The Stockings were Hung on the Clothesline with Care...

A Full December

Greetings from afar!

     Life here has kept me rather busy over the last month, mostly due to my United States history class that I spend way too much time planning for. But school break has begun, which means I have some spare time to catch you all up on the goings-on of our team here in Asia.

     As I hinted at, much of our time has been spent teaching, and planning to teach, and grading the things that we taught. I have certainly enjoyed my 3^rd and 4^th grade history class, but also the various English classes I have been teaching and the “Bible story” class which allows me to read a story from the Bible in school so that the students can “learn morals using the Bible.” I guess that is how you can speak about God in a majority Buddhist country. Just this week, the school that we work at the most had its Christmas program and fundraiser, where the students all took part in performing songs and dances celebrating the birth of Jesus. What a neat opportunity for these children to teach their parents and friends about the truth they are hearing in school!

     Besides teaching, there are many activities to fill my days. I have continued to play some ultimate every week, though unfortunately that group takes a Christmas break as well. Our team hosted a fantastic post-Thanksgiving party and is currently planning a Christmas/New Year party for next week! We have enjoyed growing relationships with the teachers we work with and other folks we have met while working here. I have been able to visit several international churches, and have been attending one recently where I feel comfortable and can learn. Our team has enjoyed spending time together exploring, singing, baking, watching movies, dancing, and simply doing life together in a foreign country. It is such a blessing to have the support of a team who understands many of the difficulties associated with living abroad and is ready to tackle those difficulties together with God's strength!

     One of these difficulties we are working through has been dealing with changing visa laws. We arrived here on a short-term business visa with the expectation of renewing the visa once to a six-month visa which would cover the rest of our time here. That has not worked out. Around the time that we arrived, the laws changed making it nearly impossible for us to upgrade to a long-term visa. We have now completed one “visa-run” by leaving the country and re-entering on a brand new short-term visa. It appears we will have to do that one more time and then come home a little earlier than expected. Although it has been slightly stressful occasionally, this does give us an excuse to travel as a team! Plans are in the works for a trip to Thailand in February, and I am hoping to have the chance to visit my friends back there!

   We have been doing a lot of visiting in our own city recently: since we are here working for our church back home we have been tasked with getting to know the pastors who are a key part of the church network we are partnered with here. This is certainly an enjoyable task! So far it has involved having dinner with a pastor and his family and simply discussing with them what life looks like in their church and learning about how God led them to where they are now. These discussions have been a chance for us to learn about what God is doing here in the country and how He is changing people and bringing them out of difficult situations and into places where they can then bless others.

     For example, one pastor that we met recently grew up in a village that had no opportunities for education. He managed to leave the village to pursue schooling in India, but still had a heart for the children who grew up in situations like his with no hope to advance or learn. He has since taken in many children to provide them with a place where they can go to school. He hopes that many will choose to return to their home villages after graduating to teach others and continue to develop those places.

     It is encouraging for me to see how God is using so many people here to do His work: I see His love through the teachers we work with, His heart for the helpless through the pastors we meet, and a hope for a different future through the students we teach and the other young people around us. It is amazing to dream about what plans God has for this place!

That's all for now...Merry Christmas!

“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:9

Friday Night Musings

     As a white American, racism is not something that I am forced to consider on a daily basis. Honestly, unless I hear about a specific story or instance of racist behavior, this issue is one that does not cross my mind very frequently. Because of this, I believe I have never written on the subject in any sort of public forum. I simply do not have the experience or knowledge to consider myself worthy to address such an important and nuanced issue. So as you read this post, keep that in mind. This is not a story about racism or oppression. It is an instance when my experiences opened my eyes a little more to what others may feel when they experience racism.

     The story starts in the bus station as our team prepares to leave for our recent trip to the mountains. Our friend Chad helps us buy tickets at the counter. We discover that, as foreigners, we are expected to pay a higher price for our tickets. It is only a small fee, and it does not bother us. We board the bus, excited to see new sights and visit new places. The guest house where we stay in the small mountain town is simple: comfortable enough but certainly not much beyond that. We get two rooms for the four of us, and there are two shared bathrooms for all the guests to use. At the end of our lovely stay in the mountains, we get the bill for our guest house stay and realize there is some mistake: it is more than double the price that we were expecting. We each look at the bill and agree to wait until Chad arrives before we pay it since there is obviously something about the bill that we misunderstand. Since Chad speaks the language, and also is the one who booked the rooms, he will know how to explain to the owner that there is a mistake on the bill. 

     There is no mistake on the bill. Since we are foreigners, the owner has decided to raise the price. Chad spends several minutes talking to her and arguing that it is not a fair price. But he can do nothing to change her mind. There are only two other guest houses in this town, and very few foreigners pass through. She can charge whatever she wants. So we pay our bill and decide to cancel our planned visit to another city since we suddenly have much less money than expected. We travel by van down the mountain and then prepare for the final bus ride home. Chad is able to book bus tickets over the phone for this last leg of the long journey. We unload our backpacks at the bus station around dinnertime, mentally prepping for the overnight bus ride. Chad goes up to the counter to pick up our reserved tickets for the bus. Once again, there appears to be a problem. We watch him earnestly conversing with the ticket agent. His friend comes over to join the conversation. Once again, our fare has been raised. Despite agreeing on a ticket price over the phone, the sight of foreigners has awakened a thirst for more money. 

     We have no options open to us. We need to take a bus back home, and this is the one that will take us there. We have already brought our belongings with us to the station and are set to reach home tomorrow. There is no one who can speak for us with authority over the dishonest ticket agent. Our friends try, but in the end they cannot change the situation. We pay the inflated ticket price, extra for our bags, and our seats are moved further back on the bus.

     The big picture in this situation is that it does not matter. Every injustice only cost us money. While we do not have a lot of money to spare, we will not go hungry or lose our apartment or anything significant because of paying extra at each step of our trip. I am aware of this even as I stand in the darkening parking lot waiting to board the bus. We stand in the dusk knowing that there is no one to whom we can turn. The only ones who stand along side us end up paying more as well. I am frustrated by the injustice. I yearn to be treated fairly and am discouraged when lied to. But perhaps this is a good way to learn.  

     Reflecting on this time, I cannot help but think about those who are treated unfairly every day. Those who are discriminated against because of their race, and are handed injustices at every step in their lives. Maybe they feel like we did: that there was no one who would listen to their pleas for fairness. They may experience the bitterness of watching their friends argue for them to no avail, and then perhaps suffer alongside them for their troubles. Perhaps they become weary of pointing out the inconsistencies in laws or policies that take advantage of them, because no one appears to care or want to work for change. They raise their voices time and time again in helpless frustration. Because no one listens to their voice.

Will you?

Will you listen? And will you be their voice to the world?