It has been a very
interesting week here in Thailand. Edie and I both find it to be very
pleasant and enjoyable to be here so that has been great. Our missionary
friends and hosts the Callahan's have been super as usual. We really love
them. But, there have been some challenges also. On the first day
of training I discovered that none of the students had completed their pre-assignments because they were never handed out. It is too hard to
distribute them to the men because they all live in rather remote areas of the
mountains. We hope to solve that by passing out the assignments for the
next workshop tomorrow.
In addition only about
half of the men had passed the training on to others. It is one of the
conditions of our training that they will all pass the training on to other
pastors. We had a discussion together about that and I was able to be
straight forward about our policy and the reasons for it, but at the same time
being gracious and gentle. I think it turned out to be a good time for them to
really think about God's calling on them to be trainers and the importance of
the task. I emphasized their need to train others throughout the week. This afternoon, Thursday, they had a planning meeting and they all worked
together in groups to make plans to do trainings in their areas. They all
seemed committed to the task and we prayed for each training group.
It was a special time for me to see them express that commitment and
desire.
It has been quite a
learning experience for me this week. Lahu, their native language, is
quite different than English and is much more simple. The structure,
subject, predicate, etc., is backwards to ours but they also often do not speak
in complete sentences, leaving out verbs or subjects completely sometimes.
"Go store" leaves you wondering if they are going, they already
went, you are going or if it is a question. "Me store" is also
possible but seems inexplicable to us. They must have some kind of
contextual clues or body language to give meaning because it all makes sense to
them. Anyway, it is hard to talk about studying scripture when it is
difficult for them to even tell you what some phrases mean or when they do not
have a word at all for some concepts. Often when they are faced with that
they substitute a Thai word which makes it even more complex. In addition
their bible is a translation of the Good News bible which is a poor version in
English. Some of them use a Thai bible, which is excellent, but then they
discuss it in Lahu. I think you can get the picture. But even with
all of that the Lord has done a good work this week and they have made good
progress in learning how to study and in getting excited about learning to
study. I have learned by necessity some new ways to explain concepts and
tools that will help me in future settings. God is really demonstrating
His desire for them to learn and teach His people properly His Word.
It has been a long three
weeks since we left home with lots of heat and long days. It is not as
hot here but much more humid. We have had our ups and downs but are
satisfied with what has been accomplished. We have enjoyed our brethren
in each location. They have all become quite dear to us, and us to them. But we are getting tired and it is time to come home. Thankfully we
planned a couple of days in Southern Thailand near a beach for some rest and
recoup before we come home and hit the ground running. We are looking
forward to a bit of time off and some good time together alone. We will
let you know how that goes in a few days.
Blessings,
Al
