Our day started at First Church of Chiang Mai, part of the Church of Christ in Thailand, where we were greeted warmly by Reverend Pakdee Wattanchantaragul, her staff and the congregation as a whole. Reverend Bill Yoder, a longtime minister, educator and writer, met us at the church and introduced us to the congregation during the service, noting that many in our team came from a city in Texas that had once been home to two men who later went on to become President of the United States.The service was conducted in Thai, though English translation was available through headsets. And while the words might have been different, there was a comforting and connecting familiarity in the music of the traditional hymns, in the Doxology, and in the sharing of the Lord’s Prayer.
After the service, there was tea and discussion with Reverend ‘An’ and her staff, followed by a shared meal and fellowship with Reverend Yoder.The rest of the day and evening were devoted to preparations for a party at the Chiang Mai-based Garden of Hope, then the part itselfOur guests were children living under at-risk conditions in the city’s ‘red light district,’ and their parents. Under the guidance of Mark and Christa Crawford, and their staff at garden of Hope, the children enjoyed a celebration in the park-like, suburban site, very different from their inner-city neighborhoods just a short distance away.
Everyone on the team had something (or two, or three things) to do. Some team members assisted with greeting and registration, while others helped with games like musical chairs, and balloon stomp. There was music and singing, storytelling, and a large meal served to evereone in attendance.
And there was the debut of Tall City Limberjacks Sextette, and their performance of “Old Man Boonmah,” a Thai variation of “Old MacDonald. The sextette’s vocals were accompanied by the springboard dancing of wooden puppets representing Old Man Boonmah, his water buffalo, pig, chicken, silkworm and lamb. The project was conceived by Lucinda Windsor, and the performance sparked plenty of laughter and applause.
The party also provided the team an opportunity for field-testing equipment and procedures for adding a photography component to their outreach. Kelly Sherman and Karen Winkler moved among the guests, taking photos of the youngsters, then taking the memory cards from their digital cameras to a developing/printing station Jeff McDonald set up. In a little over two hours, more than 100 high-quality, full-color photographs had been printed, then presented to the children as an added memento of their day at the Garden of Hope.
By the way, the printer was purchased by First Presbyterian Church of Midland for this mission. It will remain with the church when the mission is concluded, for use by other mission teams ….. actually, for ALL church groups that might be able to make use of it.
All in all, a full and busy day ….. and there are more ahead. That night, as the last of the guests were leaving, Mark Crawford briefed the team on what they will be doing over the next two days, as they learn more about Garden of Hope’s outreach activities in Chiang Mai’s red light district. The team will also have opportunities participate in those activities. The team will also learn about Christians working, and spreading the Word in a culture and a nation that is predominately Buddhist.
By the way, if you have any questions you would like to ask the members of our mission team, please e-mail your question to (missioner@fpcmid.org)
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