THAILAND – When Christians wait upon the Lord to open doors, unexpected things happen. When we follow where He leads, we end up in places far different – even stranger sometimes – than we would have had we followed our own plans.

That was exactly what happened to Keith and Sarah Neigenfind while beginning a new assignment with Alliance International in Thailand recently.

The couple had set out to drive around their new neighborhood, praying and looking for, in Sarah’s words, “new divine connections.”

Being new to the area, they also had many of the same things on their personal agenda that most responsible, young parents have. One such item was finding a preschool for their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to attend. They were hoping that some preschool would allow her to attend on a part-time basis because their budget did not allow for the expense of sending her full time.

As they reconnoitered the neighborhood, they spotted a small Buddhist preschool. They didn’t really want to put little Margaret in a Buddhist preschool but they were in Thailand after all, so their choices would be limited.

They stopped and had a conversation with the headmaster. That conversation was the divine connection they had been praying for. In it, they learned that the headmaster had once lived in the Neigenfind’s hometown of Seattle. In fact, her son was born in the same hospital where Keith had been born!

The headmaster agreed to allow Margaret to attend the preschool two days a week. Then her generosity began to be evidenced when she offered to comp Margaret’s tuition if Sarah agreed to teach the children English on the days that Margaret attended.

Of course, Sarah was glad to do so, but she needed to make one thing clear.

“I am willing to do this but we are Christian missionaries, so I am going to share about Jesus with your kids. Is that okay?”

The positive response proved to be the divine connection the Lord would give Keith and Sarah that day.

Not only did Sarah begin teaching the children the following week, but she also met the full-time English teacher, a Christian woman from the Philippines who had already been singing Christian songs with the children right there in the Buddhist school!

Whether we are a Philip dropped alongside a chariot in the desert, a Daniel taken captive in Babylon, a Joseph sold into slavery, an Esther in the harem of a potentate, or a Jonah taking the scenic route to Ninevah, when the Lord puts us where He has a divine connection waiting, unexpected and amazing things happen.

Imagine two Christian women teaching young children about Jesus in a Buddhist preschool. That’s the kind of thing that happens when we decide to follow Jesus wherever He leads. His plans are divine, unexpected, and incomparable.

Pray that this unanticipated divine connection will flourish and grow and that children and their families will come to know the one true God and gain eternal life by trusting in Jesus and the divine connection he made for us to God the Father.

To read more posts on Missions Box on Thailand, go here.