It Should Make You Smile

Saturday April 4, 2009

We sat down for lunch at a picnic type bench in the humble entrance of this church in Udon Thanie, Tailand.  Sticky rice, grilled port on a stick and a whole grilled chicken, a feast set out for us at the staggering cost of $4.00 total.  This food was incredible and how can you possibly beat the experience of swatting flies with one hand and eating with the other (sorry Cheri but I did eat with my fingers).  Senior Pastor Prasha sat with us and shared his dream of developing their 26 acre ministry campus in order to reach the people of this region.  As he spoke a young Taiwanese gentleman walked from the church office into the open air entryway where we were having our meal.  Pastor Prasha introduced us to this young man, an associate pastor.  It was his smile that first caught my attention.  His cheeks pulled way back revealing all his beautiful brilliant teeth.  He was one of those types who almost has to try not to smile, but smile he did.  In his hand he held leather bound Bible which he treated like a treasure.  He informed us that the Bible had just arrived from the International Bible Society.  His joy was so exuberant that you might have thought he just won a brand new car.  He opened the precious book and flipped the pages across his thumb.  He would pause now and then to make sure we saw a specific portion of this prized possession.  Opening the book wider he

made eye contact and then bragged about how great this treasure really was.  He explained, “I already have a New Testament,” then he squeezed the Bible between his open hands and continued, “now it’s all complete, it’s all here!  We now have both the Old and New Testament!” 

That might not seem like a big deal to those of us who’ve had at least one translation of the Bible our entire lives.  It’s hard for me to describe what I saw in the face of a man who just received a complete Bible for the very first time.  Ten years he waited for this day and now as he held the word of life he was beside himself!  It should make you smile to have God’s word.  It should make you smile to know that more and more people groups are receiving this precious book in their own language.