An Easter Miracle

by Derryl and Karen Friessen

4/22/20268 min read

This past Easter morning, our two little friends down the street, Phrae Mai (11) and Phrae Wa (12), invited their parents to church. Both mom and dad took their first steps to put their faith in Jesus!

I cannot begin to express how special this is to us. When we came back to Thailand six months ago, I was asking God, “Who is it You want to bring to faith through our witness this time around?” My earnest prayer was that before we returned to Canada, Khun Teuk (dad) and Khun Waew (mom), our beautiful Buddhist friends down the street would put their faith in Jesus. In all honesty, with the massive language and cultural barriers standing between us, it seemed nigh unto impossible. And yet now, just two weeks before we fly back home, the Lord is answering that prayer!

A special family outing to “Hello Yellow”

(Korean bingsu shaved-ice dessert shop)

Here in Mae Sai, northern Thailand, Ebeneezer International Fellowship house-church has become a sort of church home for Karen and me. This past Easter Sunday, Pastor Tony (from Guatemala) switched things up a little. He invited everyone to an early morning breakfast and then shared the Easter story around the long communal table.

I was amazed. Even though the songs were in English I noticed both Khun Teuk and Khun Waew clapping their hands and attempting to sing the English words on the screen. As Pastor Tony shared about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, both parents leaned in with genuine interest. Abby, Tony’s 21-year-old ‘adopted’ daughter from Myanmar, translated flawlessly into Thai. The message penetrated—Jesus’ gift of salvation is for EVERY person in EVERY country around the world.

Khun Teuk, Khun Waew and Phrae Mai listen to the Easter Story

Concluding with the promise of salvation in Romans 10:9, Tony offered an invitation for each one in the room to declare our faith in Jesus out loud. Around the table, in a beautiful moment of personal reflection, both Khun Teuk and Khun Waew quietly confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord. Then, gently raising their hands, both indicated they believed in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. According to God's promise, if these confessions were genuine, these friends are now saved and part of God’s family!

All because two little girls followed a prompting to invite their mom and dad to church!

The Back Story

For more than three years, our friendship with this family has grown from mere acquaintances to genuine relationships of mutual trust, laughter and the giving of small gifts back and forth. Every week we are “home” in Mae Sai, Phrae Wa and Prae Mai are at our gate asking if ลุงเป็ด (translated “Uncle Duck”) can come out to play. They love riding bikes, eating snacks, playing “cops and robbers” and making music with my guitar. Recently, I found out Phrae Wa plays trumpet in a marching band, so now she loves playing my flugel horn as well!

Two weeks ago, the girls came over and asked if I could go on a bike ride to the new 7-11 store two kilometers away. As usual (if at all possible) I dropped everything and said, "Yes!"

On the way home, they asked what I was doing on Sunday. I told them we were going to church. They saw a small sign for church on a side street and asked, “Is that the one?”

It wasn’t but as we rode along, I felt for the first time in three years the prompting to invite them to church.

“Would you like to come with us?” I asked? “Yes!”

I wondered what their parents would think.

“You’ll first have to get permission from your mom and dad.” I said.

They did, and the next morning, both girls met us in front of their gate, all dressed up, hair braided, makeup on and bouncing with excitement. The moment we stepped through the doors of the little house church, the girls were met with huge hugs and laughter from the other girls in the church.

“What? How is this possible so fast?!”

And then I remembered . . . these girls all know each other! One year ago, as we prepared to return to Canada, we discovered Tony and his wife run a Saturday morning kids club with their church family in a nearby neighborhood. We asked Khun Waew if she would be okay if Tony would come and pick up her girls each Saturday for kid’s club. We were unsure what they would think about their girls learning about Jesus. Both she and her husband are strong Buddhists.

Her response delighted us. "Yes!"

Last summer, while back in Canada, I received a message from Tony, “This morning I went to pick up the girls for Saturday classes. They are very sweet and smart. They are learning a lot, memorizing verses, singing to Jesus. It is an honour for me to water the seed you planted in their hearts!!”

No wonder the girls were welcomed with wide open arms . . . literally!

Fast Forward to Good Friday

This past Friday, the girls were at our gate again . . . this time with their soccer ball. As we booted the ball back and forth across the yard, I told them we were going to an early morning Easter breakfast on Sunday. The girls wanted to come. As we played, the thought occurred to me, “Thai people love eating together in community. I wonder if their parents would be interested in coming to the breakfast too?”

I encouraged the girls to go home and ask if their mom and dad might want to come. A while later, I followed up with a message to Khun Waew. Once again, her response delighted us. "Yes!"

“All four of you?” I probed. “Yes!”

That Easter morning, not only did we find two girls waiting outside their gate, bouncing up and down with their new Bibles in hand. Mom and dad were there too, also dressed up, albeit a wee bit more reserved. I am sure they were thinking, “What in the world are we getting ourselves into!?”

I don’t think they had ever been to a Christian fellowship before.

As expected, the girls were met with more gleeful hugs and smiles. Mom and dad walked through the doors a bit hesitant. But in no time, people were engaging them in Thai, asking about their lives and making them feel at home.

The night before, Pastor Tony alerted the church on their group chat, “Lord willing, tomorrow we will have some Buddhist visitors who are not believers YET... let's pray for them, for He who is the Resurrection may give them eternal life!”

Then later that evening, he texted me, “Could you share a brief testimony of how the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus changed your life, and how you experienced new birth?"

“Yes!” I was thrilled with the opportunity. How could I not seek God’s heart in how I should share my hope in Jesus with these precious friends.

Prae Wa plays taps with my flugel horn

Welcomed with huge hugs and laughter!

Phrae Wa learning about Jesus at Saturday kids club - Millie's Learning Mat

Riding in the back of our truck with their new Bibles

After sharing the Easter Story, Tony invited three people from three different countries around the world to share their testimonies.

When I stood up, I shared my story of how I put my faith in Jesus as a little kid. At about five years old, kneeling by an old rocking chair with my dad, I invited Jesus into my life. I shared how God loves kids and how Jesus invites us all to become “like little children” and put our faith in him with hearts that are simple, trusting, and completely reliant on God our Father.

During my talk, I invited Phrae Wa to come up and read a story from her new Thai Bible . . . the story of Jesus blessing the little children and rebuking those who tried to stop them from coming.

After sharing the Easter Story, Tony invited three people from three different countries around the world to share their testimonies.

During my talk, I invited Phrae Wa to come up and read a story from her new Thai Bible . . . the story of Jesus blessing the little children and rebuking those who tried to stop them from coming. (For those interested, please find the full text of what the Lord prompted me to share at the end of this email.)

Can “Uncle Duck” come out to play?

Phrae Wa reading the story of Jesus welcoming the children

When I finished, Abby, (pictured above) shared her testimony, and Tony gave the invitation.

Seeds Sown

Later Sunday afternoon, I rode my bike down to the end of the street with a couple sets of badminton rackets. For the first time in three years, I heard the girls invite their dad to come out and play with us on the street. After batting the birdie (chicken-feather ball in Thai!) around for a half-hour in the muggy heat, we paused for a break. I asked Khun Teuk what he was feeling after the events of the morning.

He looked around his tiny yard, surrounded by hundreds of fruit and vegetable plants he continually nourishes and waters. “Today I felt peace,” he said. Then he kind of smiled and said something I didn’t fully understand in his Northern Thai accent. Something like, “I don’t fully understand the Christian religion, but today seeds were planted in my heart. Like these plants I grow in my yard, we must wait to see what they become.”

He motioned to his girls to go into the house and get a bag. He pulled up some freshly watered lettuce plants and offered me another gift, nurtured with love.

Time to Pray

Easter Sunday was a big day for Khun Teuk’s family. His daughters invited him and their mom to church. The Spirit of God tugged at their hearts and in their own personal way, they responded.

Jesus’ parable of the sower makes it abundantly clear there are real risks Gospel seeds can easily dry up on the roadside, get eaten by birds, or be taken over by weeds. Our prayer is these seeds have landed in fertile soil and over time, will bear fruit—30, 60 and 100 times over.