Dreaming of a Man in White One night, Bualean Boot-
bangyang was visited in her dreams by a man in white. She
did not understand his message -- there was a "way out" --
until missionaries came to her village to preach.
bangyang was visited in her dreams by a man in white. She
did not understand his message -- there was a "way out" --
until missionaries came to her village to preach.
One night, lying asleep in her village in Thailand, Bualean
Bootbangyang was visited by a man in white. The man,
who Bualean did not know, told her that there was a “way
out.” The dream dissipated as she awoke. The message
left her confused.
Bualean did not doubt that she needed a “way out” of her
situation. Born in the tiny village of Nongchit, she grew up in
poverty. By the time she was in the 6th grade, school was
no longer an option. Her family demanded that she drop
out to work on the family farm.
As a teenager, life got worse. A half-brother began to
sexually abuse her but her parents dismissed the problem
when she complained. So when the opportunity arrived for
the teenage Bualean to leave home, she snatched the
opportunity, heading for the bright lights of Thailand’s
capital city, Bangkok.
Life in the city was exciting and the hope for a better life
loomed large. For a time, things began to look promising.
Within a few years, Bualean had fallen in love. She was
married and, in 1995, the two moved back to her home
village of Nongchit with the idea of starting their own family.
A daughter was born later that same year.
About five years into the marriage, however, life began to
get rough again. Bualean knew that something was wrong.
She soon learned that her husband was not being faithful.
Sickness followed. Within two years, her husband, once
the love and hope of her life, was dead.
Bualean was crushed. But the worst was still to come. Her
husband, she learned, had HIV/AIDS. And, said the doctor,
he had passed it on to Bualean.
Bualean was angry -- angry at her husband and angry at
life. Other villagers, people she had known all of her life,
now began to avoid her as word of her condition leaked
out. She felt alone and ashamed.
It was at that time this Bualean was visited by the “man in
white.”
Two month after that troubling dream, Bualean met
Pat and Rad Houmphan, missionaries visiting her village to
preach the Gospel. The way out – and the name of the
man who visited her in her dreams -- she soon realized,
was Jesus.
The change, say the Houmphans, is amazing. Bualean is
a different person. A member of Living Water Church, she
helps out in the garden, raising crops like tapiocas and
peanuts that are sold to provide income for the church.
Best of all, they say, Bualean has found a way to face her
problems – with God’s help. “I used to be a slave” she says,
smiling. “Now I am set free. I have a new life in Christ.”
Dreaming of a Man in White is adapted from a release by
Mennonite Mission Network, written by Pat Houmphan and
his son, Phillip. Pat and his wife Rad are Mennonite Church
Canada Witness workers who pastor the Living Water
Church in Borabu, Thailand.
Bootbangyang was visited by a man in white. The man,
who Bualean did not know, told her that there was a “way
out.” The dream dissipated as she awoke. The message
left her confused.
Bualean did not doubt that she needed a “way out” of her
situation. Born in the tiny village of Nongchit, she grew up in
poverty. By the time she was in the 6th grade, school was
no longer an option. Her family demanded that she drop
out to work on the family farm.
As a teenager, life got worse. A half-brother began to
sexually abuse her but her parents dismissed the problem
when she complained. So when the opportunity arrived for
the teenage Bualean to leave home, she snatched the
opportunity, heading for the bright lights of Thailand’s
capital city, Bangkok.
Life in the city was exciting and the hope for a better life
loomed large. For a time, things began to look promising.
Within a few years, Bualean had fallen in love. She was
married and, in 1995, the two moved back to her home
village of Nongchit with the idea of starting their own family.
A daughter was born later that same year.
About five years into the marriage, however, life began to
get rough again. Bualean knew that something was wrong.
She soon learned that her husband was not being faithful.
Sickness followed. Within two years, her husband, once
the love and hope of her life, was dead.
Bualean was crushed. But the worst was still to come. Her
husband, she learned, had HIV/AIDS. And, said the doctor,
he had passed it on to Bualean.
Bualean was angry -- angry at her husband and angry at
life. Other villagers, people she had known all of her life,
now began to avoid her as word of her condition leaked
out. She felt alone and ashamed.
It was at that time this Bualean was visited by the “man in
white.”
Two month after that troubling dream, Bualean met
Pat and Rad Houmphan, missionaries visiting her village to
preach the Gospel. The way out – and the name of the
man who visited her in her dreams -- she soon realized,
was Jesus.
The change, say the Houmphans, is amazing. Bualean is
a different person. A member of Living Water Church, she
helps out in the garden, raising crops like tapiocas and
peanuts that are sold to provide income for the church.
Best of all, they say, Bualean has found a way to face her
problems – with God’s help. “I used to be a slave” she says,
smiling. “Now I am set free. I have a new life in Christ.”
Dreaming of a Man in White is adapted from a release by
Mennonite Mission Network, written by Pat Houmphan and
his son, Phillip. Pat and his wife Rad are Mennonite Church
Canada Witness workers who pastor the Living Water
Church in Borabu, Thailand.
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