Lisu Villagers Impress Thai Officials

When Barnabas crossed over the mountains into Thailand to study at the Bible School, he had no legal ID card. In those days it was not possible to obtain an ID card without paying a huge bribe, and he didn’t even have a birth certificate. But as he was working in the border town village, a Thai government official came to visit. He looked around at the Lisu Christian family houses. He realized that in this little Christian village there was no drinking, no smoking, no opium and people were helping each other. He was very impressed, so he decided that the Christians should all be given ID cards.

When some non-Christian native Thais objected, the official said, “Thailand needs more people like this. Look at their clean houses, look at their good example, and look at your villages!” And the Christians did not even have to pay for their new ID’s.

As Barnabas worked in the border village, he grew in physical strength. Farming and many manual jobs disciplined him physically. He could carry the load of 7 to 8 average strength people. He could carry large corn stalk bundles with two fingers. He hunted the big bears that were common in those days.

God was preparing Barnabas for the day when he would need to climb many mountains and endure many physical hardships for the Gospel’s sake.