I watched Pii Laddawan scale her starfruit tree with agility that belied her age. Ajahn and I admired her flexibility as she stretched from one branch to another, plucking the ripe fruits that would go into my first enzyme-making experiment.

When I had mentioned wanting to have a compost pile, Ajahn had whisked me away to this home on the other side of Khon Kaen. “You must meet my friend. She is a retired teacher, and her husband is a retired engineer—he studied in Germany. They are also practicing Buddhists and live naturally. She will show you how to make enzymes.”

I wasn’t sure how enzymes related to composting, but knew I wouldn’t be left in the dark for long. “Shouldn’t I change first?” I asked Ajahn. It was Sunday morning, and I was dressed for laundry duty. “Oh no,” she replied. “They are very natural. You are fine.”

My departing words to my family were, “I’ll be right back,” but it was several hours later when I returned home. I smiled sheepishly at Ricardo as Ajahn and I carried in the 20-gallon buckets and large bags of unrefined brown sugar I had purchased. Ricardo looked at me knowingly. Ajahn can be very convincing on some things, and it doesn’t take much to get me excited about anything natural or organic. I gave Ricardo a quick overview of my newly acquired knowledge about the many uses of enzymes—non-toxic cleaning agents, fertilizers, natural pesticides . . . Pii Laddawan had even claimed that enzymes were a great anti-wrinkle treatment!

Several months passed before I saw Pii Laddawan again. This time she came to our house. She had been invited to her nephew-in-law’s upcoming ordination as a rabbi in the States and wanted to practice some basic English conversation in exchange for helping me with Thai. After a quick check on my developing enzymes, we sat down. With the help of a good dictionary, we wove a meaningful conversation out of her threads of English and my strands of Thai. It was fun talking, laughing and tackling questions such as how she would summarize her Buddhist beliefs in English and what the different meanings of the color green are.

The following week we got together again, and this time Pii Laddawan brought her friend, Pii Lumpai, with her. They were the picture of elegance, and I admired their outfits aloud. “We’re going to see the Lord Buddha’s teeth after this!” they said excitedly. Ajahn came over and explained that these important relics from Nepal would be on display in Khon Kaen for a few days, and that viewing them was a once-in-a-life time opportunity that would bring much merit. “I’ll go see them later,” Ajahn said. She sounded tired, and her voice had a dutiful tone to it. While Pii Laddawan sums up her beliefs by saying she seeks to “cultivate good,” Ajahn stresses “cause and effect” as being the bedrock of her Buddhist belief. She strives to ensure good outcomes by doing whatever is “the right thing to do.”

Pii Laddawan’s children came to visit, and it was a few weeks before we got together again. During that time, Ricardo and I decided to spend some time in Bangkok at an intensive Thai language school to speed up our language learning.

“You must call Pii Laddawan,” Ajahn told me. “She was going to teach you how to make vegetarian laab [a delicious regional salad].”

“We can do it when I get back,” I assured Ajahn. But Pii Laddawan was determined to fulfill her promise, so a few days before we left for Bangkok, she and Pii Lampai arrived with baskets and plastic containers of food items, ready to prepare a feast. Ricardo, Gabriel, Daniel and Ajahn joined us for the feast and for a meaningful conversation about the symbolism of water and baptism.

We marvel at how God is enabling us to build a strong social network in Khon Kaen. We are grateful to be part of His plan to bless and reach these new friends. What a day it will be when Pii Laddawan discovers the joy of worshiping the living Lord and when Ajahn can finally rest in the knowledge that she is complete in Christ.

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