NEW LIFE

This is P’Jiw. I’ve known him since the first week I moved to Khon Kaen, but some people from my church had met him many months before I came. The couple that stays at the church began reaching out to P’Jiw, who at the time was both homeless and sick, by regularly bringing him food. One day they brought Ajan Nueng (my pastor) along to visit and pray for P’Jiw, who used to stay in a tent across the street from the church. As they went to see P’Jiw, Ajan Nueng heard the Lord ask him something along the lines of, “Will you be my arms?” Ajan Nueng walked up to P’Jiw and embraced him. You may not be able to tell from the picture above, but P’Jiw has a skin disease that looks almost like leprosy. On top of that P’Jiw’s hygene was substandard, due to being homeless. Below is a picture of P’Jiw when Ajan Nueng first met him.

When I first started visiting P’Jiw, our visits were not long, simply stopping by to chat, give him some groceries, and pray for him. But it wasn’t long before I started a Bible study with him and began discipling him. From there, we began bringing him to church and found a new place for him to stay so he could be closer to the church. I also began bringing him to the hospital for his doctor’s appointments.

Last month I had the privelege of baptizing P’Jiw. The last two months, especially after his baptism, I have really seen P’Jiw grow. His hunger for God’s word has increased, and now he is growing in sharing his testimony and encouraging others with the Word of God. Recently, P’Jiw has run into several people who knew him before he knew Jesus. Some of them hardly even recognized him, and it has given P’Jiw an opportunity to share about the new life he has found in Christ.

He recently moved in to live with me as well. I’m looking forward to seeing him continue to grow in the Lord.