Shortly before we began our furlough this past spring, our field directors suggested that we make a prayer calendar to give away. Thinking that was good advice, we made an 18-month calendar with a specific project prayer focus for each week. We decided to have the calendar start with September 2018 to coincide with our return to Thailand.

Once we returned to Thailand, we jumped back into our work, and I was pleased to start several Bible studies alongside our local Thai pastor. One of our studies was with a lady named Tui who has been attending our church off and on for over a year. She had expressed a desire to get baptized and join our church, but for one reason or another we weren’t able to begin Bible studies with her until recently. Another of our Bible studies was with a lady named Kat who used to come regularly to our church, but after encountering some major trials, she went back to Buddhism. Recently, she decided to come back to church and start over again with God.

One evening I was looking at the prayer focuses we had asked people to pray for in the month of October. As I read, I was shocked to see the following prayer requests. For the weeks of October 14 and 28, we had written, “Kat to desire to return to Christ,” and “Tui to make studying the Bible a priority.” It suddenly stuck me that I was witnessing direct answers to prayer!

On November 3, 2018 Tui, Kat and another young lady named Soi Muk were baptized into our church! As I reflect on the recent baptisms and the direct answers to prayer, I am reminded of the promise in Isaiah 65:24: “before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” I am more and more convinced of the power of prayer, and I am grateful for the many people who have prayed for us and for our work. May we continue to pray earnestly and expectantly!

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