The Miracle Bike
In late December, a 13 year old girl named Om came to the Bethel Church’s open-air Kids’ Club meeting in the village of Chachoengsao in Thailand. After hearing the Thai church leader Naat speak about how God has shown His power and love to her, Om told Bethel Team missionaries Dave and Louise Sinclair-Peters and Bob and Chris Davis that she wanted to accept Christ as her Lord and Savior.
They knew that Om had not made this decision quickly because she has been coming to the club for over a year now. Om is from a devout Buddhist family and her grandma has made it clear that her grandchildren are not to become Christians. Om hoped she could go home without saying too much, but the other children in the village ran and told her grandmother the news of her conversion. Grandma was furious! That night she went to all the new believers’ houses, swearing and yelling loudly at each of them. When she returned home she beat Om and told her that she could never go to Kids’ Club again. The team felt terrible for Om and her brothers, Am and Earth. They prayed fervently that God would look after these beautiful kids and comfort them.
Then a strange thing happened. On the day of the Christmas party, Earth snuck onto the truck going to the party without asking his grandma for permission. The Bethel Team didn’t notice Earth because they had 400 new people from the community attending the party! But Ying, one of the Thai evangelists from The Life Center (TLC), did. She asked, “Earth, can I please take a picture with you? You are so cute!” He declined. The Bethel Team was having a draw for a new bicycle so Ying pressed on, “I will pray that you win the bike. If you win, will you let me take your photo?” Earth was in full agreement!
Everyone’s eyes were locked on their ticket when the team called the winning number for the beautiful new bicycle. Earth started jumping up and down waving his ticket – he won! When Ying saw Earth running for the stage, she quickly took her camera and ran forward with him. Together they celebrated God’s answer to prayer. The Bethel Team looked at one another and asked, “How on earth did Earth get here?”
Arriving at Kids’ Club a few days later, Louise noticed three kids had come early and were waiting for the leaders. It was Om, Earth, and Am! The team was surprised and relieved to see that Om and her siblings had been allowed to come back to church. But the story doesn’t end there. The next day Earth’s grandmother rode the very bicycle that Earth won to the adult Bible study. And just a few days later, Earth’s mom used that same bike to ride from one village to another, where she attended the Bethel cell group and accepted Christ! That winning bicycle became a tool that God used to bless the entire family!
The newly formed, rapidly growing Bethel Church ministers to the AIDS community in the form of outreach evangelism, mentoring, and discipleship. Dave and Louise Sinclair-Peters and Bob and Christina Davis minister in the neighboring province of Chachoengsao. To support the Bethel Church, donate under Project C0509 or click here .