Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Thailand Mission Trip—A General Overview—By Rev. Bill Golson

The weeks leading up to the trip to Thailand were busy. The invitation and decision to go to Thailand came a little more than 6 weeks preceding actual departure. There was much to do administratively to prepare for my absence and in preparation to go. So much so, that clearly defining and stating what I hoped to receive was a bit fleeting. Somewhere in the early part of our trip, I recorded in my journal, and vocalized to those of “Team Colorado” as we would come to be known, that I was going as a blank slate for God to write upon whatever he wished. As I reflect upon the total experience, I do so more as a sponge being wrung out, having absorbed as much as I could about the culture, the work of missionaries, our work experience, and the environment of being in a foreign land, and particularly the Huai Namkhun (Akha village). As with the wringing out of a sponge, some things come gushing out and others require a more thoughtful compression, and continued squeezing to excise the significance of everything seen and done. Much of what is recorded here is “gushing.” In the passing of days, months, and possibly years, under the unction of the Holy Spirit, I am sure I will continue to wring out life lessons. There are many lessons, which I suspect will find their way into sermons on humility, stewardship, personal satisfaction, the need to pray for those globally, and other subjects.

In the days preceding our village work at Huai Namkhun (Akha village), we were exposed to the culture: sights and sounds of the cities of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai; the ministry endeavors of American Baptist missionaries and partners, verbal insight as to the customs of the land and its variety of peoples. Evident throughout the land were the secular and spiritual images of the people. From a secular perspective, pictures of the royal family are abundant throughout the land, mainly the King, are everywhere: billboards, street signs, in busy metropolitan places, in small villages and roadside markets, bathrooms, calendars, and other unlikely places. The love of the King is evident and obviously, people look to him as their guide for current and continuing success of the land. He and all that concerns him is reverenced.

From a spiritual perspective, images of Buddha are even more abundant. As the tangible image of their faith, Buddha is worshipped and present in all sizes and varying positions. The Thai people are a superstitious people. Spirit houses, little replicas of Buddhist temples or shrines, appear at the forefront of homes, businesses, hotel lobbies, restaurant, taxis, and like the picture of the King, in other unlikely places. Daily offerings are made at these spirit houses to appease the evil spirits and keep them at bay.

The worship of these two, the King and Buddha, were in obvious contrast to the silent witness of the crosses worn by each of our team members and the simplicity with which we worship our God.

We had three occasions to attend church. Two in Chiang Mai, at the Chiang Mai Bible College (also known as the Siloam Karen Baptist Life Development Center) conducted in the Thai language, and at the church attended by many missionaries and conducted in English. The other was in the village conducted in Akha. In each service, we observed the Western influence with regard to the order of service. For those non-English services, the order of service was recognizable as were many of the melodies of songs. As I observed the preaching, the peoples response—sometimes of great laughter—Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 14 regarding speaking in tongues became more real. Although his reference was to the ecstatic use of tongues, the result of being in a service and not understanding the language was essentially the same. “Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me” (1 Corinthians 14:10-11). Those verses took on different meaning. It caused me to wonder if there are those who come into our churches and leave unedified because they are unfamiliar with what we commonly take for granted.

Much of what our missionaries do is to help elevate the lifestyle of the people by attempting to discover and market the resources of the people. For the most part their resources are a good work ethic, the ability to stay focused on what we would consider mediocre tasks, the use of physical labor, and the ability to design and craft items for sale.

In Chiang Mai, we were taken through the process of growing coffee beans that are processed and sold to Starbucks and other vendors. It was not the pristine factories, as we would experience in America. A dozen or so people processed beans grown and sorted for size and quality by villagers and shipped off to other world markets. This kind of enterprise is not what I would have thought about in terms of the role of a missionary; however, is their any mission greater than helping people to become self-sufficient and to have a purposeful livelihood. That is where the Gospel really touches the lives of people.

At the Akha village, the first observations were of contrast. The simplicity of the bamboo huts were juxtaposed with a church of Western design constructed of brick and mortar, a few solar panels mounted on poles, motorbikes, boom boxes, people dressed in Western branded attire (emblems of Nike, Adidas, Marlboro, etc.), children clean and well cared for, and a few color televisions. Obviously, they are not devoid of Western culture, but at the same time living in the simplicity of a bamboo hut. One has to wonder what they think of video images portrayed on television in light of their simple lifestyle. Yes, it was quite the contrast and something that caused reflection on the abundance, and in comparison opulence, of the Western lifestyle.

The source for the water supply was approximately three miles from the village. The laying of the pipe took us through dense jungle trails, previously established by the Akha men, and often-precarious pathways along hillsides. The Akha were as surefooted as Rocky Mountain goats and traversed the terrain with little problem. I wish that could be said for us as well. The combination of the heat, the terrain, and the carrying of supplies was quite the experience. Noticeably absent were an abundance of bugs, birds, and other animals one would have expected in such an environment.

In spite of the language barriers, we were able to work together in a spirit of harmony. Some things require no words. A strong work ethic seemed to transcend any lack of ability to communicate.

In addition to the work, personally, the greater challenges were food and leisure time. It became immediately evident that variety of menu was not a strong point in the Akha diet. The staple of course is rice, vegetables, and at the request of our missionary host sprinklings of beef, pork, shrimp, and chicken were to be found in various dishes. Although it was a healthy diet, eating essentially the same meal items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, did become a bit taxing. Fortunately, later in the days of our stay, we were able to add some fruit, which was deeply appreciated.

On the matter of leisure, the Akha workers played a game called LaKraw. It is the equivalent to volleyball where instead of where hands are used to volley; they only use their head or feet. The agility required was amazing, particularly after a hot hard day in the jungle. Those of us, not so athletically inclined and agile watched. The village is alive from dawn to dusk. The nights became very long for those of us used to staying up late to watch the late night news, Jay Leno, and CNN. However, in the passing of days, we began to make the adjustment.

In reflection the greatest things I came to see were:

One, that mission is about more than just sending money for support but also about grasping the day-to-day ministry of the missionary. Being a preacher, I previously had thoughts of missions primarily about the proclamation of the Gospel. I came to understand that we are “the hands and feet of Jesus” as Karen Van aptly quoted the theme for our American Baptist Mission. Helping to construct a waterline to bring water to the village seemed like such a small thing. I came to see it as significant, not only in providing water giving life, but more so in establishing relationship with the villagers as representatives of a larger body of believers.

Two, I had tangible, verbal and touchable, evidence for the support the church gives towards support of missions. I came to see how important the work of global ministry is, that the Kingdom of God is large, vast, multicultural, multiethnic, rich, poor and in many other ways diverse. The concerns of many of our western churches are trivial in comparison to some of the challenges our brothers and sisters face in other places throughout the globe. As a pastor, I am more committed than ever to lead our church to support those who are willing to invest themselves in the lives of reaching others for Christ.

Three, being of African American descent, I have always had a sense of what it means to be a minority. The experience of racism, discrimination, Jim Crow and all that goes along with it has always been a reality. In Thailand, I learned of those who were refuges from Burma, particularly the Akha tribe, who were refuges in a land who, in many ways like Blacks and the American Indian, are relegated to a position of being less than and limited to areas of settlement. Citizenship, if obtained, comes at a high price and without it, essentially little or no resources are available to them from the government: travel, employment, education, healthcare, etc.

Four, I have a greater sense of the meaning of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). I see the matter of making disciples in a much broader sense than merely the sharing of the gospel and people coming to Christ. It involves meaningful and helpful relationships with the people of God and sharing the love of God in unconventional ways.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

February 22-24 ABCRM Thailand Mission Team Experiences

Early Sunday morning, February 22, all of our Thailand mission team members returned to the “Ban Huai” Akha village with Chuck, Ruth, and Ruth’s Family Learning Center short-tem staff volunteers (Sandy and Ruthie). We went to see progress made on building the clean-water holding-tank and filter, as well as to attend the village’s Sunday service. The villagers had mixed and poured more concrete for the holding-tank on Saturday afternoon, and the legs of the elevated water-filter had been put in place. We were thankful for what had been accomplished so far in working as a team with the Akha villagers and Akha Foundation project managers. However, the villagers would need to work another 10-12 days to finish building the holding-tank and filter, and to complete the laying of water-pipes from the holding-tank to the nearby village homes.

The Akha village’s morning worship in the Akha language was led by both men and women. The service music was a mixture of contemporary songs (like “Shout to the Lord”) and the same traditional hymns that are sung in U.S. churches. Although we couldn’t understand what was being said or sung, we could see the joy they had in their hearts of the Akha people in praising God and loving Jesus.


After the sermon, Chuck introduced our mission team members to the Akha congregation, and told them where we came from in the U.S. Our team then joined with Chuck, Ruth and NLC staff volunteers to sing “Amazing Grace.” Kerry presented an enlarged photo of our ABCRM clean-water mission-team members to the Akha village clean-water project leader. The picture was taken in front of their village church on Saturday. Each of our team members had signed the photo-card with messages of blessings and Christian love to our Akha brothers and sisters in Christ.


At the conclusion of the service, Barbara Fuller talked about the wooden cross necklaces that had been hand-made by a relative of hers in Kansas for our mission team members to bring along on our trip and give to people we met. Barbara and other team members gave a necklace to each Akha man, woman, and child in the congregation. Karen Van also presented to the congregation prints of her digital photos she'd taken of kids and families in the village and of the clean-water activities we’d helped with since arriving to the village on Tuesday.


After eating a last lunch prepared by the village, we said good-bye to our Akha village friends. They had gone out of their way to make our team members feel welcome and comfortable during our stay, and we appreciated all they had done for us. Our team returned to Chiang Rai after lunch to look around the downtown area, and then enjoy our last evening meal with Chuck and Ruth at a downtown restaurant, followed by some night bazaar shopping.

On Monday morning, Chuck took our mission team to the Christian public school located across the street from the Fox home. We watched the daily opening ceremonies of the students saying the Thailand pledge of allegiance, singing the national anthem, school song, and singing the Lord’s Prayer. Karen Van and Mark Francis then said a few words of greeting to the students assembled in the school courtyard. It was amazing how quiet the students were as they listened to the school principal talk about the day’s activities and events.

After the ceremony ended, the principal told our mission team about the school’s beginnings in the 1950’s by Chiang Rai American Baptist missionaries. The school had grown from less than 10 students when it was founded to todays over 2200-student population. It is comprised mostly of tribal group children in the Chiang Rai area. There is no tuition charged to this Christian school that covers grades K-12, with financial funding provided by the Thai and Japanese governments. The school was another example of how American Baptist missionaries have greatly helped people in need in Thailand.


On Monday afternoon, some of our Thailand mission team members went with Chuck to see the Golden Triangle area and the northernmost city of Masae where the borders of Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos meet. We flew from Chiang Rai to Bangkok later in the afternoon. We spent a few days there seeing various sights before leaving for Denver on Wednesday morning.

The February 2009 ABCRM Thailand mission team members were thankful to have come to Thailand to meet many American Baptist missionaries during our visits to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. We are especially thankful to have helped in providing clean-water to the Ban Huai Akha village. Many thanks to all the churches and individuals in the ABCRM who in some way contributed towards the costs of our Thailand in-country projects, and to those who give to the World Mission Offering to help keep our American Baptist missionaries in the field in Thailand.

Monday, March 2, 2009

February 18-21 ABCRM Thailand Mission Team Experiences

The first morning after our mission team members arrived in the “Ban Huai” Akha village, we had our first breakfast at the village’s common eating area prepared by Akha women cooking over open fires. The menu of rice, fried eggs, vegetables, fried fresh meat, and hot tea would remain essentially the same for the remainder of our village stay. We left at 9:00 a.m. in Chuck’s truck with village men and women to go to the clean-water system’s mountain stream water source located about three miles from the village. The villagers had done much hard work to hack out a new road through the jungle for Chuck’s truck and the area around the water-source.

Upon arriving at the stream, we saw how the villagers had constructed a small dam so the stream water would flow into first water-pipe. We watched as Akha women scooped water from a pool below the dam to catch small fish trapped in a pool. Another menu selection for our evening meal!


Soon our team started walking with the villager workers down slippery slopes to connect water-pipes together from the water-source. It was very difficult for our team to stay on the path and not slide down the mountain slopes, but the Akha men and women walked along this same path without any problem at all. The low overhanging jungle vegetation in some areas was a problem for our taller team members (Chuck and Mark). We were soaked in sweat due to the high heat and humidity after helping to connect water-pipe for just a short time.


At noon, Akha women brought to us in thermal containers lunch they’d prepared at the village. Karen, Pastor Bill, and Kerry took a break after lunch on “cushions” made out of banana tree leaves gathered by Akha villagers while Chuck, Mark, and some Akha men went to get more water-pipe materials.


In the afternoon, we helped the villagers connect and carry more water-pipe through the jungle. At 4:00 p.m., we were too tired to work any longer, and went back to the village in Chuck’s truck with Akha women workers while the rest of the villagers stayed to work a while longer. When the younger village men returned at 5:00 p.m., they played the combined volleyball/soccer sport of DeKraw. It was amazing how much energy they had after working with us in the jungle all day!

On Thursday morning, our team members returned with Chuck and the villagers in Chuck’s truck to the mountain water-source to watch the Akha villagers improve the initial water-tank. We learned that the Akha villagers had completed connecting the water-line through the rest of the jungle path before we got there so that it extended into an open rubber-tree field that was not far from the village. We were glad we didn’t need to work on connecting and carrying the water-pipe on the slippery mountain slopes. We worked with the villagers to extend the water-pipe through the rubber tree area to the site of the water-system filter and holding tank near the village. Progress was being made.


On Friday morning, our team members helped the Akha villagers to bring concrete forms and materials from the village in Chuck’s truck to the site cleared out on a hill next to the village where the water-system’s filter and primary holding tank would be built. The villagers had leveled the ground the previous afternoon using hoes, and concrete forms and rebar were put in place to pour the foundation and walls of the tank.


On Saturday morning, hand-mixing of concrete began by using the “volcano method” of making a mound of sand, stone, and concrete aggregate, and then pouring water into a cavity shoveled out on the top. Our team members helped to mix, carry, and tamp down the concrete that was filling in the forms.




About 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, our team members left the holding tank construction site to return to Chiang Rai with Chuck to take a hot shower at our hotel, and get rested up before returning for Sunday morning worship with the Akha villagers. Unfortunately, we were surprised to discover that the hotel was doing maintenance on its hot-water system, and we weren’t able to take a hot shower until later in the day. Despite this surprise, we enjoyed eating dinner at the hotel with food choices we were more accustomed to, and to sleep in comfortable beds without hearing bugs and other “critters” chirping and moving around during the night! It had been quite the four days of work on the clean-water system with the Akha villagers.