Review of Trip to Thailand and Cambodia, Part 3 of 3

Mission work can be hard sometimes. We left Phnom Penh, once again aboard Bangkok Air the boutique airline, and after a night's rest in Bangkok we travelled down south to one of the resort cities, Khok Kloi. While we were there we stayed at one of the resorts located on the beach next to the Indian Ocean. I had the pleasure of swimming in this water, enjoying the warmth that I would only expect from an indoor heated pool and larger waves than what you get at a wave pool. It was a great day to finish the day, especially after a dinner at the resort's Italian restaurant. Each morning would then begin with a breakfast buffet with made to order omelets, ham, eggs, an assortment of fruit, cereal and juice. Yes, mission work can be a sacrifice sometimes.

The area we stayed in was the same area that was hit by the tsunami about five and half years ago, yet now it is hard to tell that it was completely wiped out. The physical scars of that disaster have pretty well disappeared now, with even some of the poorer areas cleaned up and looking normal once again. To commemorate the tsunami, several monuments have been constructed, including this one that shows one of the nation's police boats. This boat was about a mile out to sea when it was washed by the tsunami about a kilometre inland, where it sits today as a testament to  the strength that this wave had as it crashed onto land.

The destruction that that wave brought also provided several opportunities. As a consequence of the rebuilding effort that began in the area the government to build a paved road to the area in order to make the transportation of supplies as quick and easy as possible. It also provided avenues for the two Lutheran Churches in that area to provide help in the community, helping to take care of the orphans and widows that were left after the wave struck. So significant was their work that when the fifth anniversary of the wave came and a service was planned for those who had died, one of our Lutheran pastors participated in the service. This also shows that growing tolerance of Christianity in the region, being included in this service when Christianity is looked down on in the culture as being foreign and not “Thai.” For more information, this story was published in a Canadian Lutheran for last Christmas.

Since we were in the area on a Sunday, we went to two of the Lutheran Churches in the area for worship. After the first service, the ladies of the Church treated us to a wonderful feast. There were twelve of us there and these women had cooked up six separate entrees for us to enjoy. The generosity of these people was simply amazing. Their generosity is further displayed in another story recently run by the Canadian Lutheran in which this Church gave 1000 Baht (about $300 Can.) for the CLWR work in Haiti after their disastrous earthquake. Keep in mind that this is still a developing area, where the people live at a subsistence level. After visiting the second church and attending their worship service, we discovered that this Church actually owns a field of rubber trees. Every seven years these trees produce a sap that can be turned into rubber. Each day this field of about 30 trees produces enough rubber to make a bath mat sized piece of rubber that can be sold for about 100 Baht. The Church can then use this money to maintain their building, pay their pastor, support their mission work in the community and get that much closer to being self sufficient and not have to rely on the funding from the LCC.

After staying in Southern Thailand for three days we returned to Bangkok for one day to visit the King's Palace. The King did not pinch any pennies when building this place as many of the buildings are decorated with gold. The fact that this gold may just be gold leaves does not settle the shock of just how much gold was used in the decoration of these buildings. After saying good bye to our hosts for the trip, Dr. Leonard Harms and his wife, Carol, we went for dinner and then prepared to jump on the plane home at five in the morning. I really enjoyed this trip and it gave me a greater look into another culture, as well as a little perspective on Canadian culture and the richness that comes with it that is often overlooked and glazed over.

One final word to close. About a week ago I received news from our sister Church in Cambodia. After several years of seminary training, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cambodia (ELCC) ordained its first bishop and gave diplomas to about 25 pastors and deaconesses. Look for this story in the coming Canadian Lutheran.

The Canadian Lutheran magazine can be found here.