A Persistent Valentine From the Heart of God...I Love You!

A Persistent Valentine Message 

From the Heart of God

I Love You

Kathy is a definite fan of Bible Study!!  Another Community Bible Study International study began in our home last week in the book of Colossians.  What a wonderful morning with sixteen women (+ 2 baby girls) ranging in age from 2 months old to 70 years young.  

Kathy's friend K shared her personal story of having three women in the USA who meet monthly to pray for her family.   One of the women, V, visited K six years ago.  They did all the usual tourist things but as they purchased some scarves from a shopkeeper, V became burdened for the man who owned the shop.  

V returned to the USA and wrote K, "I think you should take your husband and go visit this man, I am praying for him.  V went on to say, "He needs to know the love God has for him."  K thought to herself, “How could I ever explain myself and that truth in Thai?  My language is not nearly good enough yet.”

Knowing how directionally challenged K is and how the shops were in a maze of disorganization K wondered how she would ever find the man again. But V persisted and every few weeks over several months V would ask K if she had gone to find the man yet.  

K finally decided to go and find this shopkeeper.  In order to share this story she asked V, "How many times do you think you asked me to find him?'"  “At least 100 times,”  V said smiling.  So finally K took a friend with her to try to find the man in the place where the shops were located. Unfortunately, she could not find him or the shop.  Later she tried again but to no avail.

K knew God had placed the image of the man's face and the shop entrance in her mind.  This past December K was shopping in an area of a local mall featuring Thai handicrafts  when a man started to walk over to her.  To her amazement, the man matched the image God had given her of the shopkeeper’s face.  

K managed to ask in Thai if the man had owned a shop in Ban Tawai 6 years ago.   He replied he did.  He told K it wasn't doing well so he moved to the mall.  K then told him about her friend V who had been praying for him for 6 years.  She also told him how her friend had told her to tell him how much God loved him.  

K asked if he had a Bible.  He said yes and pulled one from his shop but said he could not understand it and that he was a Buddhist.  Then they decided his English was better than K's Thai so they switched to English and K's husband came up and started talking to him too.  They exchanged numbers and names and promised to meet again.  

K brought us a photo of Suphat, pronounced Sue pot.  K asked the women gathered last week for Bible study to pray for him and for her and her husband as they share with the shopkeeper.  

K wrote V and told her they had found the shopkeeper that she was so burdened for and that his name is Suphat.  V said I am now saving my money to visit again when he is baptized.  We are all praying for that great day!

K went on to say to the women gathered for Bible study how Paul, like her friend V, was so burdened for people that he had not met.  Like V, Paul wanted these people he had not met yet, to know the love of Christ.  The women in our study are excited to be studying the book of Colossians in God’s Word and to see how we will apply these same truths in our lives.