Teen Challenges

August 6, 2012

By Ed and Sue Danneker, serving in Thailand

In November 2011, after a five-day teen event, Ploy, a ninth grader, received Jesus as her Savior. She became one of our most active and faithful members. Hungry for the Lord, Ploy eagerly studied the discipleship Bible materials.

But Ploy’s attendance became sporadic in March 2012, when she began receiving increased opposition from her parents, especially her father. They were upset that she wanted to leave their ancestors’ faith. Ploy kept connected to the church primarily through Facebook, filling her page with praises to God.

Teen Evangelist

In June 2012, after missing church and other events for several weeks, Ploy called our pastor to ask for help with a school assignment. The teacher wanted the students to present a paper on a subject no one else in the class knew about. Ploy wanted to tell her 50 classmates about Jesus. Pastor Somkit and his wife, Suda, were more than happy to help.

The next Sunday, Ploy came to church. Wearing a large, shiny cross, she soaked in the worship, Scripture readings, and fellowship.

That evening, Pastor Somkit received a threatening phone call from Ploy’s dad. The pastor listened politely and then explained the gospel to Ploy’s father so he would know what we were teaching her.

The father admitted that he was impressed with the positive changes in Ploy since she started coming to church.  But he was furious that she had started wearing a cross instead of the expensive image he had bought for her to wear as a necklace.

A few months earlier, Ploy had shared with us that that necklace was choking her at night, and she couldn’t breathe. But her dad insisted she wear it, believing the spirit it represented would protect her.

By the end of his phone call with the pastor, the father had calmed down somewhat. He didn’t follow through with his threats.

Ploy presented her evangelistic paper to the class, but she stayed away from formal church services.

Recently, Ploy contacted the pastor again about another school assignment. This time she wanted to present the doctrine of the Trinity to her class. “Couldn’t she have thought of an easier subject?” Pastor Somkit joked.

Praise God for Ploy’s faith and her burden for the lost. She loves to invite friends to church and to monthly teen outreaches. Please pray that she will remain strong in her faith despite the persecution from her parents. Pray, too, that her friends, teacher, and parents will come to the Savior as well.