A Christmas Tale

Earlier this week I had an extraordinary glimpse into life on the Thai-Burma border.  I was travelling alone to a large conference in a rural Karen village.  Arriving in the border town of Mae Sot in the early morning, I found the right Songthaew (an adapted pick-up truck used as a public bus) in the busy central market area.

Songthaews waiting for passengers in Mae Sot's market

With 7 passengers on board, we were soon winding our way through the chaotic, but cheerful, bustle of the town centre and out into the countryside.  After just a few kilometres, however, the bus driver decided that he didn't want to go any further, and dropped me and the one other remaining passenger off at a small police check point by the side of the road.

Miles from anywhere -  police check point

As we waited for another bus to come by, I was beginning to feel quite annoyed at the bus driver.  He had promised to take me to my destination - but now I was stuck here, under a makeshift shelter, miles from anywhere, on a hot and dusty Thai highway!  However, the two friendly police officers soon cheered me up, asking me (inevitably) which football team I supported, and whether I knew David Beckham.

And it soon turned out that, while it certainly was remote, the check point was far from deserted. Within minutes of our arrival, my conversation with the police was interrupted by the arrival on foot of two ladies and a small girl.  It transpired that one of the ladies was seriously ill, and after walking overnight from her village to the road, had just fainted.  Tragically, her 12-day-old baby had died two nights ago, and her friend had escorted the grieving mother, with her two year old daughter, to seek medical attention.  The police officers rushed into action, calling the hospital in Mae Sot to send an ambulance, and ushering the group into a shaded spot to wait for help.

Before the ambulance came, a man appeared, looking for his motorbike.  It had been impounded, he explained a little sheepishly, after an incident at a local Muay Thai boxing match.  With a mildly disapproving air, one of the police officers took down his details and handed him back his bike.

Then the ambulance arrived - which turned out to be an open-backed pick-up truck - to whisk the poorly lady and her daughter off to hospital.  Soon after their departure, a second man approached the check point, asking for help: his son had gone missing several days ago, and he wanted to know how to report the incident, and what he could do to find him.

While this was being dealt with, a bus came past.  One of the police officers helpfully hailed the bus for us, and we got on board, joining about 10 other passengers, along with a orange-clad monk sitting serenely in the passenger seat.  As we pulled away from the small check point, I reflected how, in the normal course of things, I would never have spent those minutes sat by that roadside.

In fact, speeding past in a car, I probably would have barely noticed the existence of this little shelter.  And yet, during my brief visit, I had glimpsed here something of the aching depth of human suffering, the simple beauty of human companionship, and the eloquent grace of human compassion.

And it struck me that, at Christmas time, we celebrate the fact that God didn't choose the easy, VIP route, speeding by on the highway.  Instead, Jesus chose to enter into our suffering and messy humanity, to live, to work, to travel, to wait - and to serve people like those I met under that police shelter.  This Christmas, He challenges me to do likewise.

Speeding by... missing out?

35 degrees C in Bangkok...

Snowmen on a Bangkok roof...

I spent a few hours in Bangkok last week - and despite the humidity, there was plenty of Christmas cheer around.  These snowmen perched on top of a hotel lobby's roof - while a nearby shopping centre boasted possibly the biggest Christmas tree in the city!

Now that's a tree

Not to be outdone, however, a neighbouring shopping mall took a different approach - decorating their tree with giant red baubles!

A novel decorating approach...

So - Christmas trees, Christmas presents, even Christmas snowmen - but Jesus?  He was nowhere to be seen.

15 days until Christmas?

Today is Constitution Day - one of two Thai public holidays during  December.  The other one was last week - the 5th December, the King's Birthday.  Thailand has 16 'bank holidays' every year - seven more than the UK!

Christmas Day, however, will be a normal working day for most people.  Markets will be open, children will be in school, and public transport will be running normally.  In fact, some of the Karen university students that we work with will actually be sitting mid-term exams on Christmas Day.  Add that to the 30 degree heat, and it can be easy to forget that this is Christmas time!

Instead of focusing their celebrations on one day, therefore, the Karen churches tend to celebrate throughout the month of December.  There is a very strong tradition of carol singing - we've already had two groups of young people visit our house so far this year.

Carol singers at our house last Friday evening

And while many Karen Christians will have to go to work on December 25th, their churches will just choose a different day on which to celebrate Jesus' birth - and to use the occasion share the good news with their friends and neighbours too!

A Karen village arranging their outdoor Christmas celebrations

Loy Krathong Day

Today is the Loy Krathong Festival - one of the most colourful and lively festivals in the Thai calendar. As with most folk Buddhist ceremonies in Thailand, Loy Krathong defies simple explanation!  There are many different aspects of the festival, and the details of what happens varies widely across the country.

Krathongs on the River Ping

At its heart, though, this annual festival involves asking forgiveness from the goddess of the river(s) for past sins against her - including, but not restricted to, causing pollution to her waters.  Thai Buddhists make 'krathongs' - small floats traditionally made from banana leaves, decorated with flowers and a candle and/or incense stick. People take their krathongs down to a local river, and, after saying a short prayer for forgiveness and future happiness, float them onto the water.

Abigail and Jacob with their krathongs

Abigail and Jacob both made a krathong in their Thai class today - and after school we went down to the Ping River to see what was happening.  There were specially constructed bamboo piers to enable people to get right down to the river itself. Meanwhile the river banks were crammed with vendors selling a huge variety of ready-made krathongs, as well as Chinese lanterns (a northern Thai twist to the festivities).  Most people come to float their krathongs after dark, and they often combine the visit with a merit-making trip to their local temple.

Krathongs for sale on the riverbank

Thais love to celebrate - so even a potentially sombre festival like this one is accompanied by an array of fireworks, firecrackers and loud music.  There is also a Loy Krathong Parade - with prizes awarded for the best decorated floats, and a beauty contest too.  Last year's festival was a muted affair, amidst the devastating flooding which hit large parts of the country.  This year, however, the Loy Krathong party is in full swing - we can hear the fireworks rumbling from our home tonight - and will continue until early tomorrow morning!

Youth Camp

Some of the young people outside the meeting hall

We spent last weekend with 120 Karen young people at a residential camp on the outskirts of Chiang Mai.  The event was organised by the TKBC Youth, as a part of the TKBC's efforts to reach out to Karen young people living in Chiang Mai city.  The theme of the weekend was taken from John 15:5, 'Be fruitful!' - encouraging us to bear fruit in our daily lives - working, studying, relaxing - in the city.

Some of the weekend's organisers - Say, Joy, Joel and Samer

 The weekend was great fun - starting each morning at 5:00am, and ending after midnight.  There were times of group bible study, worship, games, outdoor activities and various competitions - with a lot of water and flour involved.

My favourite moment of the weekend, though, was on Saturday evening, when I went with a few of the youth leaders up to a nearby viewpoint.  We had an amazing view over the area, and, in the distance, we could just about make out the tower blocks and smog of Chiang Mai.  As the sun went down over the mountains, we stood and prayed for the city, and for the young people about to travel back there - that they would 'remain in Jesus', and be a faithful witness to God.  May God bless this city through them...

Chiang Mai from a distance...

Every Little Helps?

We're no longer surprised to come across Western brands and stores in Thailand. Indeed, it's increasingly common to see Tescos, 7-11, Boots, Pizza Hut and Starbucks shops in Thai towns and cities.  To be really successful, these companies need to adjust their models to fit Thai culture, as epitomised by one particularly famous brand:

Last week, we were in Mae Sai, a Thai town on the Burmese border.  On our way out of town, we called in to the Tescos store.  I was amazed to see that the signs around the store were not only written bilingually (in Thai and English), but also in Burmese!

It struck me just how much effort these corporations put into making people feel welcomed and at home in their shops!  It also challenged me in the light of a conversation I'd had the day before with a church planter working in a Thai community.  He told me that his aim was to encourage a genuinely Thai expression of church - to the extent that a Westerner coming into that church would feel awkward and out-of-place.  Of course, a 'genuinely Thai expression of church' is going to involve more than a smiling plastic figure at the door and translated text around the building.  But wouldn't it be tragic if Thais (or Burmese) are made to feel more at home in Tescos than they are in a church?

Changes ahead...

Today is the final day of the Assembly of the Church of Christ in Thailand - a major event held every two years.  About 850 delegates attended, from churches across Thailand, including the Karen Baptist churches.

The Karen delegates formed a choir in the opening ceremony of the Assembly

The biggest talking point at the Assembly has concerned the huge changes planned for 2015 in the  Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).  On the 1st January 2015, Thailand and the other nine member states of ASEAN will enter into a new and closer union - modelled in part on the EU.  The slogan for the new union is 'One Vision, One Identity, One Community.'

Lofty ideals, perhaps - but there are serious and significant changes coming along with the rhetoric.  From 2015, ASEAN will become a free trade zone, with increased freedom of movement across borders, new transport routes and integration of education and health systems.  A few of the more immediate effects for Thailand will include English becoming ASEAN's official language, to be used in all official and cross-border communication, and Thai school term dates changing to the international (American) pattern.

Information on all ten of the ASEAN countries available at the Assembly

Church leaders have been discussing this week how these changes will affect the church in Thailand - and how we can prepare to meet the new challenges and opportunities ahead.  Along with most Thais, many church leaders are very concerned about the effect of increased competition on Thai businesses, tourism and service industries, as well as the wider economy.  Recent studies show that Thailand lags behind its neighbours in both English language ability and willingness to travel to other ASEAN countries to work or study.

But we have also been excited to see leaders considering the new opportunities which will open up for the Thai churches.  Undoubtedly, from 2015 we will see an influx of people from other ASEAN countries into Thailand - presenting the churches with an opportunity to welcome and help these newcomers, showing them God's love as they find their way in a new country.  And, as one Thai pastor noted yesterday, 'Our mission field is about to increase 10-fold - from 64 million Thais to over 650 million people within ASEAN.'  This could be the moment for the Thai church to develop and nurture a mission vision for previously closed countries - please pray for leaders with the courage and faith to encourage such thinking.

One of the Thai churches' new mission fields?