October 17th, 2007 - Tearing Down Strongholds
   >> Latest Update                        >> Bouyei Prayer Archive          >> Subscribe to an Update    
Bouyei Quick Facts:
-Population of 2.5 million spread  throughout SW China
-Part of the Tai Language Group
-90 Percent are agricultural workers
-Religion is a mixture of spirit worship  and Taoism
I was feeling the internal struggle.  Should I help WF’s father with his grandchildren’s school insurance and uniform fees?   The two grandchildren, whom he and his wife have been raising since their son died had already been accepted in the school tuition-free and now they were needing 100 yuan per child for the extra fees.  The family seemed to have so little and now they had to move close to the school. The grandfather would probably have to forfeit his dog business because of the move.  He said he had spent much of his savings on the recent trip to Guizhou and his new roof. I wanted to help,  yet I did not want to foster an attitude of dependence on me but rather encourage reliance on God to meet their needs.

     In the end, I volunteered  to help with this expense but inside I was still doubtful.  Had I done the right thing?   Later a friend told me that they did in fact pay the fees.  I would be going to visit the father the next week.  I was hoped the issue would have blown over  and they would not raise it again or my offer of help.  The next week after a time of Bible study, the grandfather did bring it up again and even asked the grandson to ask me for the help.  “Have you paid for it yet?” I asked.   “No, we haven’t paid it yet.” was the reply.   Inside, I felt terrible.   I did not want to go back on my offer but somehow I didn’t have the courage to confront them with their lie.  Perhaps they only paid the money early because they knew I would help them and were afraid I would not help them if I knew they had already paid it.  I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.  But inside I struggled with discouragement about their spiritual state.
Later, the Lord comforted me with the fact that in the early stages of their Christian faith, those who have led them to faith really are God’s representative to them.  They haven’t really had time to come to know Him in a very personal way.  We are the Jesus they see, walking and talking.  So it is not surprising that they would look to us to meet some of their needs. What an awesome responsibility for weak sinners like ourselves!

This past week I was able to visit again and there was still an air of anxiety about how they were going to make ends meet.  Then we had an excellent time in the Word studying Matthew 6:25-34.  Because of their difficulty with the language and literacy level, it took slow explanation of every phrase in that passage.  In the end they seemed to understand its message and even shared ways in which God has been meeting their needs financially.  In the midst of their worry for tomorrow, they’d forgotten He had provided for today.  There was a real joy and peace in our time together.

These Bouyei have personally seen the power of God to free them from bondage to the evil spirits.  Yet they do not know very deeply what it means to trust God or how to obey Him.  It doesn’t mean they are not saved or don’t want to follow Him, but they will not automatically act according to the Biblical pattern.  There is so much they have not even heard of yet!

Here is a summary of some prayer points for new believers taken from a small booklet called Tearing Down Strongholds
contact
|