*Mark was what we would term a heathen man, with a criminal background. One day, a preacher came to his village and told him about the great God of heaven. Mark accepted what he heard and was baptized. Mark and the preacher decided to start a school, so they built a little bamboo building and started to teach. Then the preacher left and went to a far country. What the preacher did not know was that Mark had accepted a few truths, but he did not know the transforming power of God in his life. Instead of running his school for the glory of God, he used it to enrich his own pockets. Mark asked several organizations to help him…he was desperate for money to pay the teachers, and he wanted to expand his school and make it the best school ever.

But, instead of using the money for what it was intended for, he used it to buy alcohol and pigs and gas for his generator so that his family could watch horror movies in the evenings. Oh sure, when the people showed up who had given money for his school, all these things would be put away and the people would not see what was really happening in Mark’s home and in his school. He also did not tell them that he had not gotten permission from the government to run a school, or that the land that they had “bought” was government land and he had no right to sell it to anyone. No, those things were to be kept a strict secret. But the villagers knew, and the villagers were not impressed with Mark’s new religion.

But one day a young missionary came to the school to give Mark help in building his school. It was OK to support it from a distance, but God had impressed this missionary that he needed to be there. So, he moved into Mark’s home, and began to work on building new buildings for the school. But God was speaking to the young missionary’s heart. He impressed him that he needed to go to the government to discuss the school. He went and talked to the government about how if he was going to help with the school, that it would be a Christian school and that it would need to follow God’s rules for happy living. The government was very impressed and said that that is what they wanted, and they gave permission for there to be a ten grade school for the first time. They had not been happy that there had been a little school going on for several years without even discussing the matter with them.

Mark could not hide his true character from the missionary for long, and it became clear that things were not going well in his home. The missionary began to wonder just what had happened to all the money that he and others had invested in the school, since there did not seem to be any evidence of the money being spent on the school at all. The teachers confirmed that they were not getting much money. The missionary knew that he could do nothing about it, so he mentioned it to the head man of the village.

Immediately, meetings were called to discuss the problem. The leadership in the government got involved also, and so a large meeting was held in order to discuss how the school would be run, and who would do it. At the meeting, an older missionary was present and he was trying to impress upon the villagers the fact that you have to be careful who you accept money from, since there are always strings attached. For instance, if you accept money from a Baptist organization, then they will want you to uphold Baptist principles in your school. The older missionary then held up his bible, and told the people that there were strings attached to God’s word also, and that he was going to follow what God’s word said. For some strange reason, the young missionary made a big translation mistake and he told the people that you had to be careful of organizations because they may or may not have a money tree, but that God’s word should be our money tree! The room began rippling with laughter, but the head man stood up and said “No, the missionary is right! If we want God to bless us, then we need to do what God tells us to do in the bible, and God will be our money tree.” It was decided then that the bible would be their rule of conduct and that God was in charge of their school.

Since then, the missionary has heard many conversations about how to follow God. Should they get rid of their pigs? Do they need to stop chewing beetle nut and drinking alcohol? One man said that maybe he would get rid of his beetle nut and alcohol but he would continue to drink coffee. His wife spoke up and said “Oh no, it does not work that way, you have to follow everything that God says!” Now, each evening the people are gathering in their houses and studying God’s word to find out how they are to live in order to please God.

The leadership of the government then decided that they wanted the missionary to lead out in the school. They directed that he should follow God’s word completely. They want him to teach the kids to work, and to be skilled in all the practical duties of life as well as their studies. They insisted that their school will be a vegetarian school, and that only the highest standards will be accepted.

A thorough investigation was conducted by the government into Mark’s activities, and it was found that he was guilty of fraud, theft, and illegal transactions to name a few. He is now facing prison time. Needless to say, the missionary is praying for Mark and his family, and pleading with God for them to not only accept a few truths, but to accept the power of God to transform their lives.

*names have been changed to protect their identity.