Remembering Dad

We are spending Easter weekend in Bang Saen so we can participate in some of the Easter services at our mission churches.  Last evening (Good Friday) we were able to participate in a beautiful time of worship and prayer at The Life Center.

Good Friday service at The Life Center

While we are here at Bang Saen, we are staying at Samiya Guest house.  At Samiya, there is a shaded area outside where they serve breakfast.  In the eating area there are lots of little statues, including a cluster of pink elephants.

Pink elephants at Samiya guest house

Whenever I see elephant statues, I think of my dad, who had a collection of then on a shelf in the living room.  I don’t know how he actually got started on this, but I always assumed it was because he was such a staunch Republican.  (One time I brought him back from Haiti a  rather garishly painted donkey to add some balance to his collection.)

I didn't have a perfect father, but he was a good one.  One of his values was that all people should be treated equally regardless of nationality, skin color, language, or whatever.  That probably had a large influence on our family hosting exchange students from other countries and hosting black people from a nearby city.  And perhaps that is one reason I am so comfortable traveling to different places and being around people who aren't like me.

So here we are—for the second time in our lives we are living in a country where not only are we part of the minority, but where we look and speak distinctly different from the majority around us.  And while we find it difficult because we can neither speak nor read the language at this point, we are comfortable being here and calling it home.

So, thank you, dad, for teaching us to love those who aren't like us.