And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. — Luke 8:15 (NLT)
As a young Deaf person growing up in a Buddhist culture, Pastraporn Sarakong didn’t know much about Jesus.
“One day at the Deaf school, I saw this book on the shelf in the library,” Pastraporn said. “It was a book with stories and illustrations from the Bible. The pictures caught my eye. I remember opening it and trying to read it, but I didn’t understand a single word. I wondered, ‘What are all these strange names?’ I was curious, so I stole the Bible.”
Back at the dormitory Pastraporn continued to study the stories, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t understand them. Meanwhile another Deaf student wandered by and saw Pastraporn. The student was horrified. Because most Thai families are Buddhist, becoming a Christian means abandoning the family beliefs.
“You can’t become a Christian!” she told Pastraporn. “You have to honor your parents.”
“I’m not a Christian!” Pastraporn insisted. “I just want to understand what it’s saying.”
“Where did you get the book?” the student persisted. But Pastraporn didn’t answer.
Around this time, Pastraporn went to a reunion of students from the Deaf school. While there, a young man named Panuwat Manee struck up a conversation with Pastraporn. Although they’d never talked before, Panuwat finally got the courage to tell Pastraporn he’d had a crush on her for years. Surprised, but pleased, later Pastraporn asked Panuwat if he wanted to go with her to a Christian camp for the Deaf that she was helping to organize. He agreed.
Panuwat wasn’t a Christian at the time, but during the camp meetings, God began to work in his heart.
“The next Sunday, Panuwat raised his hand to become a Christian,” Pastraporn said. “And I was like, ‘What?! You really want to become a Christian? It’s not just because you like me, is it?’ But he said, ‘No, I really want to be saved.’”
As their personal relationships with the Lord continued to grow, so did their relationship with each other. It wasn’t long before they got married.
With a Deaf person leading, the Deaf community is more receptive to their work.
The team has made great progress since Pastraporn took on the leadership role two years ago. They have found that with a Deaf person leading, the Deaf community is more receptive to theirw ork.
“Many times the Christian Deaf will say, ‘Oh, I’ve read this! But I didn’t know that’s what it meant. You’ve really opened my eyes,’” Pastraporn said. “We also go to non-Christian communities and ask people to watch the stories so we can know if it’s clear. And a lot of times they have questions.”
I know that in the future, as I go back, it’s planting seeds.
Although the Chronological Bible Translation project has been around for over five years, in many ways the team is just getting started. The members are young and full of energy. As they continue to plant seeds one by one, and cling to the promise of God’s Word, they’re confident it will produce a harvest.
