Our Host in Thailand Tells the Where, Who, How, and Why

I realize that a 6-minute "talk" is never quite as interesting as images and sounds, but sometimes it's good to hear a first-person account. This is Pastor K, one of the team's hosts in Thailand. (You'll recognize his voice from Part I). One afternoon, near the border of Myanmar (Burma), we stood on a steep hillside beside women and children who were making brooms. They first beat and then roll the stalks of "grass" against the hard soil until all that's left are the long stems. When we hurried down the hill to catch the taxi-trucks (which were patiently waiting for us), the red clay path was covered in green powder from the thrashing. You'll hear the beating in the background as my friend summarizes the story of the hill tribe migration and our on-going medical mission to these beautiful people. (By the way, my friend says "We present the gospel through 'medication,'" which sounds a little bit like we're "drugging them up for God," but what he meant is that we meet their physical and health needs and thereby have many opportunities to share the gospel and Christ's love.)

In closing , I'd like to add the same thought that I have included in each of these explanations about our team's medical mission work in the Chiang Rai Province of Northern Thailand: This is an on-going ministry that focuses on the people and not on the team. We do not arrive at a village as "well-meaning Americans" who show up, take over, and disappear never to be seen again. Our approach in dealing with the hill tribes is more quiet and respectful as we recognize the beauty of their culture. We are not there to "westernize" them, we are their to meet practical needs and to show the love of Christ in the sense described in Matthew 25:40 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=25&verse=40&a... and to share the good news as He encouraged us to do. When we leave, there are local tribal leaders who continue the "follow up" work with each village, and we make return visits as needed (and as medical manpower and funding allows).

The focus of this video project, as you may have noticed, is not so much on "the team"--as rich as their experience is each year. Christ did not "brow beat" or expect some sort of immediate return on his ministry. (Remember the time He healed several blind people but only one stopped to say thank you?). Likewise, our team humbly serves each village with the assumption that the love we show that day (as well as the truth we share in word and example) will continue to play out over time. Through the years, this relational approach to serving these beautiful people has been very effective, and we hope it comes through as you watch the videos presented here at Patterns of Ink.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Thailand
• medical
• missions
• Akah
• Lahu
• hill
• tribes
• Burma

[patternsofink]

I cannot read your comment, but if it was nice thank you.

[sheepdogbarking]

Thank you. You are an ambassador of Thailand and have a good heart.

[Yngwie811]

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