Bending at the waist, I extended my hand. Positioned as I was, the monk either had to run me over, walk around me or stop. A quizzical smile appeared on his face as he took the two gospel booklets from my hand. “Happy New Year!” I said in English, a broad smile on my own face. Then, in my mind, I prayed, Lord, please help him to read this material. Help him to share it with the monks back at the temple. As the monk continued his early alms-gathering, I headed up the street towards the morning market, armed with a stack of booklets.

The fact that we had this material was a miracle. Knowing that the Christmas-New Year holiday season is one of the best times to hand out literature, we had been praying for months that God would give us something to share here in southern Thailand. God answered our prayers. A few weeks before Christmas, we picked up a large box containing chapter one of Steps to Christ, typeset in Thai and English with beautiful nature photos. Last year, we gave some editorial advice to the editor assigned to the project, but I had forgotten about it. Now we had a whole box with us.
The second booklet was also dual-language. While traveling on vacation earlier in the month, we heard that some missionary friends were about to print it without proper editing. However, God provided a brief opportunity for us to edit it so that they could go to press in time for their schedule and for us to receive a box just before Christmas. Praise the Lord.

Finishing my trip through the market, I had a couple of booklets left. A Muslim lady sat on a bench near the river. “Happy New Year,” I said in English as I extended my hand. She accepted the offer and responded in English, “Happy New Year!” May God grow these small seeds for His kingdom.

• Twitter