December Prayer Letter

We have just posted our prayer letter for December 2006.   You can download the PDF and read it on our prayer letters page www.dahlfred.com/prayerletters

Christmas in Thailand

There's a classic song that says "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" but almost nothing here in Thailand signals the coming of Christmas. A few stores have tinsel and santa hats but there is no snow, no commercial push for gift buying, no Christmas carols playing at the mall, no Christmas vacation for school kids, and no day off on December 25th. Any why should it look like Christmas is coming in a nation where over ninety percent of the population is Buddhist?

With this said, there is a significant amount of curiousity about Christmas since it is, popularly, a Western cultural holiday that shows up in a lot of movies and English language learning materials that make into Thailand. Of course, movies mostly show the side of Christmas that has to do with Santa, Christmas trees, and gifts but here in Thailand, many Thai churches and missionaries seize upon people's curiousity about Christmas to share about the true meaning of Christmas. Schools and colleges are open to having Christians come and do Christmas activies (in Thai and English) as part of the school's English curriculum. Many churches (which there aren't too many of, to begin with) do special Christmas outreaches and evangelist meetings to present the true meaning of Christmas to those people brought to church by their friends.

This past Sunday night, we took part in a Christmas dinner/gathering/evening put on by our fellow missionaries, Rob & Judy, who live a few houses down from us. They have been in the neighborhood longer than us and have built some friendships with neighbors despite limited Thai (they are new missionaries attending the language school as well). They had gathered about ten people for a buffet type meal and we all chatted, sung "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and did a few games. I had prepared a true/false "Christmas Quiz" to play with people as a way to get them thinking about the meaning of Christmas. The quiz was a mix of cultural Christmas questions (i.e. about Santa, reindeer, etc) and Biblical Christmas questions (i.e. about Christ, the wise men, etc.). The quiz (click here to see) was fun for our Thai neighbors but also revealed their lack of knowledge about Christmas. One fellow was rather stumped by whether Santa Claus was Jesus' father or not. However, when we reviewed the results and I gave the correct answers to everyone, I was able to explain the truth about Christmas and to tell some of the Christmas story. I gave out some Christmas themed tracts for them to take home to stimulate thought. One astute fellow looked at the tract and then said, "Now we can ask our questions about Jesus. So, why did Jesus die on the cross?" Isn't that a great question? I had a chance to explain briefly Christ's work on the cross but time and the informal group setting limited how much I was able to share before conversation went on to other things. In God's sovereignty however, God will change people's hearts in his timing and will use the Gospel truth that they hear over the course of months or years to bring them to a knowledge of the truth. It is always exciting for me to answer questions like "Why did Jesus die on the cross?" because it gives me the opportunity to make the Gospel known. And we know that God's word will accomplish what He sends it for and will not return to him void (Is. 55:10-11) but will find's it's place in the hearts of some who will believe unto eternal life.

As to our own Christmas celebration, we went to a local OMF-associated church in Lopburi on Sunday morning and then on Christmas evening (the 25th), some of the missionaries in Lopburi gathered to have a meal together, to sing carols, and to pray. It was excellent to share some fellowship together (not to mention roast beef and spring rolls), and to sing (in English) some classic Christmas carols with brothers and sisters in Christ.

The next couple of weeks the language school is closed for Christmas and New Year's and then we will start up with classes again on January 10th. So, we'll take a rest, try to get over our colds, do a bit of reading, start looking for a car, go to Bangkok for a couple days, and maybe some Thai study even while school's out.

A Small Country Church

The past two Sunday, we have visited a small country church in the next province over from where we are living and going to langauge school. We drove with Ulrich, a fellow OMF missionary, and his family we found ourselves bumping and jostling over severe potholes as we made our way further away from the city and into the countryside. Brillant green rice paddies lined either side of the road way and small wooden houses on stilts and little mom and pop shops were visible every so often. We pulled the truck into the dirt yard in front of a concrete store-front type building where two side of the building opened up completely like garage doors. A handful of blue plastic chairs were lined up in about four or five short rows and we were greeted by a few of the believers who had already gathered.

Like many church in Thailand, both urban and rural, the church was very small, with only about ten people or so in attendance, not counting Ulrich, his family, and the three of us. All of these dear saints are fairly recent believers, the one who has been the Christian the longest has only been a Christian for maybe five years or so. Some of the other have only believed a few months. Interestingly enough though, the youngest adult member of the congregation is about forty! In God's providence, He has chosen to call to himself a handful of elderly women who make up about half of this congregation of ten or so. The miracle of salvation is so obvious in the lives of these women since there is very little human reason why someone who has been a Buddhist for over sixty years would decide to make such a drastic break with a society at large which equates national and ethnic identity with Buddhist. The Thai say, "To be Thai is to be Buddhist."

Until this past year sometime, Ulrich told us, the church had its own pastor. However, this pastor has now left to pursue further education in Bangkok. Unfortunately, the church is still very young spiritually and there are not yet any elders in place who could take up the reins of leadership and teaching. On my first Sunday to visit (Sun stayed behind because Joshua was not feeling well), we had just sung a song about Christ being alive and Ulrich asked the congregation (who were sitting in a circle of chairs since there were so few of us) whether they believed that Christ has risen and what they thought about that. It soon became apparent that there was some serious confusion among a number of people about the resurrection. Only at length did someone say, "Oh yes, Christ rose from the dead" and most seemed to be confused about whether believers would be resurrected. After Ulrich took them to 1 Thessalonians, they seemed to remember that believers would be ressurected at the last day. Seeking a bit of application, and wanting to test how much they really understood, Ulrich further inquired about whether there would be a resurrection for Buddhists too. At Buddhist funerals, there is an oft repeated proverb that says something to the effect of "Going away, don't come back - sleep, doesn't awake - lies down, doesn't arise". "Is this true?" asked Ulrich. "Yes, it is true" replied one elderly saint. "Really?" he replied, "We just read that believers will rise from the dead like Christ rose from the dead." Seemingly without missing a beat, our dear auntie shot back, "It is true for Buddhists, but not for Christians. Christians rise from the dead but not Buddhists." After the worship service was over that morning, I expressed to Ulrich my distress over the lack of understanding that this flock had concerning the nature of the resurrection. He too was concerned but explained that this is not the first time that he has been over this point with them. He has explained it many times, but apparently it just takes time for some things to sink in.

It was a true pleasure to visit this little flock of brothers and sisters in Christ in the Thai countryside. They were very welcoming and pleasant but I do worry for these believers, and others throughout Thailand like them, who are still confused about the basic things of the faith, like the resurrection of the the righteous and the wicked. Confusion and misunderstanding on basic points can have serious consequences for one's faith and practice. Pray for sufficient numbers of competent elders and pastors for the young believers in small churches throughout Thailand. Missionaries and Thai pastors/church planters do what they can but there is still a great need to solid Biblical teaching and preaching, especially in these small (sometimes quite poor) congregations that often can't afford to support a full-time pastor.

Lopburi Sunflower Fields

Last weekend we had a chance to go see the sunflowers fields in a nearby town that are quite well known in this region and extremely popular for photo taking. Joshua was a bit fussy but we had a good time taking photos and spending time together.

A Moron in the Hardware Store

Today I (Karl) walked into a hardware store to buy a splitter for the hose to our washing machine so that we could run a hose for a sink/baby bath as well. I wasn’t sure of the word for “hose splitter” or exactly how to describe it in Thai but fortunately I happened to see a box containing a bunch of what looked like hose splitters. I picked one up and asked the store employee who was helping me if this was for use with a hose. He said “Yes” and pointed to the hoses so I figured I would pick his brain to get the exact Thai word for “hose splitter”. Holding up the splitter in front of me, I asked in Thai, “What is this called?” Looking at me as if I was some kind of moron, he said very slowly, “Pla-st-ic”. Ah yes, it is made of plastic. I knew that. Obviously the intent of my question was not abundantly clear. I tried rephrasing my question and eventually got the Thai word that I had wanted. I bought a hammer too and that went a little more successfully.

After being away from Thailand for a number of years, my general conversational ability is decent but I lack some of the specific vocab for places like the pharmacy or the hardware store. Some of it I knew but forgot and some of it I never knew. Much more to learn. Tomorrow is a another day to risk looking like a moron but it is also an opportunity to learn something new.

Our New Home

Here are some pictures from our new home and environs

The street where we are living

Sun and Joshua in entry way of our home

The main road and the end of our street

Walking along the road

Our bathroom - the big stone basin is for scooping water to flush the toilet (which has no flushing system of its own other than the force of the scooped water pushing things down)

Our kitchen stove, cupboard, rice pot, etc.

Our Living Room

Joshua relaxing in the living room

Safe Arrival in Thailand

We arrived in Thailand this past Monday night and were picked up at the airport by the Language and Orienation Director to be taken to our new home in Lopburi, an hour or two north of Bangkok.  We live in a small two floor condo-type apartment in a row of attached homes on a narrow street.  Motorbikes zip up and down the small lane day and night as a shortcut between two major roads.  We have been have orientation sessions at the OMF mission home in Lopburi, the Lopburi Learning Center (LLC) where new missionaries study language, and around town and we get a feel for what is located where.  We opened a bank account, Sun bought a bicycle, and we met with the language advisors at the LLC to chart a course for language study.  There is so much more to tell and hopefully we'll get some pictures of our new surrounding up on this blog in the following weeks.  However, the priority at the moment is getting our new house set up, starting language study, and becoming familiar with our new surroundings.  We feel blessed in that, unlike most new missionaries, we both have some language ability and are not limited to pointing, smiling, and playing charades.  However, my Thai is a bit rusty and Sun doesn't technically speak Thai, but the related language of Laotian.  So, sometimes she can understand and make herself understood and sometimes not.  I'll write more about our settling in and adjustment later.   For those who are praying for us, thank you.

Demonic Happenings at New Thai Airport

This Monday, Dec 4th, we'll be flying to Thailand and arriving at the newly constructed Bangkok airport, which opened in September 2006. The construction of it was plagued by a series of accidents and the Thai authorities decided to bring in a bunch of Buddhist monks to chant over it for good luck. The following excerpt from the Bangkok Post (Sept 24, 2006) tells of the bizarre event that happened during the chanting ceremony and gives some insight into the spiritual realities that shape the lives of Thai people.

“Last Saturday there was a large ceremony held at the new Bangkok International Airport which is due to open this week. Ninety-nine Buddhist Monks chanted on masse to improve the luck of the new airport. Half way through the rite, a man appeared quivering and began to speak in a commanding voice claiming to be the guardian spirit of the airport land. He ordered that a proper spirit house be built at the airport to allow for its smooth operation. The man, who was unidentified, later passed out and woke up to find the spirit had left him” (Bangkok Post article, 24^th September, 2006)

The spirit world is very real to Thai people. Please pray that they would understand the true nature of the principalities and powers of this dark world and would come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Learn About Thailand

I was on the MTW Thailand site and found that they had a really good page with lots of info and photos about Thailand that you may find interesting if you want to learn more about the country and people that we are going to.

 

MTW Thailand Info page link: http://www.mtwthailand.org/Thailand%20Info/thailand_info.htm

Thai Visas Recieved

Praise God that we picked up our visas today at the Thai Embassy here in Singapore. 

The long story is that a couple weeks ago we got the word from OMF in Bangkok that the religion department and immigration department had processed everything for Karl's visa and OMF-Bangkok would send us an official letter to take to the Thai embassy to request dependent visas for Sun and Joshua.  That letter came quickly enough but we discovered that the letter had Sun's maiden name instead of married name.  So, we requested a new letter which came just a few days ago.  Providentially, the Thai Embassy is pretty efficient in pumping out visas and only has a one-day turn around time and we submitted the apps yesterday and then picked it all up today.  So barring any unexpected tragedies, we should be good to go for our flight out to Thailand on Monday (12/4)