The Power of Three

It's often said that things come in threes.  As I look back at, well, the last three weeks of life here in Thailand, a number of threes come to my mind...three threes, actually.  Wow, this is getting scary.

Three Days in a Karen Village

About three weeks ago, a small group from our mission traveled to a Karen village a couple hours away from Chiang Mai to lead a three-day English camp there.  The first hour and a half of the drive there took us through a steep and windy mountain pass.  There we stopped in the town of Samoeng to have a chauffeur take us the remaining few kilometers there.  A chauffeur, you say?  I was doubtful that we were in need of such an amenity as well, but soon very thankful to have him drive the remaining few kilometers, as the hilly pass was rather unnegotiable as a consequence of the Thai rainy season.  (It took us three exciting and valiant attempts to make it up one particularly rough patch of road.)

There's always a very high level of uncertainty going into a new place to lead an English outreach camp.  Generally we come in with an idea of what we be teaching, approximately how many students we'll have, and what activities we'll do when.  Then we'll arrive and find out that our plans are actually nothing like the reality of our situation, and so last minute scrambling and impromptu lessons and games become our new reality.

This camp wasn't necessarily any different in that sense, as the last minute scrambles still kept us on our toes.  However, in terms of what might be the outward signals of success in what we pray for in leading an English outreach camp, I'd say that this was the most successful one I've been a part of here.  Spending time teaching English and encouraging students to become more confident in using it is a noble thing, but truth be told that's not the aim of an English camp.  We want to build relationships that enable our mission team to share the Law and Gospel.

Have you ever seen someone present the Law and the Gospel to a large group of people who have never heard it before?  It's not all that likely if you're reading this from the United States of America.  I've had the privilege to be a witness to it a few times here, and it sends shivers down my spine and gives me goosebumps like never before.  The Holy Spirit is at work!  That was my experience the first night of the camp as our mission team hosted activities for the students (they stay on the school grounds during weekdays, and walk several kilometers back home on the weekends to return to their families).  After some songs and activities, followed by a skit that spoke on the topic of being able to forgive others, our faithful Thai evangelist was able to give a most beautiful presentation of Law and Gospel that had my heart pounding.  The fruits were already apparent in the coming two days of the camp.  Some of the students at the school were interested in learning Christian songs to sing, and they requested that we send them Christian resources to learn from, a request that was quickly granted upon return to Chiang Mai.

One of the neatest things about this experience is how the connection with this village was made in the first place.  Last October, we had led an English camp in Chiang Mai that didn't seem to be very fruitful besides the generically spreading goodwill through English.  The logistics of that camp didn't allow for a solid opportunity to share the Gospel message.  We did, however, keep in contact with one of the teachers who worked at that school, and a lasting friendship was formed with her.  Since then she switched teaching jobs to a new school, which led to this most recent opportunity.  So, even though last October's camp didn't seem all that fruitful at the time, it paved the way to allow our latest outreach camp to happen.  It's fascinating to see the Lord's timeframe at work.

Three Hours in Burma

Every three months I have to leave the country for visa renewal purposes, so a recent trip by some of our mission staff to the Tak province (home to many of our Hmong students) was a good opportunity for me to cross the border at Mae Sot, Thailand, into Myawaddy, Myanmar.  (It seems that everyone in Southeast Asia except the country's own military regime still refers to Myanmar by its former name, Burma.)

Last January, I crossed into Burma for a visa run, but that was at a different site (the customary northern crossing from Mae Sai, Thailand, into Tachilek, Myanmar).  The Burmese side hosts a huge market of incredibly cheap goodies, including fully packaged DVDs for approximately one dollar.  Of course, there are also the offers for cheap cigarettes, liquor, Viagara, little boys and girls, or the variable combinations of those four things.  I was curious if the Myawaddy crossing would have a similar atmosphere.  Not hearing stories of anyone who had spent more time in Myawaddy than to get their passport stamped and march right across the bridge crossing Moei River, I figured I'd spend a few hours bumming around there to see whatever was to be seen.

Burma has had its fair share of time in international press this past year, with last September's monk protests which turned violent, as well as how May's deadly Tropical Cyclone Nargis turned even deadlier when the country's military regime forbade foreign aid from entering.  I'm here to give Burma some positive press time, though.  I've never had a more delightful and efficient border crossing experience than this past one.

As I crossed the bridge over the Moei River, I was immediately befriended by a Burmese guy in his mid-fifties walking back into his country.  His English was surprisingly educated and intelligible.  I was curious as to what his friendship wanted me to purchase from him at the end of the walk across the bridge, and was pleasantly surprised that he was friendly just to be friendly!  Then, outside of the door of the customs office, there was the official who stopped me to notify me (with great awe) that "Excuse me, sir, you are the tallest man I have ever seen!"  

Then comes my favorite part of the story.  I entered into the immigration office and was immediately welcomed profusely into their country of Myanmar.  Unlike the border crossing at Mae Sai, the one here between Mae Sot and Myawaddy is used with much less frequency by farangs for border crossings.  The officials in the office were eager to use what English skills they had while the opportunity presented itself for them.  I willingly obliged them by speaking English back to them instead of speaking Thai.  However, as a lasting remnant of politeness, I used the word khrap at the end of my sentences (a word used in the Thai language by men, making what you say to be more polite sounding.)  After awhile of chatting with the officials, totally in English besides that one word, one of the officials declared to me, "You speak very good Thai language!"  This happened both upon entering and exiting the country.

I spent about three hours within Burma, going only as far as I could walk since I didn't feel like spending the money or effort negotiating on transportation prices.  That wasn't without the offer, however.  One guy in particular followed me constantly with his rickshaw, saying "Sir, sir!"  I didn't necessarily find it a hassle though, so I allowed him to peddle alongside me as I walked.  We tried having a conversation, but that was rather difficult because he knew more English than he knew Thai, and I'd say he knew about fifteen English words.  Every once in a while he'd leave my side, but then twenty minutes later he would pop up out of nowhere at an intersection as I walking past, and we'd continue together again for awhile.

No cultural experience is complete without a taste of the food, so I made sure to find a local restaurant.  I couldn't help but chuckle as I passed by one restaurant, whose name was "Chitty Food Centre & Cafe."  Questioning the quality of the food in the aformentioned establishment, I decided on another place and was astounded by the feast that was set before me.  The food was good, the price was acceptable, and the Myanmar Beer was decent tasting (that's one you're not likely to find much outside of Burma due to international sanctions on the country).

Three hours was not much time to get to know a place, but it was more than enough to suit my visa renewal purposes.  I walked back across the bridge over Moei River, a bit disappointed that there was no large market to buy DVDs but pleasantly surprised there were no shady men on the Burmese side hassling me to buy whisky, Marlboros, and young children.  Within a few minutes of crossing back onto the Thai side of the river, the offers began.

A Three Month Term

We just finished week one of a three month academic term at the Bible Institute in Chiang Mai.  Morale among the students is high, the new students seem to have begun to find a niche, and one week into it, English classes seem to have already found a nice groove as well.  One exciting, albeit challenging, thing that's new for me this term is that I'm taking a class alongside the Bible Institute students.  It's a foundations of speech class that is meant to help our newer Bible students have the confidence on how to speak to people and to lead groups of people, especially in worship and fellowship contexts.  The class is taught entirely in Thai, with all the reading materials in Thai language, too.  I'm pleased that I can understand just about everything spoken in the class -- until the aajaan (teacher) starts reading definitions of terms, which have technical vocabulary that I obviously have had no reason to learn in Thai up to this point.  Then I'm at a loss for what to do: I try my best to copy every word he's saying in my phonetic English version of his Thai language, but it's a losing battle.  It should be a hearty challenge, both when it comes to test time, as well as presenting speeches for the class in the Thai language!

It's definitely going to be a busy three months, and I imagine it to be a quick next three months as well.  Time flies by when you're having fun, and that I am.  It's a blessing, privilege, and honor to be serving the Three in One here in Thailand.

Peace,

Eric