A church member chatted with a woman in a village about ten kilometers from where we live. In the past she had visited a church, and she wanted to know more about God.

With four people from church we went to her village. We found the woman under a corrugated iron roof next to the main road. That was her shop. Her husband was at home as well. He was winding yarn onto a bobbin. Ten finished sets were hanging in the shop. It probably is a way to make some money, but it certainly won’t make him rich.

Tuk, the wife, told us she had recently returned to her birth village. Her husband is from South-Thailand, and a Muslim. Together they try to eke out an existence here, but it is hard going.

A few mats are rolled out in the shadow of the shack where they are living. The church members start to sing some songs. To my amazement the husband joins us, and tries to join in the singing as well. There we are: Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian, peaceful on one mat.

A girl with a clear look in her eyes comes out of the shack. She is the daughter, 15 years old. She is a student in the best school of the district, and finished her school year as number 2 of 237 students (yes, that’s how precisely they grade here in Thailand). The clear look is not coincidental.

We open the Bible. The family watches a video clip about creation. To take away barriers I try to use as much language that is recognizable for Muslims, but the man does not display any animosity against the message of the Bible. I’ve almost never encountered that in a Muslim. I’m sure it has something to do with that there are no other Muslims around for many kilometers, and that he feels free to investigate what he wants.

Mother and daughter are also listening closely. Tuk has some good experiences with Christians, and really wants to understand what the Christian faith is all about. It’s not clear to me yet whether the daughter considers herself to be a Buddhist or a Muslim, but she is also drinking in the teaching from the Bible.

“Did God create bad things as well?”, I ask at the end of the study. “No, certainly not”, they answer simultaneously. “And now, what is the situation now?” I ask again. “The world is full of it!” the daughter answers with conviction. “Where would that come from?” Dad knows: “The people did that themselves.” “Well then, that’s what we are going to talk about next week”, I conclude.

Will this family, Muslim and Buddhist, become one through a shared faith in God the Creator and his Son, Jesus Christ?