked with them over the weekend and they seemed okay. But neither came to work today, and we’re clueless as to what they're thinking. I feel very helpless with my limited language ability and with cultural differences that may have already caused hurt feelings.

I've been surprised at our lack of disappointments and complicated issues.  Jim and Judy are constantly dealing with complicated issues down in Bangkok; sometimes Center 4 feels way too healthy.  I'm feeling so disappointed right now. Disappointed and completely confused. Completely confused and very grateful for my mom's patience during my early teen years.

]]> Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:10:45 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/277 Michaela Weeks Can anything good come from Buriram? http://www.servantworks.com/276 The longer I’ve lived here, the more I’m convinced I’m in an armpit.

Thailand has 4 regions.  Buriram is in the Northeast region “Eesaan.”  Rice farmers usually plant 3 times a year.  Eesaan is very dry, so farmers here can plant only once.  Hence the poverty.  Eesaan people are typically darker than others in Thailand and are often perceived as “hillbillies.”  And within Eesaan, Buriram, is one of the provinces with little industry.  

Prang and I went to a big meeting this weekend.  Districts from all over Buriram set up booths with handmade products from villages.  Our district, Plabpachai, was at the bottom of the totem pole for having unique, high-quality products.  

Within Plabpachai are dozens of small towns.  Prang’s town, Baan Samet, is one of the smallest.  We have one shop in front of a ladies’ house with hot dogs and noodles.

Baan Samet has many families with land to farm.  Prang’s family is not one of these.  They used to be, but their father lost it gambling.  From this bottom of the totem pole family in a bottom of the totem pole district, God is raising up a woman who is doing incredible work for His kingdom.  Prang dreams that in the future at the same big meeting, our district will have award-winning products to display from our business.  She dreams that in two years she will hold a district office position to assist in economic development.  She dreams that the teenage drunks and old ladies and young children and lazy fathers here will know Jesus and have new life.

Yes, I am sure that something good can come from Buriram.Prang

]]> Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:28:46 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/276 Michaela Weeks A father's love http://www.servantworks.com/272 Yah looked different this morning... like the world was a bit more colorful today than it was yesterday.  Her husband is home for the Thai New Year.  Prang and I went to visit them this evening.  Their 4 year old son had personality I’d never seen in him before.  He and his older sister were climbing all over their dad as though he were a jungle gym.  And he let them.  He held them.  He carried them.  He played with them.  Their bright smiles and wide eyes screamed, “Look at me!  My daddy loves me!”  How a father’s love can make a child blossom.  I could hardly believe I was seeing this kind of father in Yah’s husband - the same man who drank too much and didn’t help with the kids 2 months ago.

If every kid felt like this everyday, Thailand would be a different place.  Girls wouldn’t look for love in all the wrong places.  Guys wouldn’t waste the day drinking.  Oh, Jesus, for husbands and fathers...

]]> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:25:37 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/272 Michaela Weeks Blessed to be a blessing http://www.servantworks.com/269
Yesterday, Prang asked if she could talk with me.  “MEE Kay Lah,” (the singsong way Thais pronounce Michaela) "everyone has an idea to make shirts for old ladies for the Thai New Year.  They have the idea to invite them to eat and give them the shirts.”  She smiled the shirkish smile she always does when she wants to ask for something.  I’m expecting “Can we use ministry money?”

“Can I ask you one thing?”  I nod, and she continues, “they’ll make the shirts on Saturday, and everyone wants to use their own money.  Like giving to charity for the New Year.  But can we use the sewing machines from the business?”

I’m totally impressed.  How quickly these women are understanding the idea that God blesses us to be a blessing to others.  None of these women could be considered middle class.  Most can now be considered financially stable, but even that’s a stretch for some.  One is dealing with debt about 50x greater than what she makes here in a month.  One lost her husband a year ago in a motorcycle accident and had been caring for her 4 children alone.  This is her first source of reliable income since last year’s rice farming season.  Yet they’re here this morning to give what they have because they’re grateful for what they’ve been given. ]]> Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:17:54 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/269 Michaela Weeks Things I learned about Fi http://www.servantworks.com/268  Fi (pictured here next to me) and I had a couple good chances to talk this weekend.  I learned that she doesn't want a rich foreign husband like so many girls around here do.  I learned that she wants to be a chef so she can create unique, beautiful dishes.  I learned that she would love to go to Australia to see the nature and animals.  I learned that she wants to learn to use the computer because it will give her valuable job skills.  I learned that she wants to send emails.  I learned that she believes many people in her village will come to know God.  I learned that she loves talking about the future when someone wants to listen.

]]> Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:21:17 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/268 Michaela Weeks Who's been praying? :) http://www.servantworks.com/267 You’ve been praying for Yah, huh? Her story keeps getting better. At times I really think it is too good to be true, I feel like I’m waiting for the “catch.” So far no “catch,” here’s the good stuff...

Her husband’s job continues to go well. His boss is bringing him to a church where he is mentored one-on-one and involved in prison outreach. You may remember a month ago that Yah was frustrated with her husband who didn’t care for his family and drank the day away. Jesus makes us new, right? Last week he sent enough money for Yah to repay the loan we gave her (which I wrote about here). And he calls her at Prang’s during her lunch break so they can talk. He’s planning to be home for the April “water throwing fest” so he can drive the kids around while they throw water on everyone. Quite a far cry from just a month ago!

]]> Sat, 29 Mar 2008 06:01:42 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/267 Michaela Weeks in hopes they never "walk in" http://www.servantworks.com/265 MaewFi

Maew and Fi (pictured here with Nick and I at our engagement party in February!) are our summer interns in Buriram.  They're on their school break for 2 months.  Prang and I want them to work for us as many of their friends are heading into the city during summer vacation.  At this point, their friends may be working in a restaurant or picking fruit; they're probably not at a bar.  But waitresses at many restaurants in the city are expected to at least sweet talk customers, if not be available to leave with them.  We just want to spend more time loving them here before they're put in tough situations of choosing between their dignity and money, or their dignity and hopes of meeting a good foreign husband.

Lord-willing, they'll understand their dignity in Jesus so completely that no one will have to offer them a "way out" because they never walked in.

Is it even possible that hundreds of thousands of young women in Thailand will understand their dignity in Jesus so completely that there is no longer a "way out" because there is no longer a "way in"? 

]]> Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:51:12 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/265 Michaela Weeks like mother, like daughter... and then some http://www.servantworks.com/261 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 04:37:36 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/261 Michaela Weeks Miracles in the works http://www.servantworks.com/257 After telling my fiancé about how things are going with Yah, he let me know I needed to update my blog asap – he says we’re seeing a miracle in the works right now – and I have to agree!

Yah told us a week ago a moneylender came to her house daily demanding her loan be repaid. This particular loan is one of the high interest loans. Yah borrowed about $660 last year, and now owes about $1000. A moneylender made violent threats in the past, and her husband (who usually works in the city) worried this one would do the same. Yah considered taking out an even higher interest loan to repay this one. This kind of thinking is what put her into so much debt already.

We decided to lend Yah money at no interest for this loan. She “bargained” with the moneylender to lower the interest if we paid the loan in full. We prayed for the moneylender to cut the interest in half – and she did!!! Yah will have us take out money each week from her paycheck to repay our loan. We were happy to tell her we will “match” whatever she and her husband repay each month. It took her a moment to understand that we want to help her financially, not just buy her more time. When she did, she began to cry and showed one of the highest forms of respect in Thailand: she touched her forehead to my hand and bowed in thanks. As she did, Prang and I bowed our heads as well and thanked God from whom all blessings flow. Moments like these convince me I’m the luckiest person in the world to call this my job right now.

And it gets better…

2 months ago: We first prayed for Yah and her family’s financial situation.  Her husband found work with a group of Christians in the city. They’re paying him well and teaching him to read the Bible. They even gave him extra money to call home.

2 weeks ago: Yah had us pray for her husband’s salvation. She was frustrated at how he was abandoning his family simply to drink the day away. She asked that we pray for his eyes and heart to be opened to know God and walk in His way.

1 week ago: We went to visit Yah and decided to help her with her debt. Her husband called later that night to let her know he wanted to become a Christian.

Wow. What a miracle. Words simply don’t do this justice… I guess all I can say is God is amazing. Stay posted :)

]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:28:44 -0700 http://www.servantworks.com/257 Michaela Weeks When loving people gets messy http://www.servantworks.com/254 After Yah finished leading worship Friday, Prang asked her what was wrong. She could tell she wasn’t her normal self. Yah talked about how her debt was overwhelming her. As we asked more questions, Prang and I became overwhelmed as well… her debt is about twice what we thought previously. Some money she borrowed from the government at decent interest rates. But about a ¼ of her loans are from neighbors and are absurd: 5% interest/month, which translates into 50%/year. It’s appalling. Appalling to think her neighbor would charge her that much interest, appalling to think she’d take out so much money.

We talked with Jim since he deals with debt situations on occasion. He told me family debts of this nature are a huge driving factor for young girls going to the bars. He estimates about half of women in the bars have family debt of significant nature. I can’t blame them for going to work there – what other choices do they have? It seems ridiculous that a relatively small amount of money to Americans would be impossible for a northeastern Thai to repay in a normal job.

We have a journey ahead of us. We want to be gentle with Yah, but also want to find out where all this money went. We want to find out more about her husband (who often goes to work in Bangkok) and what he can do to work on paying the debt as well. We want to help her learn to use money wisely. We want to help her family help themselves. Yah is precious… I’m seeing how loving people in brokenness gets messy. And I’m so thankful that Jim, Judy and Prang are giving their lives to loving these people through their messes.

]]> Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:58:26 -0800 http://www.servantworks.com/254 Michaela Weeks