Oat stepped to the side as the motorcycles passed, making sure they wouldn’t splash dirty water on his factory uniform. It was barely light, but Oat was glad to be working the day shift this week. Working the night shift was much harder, as sleeping through the noise and heat of the day was nearly impossible. Worst of all, he hardly saw his wife when they worked different shifts.

I’m so tired of this life. When will we ever save enough money to move back to our village? But should we even move back? We miss our families so much. We miss our way of life, our food and festivals. It’s so ugly here among the factories and dormitories. But what other way is there? The school in my village is no good. And I want my children to have a better chance than me.

Oat sighed as he thought of his wife’s growing belly. Would life be different for his children? Or would they still be made fun of for being “mountain children,” for being tribal Thai, as he and his wife both were? Yes, a better education was here, but was the quality of life any better?

The “true Thai” smiled scornfully whenever they spoke of his people. He had seen their mocking smiles when the tribal Thai wore their indigenous clothing. He had heard their derisive laughter when they watched the tribal dancing.

Oat, a Christian, was glad when he and his wife found a church to attend. True, it was small, but it was a weekly source of encouragement in his currently monotonous life.

He didn’t want to distribute invitations to church in the market when the missionary asked him to join. Oat had had enough ridicule in his life already, but for the sake of his relationship with the missionary, he agreed.

His heart sank as he saw flyer after flyer discarded on the market floor. Sure enough, some people even jeered at him and no one new came to church that Sunday!

But the next Sunday, someone new did come—someone who had picked up a discarded flyer from the ground of the market! She was outgoing and effervescent, and invited everyone she knew to church. Before long, the church was almost running out of room some Sundays.

Oat laughs every time he remembers this miracle. Others may sneer at him, but he has grown in assurance that through Jesus, he is accepted and approved by God.