Happiness

I never knew how hard it would be to show others Jesus here.  I didn't take into account the big difference between buddhism and christian beliefs. It's like the name Jesus turns people off here.  They don't know Him, and they don't want to. It's almost like His name repels people.  It's a difficult thing to be a missionary in Thailand.  That's why I believe it's not necessary to push Jesus on others for them to see that He is good, instead I need to show others who He is through me and how I interact with these people on a day to day basis.

The health message is an easy way to lead others to Jesus here.  Thai people are very health conscious, they strive to look and feel good.  That's why many people attend the health meetings that the church provides over here.  They simply want to know more, and when this happens, they see what we are saying is good, and they see more about our beliefs.  They become interested, and some convert, others don't.

Another factor that draws people to our religion is our happiness.  Yeah, I didn't believe it either, but I've seen it and heard it from others.  Leah and I were eating with one of our students and they told us we were very happy people.  This surprised us, really?  They don't see us complaining and they compared us to other foreigners that have come over to Thailand.  According to our student, we are always smiling and having a good time.  They believe our religion is made of happy people.  I'm glad they could make the connection there.

Another witness to adventists happiness attracting people to the religion is Pastor's wife.  She actually used to be buddhist before she became an adventist, she didn't grow up in the church.  I asked her what drew her to the church.  She said she walked by a group of very happy people, watched them for a while, and wondered what made them so happy.  So, she walked up to them, started talking to them and found their religion interesting.  She became converted a year later.

Wow, to think that our happiness can lead others to Jesus.  How simple it should be show others how happy we are in our faith.  If that's all it takes, I hope I don't screw up.  I hope that I can always show people here how happy I am to be an adventist.