Our home culture glorifies youth. As people "mature" they are considered less and less relevant. In old days, white hair was considered a sign of wisdom. By one's age, one earned the right to be heard. Not so much anymore. The opinions of the experienced are considered "old-fashioned", "out-of-date", or "irrelevant. Old people are often considered a burden.
One of the nice things about Thai culture (though it is disappearing) is that there is still status connected with age. It's refreshing. (see more on that here.) We are in our sixties and we are stilled deemed worthy of offering something of value.
It's even more rewarding with the youth. There are some young people at church that actually like hanging out with us. Granted, we try to make it worthwhile. We regularly teach some guitar and music. Since this month is school break, we tried to have some extra activities for the young people. Earlier last week, Ingrid invited some of the girls over to make muffins. A few days later we took some people to a park about an hours drive away.
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| Making Muffins |
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| Visit to a park with interesting rock formations |
Along the way, they learned some Bible and some English. We learned some Thai and learned more about Thai culture.
Of course, staying relevant in the lives of these young people takes effort takes some effort on our part. We have to invest time and energy into the task. It also takes a measure of humility. We only hope that as the teens mature, they will remain interested in what we have to offer. Meanwhile, we thank God for the opportunity to have a positive influence in their lives.
These people are lucky to have you as friends! keep up the good work.
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