By Sue Danneker, an Alliance international worker serving in Thailand
As a 15-year-old girl, Bale was heading down a dangerous road.
By the grace of God, our paths crossed. I stopped at the local fresh food market in Baan Paeo to give a Bible to Naen, one of our cell-group visitors who had requested one. Bale, the young woman selling fruit drinks next to Naen’s rotisserie chicken stand, asked what I was giving her stepmom. Naen introduced us.
Spiritual Battle
The teen started asking me questions. “Do you know anything about the Satan cult? Is it true you can sell your soul to the devil and gain great power? Why is there a battle between God and Satan?”
Bale had been exposed to these ideas on YouTube. I talked with her for almost an hour, explaining who God is, where Satan came from, and how Jesus broke the power of evil through His death on the cross.
“Bale, following the devil will lead only to death and destruction,” I said. “But following Jesus, the God who loves you, will give you a full, abundant life—and ultimately eternal life.”
Bale told me about a dream she’d had with some Christian imagery. I said she is obviously in a spiritual battle and the Lord had sent me to tell her about the God who wants her to know Him. I gave her some Christian literature.
Two days later, I visited again. This time we talked for more than an hour about prayer, who Jesus is, and what Christians do when they meet together.
On February 24, Bale arrived at our weekly cell group meeting with every piece of Christian literature I had given her neatly stacked in her purse.
During the meeting, Bale perked up when I explained that my nickname, “Sue,” was derived from the name “Susan.”
“Oh, just like one of the children’s names in Narnia!” she said “I loved that movie!”
Later I explained to Bale that the Narnia stories are a Christian allegory. She had no idea. As we talked and I identified some of the imagery, the good news of Jesus began to make sense. Thank you, C. S. Lewis! Thank You, Holy Spirit!
Bale began meeting with another believer to ask more questions; it was evident Bale was starting to believe the truth. She brought two friends to the next cell group so they could hear the gospel too.
Bale formally put her trust in Jesus during our March 9 meeting. She was clearly ready. To think I had met her only three weeks earlier! But God had been drawing Bale to Himself for many years.
The next day, Bale and I met for a three-hour discipleship Bible study before she started work. Bale wondered how she came to faith so quickly. She had known nothing about Jesus. During our first encounter at the fruit-drink stand, she even had to ask me how to spell His name in the Thai language.
A Seed of Faith
“Someone was praying for you, Bale,” I told her. “And the Narnia movies planted a seed in your heart.” As she thought about it, she recalled distant relatives who are Christians.
She also said her mom, who lives in Austria, may have married a believer. “He attends church every Sunday,” she said. “My mom goes occasionally.” Bale’s mother and stepdad were quite supportive of her interest in Jesus, though they had not yet shared the gospel with her.
As we talked, Bale said she had seen Ed and me around town. She had an urge to talk to us but did not know what to say. So she was thrilled when I was at the drink stand that day.
Please pray that Bale will grow strong in the Lord, that God will help her to break free of any strongholds in her life, and that she will walk victoriously in Christ as a new creation. She longs to see her friends come to know Jesus.
Pray
Join the Alliance family in interceding for our workers in Thailand and worldwide, who are taking the good news—in word and deed—to some of the least-reached regions of the world. Use the weekly Alliance Prayer Requests to assist you.