OceanicThai

It has been very distressing to see some of the kids who professed Christ participate in the Vegetarian Festival. They told us their grandfather or some other family member wanted them to "gin jee." This year they will probably not go to the temple to be possessed, but they are dressing in white and abstaining from meat, fish and eggs to "purify" themselves. We are holding our camp, and it went well yesterday. Some of the parents no longer allow their teenage children to associate with us or do anything with us because their children have professed faith in Christ. Other kids are travelling or just off doing their own thing during this school break. We had 7 kids yesterday. John held it at his house and we helped him make a Filipino pork dish, very yummy. Today we are holding it at our house and will have homemade pizza & Thai food. We will take them to the beach later to body/boogie-board surf.

This is an ancient story revisited. Um is a girl who has been coming to our center for the past 2 years. This year she is 16 and in 11th grade. Um has been having episodes where she freezes up, turns greenish, and starts to panic for no reason. Our partner John has taken her to the hospital 3 times; we went the 2nd time to a hospital 2 hours away that had a good reputation. The diagnosis was stress. Every time John would pray for her and then she would be fine. After John brought her home from the hospital for the last time, her mom opened up about the cause of her stress. Several years ago the mother was in terrible debt and did not know what to do. She gave her children over to the Vegetarian Festival priests to get help. Shortly after that she won a lottery and paid all her debts off. Um began to have her panic attacks sometime after that. This year the priests want Um to participate in the Vegetarian Festival and sleep overnight at the temple for the week. She did not want t...

As the Vegetarian/Possession Festival gears up, spiritual warfare in this country also kicks into high gear. Across the country Thailand's Christians are praying and some are even fasting. Hundreds of people will become possessed by spirits, including teenagers and even children. The gruesome and bloody acts of self-multilation follow possession. It will begin this Thursday. At the same time we will be holding a half-day camp for our teens at the center who have professed Christ to help them avoid the community & parental/family pressure to cave and participate in the festival. Like a spiritual cloud decending on the provinces here that participate, the darkness is palpable. The presence of spiritual beings is oppressive and discouraging. We are in the middle of a part of the world that has been under the enemy's control for thousands of years and this festival is just the latest manifestation of the show of this control. We are teaching our teens and new believing ...

This is our least favorite time of the year, watching hundreds of people get possessed by the spirits and mutilate themselves. We are going to do a teen camp this year for the kids who have professed Christ so they can get away from the pressure of their community & parents to participate in the festival. One girl is already abstaining from meat and thus becoming a participant. It is discouraging. We are praying.