Limitations of Letters

Last week, on our day off, we took a trip to see a skywalk. The skywalk is about a two and one half hour drive west from here, the other side of the city of Nong Khai.  When we got there, we found out it was in Sangkhom District.  When I saw the sign for Sangkhom, I was a little surprised.  I though Sangkhom was just south of Phon Phisai, where we live.

Looking down into the village of Sangkhom from the skywalk

Well, I wasn't imagining things, I just had not looked too carefully at the Thai spellings of the two places.  Because Thai has more vowels than English, plus tones that English doesn't have, plus different vowel lengths, it can be difficult to render names into English.  The Thai names for the two Sangkhoms actually look quite different from each other.

สังคม vs. สร้างคอม

สังคม translates "society".   สร้างคอม most simply translates "build a computer", but I have a feeling it means something different, I'm just not sure what.

Crossing into Sangkhom District, half an hour south of Phon Phisai

A challenge we constantly face working with different  cultures and languages is being misunderstood.  Sometimes we just say the wrong thing, but sometimes we are misunderstood because of limitations related to language or culture.  People will sometimes ask about something back in North America, but it is hard to explain because there is nothing like it here, so I have to make comparisons to things they already know, even though they are inadequate.

Jesus faced the some issue when talking to people.  How do you describe what the Kingdom of God is like when we've never really seen it and it is a bit beyond human understanding. We've seen some parts of the Kingdom of God, for sure, but certainly not all of it.  So Jesus used parables to describe the Kingdom of God--lots of them.  So the kingdom is like a mustard seed. Or a farmer.  Or a pearl.  Or a net.  Or a treasure.

Or...?

The good thing is that there is a Bible in the Thai language, so there is only one level of language limitations to people understanding God.  Otherwise, the people I work with would not just have to deal with the issue of human limitations understanding the things of God, they would also have to deal with my limitations in communicating it.

Because of these things, our focus in working with the church here is to get the people reading and memorizing scripture.  We try to help them understand the context of the various scriptures, but we also pray that the Holy Spirit will guide them in their understanding of God's word.

There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’
John 16:12-15 (NLT)

Milestones

One day this past week brought the concurrence of two significant events.

First of all, it was my birthday.  Another opportunity to look back at the past twelve months while also looking forward to the next.

A nice spin for my birthday this year (though a day early) was a surprise birthday cake brought by some of the teenagers who study English and the Bible with us.



One of the young women in the photo above, while she would not yet profess to be a Christian, is eager to hear stories from the Bible.  She and one of the others will be graduating this spring and are hoping to go on to university in Chiang Rai.  We've missed them some these past weeks because on Saturdays they have been going to Chiang Rai to take college entrance exams.  Pray that our time with these young people will be of benefit to them not just intellectually, but also spiritually.

Another event that occurred on my birthday, though I had not planned it this way, was that I finished reading through the Bible in Thai for the first time.

A few years ago, I figured that reading the scripture in Thai would be helpful for both ministry and for language-learning.  So I just started where I was in my regular reading, and tried to read a chapter a day (some days I did not get through a whole chapter).  I typically read on my computer, as I can make the fonts big.  (I have issues with my eyes that make deciphering the small curly-q's of the letters in the printed versions a bit difficult.)



It is interesting that the completion of this reading was marked with a beautiful doxology, which makes a fitting close to the end of one year and the beginning of another:

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.  (Romans 16:25-27 ESV)


What a great doxology!  It talks about a message of good news (the gospel)...made known through revelation (scripture)...to all nations...so that God may be glorified.  That is why we are here in Thailand.  May this be my prayer and continued focus of this next year of my life.

Hidden power

Water can do amazing things.

When we were in Canada last September, we went to Maligne Canyon—a narrow gorge carved into the rock by water flowing down from Maligne Lake towards the Athabasca River.  Haw can water do this?



Later on, we were in Hood Canal in Washington State.  There, water trapped behind a dam in the mountains feeds into a pipe which turns generators to make electricity.



Water has this hidden source of power that enables it to do amazing things.

But I want to write about another source of hidden power in this world that can accomplish amazing things—the Spirit of God.

Last July, I found myself asking, “What should I study for my next language check?” We had just come off a busy season near the end of our first term and our team leader asked us what we were planning on studying next. I told her that I would like to prepare my first sermon in Thai. For subject matter I thought I would write about the impact of having idols, based on some of my recent scripture reading.

My language helper would be Knot, a young man who decided to follow Jesus back in February. What I did not know at the time was that he and his wife had an idol in their car. Even though they did not believe the idol had any power any more, they had not thrown it out because it was given to them as a gift from a close friend. I found out later that some of the leaders in the church had been talking with him and his wife about this.

As we were looking at various passages in scripture relating to idols while preparing for the sermon, Knot told me about the idol in his car and why he still had it (by this time I had heard about it from others as well). The next week, Knot was busy, so his wife, Goi, was helping me. We were reading from 1 Corinthians where Paul writes about how eating food sacrificed to idols can cause others to stumble. I did not mention the idol in the car. But after we finished I overheard her talking to Knot about their idol and why, even though they may not believe the idol has any power, it might be something that keeps others from coming to Christ.

The next week, as I was again studying with Knot, he told me that they got rid of the idol from their car.

Jesus said:
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:13 ESV)

Even though others had tried to talk Knot and Goi into getting rid of the idol, it was as if they weren’t able to receive that counsel until they received it by the Holy Spirit working through the word of God

As we go about our work as missionaries, we can be tempted to rely on our own abilities and wisdom to get the work done. But we are most effective when our ministry is covered in prayer and we let God work in people’s lives. There is great power as the Holy Spirit works through the word of God.

Knot and Goi

Lost in Translation

Satar Lite sign 2
Originally uploaded by SierraSunrise

In Thailand, it is not unusual for intersections to have names. It is only recently that I noticed the sign at a particular 3 way intersection we frequently pass--usually I am too occupied with watching out for traffic (if I am moving) or the sign is blocked by big trucks (if I am stopped).

I first noticed the Latin script text of the sign. I quickly assumed it must be a name of foreign origin because there were two sounds represented that the Thai language doesn't have--a final "r" sound, and a long "i" sound followed by a final t.

So I looked at the Thai to try to figure it out:

สตาร์ ไลท์

Sounding out the Thai letters, I came up with (using letters that represent approximate American English sounds):

sahtah lie (as in the English word "lie")

figuring in the unpronounced Thai letters (which are used frequently in words borrowed from other languages and often represented with a ์ symbol), I came up with:

satar lite (as the sign reads)

Then, I applied a little bit of mental processing, I came up with:

starlight

Which I later learned was the name of a factory located near the intersection.

It is quite common in Thailand to see signs representing English words written in Thai script. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to figure them out. Sometimes I never do get it--at least not in the limited time I have while driving past a road sign.

I remember one of my language instructors joking to me: "you're the only American in this class and you have the hardest time reading English."

Isn't it so much easier when things are presented to us in a way we can understand? It is why we work so hard at learning the Thai language--in order that we can communicate with the Thai people--through words as well as actions--how much God loves them.

It is why God sent Jesus to earth--in order that God could communicate though the life and teachings of Jesus the things He wants us to know about Him and what our response to God should be.

As Jesus said:
Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." --John 10:37-38 (NIV)

And as Paul later adds:
For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand.--2 Corinthians 1:13 (NIV)

How thankful I am that we have a God that wants to communicate with us and who went to great lengths to do so.  I'm thankful that so many who went before us went to great effort to preserve the actions of God in world and the record of the words of God's prophets and especially Jesus.

Built upon the Swamp

In February of last year, before we ever imagined that we would be living in Bangkok, we were here visiting some family members who were living here at the time.  One day we went for a walk to the nearby Cultural Center and noticed that it was adjacent to a swamp.  It was at that point I remembered that much of central Thailand, including what is now Bangkok, is on bottomland—land with high water tables and likely propensity for flooding.

It is no wonder that in the original city much of the transportation was by water.  It was much easier to dig a ditch and have an instant canal than to try to build a road.

Houses along a major canal in old Bangkok

As these thoughts came to mind, I looked up at the tall buildings around me and wondered about their stability.  How big a footing is big enough to adequately support buildings that are more than 20 stories tall like the one Ingrid’s sister’s family was living in (or the one we are living in right now.)

In my past life, I worked with USDA as a Soil Scientist—making maps of where different kinds of soil are located and showing, among other things, there suitability and limitations for different uses.  The soils of Bangkok would likely have been rated “Severely Limited” for most urban uses—a term that means, more-or-less: “not impossible but has properties that would be expensive to overcome and/or prone to failure” (my own definition).

I was reminded again of this last week when we were exploring one of the nearby communities.  To get there, we had to cross under an elevated freeway.  As is quite common under many of these elevated freeways, the pillars appear to be built on mounds.

Pillars appear to rise out of the ground sinking around them

Under some highways, these mounds are quite high and extend well into the motorway underneath.  At first I thought it was a weird way to construct a highway—but then I realized that the more likely cause was that the supports for the upper highway had good footings and were stable, but the lower highway was on uncompacted ground subject to subsidence—the ground beneath the highway was sinking!

Jesus often used analogies about soil and farming to speak to his followers.  On one occasion he wrote:

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.
   But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”  (Matthew 7:24-27--NLT)

So now, when I see these sinking highways, I will be reminded to do a quick check of my own life—am I building my life on the teaching of Jesus or on the teachings of ordinary men?  I want to be able to say, as hymn writer Edward Mote put it: On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Memorial Day: Remembering the Warriors

In a few days Memorial Day will be celebrated in the USA.  It is a day to remember those who have fought and died for the country.

I was thinking it would be an appropriate time to remember those who truly fought for us:  for those who have labored for hours on their knees interceding for their friends, families, neighbors, their nation and even their enemies; and for those who have faithfully taught and obeyed the word of God.

I don’t remember Jesus anywhere telling us to take up weapons against others.  There was that time before they went to the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus told a quote about buying a sword and the disciples commenting that they had two (Luke 22:36-38).  But in the end Jesus told his disciples not to use the sword but to put it back in its place.

That same night the sword was used, also in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus labored in prayer and He exhorted His disciples to do the same.  The business of the disciples was prayer, not sword fighting.

How often could the words of Jesus to His disciples that night be applied to me:

^40… Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Matthew 26:40-41 (NIV))

The Apostle Paul wrote about another weapon that is used by the followers of Jesus—the Word of God.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17 (NIV))

We wield our sword when we study the Word of God, live by its teaching and teach others from it.  (In contrast to fighting with the sword, commands to be obeyed from the Old Testament are summarized in Matthew 22:37-39 as loving God and loving others.)

There are many people who have given up their lives because they fought for God’s kingdom and chose not to use the weapons of this world.  Instead the chose the weapons of prayer and the Word of God. To them, the battle for the Kingdom of God was worth the cost.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Hebrews 11--a chapter sometimes known as the faith chapter because it begins with a definition of faith and then talks about some of the then famous heroes of the faith: people like Noah, Abraham, Moses and Rahab.

But it is the latter part of the chapter that intrigues the most--ever since I heard Elisabeth Elliot speak on this chapter at the Urbana 79 missions convention.  Verses 32-38 (NIV) read (emphasis mine):


³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. ³⁷ They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated--³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

This memorial day, while we remember those who have fought for our country and given their lives for that cause, let us also remember those for whom this world was not worthy--those who have fought for God’s kingdom and have given their lives for an even better cause.  A good way for us to remember them would be to follow their example in prayer and studying, obeying and teaching others from the word of God.  Let us choose to be good soldiers, never yielding in our allegiance to the King of Kings and laboring hard with the weapons we have—the word of God and prayer.