When did Siam become Thailand?

Siam is the old name for Thailand and I have never known why and how that name change came about. A Bangkok academic is now petitioning the government to change the name back to Siam in order to make a step towards creating greater peace and unity in the nation. For those who are curious about the history of the name change from Siam to Thailand or wonder how on earth changing the country's name could do anything in the way of reconciling a divided nation, check out the Bangkok Post article "What's in a name?" The comments on this article are at least as interesting as the article itself as people weigh in on whether they think the change is a good idea.

Evangelical Unity in Thailand

How do very different denominations work together to do church planting? This is the big question that remains to be answered as the 7th Thailand Congress on Evangelism in Bangkok came to an end this past week. The conference brought together three of the largest Protestant church groups in Thailand - the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT), the Thailand Baptist Convention, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand (EFT). In the past, these large denominations didn’t get along very well so it is encouraging to see leaders and members of these different groups coming together in order to pursue the goal of proclaiming Christ throughout Thailand. A few years back, the involved denominations had formed the Thailand Evangelism Coordinating Committee (TEC) and came up with Vision 2010 which aims to see a church planted in every provincial district (อำเภอ), a Christian group in every sub-district (ตำบล), and a Christian presence in every neighborhood/village (หมู่บ้าน).

Throughout the conference pastors, Bible college professors, and other church leaders from the various groups preached on the themes of Obedience, Faithfulness, Unity, and Cooperation. Listening to the preachers, worship leaders, and other speakers up on stage, I got the sense that the goal of the week was not so much as to spell out how to work together in unity, but rather to rally the troops and encourage the people in attendance that unity is important and the God will work as we work together in obedience and faithfulness to the Great Commission.

There was one session during the week where everyone broke up into smaller groups according to province in order to discuss which districts and sub-districts had or did not yet have a Christian group of some sort. I had thought initially that this would be a time of some substantial planning, bringing together all the church leaders from the given province. Perhaps it was for some provincial groups but for my group and the groups of others whom I talked to, the provincial session didn’t amount to much more than checking off a list of which sub-districts had Christians in them. What that means is that the real work of planning is going to have to be done on the local level after the conference is done.

What does evangelical unity look like in Thailand? The preachers at the conference spoke in many general terms about the importance of unity and loving one another, and the wonderful blessings that flow from unity. The actual “how to” be united in Christ and how to pursue this vision of nationwide church planting was not spelled out. The real test of unity will come as provincial church leaders come together and discuss how to reach their provinces for Christ. Although it was barely mentioned at the evangelism congress, there are still very deep differences between the various groups in terms of theology and practice. Since that is the case, it would seem that evangelical unity in Thailand will not mean that Pentecostals, Presbyterians, and Baptists join together in planting churches. That would be unrealistic and unwise.

Positively, what evangelical unity in Thailand could mean is that Pentecostals, Presbyterians, and Baptists get together to pray for one another and pull out a map of their province to take a look at which districts and sub-districts don’t yet have churches and then decide who will take responsibility for outreach and church planting in which area. Talking to the Thai pastors and church leaders at the conference, I got the sense that even though differences exist, their feeling is that having a church of any variety in an area is better than none. And if a given church is truly preaching the Gospel in accordance with Scripture, than I agree. Since Christians still compose less than 1% of the Thai population , there is plenty of room for everybody to find their own area of work as there is lots of room for lots more churches to be planted everywhere. (click here for map of percent of Christians in Thailand, by district)

The Thai church needs much prayer as they push forward in pursuing this vision of a church in every provincial district (อำเภอ), a Christian group in every sub-district (ตำบล), and a Christian presence in every neighborhood/village (หมู่บ้าน). The temptation to compromise the Biblical gospel in the name of reaching people for Christ is strong. Bad theology from the West, particularly the prosperity gospel of health and wealth is making inroads in many churches. The pressure for Thai Christians to return to their former religion or to pursue worldly wealth and status is ever present. An easy believe-ism which regards salvation as nothing more than saying a prayer of confession is common. Although the majority of Thai come from broken homes, it is rare to hearing teaching on marriage and family in many Thai churches.

May Christ be proclaimed throughout Thailand, and Biblical disciples be made. Not merely converts but true disciples who learn to obey all that Jesus commanded, from a heart of gratitude for the abundant grace poured out through Jesus work on the cross.

Thai Church Denominations

The church landscape in every country looks a bit different, depending on local conditions and the missions history of that nation. Here in Thailand, Catholics have been in the country since the 1600s, and Protestants since the early 1800s. The Christian groups recognized by the Thai government, registered through the Department of Religion are the Catholic Church, the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT), the Thailand Baptist Convention, the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand (EFT), and the Seventh Day Adventists. The Hope of Bangkok church denomination (Pentecostal) and the Rom Glao (ร่มเกล้า) church association falls within the broadly Protestant evangelical fold but are not registered through the Department of Religion. The Hope of Bangkok churches are registered as a foundation and I am not sure how the Rom Glao churches are registered. The Hope Church denomination had a big split last year regarding the political ambitions and financial dealings of one of their leaders, and is rumored to be splintering further. I am afraid that I don't have details so we'll have to wait a few years and see how the dust settles and affects the overall landscape of evangelical Christianity in Thailand. There are other church associations, I am sure, but the ones mentioned above are the biggies. It should also be noted that the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witness are in Thailand as well although I am not sure how they are recognized by the government or how they get their visas.

CCT was started by American Presbyterians in the 19th century and currently maintains fraternal ties with the Presbyterian Church (USA), although it now includes Baptists, Lutherans and Pentecostals and is overall probably more evangelical than the PCUSA. The Thailand Baptist Convention is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention in the USA, and the EFT is really more of an umbrella organization that includes many different smaller church groups, including the Associated Churches of Thailand (ACT) which is connected to OMF, the mission organization that we are part of.

Generally speaking, Pentecostal churches make up a large section of Thai Protestant churches and their theology and worship style extends far beyond churches that would identify themselves as Pentecostal. It seems that a majority of Thai churches are egalitarian to a large degree although most pastors are still men. I have heard however that the Baptist Convention retains more a traditional complementarian view (only men as pastors).

This past week I attended the 7th Thailand Congress on Evangelism in Bangkok which brought together three of the largest Protestant church groups (CCT, Baptists, & EFT). In my next post, I’ll share some thoughts on the conference and take a look at the state of evangelical Protestant unity in Thailand.

Do I Need to Know THIS Word?

One of the challenges of language study is deciding which words to try to remember and which ones to not worry about. Ideally, I would be able to remember and incorporate into my working knowledge all of the new Thai words that I encounter in my reading and conversation. But, there are a LOT of new words that I encounter all the time. In working through a Thai novel about the history of democracy in Thailand, every page has many words that I either have not encountered before or still haven't learned well enough to actually use them. Here's an example: In my novel, the word meru (เมรุ), pronounced "main", has come up a couple times in the context of funerals. The immediate context in the novel didn't give me enough information to figure it out but upon looking it up in the dictionary, I've found out that it means "funeral pyre" or "crematorium". So, I think it is that little building on the temple grounds where they burn the body after a Buddhist funeral. Now, is this something I should make a point of remembering? It's not a word that I hear come up in conversation very often and if I remember correctly, I usually hear people talk about "the place where you burn the body" (ที่เผาศพ), and not meru (เมรุ) so I could probably get by without bothering to memorize the word. However, now that I have blogged about, the word is probably going to be stuck in my memory whether I intend it to be or not. And besides that I just enjoy learning new words and trying them out in conversation.

One of the strange things about learning new words is that very often after I learn a new word, I start hearing it in conversation whereas before I was completely oblivious to the fact that it existed. I suppose that that can be accounted for by the fact that now that I've been made aware of the word, I pick up on it easily whereas before it was just one more unknown word in the midst of conversation and as long as I was able to get the general flow of the conversation, it wasn't necessary to know every word. I have to say though, that as I continue with language study (a perpetually unfinished task), it is nice to be picking up on more and more details in the conversations that I hear and the things that I read. And the more I understand in detail, the more involved I feel with the people that I am talking with, and the more at home I feel in the Thai language and with Thai people. And since we plan to be here long-term, that is a very good thing.

Indirect Communication

I had been told that Thai people communicate indirectly but as time has gone on I have seen so many instances of Thai people communicating quite directly and to the point that I question whether that statement is really true. Sometimes they can be quite direct but other times so indirect that I have no idea what happened.

While at the hospital recently with some believers from the PhraBaht church, I noticed that one woman had this little bookelt in her hand as we waited to go in to see the man we had come to visit. The booklet is called, in English, "Criticism: Giving it and Receiving it" or something along those lines. I asked her about it to see what she thought. It had piqued her interest because of how much gossip there is going around and how difficult it is to reconcile differences with other people. Unfortunately, she hadn't read it yet and couldn't give me a review. However, after confirming that it was indeed translated from English, I asked her to let me know what she thought when she was done. Did she think the advice and way of going about giving and receiving criticism too Western or was the advice contained therein good and usable for Thai people? She gave me a puzzled expression and said, "It shouldn't make a difference, should it?" I went on, "Well, you know that Westerners often talk pretty directly, saying exactly what they mean, and Thai people...." She interrupted, "Ah...." apparently understanding where I was going with my question and then went on to explain, "that's because when you don't know someone really well, you give them more respect. You're not close with them so therefore you need to speak more politely." "You mean speak in a round about way instead of directly?" I interjected. "Right", she confirmed and then went on, "or even sometimes with friends I might speak indirectly, especially if I need to borrow money. I wanted to borrow money from a particular friend and I took such a long and indirect route in asking her that she finally she looked at me and said, 'How much do need?' But with friends you can usually speak more directly because you are close with them. I was on the phone the other day ordering some things, speaking in a really common familiar way because I knew the person and didn't need to bother with all the pleasantries. My mom overheard the conversation and when I got off the phone reprimanded me for not speaking more politely. I explained that we knew each other and it was fine but she still wasn't buying it."

From this conversation, I think that I can draw a few helpful points about indirect communication in Thailand.

1) The better you know someone, the more directly you can speak with them. The corollary here is that indirect communication is going to be more common when you are dealing with strangers or mere acquaintances.

2) When someone seems to be speaking around and around, there may be very well be something uncomfortable or awkward that they want to say or ask but can't quite bring themselves to say it. The speaker may feel awkward for themselves or may not want the listener to feel uncomfortable or ashamed by hearing it put bluntly.

3) Indirect communication can be a form of respecting another person, the speaker not wanting to disrespect the listener by being too familiar with them.

I shared my conversation at the hospital with my wife, and she had the further observation that one reason that Thai people communicate indirectly with strangers may be because they don't know how much power that person to hurt them. If you are too direct or too open with someone that you don't know well, it could come back and bite you. Information is power.

Indirect communication may very well help to avoid awkward situations and the potential for hurt but I am not convinced that it is always the most helpful form of communication. In the church context, it seems that there have been many times where a gentle indirect prodding about sin in someone's life doesn't get any results. The best way forward from there may not be to merely continue indirect making hints or just letting it go. I am not advocating legalistic picking on every little thing in people's lives that is not right but when there is big notorious ongoing sin that is going unchecked, there comes a time when indirect communication needs to be pushed aside and a more direct and firm, yet gentle and loving, form of communication needs to be pursued. Sure, it will be uncomfortable but if the joy, repentance, and restoration of the erring believer is the goal, then it is worth the risk of ruining a relationship by speaking more directly. The goal of addressing unrepentant sin in a person's life is not to beat them over the head in a self-righteous manner, but rather to see them restored, walking in joy and reconciled in their relationship with God and with others. Restoration is the broader context of the passage on church discipline in Matthew 18. Since the Thai often address uncomfortable issues where people could lose face by speaking indirectly, that type of communication would be my first stop in trying to guide someone back into a right relationship with God and others but if they don't get it or ignore it, more direct communication may be needed. It may be more culturally appropriate to just "let it go" or keep communicating indirectly for fear of losing the relationship but biblically, Jesus did not just let people go. As a shepherd going after the lost sheep, he pursued them in order to bring them home (Matt 18:10-14, notice that this section is just before the one on church discipline - the two go together). In Thai culture, there is a lot of value placed upon maintaining outward harmony even if there are known problems just beneath the surface but the goal of church life to honor God through obedient living and reconciled relationships. When people are right with each other, genuine unity is the result, not merely superficial and outward organization unity (Ephesians 4:1-16)

Maybe Thai People Do Like To Read!

I've thought for a long time that Thai people don't read that much (even though the majority can read, at least to a basic level). There are very few bookstores in Thailand (not counting comic book rental shops) and I don't see people reading books that much. Out in Nong Doan, the lower class farming community where we are trying to do a church plant, I've met a number of folks who claim that they can't read (although in reality it seems that they say this because they don't have confidence in their reading ability because of low educational level). These experiences have made me think more about oral Bible story telling in ministry, the importance of good oral Biblical preaching and teaching, and distributing the Thai New Testament on MP3 for those who would rather listen than read. Along these lines, I've started listening to a few of the "Introduction to Orality" podcasts over at Story4all.

With that said, some recent experiences and some new research have made me think that reading and literature may be an important part of many Thai people's lives after all. Actually, I always wanted to believe that literature has an important role in evangelism and discipleship in Thailand for no other reason than the fact that books have had an important role in my own spiritual development. And we can't ignore the fact that God gave us the Bible in a book, not on a CD.

In his recent research dissertation on "Conversion Growth of Protestant Churches in Thailand", Marten Visser found that "[t]hough a lot of attention is given to TV and radio ministry, only 10% of the new believers mention these media as the major media influence in their conversion. 30% claim that media did not play any role at all. The remainder, 60%, mentioned printed media. This contradicts what is often said that ‘Thai people do not read’. Actually, they do. Recent research showed that two thirds of all Thai people read, not counting for study and work, an average of 39 minutes a day. Printed media like the Bible, bible correspondence courses, and Christian books have a major impact. Even tracts are mentioned by 17% of the new believers as the major media influence in their conversion." Commenting on these findings, Vissers writes, "The reason why printed media are so often mentioned is probably that printed media go from hand-to-hand, and are therefore mostly used in the context of a social network. Other media are literally broadcast, and this research again shows that that is less likely to influence people on the deep level that is needed in order to commit their lives to God."

Visser's research came to mind the other day when some neighborhood children came to play on our front porch. A little boy was hiding in an unused new trash can , popping out in order to scare his sister, claiming that he was a ghost / evil spirit. My wife Sun took the opportunity to share with the girl that if a person believes in Jesus, he doesn't need to be scared of evil spirits because Jesus is more powerful than every spirit. She didn't engage much with Sun on the topic of evil spirits but she was interested in hearing about Jesus as she had read from cover to cover the children's evangelistic magazine that we had given out as part of our neighborhood Christmas outreach a few months ago. From this magazine, she knew something about creation, Adam & Eve, the serpent who tempted them, and Jesus dying on the cross. Even though her little brother interrupted several times, she kept coming back asking Sun to tell her more about the life of Jesus. I was greatly encouraged by her interest to hear about Jesus and impressed that she had actually read the evangelistic magazine. This magazine wasn't just some cutesy pictures, a Bible verse or two and lots of games. There was lots of text and Biblical content. And she read it! Just the day before that, a couple neighborhood moms and their kids were visiting with us and Joshua on our front porch and we found out that both of the moms had read Harry Potter (in translation, of course). I think one of them was working through the series. I wouldn't have guessed that they were the kind of folks who enjoy reading but I guess that shows what I know. Sun brought out a book by a Thai man who went from poverty to being a judge, and how God had changed his life. She seemed interested in the book and took it home to read!

I am not going to stop looking into the role of oral communication and story telling in sharing the Gospel but from these recent experiences and Marten Visser's findings, I am encouraged to continue finding appropriate tracts and books to give to people in order to share the Gospel and build up believers in their knowledge and experience of God.

The Playboy Bunny and Contextualization

I see it all over the place. It’s on T-shirts, handbags, motorcycles, car windows and wherever else is fashionable. The image of the Playboy Bunny seems to be everywhere in Thailand these days. However, I suspect that most Thais are not aware that it is the official symbol of a well known pornography magazine. A young woman at church was wearing a stylish t-shirt with the Playboy bunny on the front and I asked her if she knew where the rabbit picture comes from. She replied, “No” and I explained that it is the symbol used by a well known pornography magazine in America. “Oh” she responded uninterestedly, “I didn’t know that”. I thought that perhaps I had been unclear in my explanation so I went on, “When Westerners see this rabbit picture they are reminded of a magazine with naked women in it. A pornography magazine.” She still seemed unconcerned that she had the logo of a porn mag emblazoned on the front of her shirt. “Why do you like the rabbit picture?” I inquired further. At this point, I might have guessed her reply. “It’s cute. I like it.”

Regardless of it’s original context, the rabbit image of the Playboy Bunny has been imported into Thailand and turned into a popular fashion image in a way that has no relation to pornography. On the one hand, I suppose that this is a good thing in the sense that the image itself has been redeemed and disassociated with it’s sleazy origin. On the other hand, I don’t think that I will ever be able to see that symbol without thinking, “That’s from a porn magazine”. Even if I was into the latest fashions, I don’t think I would ever want to own or use any product with that label on it because of the association that I make with it. Maybe some people can get past that (and that is fine), and apparently many Thai think nothing of the Playboy Bunny more than merely being a cute symbol. In their cultural background, the Playboy Bunny means nothing but I would never use it because in my cultural background it does. It is not a right or wrong issue but merely a cultural issue. Although, in my culture, it’s wrong. As much as I would like to see the Playboy Bunny disappear from Thai fashion, it is the Thais themselves who make the decision as to what they will (and will not) import from other countries and cultures and how they will use it. Many times, imports from elsewhere take on a life of their own in new soil and whoever originated the item has no control over how it is used or adapted.

Related to the contextualization of the Christian message and church practice, as a missionary I may see some sort of practice or custom in Thai religion that could be adapted and redeemed for use in Thai Christian practice. As an outsider, I may think to myself, “This is a great idea. Adapting this existing Thai Buddhist practice for use in the church will reduce the foreignness of Christianity and help Thai Christians to be more Thai.” Perhaps it is a good idea or perhaps it is not, but if Thai Christians don’t want to use it because of its previous association with Buddhist or animistic practice, then it’s not going to work. As an outsider, I may have some ideas for contextualization but in the end it is the Thai themselves who need to live with whatever way church is to be done in Thailand. An outsider’s perspective can be helpful in thinking things through and making suggestions but the insider’s perspective is equally, if not more important, in deciding what is going to be the best way to live out the truth of Scripture in the Thai context.

With that said, the fate of the Playboy Bunny symbol in Thailand needs to be decided by the Thai themselves. Maybe many don’t care - or won’t care that it did come from a porn magazine originally, even if they knew. It doesn’t mean much of anything in the Thai context so if Thai folks want to wear the bunny, that’s fine. However, if I were to meet a Thai exchange student in America who was wearing a Playboy Bunny shirt that she brought with her from Thailand, I would do all that I can to let her know what that symbol is communicating to those around her and let her know the potential trouble it could invite. If she chooses to continue to wear it after that, that’s up to her, but I would at least want her to know that in America, the Playboy Bunny symbol is not just a cute rabbit picture.

Worship on the High Places

Why is it that so many people like to worship on high places? This morning, a friend and I hiked up a steep mountain at the end of a peninsula in Prajuab province, Thailand. At the top, there was a glorious view of the surrounding area - ocean to the east, coast to the north and south, and distant mountains to the West in the direction of Burma. But on top of the mountain, there was also a small shrine to the Buddha’s footprint with accompanying Buddha images. Throughout Thailand, there are lots of shrines and yellow Buddhist prayer flags on the tops of hills and mountains. Every time I see them, I can’t help but think of the high places in the Old Testament that the Israelites worshipped on. When the Israelites worshipped on these high places, it was usually idolatrous worship in violation of the First Commandment (and probably the Second Commandment as well).

What is it about worshipping on top of a mountain that so many people find attractive? Does it make people feel closer to God (or whatever it is that they are worshipping)? I suspect that the animist peoples living all around Old Testament Israelites are not that dissimilar to modern Thai Buddhists in that both regard certain spots as more sacred than others, especially high places. In fact, in looking around me, I am sure that many Thai regard some spots as more sacred and hence shrines and altars pop up in places that one would not always expect. Perhaps somehow more merit is earned in building a shrine on a mountain top than in a plain because it takes much more effort to lug all the building materials up the mountain. Some shrines and temples have long long staircases going up to the top so that worshippers can earn merit through merely walking up that oppressively long flight of stairs.

As a worshipper of the Lord Jesus Christ, I rejoice in the glory of God that I see through the things that he has created. The view from the top of the mountain this morning was especially beautiful and was wonderful testimony to the creativity and power of the Lord of heaven and earth. I also rejoice that God is present in all places and that I do not need to climb a mountain or walk up hundreds of steps to be closer to God. Instead, I humble myself in the knowledge that none of my efforts will carry me up to the heavens to God, but only the Lord Jesus Christ who came down from heaven can bring me up to heaven on that final day.

New Year, Old Problems

I’ve never been all that excited about New Year’s because the mere change of a date on the calendar doesn’t change anything that really matters. This morning, I went out to run an errand and when I stopped off to get a coffee, I saw a familiar motorcycle parked out in front of the coffee stand that hugged the curb. Coming around the car, I saw a guy from church that had stopped by to borrow our guitar the previous night. It was nine o’clock in the morning and there he was with a big bottle of beer, strumming the guitar and hanging out with his friend, the guy selling coffee. I don’t have anything against alcohol in general, given it is consumed in moderation and with appropriate consideration to who your company is. However, I KNOW that this guy has a drinking problem.

My initial impression of him, about a year or so ago, was that he is friendly fellow with a good head on his shoulders, and perhaps some potential for leadership in the church. That initial impression has proved to be inaccurate as it has become obvious that he has a drinking problem that doesn’t concern him as it should. On numerous occasions (especially after I haven’t seen him for a while), he tells me that he hasn’t forgotten about God and that he is still walking in God’s way, and doesn’t worship idols or get involved in witchcraft and so forth. He says, “Is drinking wrong? Yeah, it’s wrong. We all have our sins though, and nobody is perfect. I don’t lie. I’ve never lied to you. I don’t gossip. I don’t do this or that. I haven’t forgotten God.” On another occasion, he and I were chatting in our kitchen and I said in passing something about our lives changing as a result of knowing God. He replied, in a rather offhand way, “Oh, I don’t think my life has changed very much since becoming a Christian.”

All of this, and more, makes me very concerned for this brother in Christ, if indeed he is a brother in Christ. I sincerely hope that he has been converted through the power of the Holy Spirt, and not merely through human methodology which has succeeded in making him “church-ized” but not truly Christian. What I mean by “church-ized” is someone who knows how to do the church thing, and can talk the church talk, but whose life lacks that desire to know God, to live in holiness, to hate sin, and to love righteousness. I have told him of my concern for him, and have challenged his assumption that if he just gets married, then his drinking problem will go away because he won’t be lonely anymore. However, I can talk until I am blue in the face but nothing will change unless God works in his life and he wants to change. It pains me to see a man who claims to know God but whose life fails to reflect love for God and obedience to God. I don’t want to be too hasty and say that he is not a Christian since I do not know the heart, but the things that a person says and does often reflect the heart. And as of right now, this man’s life does not seem to be reflecting Christ.

How is God to be glorified and acknowledged as wonderful and mighty when those who bear the name “Christian” don’t live lives different than those around them? What motivation could anyone have to become a Christian if knowing God doesn’t make any difference in a person’s life? How am I to have any kind of credible witness about the power of God to change lives when those whom bear the name “Chrstian” and claim me as a friend don’t live lives honoring to God? How are people going to believe the Gospel of repentance for the forgiveness of sins when Christians seem to be indifferent about sin?

This may be a new year but nothing has truly changed. Satan is still up to his old tricks, to kill, steal, and destroy. However, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8) and He has promised, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18). Despite how things look, I choose to take God at his word.

Thai Political Crisis

The Thai political crisis continues to worsen as protesters try to bring things to a head in Bangkok, shutting down both the new Suwanaphum airport and the old Don Muang airport, effectively closing the country off to much of the world. The protesters demand the resignation of the government and the government says no, but refuses to do anything other than riot police containing the crowds. The news is constantly changing here so if you want latest, I would recommend looking at the website for the Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com) or the International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com). The Bangkok Post will have more up to date information although the IHT will have a more readable summary of the events and the context of the current crisis.

Our family lives two hours north of Bangkok, and thus plenty far away from any of the disturbances. Everything seems to be confined to Bangkok right now. However, after I preach in Ayuthaya this Sunday, we'll head down to OMF's Mission Home in Bangkok, which is not far from the Don Muang airport, one of the sites of mass protests and some violence. We will drive in to the mission home the back way, using the outer ring road and Expressway from the north, so we won't have to drive past the airport. We wouldn't plan on going to Bangkok at this time except that our visas expire this coming week and need to be renewed before December 3rd. The immigration office, as far as I know, is not near any of the hot spots but we will be watching the news for any changes. Pray that we would get accurate updated info to avoid any trouble spots and wisdom to know whether to change any of our plans. Hopefully the tensions will decrease instead of increase although that seems somewhat unlikely right now.

I include below a news video of the Thai situation that I found on YouTube. Hopefully, you can view it more easily than I can, with our miserable excuse for a DSL connection (really, sometimes our DSL is no faster or more reliable than dial-up). If you search on YouTube or the news sites (Reuters, Associated Press, etc), you can probably find some more videos. As you watch the video, make note that the yellow shirts are the anti-government people and, although they don't show up in this particular video, the red shirts are the pro-government people.

Just now I got an SMS news flash from the Bangkok Post saying that the Prime Minister announced on TV that he is going to send in the police to take care of the protesters and has warned the mob to stop holding the country hostage. This will be very interesting to say the least and potentially violent. May God bring peace to the nation and turn the hearts of many to Him as Christ is the only one who can bring true peace and reconciliation between God and man, and between people. May the LORD tear down the dividing wall of hostility.

Bangkok Protests Turn Violent

Anti government protests are heating up in Bangkok, which is not good news for the nation. Our family is not anywhere in the vicinity but recent news is a cause for alarm and a reason to pray for the nation, not only the government but the people in general. It is an historical fact that God often uses times of unrest and instability to change people's hearts to trust in the only One who can bring true rest and stability. This world is twisted and evil but God is the one who can give people hope as they look forward to perfection and peace in the kingdom of heaven.

I include below links to two articles - one from the Bangkok Post as it has more details and pictures of recent events and one from Reuters as it gives a better birds-eye view of what's happening for the reader outside of Thailand.

Bangkok Post - PAD Mass Protest Special Coverage
Reuters - Thai Protesters Seek Revenge After Clashes

The Buddha's Footprint

After four months in the United States, we have finally arrived back in Thailand again. On our taxi ride from the Bangkok airport, I chatted with our Thai driver and caught up on the local weather and politics (apparently there is a new prime minister and I did not know it). Our driver asked what we were doing in Thailand and where we lived so I had an opportunity to ask him about the Temple of the Buddha’s Footprint, the focal point of the town that we call home here in Thailand. Something I have never understood about the shrine to the Buddha’s footprint at this temple is why the footprint is about four feet long. Surely people couldn’t believe that the Buddha’s foot was four feet long, could they? If his foot was that big, then certainly the rest of him must have been of gigantic proportions. The only other time I had asked Thai people about it, they had replied that you need to have faith. I am a man of faith and I believe many things that seem incredible but faith must also have some reason to it as well. If the man that is historically identified as the Buddha was of normal proportions, then certainly he must have a normal size foot. So, I asked our driver about this mysteriously large footprint and got a rather satisfying answer, that helped me to understand how it is that Thai Buddhists understand this abnormally large sacred footprint.

Our driver explained that whatever the Buddha touched or stepped on was sacred. Some of those common objects that were rendered sacred by the Buddha’s touch have been preserved and because of their great holiness and power, have come to be reverenced by people. In the case of the Buddha’s four foot long foot print in our town, the stone upon which the Buddha originally trod must have grown in size over time because of its sacredness. Hence, piecing together what I learned from our driver’s explanation, it seems that pilgrims to the Temple of the Buddha’s Footprint regard the supernatural size of the footprint as evidence of its great sacredness. And therefore, it is a particularly good spot to make offerings, earn merit, and gain good karma.

In many ways, our Thai driver’s explanation of the sacredness of the Buddha’s footprint reminded me of the traditional Roman Catholic understanding of relics. A bone fragment or scrap of clothing from one of the saints is held in particular esteem because it belonged to a holy person and therefore it is able to aid one to come closer to God. In both cases however, no physical object is able to bring a person closer to God as interesting as that object might be because of it’s association with a famous person. Only Jesus Christ can bring a person into right relationship with God. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5) and “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:19,21)

More Political Upheaval in Bangkok

It seems like big news always happens when I am out of the country. Tsunami. Coup. And now this. It remains to be seen how big this will become but large scale protests that threaten to shut down a part of Bangkok's infrastructure seem big enough to me. I am including below the link to the article in the New York Times.

This news doesn't change our plans to go back to Thailand, however. We are currently wrapping up our time in the States and will depart for Thailand on September 30th.

International / Asia Pacific

Thai Leaders Face Challenge in Streets and Courts

By SETH MYDANS and THOMAS FULLER

Published: September 3, 2008

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej called on the military to stop a battle between supporters and opponents.

Transexual Students Get Own Restroom at Thai School

The number of trans-sexual guys in Thailand is enormous as the news video below illustrates. On the one hand, you could say that they are "accepted" in Thai society in the sense that there are no legal barriers to work, educational opportunities, housing etc. but all the straight guys ridicule them as girly men and they get about zero respect. However, when you look at the irresponsible womanizing, drinking, and gambling of many Thai men, I can understand why some boys either consciously or unconsciously end up taking after their mom, auntie, grandmother or whatever other kind, caring, hard-working woman raised them.

Prayer and Winning the Lottery

I was talking this evening with our neighbor across the street and he asked if I could thank my wife for praying for him because he felt that those prayers because he had won the lottery. Lest that you think that we prayed for a winning lottery ticket, I'll provide a little background here. About a week ago, we sat with him for a number of hours in front of his home chatting about this and that. Sun wanted to ask him some questions for an cultural research assignment from our language school but we also talked a lot about various topics, including spiritual ones.

Our neighbor's perspective on religion is not that uncommon among Thais, namely that all religions are good and in order to be a good person, you basically need to set your mind to it and you can be a good person, which is the end goal of religion. All Thai people are familiar with the Buddhist saying, "The only thing that you can depend upon is yourself." He is not into amulets or going to the temple because he says that he counts those as sacred in his heart, so he doesn't need to buy something to hang around his neck or go to a certain place. I've had many conversations with him over the months that we've been here and I often stop and chat with him at his roadside fruit cart when I pass by on the way to the market. Whenever I talk about the Gospel, he always has basically the same response - something along the lines of "We're pretty much the same, you and I. But we're just from different countries and have different ways of being faithful. But we're both intentional in thinking and doing good as we understand it."

Coming back to the lottery, when Sun and I visited with him last week, Sun asked if we could pray for him, which we did. Even though he is Buddhist and we are Christian, he was okay to have us pray for him, as many Thai people would be. The general feeling among Thai is that prayer or asking for blessing from above in any variety is a good thing and certainly can't hurt. And it might even help since who knows what spiritual beings are out there who might be able to help me? So our neighbor friend was happy for us to pray for him. And he even said some kind of benediction for us in response - that we would be happy, wealthy, healthy, and so forth. I couldn't quite say that he was praying or chanting but he was certainly wish us well, wherever he believed the power to bring such things to pass was coming from. In any case, when I saw him tonight he thanked me for our prayers because he had just won 13,000 Baht ($371 USD) in the lottery. That's not megabucks but compared to the income of many Thai, it's nothing to shake a stick at. For example, the monthly salary of a beginning school teacher is about 6000 Baht ($171 USD). When he told us that he won the lottery because of our prayers, I couldn't really say "Praise God" since playing the lottery isn't a good or wise thing to do, so I said, "Wow, that's a lot of money". We pray that someday he will come to understand, like King David in Psalm 67, that we ask God to bless us for our own gain, but so that God name will be known and exalted in all the earth.

How Hot is It?

In my last entry about the heat here, I neglected to mention exactly how hot it has been in degrees. Lest anyone think we are exagerrating or just wimping out, at one point it hit a high of 113 F (45 C) but there were many days when it was somewhere around 110 F (43 C). They do it in celesius here so initially it took some backwards conversion to figure out how hot it was in numbers that we can feel the emotional weight of. Praise God that it has started to rain more this past week and with that some cooler temperatures. It is still in the 80s and 90s with lots of humidity but it sure feels better than 110.

Hot, Hot, Hot

When even the Thai themselves are complaining about how hot it is, then you know that it is hot. This is a particularly hot "hot season", and we are oh so glad that we have some A/C in our home. Our bedroom has A/C and baby's room has A/C and we will often turn it on around bedtime for a few hours to make sleeping a bit more bearable. Air conditioning in Thailand is fairly expensive to run, especially in comparision to the cost of living so we don't use it that much but it sure does feel good when we do.

It is simply easier to get work done when you are cool. Going here and there in the heat is quite draining and I've heard from others what I myself have been saying for a week now: I'm exhausted. And I think the heat is the culprit. Motivation lags too when you feel like you are sitting in a sauna. Before I leave the house in the morning, I can already feel the sweat rolling down my back. Not a promising start to the day. But this is the place that God has called us to and we just do the best to put up with the heat and whatever else.

Yesterday I was reading Ephesians 5:20, which says "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is a tall order and difficult to implement when I am feeling miserable because of the oppressive heat and sunshine that makes me feel exhausted. How shall I give thanks for something I find bothersome? Thank you God for reminding me of my human fraility and weakness compared to the power of the forces of nature which you have created and which reflect your power and greatness.

For the Love of Money...

Recently, I have encountered a couple of stories that have highlighted the fact that many Thai people are as devoted to money as they are to Buddhism - perhaps even more attached to money.

We visited a small church in a nearby province last week and one of the leaders told us of a new believer who would only come to church when her son, who isn't a believer, could come watch her home for her. Now, her son hasn't been coming, so she stays home on Sundays because she is afraid that theives will break into her house and steal her many possesions when she is out. Break-ins are not uncommon in Thailand this is just such a sad story because this woman is clearly loving the things more than God.

A few days later, there was an article in the Thai newspaper about a family furniture store that burnt down in the middle of the night. The family lived in the same building where the shop was and was awoken by neighbors shouting "Fire". The blaze took off quickly because the furniture cleaning and polishing chemical made excellent tinder. After the family escaped from the blaze, the father remembered that he had stashed over a million baht (the baht is the Thai currency) in their home. The son pleaded with the father to not go back for the money but his father was not persuaded and return to their blazing home to rescue his money. The father subcumbed to the smoke and burned to death in the flames.

Materialism is not merely a Western phenomenon and you don't need to be rich to be greedy. Many Thai people are gripped by the desire to be wealthy, and religion is just something on the side when convenient. Please pray that the Lord would reveal to the people of Thailand the folly of chasing after wealth which rust and moth (and theives and fire) destroy instead of making God their treasure.

The French are Coming!

The city of Lopburi recently celebrated their annual Narai festival, in honor of King Narai who reigned over Thailand from his palace here in Lopburi about 400 years ago. Part of the story of King Narai includes ambassadors from France who came to visit the king and initiate diplomatic relations between Thailand and France. Later on, the ambassors, together with some Jesuit priests, all got knocked off because some higher up folks in the royal entourage were afraid that the priests were getting to close to converting the king to Catholicism. So, for the Narai festival parade, the organizers needed some white guys to be the French ambassadors. I thought it would be fun, so I volunteered. It was, kind of, but I felt somewhat ridiculous in my ambassador's costume, especially the wig. Even more ridiculous than the guy with the cone on his head in the picture below.

I was a serious French ambassador marching in the hot sun. I look silly enough being a white guy in Thailand, so why not put on some funny looking clothes to top it off?

There were four of us white guys in the parade as ambassadors but only Simon got to ride in the sedan chair. He must have been heavy because the soldiers carrying him changed shifts halfway through the parade.

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.

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

Thailand Coup

It looks as if the coup in Thailand is going to be a bloodless overthrow of an unpopular prime minister. I went to pick up some Thai food tonight from our favorite little Thai place down the street and asked the folks there what they thought about all that's going on in Bangkok. There consensus was that it is good for Prime Minister Taksin to be out of power. I don't know enough of Thai politics to give a definitive opinion about whether this is a good thing for the nation or not but I do know that despite his repeated electoral victories, he was quickly becoming a heavy handed, and thus unpopular figure in the country. As a related side note, when I was in Thailand in July 2004, I was told that Taksin's unofficial policy to deal with the illegal drug problem was this: Hire off duty policemen to covertly assasinate drug dealers.

In any case, Sun and I are hoping and praying that things will settle down in Thailand and return to relative normalcy (and democracy as well), and that God will use this coup to speak to Thai hearts about the lack of peace and security in this world, and drive them to seek the peace that only Christ can give. And since there are so few Christians in Thailand (less than 1%), we pray that those whose hearts God is changing will encounter those who can share the Gospel with them. In that vein, we are hoping that this coup will not preclude or delay our anticipated departure for Thailand this coming November. Besides the obvious security issues if the coup turns for the worse, if schools, banks, and government offices are closed down then that would seriously slow down the processing of our visas (i.e. our visa request could be sitting in the inbox in some government office that is closed until further notice). All things are in God's hands so we wait and trust in God. We will arrive in Thailand at the appointed time, if indeed the Lord sees fit for us to be there.

Despite the Adminstrative Reform Council's (read "Thai military") clamp down on domestic and foreign media outlets, I've found help updates about the changing situation in Thailand on the website of The Nation, an independent English language newspaper in Bangkok

Foreign Husbands Pay Off for Thai?

When I was in Thailand (1999-2002), I encountered numerous foreign guys looking for Thai wives or Thai women dreaming of finding foreign husbands. Granted that some of these Thai/foreign couples have wonderful and happy marriages, it was my observation that the majority of these marriage fell far short of what a marriage could and should be. First of all, the foreign guy usally speaks little to no Thai and the Thai women has little to no English. How can you know that you want to marry someone if you can hardly talk with them on a deep level? The answer is that you have low expectations for what you want out of marriage. As you can see from the article below (from "The Nation", one of Bangkok's English language newspapers), many Thai women see foreign husbands as an opportunity for financial security, greater social status. And the foreign guys are often seeking out a beautiful submissive Asian woman to cook, clean, and take care of their other "physical needs" (if you know what I mean).
On the plus side, foreign guys have a greater reputation for marital fidelity and not abusing their wives to their wives than do Thai men. This is a generalization, I know. I have known many Thai men who by all outward appearances love their wives very much, been faithful, and treatly them wonderfully. However, many Thai women have had the exact opposite experience and seek out foreign husbands in hopes of avoiding the abuse and heartache of their previous relationship(s).

When Sun and I are in Thailand, we hope to have an opportunity to minister to some of these Thai women (and foreigners too) who are have had great heartache in previous relationships and are looking for something better. I don't think that marrying someone whose language you hardly speak, and culture you barely understand, is the best way to heal these issues. Sin needs to be acknowledged and people need to put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be healed of these hurts and heartaches in life. Only when a person's hope is in God's promises and joy in God's glory, can healthy and whole relationships really and truly be established.

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Foreign husbands pay off for Thais



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Cross-cultural marriages between Thai women and foreign men are
better received in Thai communities, a recent study has revealed, with
northeastern villagers in particular praising their foreign sons-in-law
for better supporting their new Thai family.

With many northeastern villages organising "Bai Sri Soo Kwan"
blessing ceremonies for foreign husbands during the Thai New Year
festival, Asst Professor Buaphan Promphak-ping of Khon Kaen University
called this a meaningful honour resulting from a cultural change in
Thai communities.

The National Culture Commis-sion
Office sponsored a study on "cross-cultural marriages of Thai women in
the northeastern region" to investigate cultural changes in Thai rural
areas resulting from such marriages.

Twelve Thai women -
from one community with Western-Thai marriages and three communities
with Eastern-Thai marriages (husbands from Hong Kong and Japan) - took
part in the study.

Most of the women married to Western
men had been married before, to Thai men, and most had intentionally
sought a new foreign husband, the study revealed.

The wives of Asian men were either divorcees or previously single and most had met their husbands through serendipity.

The
women's ages when they married ranged from 19 to 47 and none had used
the Internet as a means to meet their husband due to a lack of computer
literacy.

Following marriage, the women's financial
status had improved, with foreign husbands bringing steady income to
the family, the study said. The marriages also brought the women more
respect from neighbours, enabling them to move up the social ladder in
their community.

The marriages were accepted within the
communities and even encouraged by the women's relatives, as they were
seen as a way to gain income. Foreign sons-in-law were better able to
financially support the family than Thai husbands, the study said.

Udon
Thani villager Supira TraiPhu, 42, said she had been married to a
German national, Peter Volk, for nearly 15 years and initially lived
with him in Germany. Four years ago they moved back to Thailand as
Supira was worried about her teenage son - fathered by her previous
Thai husband - and because her German husband had retired from work.

The family built a Bt2-million house, the biggest in the village, and had gained the respect of the neighbours, she said.

"At
first, the neighbours were critical of my bringing a foreign husband
home, but then they realised we did not cause them any trouble and
brought good things here, so everyone wanted to talk with my husband
and invite him to join their merit-making activities and parties," she
said.

With her husband's pension of about Bt20,000 a month to support the family, she said they lived happily and comfortably enough.

Describing
her husband as a good and understanding man, Supira said all her
relatives were happy and her Thai son loved and obeyed his stepfather
as much as he did his mother.

"If I were to have another
chance to choose a husband, I would choose Peter again because he is
wonderful and treats me nicely," Supira said.

Khamdee
Phromlee, 70, a Roi Et villager who had recently gained a British
son-in-law, said she did not mind her daughter marrying a foreigner if
she loved him and he loved and treated her well.

Speaking
no English at all, Khamdee said the downside of having a foreign
son-in-law was the difficulty in communication, but her daughter's
family now lived and ran a restaurant in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Hua Hin
district and only visited her once in a while.

She
recalled that her daughter's marriage ceremony was a grand occasion
admired by neighbours. Khamdee said she was not certain that if she had
a Thai son-in-law, they would have had the chance to hold such a
wedding ceremony in a five-star hotel.

Khamdee said her
daughter had lived a difficult life following a break-up with her Thai
husband, who left her with their nine-year-old child to raise alone.

"Supporting
an ageing mother while raising her kid as a single mother was not
easy," she said, adding that since her daughter married her British
husband, her life had been comfortable, running their restaurant with
many employees.

Article found in "The Nation", an English language newspaper in Bangkok, Thailand (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/08/27/headlines/headlines_30012082.php)