Learning Thai

While George and Mindy were here they got this video clip of Eliza participating in the morning dance/exercise time at her kindergarten.

Posted by T and C at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In our neighborhood there is a fenced off shrine area that is considered to be an important sacred place. There is a Buddha image there but the most important thing is a statue of a Hindu god which represents the ruling territorial spirit of this specific area. People leave offerings of flowers and incense and we see people wai-ing as they walk or drive past.

Ever since we've lived here we've noticed that occasionally movies are shown at the shrine. A truck with a huge old-fashioned reel-to-reel projector parks out front and the movie is projected onto a large screen. A handful of people from the neighborhood gather to watch.

Photo credit: George Mast

My first assumption was that this was just a community event - free movie night. Recently however, it occurred to me that there would be many more suitable locations for showing a movie - and I wondered if maybe there was another reason for showing movies at the shrine. I asked a friend about it and, sure enough, the movies are not shown for the public, but for the spirit of the shrine. She explained that people will often go to the shrine to ask for lucky lottery numbers. As part of this transaction, they promise to repay the spirit with a movie if they win the lottery. Since then we've noticed that there does seem to be a pattern - the movies are often shown a few days after the lottery drawings at the beginning and middle of each month. Presumably this movie truck is kept busy showing movies at similar shrines in all the other neighborhoods.

In the five years that we've been here we've learned a lot about Thai religion and beliefs. However, this was a good reminder to me that our worldviews are very different, and that if I only interpret what I see based on my worldview, I'll probably miss the true meaning of many cultural and social activities.

-Tom

Posted by T and C at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier this month Silas and I spent most of a week in a small village outside of Savanakhet, Laos - the home of Pon and Lan. Thanks so much to those of you who prayed for that trip - we had a safe, fun time and it was a real encouragement to spend time with our brothers. It was also good to meet their families and to see the context that they come from. Lan has moved back while he recuperates from tuberculosis. He's still having some health problems, but overall is feeling better.

There are no other believers in the village and Lan shared that while he has been discouraged at times, as he's read the Bible and prayed he has been reminded of God's presence and power. He and Pon are optimistic that God will work in the lives of their friends and families and they are patiently waiting for signs of openness. I tried to encourage them to watch for God's work and we were all encouraged by reading the parable of the growing seed in Mark 4.

Silas loved the country life - playing with animals, eating new food. He especially liked getting to know Lan's daughter. They really hit it off and Silas came home with lots of stories about his time with Non and her dog, Pepsi. The one thing that he wasn't a fan of was the cold bucket showers (the weather was actually cool!)

Here are a few more pictures...

Lan & his daughter.

We went fishing on the Mekong and caught a few small fish. But more importantly, these two are also "fishing for men"!

Taking a break from fishing.

Silas with a neighborhood baby.

Silas and Non.

Our hosts.

-Tom

Posted by T and C at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last year it seemed like we were constantly traveling and this new year hasn't brought any changes so far! Tonight Silas and I are leaving for Laos. Because of our far-from-perfect visa situation I need to leave the country and re-enter. Instead of just doing a one-day trip to the border we decided it would be a good opportunity to visit our friends Pon and Lan in their village. I've never been there and with our home assignment coming up it will be quite a while before I get to spend any time with these two guys.

Lan moved back home a few months ago and is receiving treatment for tuberculosis. He is the only believer in his village and is missing the Christian fellowship of our group. Pon studies in Vientiane but has a couple of weeks off from college. He really enjoyed Silas' visit to Vientiane and asked me to bring him along this time too. Silas is more than happy to travel and is very excited since Pon told him that we will see water buffalo and go to the river.

I'm looking forward to having time to talk, pray, and plan with these two guys. We're excited about what God will do in the future and our goal is to encourage and disciple them as they introduce the kingdom of heaven to their friends and families.

As a family, however, we're not looking forward to another separation. Please pray for all of us - for safety, God's direction in conversation and Bible study, and that no problems would come up at home while we're gone. We get back early Saturday morning - just in time to welcome my brother and his wife to Thailand!

Thanks,

Tom

Posted by T and C at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier this week Silas and I went with our landlord's family to Khon Kaen (a town in northeastern Thailand) for their son's wedding. This was the first chance I've had to see an entire Thai wedding - and it was quite a production. Besides the end result, there aren't very many similarities with American weddings! The process starts with dowry negotiations and the groom and his family seem to be responsible for many of the costs. We traveled in two vans with a group of around 20 people. And we all slept in the same house - most of us lined up in a row in the same room. Between the loud music from the wedding party, the man who insisted on watching TV after everyone else laid down, and the incredible chorus of snoring I did not get much sleep! But it was a very good cultural experience and a good chance to spend time with our landlord.

The bride's parents' house and the site of all the wedding festivities. For most of the two days there were people sitting around eating and drinking.

The evening before the wedding 5 monks came from the temple to make holy water and bless the string that would be used in the ceremony. Many of the guests didn't come upstairs for this, and the bride and groom didn't even show up until the very end. It seemed to be more for the benefit of the older villagers who care more about these traditions and ceremonies. The chanting put Silas to sleep and he even slept through the ending where one of the monks flung the blessed water over the audience.

On the morning of the wedding they announced that an auspicious time of 9:09 a.m. had been set for the beginning of the ceremony. The house where we were staying (along with the groom) was just down the street from the wedding site. Here the groom is leading a parade of all the people who came along from Samut Prakan. I was too busy taking pictures to notice that Silas was trying to steal the show!

Once we got to the bride's house some of her relatives were barring the door. The groom had to pay money before he could pass. But a couple of steps later, some more relatives were blocking the stairs. After several payments (and getting his feet washed by his future mother-in-law) he was allowed upstairs.

At the actual ceremony there were no monks - it was led by this man, some kind of village elder. He chanted and sang, and told the bride and groom what to do. Unlike at an American wedding, I got the impression that the bride and groom had very little say in what happened. Everything was done in accordance with tradition and the guests felt very free to holler out reminders and suggestions (Hold hands! Hold that bowl of flowers! Put this cloth around her shoulders! Eat this sticky rice that I've wrapped in money!) They didn't even have many (I don't think the groom had any) personal friends in attendance. They were family members and friends of the parents.

The bride and groom with the sacred strings tied around their heads.

The couple was sprinkled with special water during a very long chant.

The groom's parents tying strings on the couple's wrists as a form of blessing. The rest of the guests than did the same thing while putting cash gifts in their hands. In another major departure from American wedding etiquette these gifts were announced by an emcee over the sound system (which was broadcast to the whole neighborhood). "The bride's aunt so-and-so gives 1000 Baht. The sister of the bride gives 10,000 Baht. The bride's cousin gives 500 Baht." Then some helpful relatives dumped all the money on the floor and counted it up so that a total could be announced. At the start of ceremony the dowry of gold and cash was displayed and then the bride's parents wrapped it up in a big bundle and took it away.

A final prayer of blessing.

After the prayer of blessing the parents of the couple led them into the bedroom where a bed had been decorated. First the grooms parents laid on the bed and embraced while people took pictures. Then the newly married couple took their turn. This blurry shot was the best I could get since I was at the back of the pack.

We were there for less than 24 hours but ate 4 big meals during that time. A large group of women were constantly cooking and they butchered 5 pigs right there at the house. In fact we could hear the second batch of pigs being killed while we were eating the first one!

Silas did a great job of traveling, sleeping through noise, and being picked on. He wasn't very excited about all the people who wanted to talk to him but he did take a liking to this lady who repeatedly took him across the road to sit on a tractor and brought this toy motorcycle for him to sit on. She would push him around and then ask him to dance. He would jump off and do a short jig before hopping back on.

And he loved spending time with Lung Seri. Here they were walking down to the river and talking about whether or not there were snakes hiding in the bamboo grove.

-Tom

Posted by T and C at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last Friday I was invited to attend a Christmas celebration at the Thai school where I volunteer a few hours each week. This was the first time they've had a big Christmas program and it was an interesting cultural experience. They read an explanation of Christmas that they'd found online, but later equated it with the Western New Year. (These two holidays are often lumped together here.)

Earlier the students had participated in handwriting and card-making contests and the winners were given prizes. But the main event of the day was a "Santa and Santy" competition. Several pairs of boys and girls from each classroom dressed up in all manner of Santa and Santy (Mrs. Santa Claus?) costumes, danced, and practiced their laughs. There were also several musical performances that had nothing to do with Christmas. They asked me to lead a couple of easy English games and I also helped hand out the prizes. It was bizarre seeing so many Thai kids dressed up in these costumes - but they seemed to be having a good time and I was glad for the chance to continue my relationship with the school.

One of the more unorthodox Santa costumes.

Several of the students from my 9th grade English class.
We had a great time celebrating Christmas over the weekend with our team and family (more blogs to come). But today it's back to business as usual and both girls went to school. We're all looking forward to the 4 day New Years weekend coming up.

-Tom

Posted by T and C at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come!
Blessings at Christmas from our family to your family!
Tom, Candice, Claire, Eliza, and Silas

Posted by T and C at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)