Lost in translation?

I noticed this sign on a gate outside a local government building.  But what does it mean?  The English is awkward: "I learned all kinds of drivers?"

Actally, the Thai notice translates as: "No learner drivers of any kind are allowed in here!"  Something of a translation fail, then.  This is quite a common occurence  - and some translation mistakes are more amusing than others.  One of  my favourites is a sign at Suwarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, announcing that the priority immigration lane is reserved for, among others, 'pregnant men.' 

It's easy to laugh at such signs.  But reflecting further, it's also clear that spectacular communications failures aren't limited to public notices. In the barbers last month, we were discussing the various New Year festivals celebrated in Thailand - Chinese, Karen, Thai, Western.  Then the Thai barber said to me, 'I really like your (Western) New Year celebration - but it's got a different name, hasn't it?  Oh yes - Christmas!'

How did our communication fail so badly?  Nearly 185 years after the first Protestant missionaries arrived in Thailand, the gospel has been preached far and wide throughout this country.  We have proclaimed the message of Christmas - "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:11)"  But how did the barber hear, "Christmas is the West's cultural expression of the universally celebrated New Year festival?"   Indeed, why is Christmas marked in Bangkok with snowmen on hotel roofs?  How's that for an example of being 'Lost in Translation?'

Snowmen in 30 degree Bangkok - Christmas?

"I learned all kinds of drivers?"  It seems relatively clear in comparison...!

A time of mourning

I wrote last week about Siloam Bible School's graduation service, which took place on Sunday (3rd March).  It was a great day - as expected, a day full of celebration and where the whole community came together to praise God for the achievements of the 14 young graduates.

Within hours of the graduation service ending, however, we received some tragic news.  David, a member of the local church here, had been involved in a serious motorbike accident.  He died later that evening.  David was 49 years old, a familiar figure around the area, and leaves behind a wife and two young children.  Over the past three days, we have again seen the Karen community coming together - not for celebration this time, but to mourn the loss of a friend, and to support his wife and children.

David's funeral was hosted by our local church. Christian Karen funerals typically take place over three or four days, which allows time for relatives and friends who live some distance away to arrive. I attended worship services on Monday and Tuesday evening, where we prayed for David's family, and gave thanks for his life.

As is traditional, the coffin was placed at the front of the church, with flowers and bright flashing fairy lights arranged around it.  The opening hymn on Tuesday evening was the Karen translation of 'In the sweet by and by'.  Continuing the strong Karen musical tradition, the preacher sang parts of three different songs during his sermon - including 'Home where I belong' in English. It was a simple, but powerful service.

After the service, the whole congregation shared a meal together.  On Wednesday morning,  there was another worship service and opportunity for anyone to speak if they wished.  Then, following another meal, a procession accompanied David's coffin from the church up the hill to the Christian graveyard, where the funeral concluded with a short ceremony.

Please pray for David's wife and children - aged 10 and 12 years old - as they adjust today to the reality of the loss they have suffered.

Graduation Day is coming...

We are just 4 days away from the most important day of the Siloam Bible School year: Graduation Day.  This Sunday, 3rd March, 14 students will complete their formal training at the Karen Baptist Convention's school, and move into full-time ministry.

The 2012 Graduating Class

This whole weekend will be a busy one - over 300 guests are expected, many of whom will be sleeping in the Bible School buildings.  Classrooms and the library are being transformed into makeshift bedrooms.  The kitchen is gearing up to produce food for almost 10 times more people than usual. 

For the graduating students, this weekend is the culmination of four years of hard work.  They have spent the past year in a placement in a local church, returning back to Siloam just 2 weeks ago.  It also marks the beginning of a new phase of their ministry: most will now go into pastorates, full-time youth work, women's ministry, or into roles with NGOs and parachurch organisations.

2012 Graduates receiving flowers and gifts

But this Sunday will also be a time to celebrate - to have fun and enjoy the feeling of having succesfully completed the course.  And in Thailand, and especially for the Karen, that means more than just a group of individuals celebrating - it involves the extended family and friends of every graduate.  This experience will be truly shared - indeed, it really represents the wider community gathering to celebrate and affirm the achievement of all expressed through the graduation of these 14 young people.

Congratulations to the graduate - but also to the whole family too!

This is a community facing huge changes and challenges in the years ahead. Please pray that those commissioned into ministry of various forms this weekend would be used by God to meet those challenges. Please pray that the impact of what happens on Sunday here at Siloam Bible School would be felt for years to come across the Karen Baptist Convention - and beyond.

What's your history worth?

The first Karen Christians in Thailand heard about Jesus in the winter of 1881.  A group of travelling Burmese Karen evangelists came to a village in Lampang Province, just south of Chiang Mai, and spent four months sharing the gospel and encouraging new Christians.  During that time, three entire villages came to faith in Christ. The picture above shows the memorial stone set up on the site where those first conversations (and conversions) took place.

As is sadly true of many memorials, this one is not in good shape.  The surrounding area is overgrown, the fences are broken down, the signs are falling to pieces, and the memorial stone itself could use a good clean.

This weekend, however, fifty young Karen Christians, inspired by the vision of an emerging local leader, are about to change all that.

Poster inviting young people to join in the restoration weekend

Coming from all corners of the Thailand Karen Baptist Convention, which now has over 25,000 members in 160 churches, the young people are converging on the memorial stone for a weekend of restoration and rebuilding.  Over these two days, the focus will be on cleaning, clearing, cutting and repairing.

But there is a bigger vision behind it all.  The vision of returning to the dynamic, bold, unashamedly missionary faith of those first Karen evangelists from Burma through whom God planted the Karen churches in Thailand.  The vision of restoring not just memories of a golden past, but faith in God to provide possibilities for a golden future.  Please pray for the young people involved this weekend - that as they honour their forefathers in the faith, they might be inspired by their example.

BMS Day of Prayer - 4th February

Next Monday, 4th February, is this year's BMS Day of Prayer.  There's a whole spread of resources on the BMS website - among which is our prayer letter written specifically for the day.  You can open it by clicking on the picture below, or by clicking here.

New Year - but not yet!

Did you think that the New Year had already begun?  Not for the Karen - the Karen year 2752 officially begins on Saturday 12th January.  So Friday 11th January will see a variety of Karen New Year's Eve celebrations, including the one advertised below at the City Karen Baptist Church in Chiang Mai. 

You might have noticed the times on the poster - yes, they will be meeting at 6am on New Year's Day for a celebratory worship service!  Maybe your church could try that next year?

This weekend will not be the end of the New Year celebrations in Thailand, though.  The Chinese New Year on the 10th February will be observed by many Thais.  When we lived in Bangkok, we were surprised that more of our local shops closed up for Chinese New Year than for the Western New Year. 

And then for the big one - the Thai New Year, celebrating the beginning of the year 2556 (Buddhist Era), on April 13th.  After that, it's not so long until December 31st...

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?