By EK, a member of SEND’s Southeast Asia | Asia team

I met Malai at the basketball courts and invited her to come to church at our English center to learn more about the Christian faith. She didn’t know anything about Christianity other than saying, “I think Christmas has something to do with Jesus…?” so she was intrigued to know more.

At church, per routine, the Bibles were handed out at the beginning so that students could follow along with the story. Periodically, questions were asked to the group, to which Malai, too nervous to speak to the group, would quietly whisper to me the answer...

When the lesson ended I explained, “The book you’re holding is the Bible, which is what holds all of our beliefs as Christians. It’s kind of like a letter from God.” Her eyes grew wide as she exclaimed, “This is a Bible?!”

It was a sweet and humorous moment, but it was also a reminder of how few resources they have to know and hear about the hope of Jesus. A reminder of why I’m here. A reminder of why our work matters.