CHIEF PHONSAI’S PRAYER OF FAITH

By John Press

Have you ever witnessed a major transformation in someone you know? Be inspired by the Saul/Paul experience of Chief Phonsai!

Chief Phonsai* and his family hated Christians. The villagers in the northern mountains of the closed country where they live viewed Christianity as a dangerous influence from the West. Conse quently, Christians in the region endured constant monitoring and maltreatment from their non–be lieving family and neighbors, as well as local leaders like Chief Phonsai.

Despite persecution, a small group of Seventhday Adventist believers formed in Chief Phonsai’s village through the labors of an ASAP church planter. As the group grew, ASAP built a church in the village. But the members faced frequent ha rassment from Chief Phonsai and the villagers. In 2012, when ASAP church planter Pastor Stephen

Thid* visited to conduct a funeral service, Chief Phonsai’s father, the village’s head chief at the time, had him arrested and thrown in prison.

Following this incident, Chief Phonsai became a frequent visitor to the church. However, he did not attend the services to worship with the other believers. As the deputy chief of the vil lage, he’d been sent to spy on the church members and report on their activities. But Phonsai could not find any fault with the church members. Instead, he found that their activities were positive and encouraging.

Then, one day, Chief Phonsai became very sick. The pain was excruciating, like a spear thrust through his chest. He visited a local witch doctor, who told him that someone had cast a spell on him. The witch doctor charged Chief Phonsai $500 to make the evil spirits stop harassing him, but his pain did not go away. He went to one witch doctor after another. Each one charged him large sums of money. Chief Phonsai sacrificed cows, goats, and chickens until he had nothing left. But the evil spirits continued to torment him.

In desperation, Chief Phonsai went to visit Pr. Xai Fong Vang,* an Adventist pastor in a neighbor ing city. Pr. Xai Fong was surprised to see the chief standing at his door. He was well acquainted with the chief and his family’s hostility toward the church, so he was even more astounded when Chief Phonsai asked for prayer.

“Why?” asked Pr. Xai Fong. Chief Phonsai explained his situation and his fear of the evil spirits that were tormenting him. “I believe that only God can help me,” he said.

Pr. Xai Fong prayed with Chief Phonsai and told him that he must put his trust in the Lord. Then, he sent him on his way. For two months, Pr. Xai Fong continued to pray until he received a phone call from the chief asking him to come to his village. When Pr. Xai Fong arrived, he found that not only Chief Phonsai, but his whole family had accepted Christ as their Savior. The chief explained that after Pr. Xai Fong prayed with him, the evil spirits stopped harassing him. Little by little, his pain dissipated. Even before he was fully healed, his family became interested in learning more about the God of the Christians. Today, they are studying the Bible with a local church elder in preparation for baptism.

We rejoice with all of heaven over the conversion of Chief Phonsai and his family! And we praise God, who is able to transform the persecutors of His church into faithful disciples of Christ.

LAUNCHED! A NEW TENTMAKER MISSIONARY TRAINING PROGRAM

Watch “Training Modern-Day Tentmakers” to learn how your support of our new program in Thailand can help ASAP ethnic missionaries take the Gospel to areas “traditional” missionaries cannot go.