A Child’s Prayer

A few times per week I teach a group of children here something from the Bible. Whether it be principles, or stories, I aim to educate, and empower. So recently I began to have the kids take turns at presenting something to the rest of us, whether it be a testimony, or a teaching. Last night one of the kids gave testimony on when he sold flowers on the street.

In his testimony, he recalled of how he would be fearful of his parents if he did not sell all of his flowers. He said that if he came back with anything unsold, then his parents would smack him, and having heard about his father, I’m inclined to think it was more than a tap on the bottom. It was during this time that he met the two women who now run Blossom Home. These women, he said, taught him about God, taught him that God cares, and taught him how to pray.

So pray he did. Whenever he was in fear of his parents, he would pray to God that they would not hit him, and God would always answer. But not only did God prevent the boy from being hit, but took him out of the situation completely by starting Blossom Home.

I understand that reading this you will not share the feelings that I did when he was saying it, and I haven’t written to milk a feeling of sadness from you. But when he told his story, my mind was struck. A child, completely powerless, and knowing it, reaching out, and being helped, by God…

Oh my…

Ok, this is getting kind of silly. Thinking that I wouldn’t have many readers as of late as I haven’t written lately, I was surprised to find my visitor count going strong. But it has been a bit deceptive, all the traffic is being generated by one entry: I hurt myself!

Pay attention to the top searches that brought so many people here. My initial thoughts were ‘oh, lots of people interested in biology’… and then the darkness crept in while the innocence slipped away as I began to ponder, why are people REALLY looking for pictures of feet? Has my humble little blog become an attraction for those with a foot f-e-t-i-s-h ? (I don’t want to start drawing MORE traffic, so hopefully adding the hyphens will help distract search engines a tad). Seems almost as successful at generating traffic as adding ‘cute kitty’ to the title of a youtube video…

Trusting oneself through trust of God

One of the more notable pressures placed upon a first term missionary is the warning not to screw things up. Living in a culture not of your own the risk of acting inappropriately can be quite high. There is the danger of forgetting where you are, and so taking a wrong step, forgetting to accommodate for, and to adjust to the culture that you are surrounded by, and thus risk offending people, and coming off looking like an apathetic imperialist. Things as simple as being too nice to girls, or wearing shorts on Sunday, or not showing the proper amount of respect for others. And on the flip side there is the danger of being too strict. Forgetting that you are in a different country, and perhaps not under certain rules which can slow your progress. This pressure, often imposed by the first term missionary’s backers, often hangs like a sword over the missionary’s head. But, as the oft-used and abused verse goes, “I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)

Let’s think this one through logically though. God, according to Christian thought, is the creator of all creation. Without showing off my vast scientific qualifications (or lack thereof), that creation (lets call it the universe) is governed by rules. Rules like ‘gravity’, rules like ‘time’. If you side with this thought (which, for these purposes, I do), time itself (often referred to as the fourth dimension), is created (and so, it is quite logical that God was not created, but has existed always, as He remains outside of creation and the rules that bind it). Therefore, as God is not a part of time (cf. 2 Peter 3:8), it is fair to say that He sees the future in light of the past and the past in light of the future. Keep with me, here.

If God is not governed by time, but knows the future as well as the past, then to Him, right now is not the present. Throw me into the mix. One person might look at me and see promise, but God sees fulfilment. One person might fear a fall, but, just as with David, God was well prepared. He chose me with nothing for me to prove, but knowing whether I would succeed, or fail miserably, knowing whether I would stand strong, or stumble. It seems that God is never on the edge of His seat.

What does this mean to me? Well, it means that if I was chosen by God, then I will fulfil what He has chosen me for. I may struggle, but I will succeed. I may have to fight, but what a boring story otherwise. And so, I need not fear failing. I need not mistrust myself. I am made free. But I, much like you, am a cynic. I read this, and think that it is all good and well, but remember all those who burnt out before their time. I remember those I studied with who were held in such high regard, looked upon as the next leaders, what with their fire and passion burning ever so brightly. But I mourn the loss, as I know just how many have looked God in the face and said “you aren’t really there.” Now I might be excused to have hope that this is merely a slump, and that they shall recover to their former faith, but what if they don’t? Am I made wrong? Does fear have cause to return? Not at all. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14).

The Nature of Successful Missions

The Christian church is as diverse as humanity itself. What starts off as a single ‘Church’ can subsequently be seen as ‘The Roman Catholic Church’ and ‘Protestants’, which can further be seen as even more diverse until the point that you can end up with over 33,000 separate Christian groups (according to The World Christian Encyclopaedia, 2000 ed.). It can be viewed like a family tree, with all its many offshoots that still come under one overall family crest. This point is often lamented on, but it should not be, as Christianity, in its most truest of senses (that is, as it is represented in the New Testament), not a religion (that is, a system of human thought in reference to a higher entity), but a relationship. As such, some diversity is welcome, as “Conformatism [sic] is the essence of a dictatorship, not a relationship.” Just as long as one maintains the core of Christianity, they can be called Christian (a loaded statement, I know).

In scripture Paul speaks about this diversity when he calls the global church “The Body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many.”

So despite the diversity, the Church can be seen as one single entity, one single family.

One thing that I contend every Christian should agree with is that the aim of the Church is to further the gospel message. To understand the nature of successful missions we must understand our differences, even embrace them, but we must all work together.

Thailand: A Case Study

Take a look at Thailand. Freedom of Religion has existed in Thailand for the better part of 200 years, and yet after all this time, Christians make up less than 1% of the population. Strange, considering that Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand, reportedly has at any one time the highest concentration of Christian missionaries in the world. To begin to see why this is though, I think it is necessary to group mission work into two categories. Proselytising, and Community work.

Proselytising is what people usually think of when they think of mission work. Missionaries go through a place, preaching the gospel and (hopefully) winning converts. Some people see this as the primary, if not the only purpose of missionaries, as Christ did indeed command to go out to all the nations preaching the good news (Matthew 28:16-20).

Community work, on the other hand, is what people usually consider the work of NGOs. People who perform community projects to raise the standard of living for a people group. Whether it be teaching them how to farm, teaching them principles for self sufficiency, medical work, feeding the people, etc.

Often people will err towards one side or the other. Proselytisers will caution not to mix proselytising with community work as they don’t want to create ‘Rice Christians’ (that is, people who will ‘convert’ simply for a meal), and community workers will caution not to openly proselytise because they don’t want to be seen as pressuring people to convert in return for their help.

Successful missions however, needs both.

Understanding the lost around us

A few weeks ago I was visiting the house of an ethnic family near the border to Myanmar. The father was out working, and the mother was there with her four children. Their house, made of metal sheets and bits of old wood with rusted nails poking out everywhere, consisted of one bedroom smaller than the cab of a passenger car, and a similar sized kitchen. There was a single stove in the kitchen, no running water or sanitation to be seen, and only later when looking at photos did I notice the buckets sitting outside for them to bathe out in the open. While there, one of the children was hungry and dished himself up some of the only food they had, a bit of rice with some white sugar added for flavour. Popping my head in the bedroom, which had only the comfort of a straw mat on the floor, I noticed a poster of Buddha hanging up on the wall.

This prompted my thinking. How would one reach this woman?

You see, Buddhism was born out of a realisation that life sucks. The Buddha, before he was called as such, was a prince. Over the course of a few nights he snuck out of the palace to see the world beyond his throne. Seeing the great human suffering that was going on beyond his bubble he sat under a tree until he was enlightened. His solution was to rid yourself of all attachment, as attachment brings about pain. But by escaping this attachment one could escape reality. One could cease to exist, one could be free from suffering.

Christ came from a similar perspective. He, as God, saw that life sucked, and came to rectify that. That is the good news of the gospel, the great role reversal. Those who are poor shall become rich, those who are weak shall be made strong, those who mourn shall be comforted. “He will wipe away every tear.” One can be free from suffering, but not through a spiritual death, but through real life.

If we stop there, the answer is clear. Proselytise. Go forth and preach the good news. Comfort the weary with this hope. But we shouldn’t stop there, and, I think you will see, Christ did not stop there.

Lets pretend you are a missionary, and I am a member of that family. There are so many verses that you might consider sharing with me, but lets go with the Baseball favourite: John 3:16.

You say: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.”

I think: “What??? Life is hard, life is suffering. Who is this God who loves a world that is full of such pain, and who hates me so much that He won’t let me escape it? Why won’t He let me perish???? Aha, but you’re saying that if I DON’T believe, I WILL perish???”

See where this is going? You have to meet people where they are at.

So, lets try the alternate route. Lets try some community work.

We’ll use the same family from before as a reference point. Various work has been done, they have more food than they need (actually, we were there to deliver a 3 months supply of baby formula to the mother), they have moved to a nice little house, they grow their own food and sell the surplus, the kids have more clothes than they can wear, and they even now have a bank account so that they can save for their children’s future education. Every day they are thrilled that they must have led a good life in their previous incarnation, and karma has finally rewarded them. They live a long life, and they never know God. They do not go to heaven, they are not reincarnated. No, this solution is short sighted, catering not to their eternal life, only to their temporal existence (not to mention they still live in fear of the spirit down the road).

So, what must be done? Both, actually.

Christ the Everyman

When Christ was on this earth, He did not just walk around proclaiming to people the good news. He met with them. He ate with them. He healed them, He helped them, He rescued them. He was filled with compassion for them, He died for them. He didn’t simply care for their eternity, He cared for them then and there, wherever they were. To the blind man He did not say “there will come a time in 30 years after you die that you will be able to see.” He said “open your eyes.” He did not say to the lame “not to worry, you will have new legs in heaven!” He said “stand, pick up your mat, and walk home.”

And of course, He was equally interested in their eternity. He preached to the poor and downtrodden of a great role reversal, a new Earth, a redemption from sin, all culminating in His final words before death upon the cross, “It is finished.”

In order for us to successfully reach a people, we must go to where they are at, not where we want them to be. Eternal life is not a thrilling concept to a person who sees only suffering from it, but to a person who sees the seeds of that life and its blessings, it can be all that one desires.

So, to proselytise without community work, is quite often impotent, but to perform community work without proselytising is short sighted. Both are essential for successful missions.

The Body of Christ

“But, Michael”, you ask, “I am just one man, I cannot meet all of these needs, I can not do everything you ask, that is why I have chosen my focus!” I know. But you are forgetting something, you hand, you have a foot that you can work with! “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function” (Romans 12:4). We, the church, are the body of Christ. A foot cannot punch, but a hand can. A hand cannot speak, but a mouth can. The key is cooperation.

In my short time in missions I have noticed something unfortunate. A lot of missionaries and differing agencies are not willing to work in tandem. Visiting a ministry a while ago, when it became clear to the person running it that I had not showed up to volunteer, but to introduce myself for potential future cooperation (and awareness, as if my ministry crosses over into what they have set up, I would rather build off of their experience), this person’s expression grew bleak. They suddenly lost all interest. When talking my meeting over with a person the following day, they could not understand why I would want to meet them, and not instantly volunteer. They saw it almost as if I was intentionally wasting somebody’s time. I lament this fact. As what we all seek is the progression of the gospel, and for that to happen we must work together.

Contrast that to the Australians I met a few weeks ago. They have a clear focus in mind: The progression of the gospel, and are willing to help anyone so that we can fulfil that goal. They have no qualms with their workers working with other ministries. In fact, if I was to be under their leadership and wanting to focus my efforts on a certain task, they would stop me from going at it alone if there was already someone else working towards that. While there is never any assurance that I would be able to manage a working partnership with the other person, I would at least have to explore that option.

Bernard of Chartres said in the twelfth century: “We are but Dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants.” Successful missions recognises this fact, and those 33,000 plus separate Christian groups must come together as that one body we call the Church in order to reach the lost of this world.

Home

I’m back home. No not, Australia, but Chiang Mai. Tak was a good, and well needed rest, but I can’t bear to sit still for too long. The first day of doing nothing was great. Time to think is a luxury. But I can’t bear to sit still too long and by day two or three I was ready to get back to work. I guess it makes a difference when your work is a defining point of your life.

It was nice being in Tak again, and seeing old friends. Since I left some things have changed. There are now even fewer white people in Tak, and the few that are there are, to put it bluntly, old. It can be a bit of a pain sometimes, as people assume that I’m their offspring, because, you know, all of us whites look alike! But being the lone ranger can always boost your self esteem. Travelling around of course, men are usually content with staring and smiling (sometimes no smiling though), while women and children get all giddy and say hello.

As my birthday is coming up, my friends in Tak gave me a present this morning. To be honest, it is the perfect gift. There was no “what do you want for your birthday?”, just thoughtfulness. That’s all there is to the perfect gift, I think, thoughtfulness. And they got me a unique gift. Have a look.

It’s a plaque that goes on my bedroom door and says: “Michael”.

When I woke up this morning, I had to pack and go to an ATM to take out money for the bus, and to pay for my stay. On the way it began to rain, and when I put my card into the ATM it froze and ate my card. Staring at the machine blankly, I called the number on it, could hardly hear a thing, so called my friend. While on the phone to her the machine regurgitated my card, so I went looking for a more reliable machine. After waiting a while for the rain to stop, it calmed down to a drizzle, so I headed out. Soon I began to feel that my back was slowly being drenched, and reaching back I found it was covered in mud. The bike, you see, lacked any sort of mud guards. So riding around, covered in goop, I found the ATM. Already 20 minutes late for church, I couldn’t go like I was, so went back to the centre to bathe and change. By the time I reached church it was half way through, but I didn’t understand any of the second half anyway.

After church I saw a few of my old students, and, armed with my increased Thai ability, began to tease them. “I know you missed me! Don’t cry when I’m gone, ok?” I’d say. “We won’t!” They’d reply. “Why do you lie? It’s ok!” I assured them. At this point they began to smack me, while I repeated “don’t cry!” amidst impersonations of them crying “Don’t leave, Michael!”

After this, it was back to the centre to pick up my bags, then off to the bus station. I noticed the ticket was quite cheap, half the price of what I’ve paid to go similar distances, but I thought nothing of it. But then, when I got to the bus, I quickly found out why it was so cheap. Sitting on the floor in the luggage compartment, huddled together with a group of Thais, some of whom would casually fart and avoid eye contact to defer suspicion, I found out why I had just paid half of what I have before. 3 hours in, my backside was dead, and we stopped for a toilet break. I took my opportunity, and I stole some white guy’s seat. Let the good times roll!

When I got home the kids were playing games, and, greeting me with the level of enthusiasm that I’d expect from my family, they said the equivalent of “oh, you’re back! …” I went to collect my motorbike, which I had left at the girls house while I was away, and road the mighty beast down the street and home. Oh, how I missed that bike. I so under appreciated it before. Coming back to it though, and travelling at more than 20km/h, I felt the power!

The kids enthusiastic greeting was made up for though. Boat told me “when you were gone I cried because I missed you.” Gets me… right here (points to heart)… you know? And the night was finished with fireworks. My hearing is starting to return too!