Around Town

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND – Our fifth day of mission had the team connecting with a variety of faith-based groups at work in Thailand, and gaining a greater appreciation for – and contributing to – the programs through which these groups reach out to the Thai people, and share the Love of Jesus Christ.
The day began with music, scripture and a devotional led by Jim Alsup, who addressed the virture of of a humble heart, while cautioning against a heart that is prideful. "There is nothing so difficult, or dangerous, as pride," he reminded the team.

This was followed by a meeting between Mark Crawford (Garden of Hope) and one part of the team, that included a discussion of his organization’s plans for capital improvements and development, what facilities might be acquired, and to what use they might be put.

For another, larger part of the team, the remainder of the day was devoted to preparations for a late-afternoon outreach party at one of Chiang Mai’s bars. The party was a follow-up to the lessons learned the previos day at Garden of Hope, and a chance to put those lessons to work. It allowed team members to meet some of the ladies with whom Garden of Hope has established a relationship through their Women’s Outreach Program.

The afternoon party setting allowed the team members to interact with these ladies – prostitutes who work in Chiang Mai’s bars – in a relaxed atmosphere, without the distraction of the customers and loud music they would experience later at night. Looking ahead to that experience, some of the women drank beer, explaining that the alcohol would help numb them, and make the night easier.

Team members and their guests enjoyed food and drink, playing Uno and shooting pool, and talking to one another with help from Garden of Hope’s staff and volunteers. Through these talks, we gained greater insight into the lives of Chiang Mai’s prostitutes, and the circumstances that brought their lives to this point.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, another part of the team was meeting with Astrid of the Asia Athletic Institute. A Christian ministry that reaches out to the youth of northern Thailand through sports, English language education and health care. Contact with Astrid had just been made in January through Mark, who had accompanied our team last week to the New Vision for Life Foundation orphanage.

The meeting with Astrid included the transfer of a large bundle of soccer (here, we say football) gear – both new and used – that had been donated by the Dallas Texans Soccer Club of Midland. The donated gear included shirts, socks, shin guards, cleats, goalkeepers’ gloves, and equipment for coaches. Still more gear is en route to Chiang Mai in the mail.

For her part, Astrid not only expressed AAI’s thanks for the contribution, but announced that the gear would be put to use immediately, equipping a new soccer team being formed at a school in Mae Hong Son, a small town in northern Thailand, near the border with Myanmar (Burma). She has also discussed plans for expanding existing programs and introducing new programs as part of AAI’s continuin mission to bring more people to Christ. She also provided Scripture and lessons used by AAI, which will be used as devotionals for the Upward Basketball program, once the ream returns to Midland.

The team gathered together for an evening trip outside Chiang Mai, for a dinner party at the home the Reverend William J. Yoder, Dean Emeritus of the McGilvray College of Divinity, part of Payap University.

We were greeted by a distinguished gathering of men and women who have devoted years of their lives to education and Christian mission in Thailand. Over dinner, they shared their stories, which gave us a greater appreciation for those who blazed the paths we now follow, and encourage us to begin new paths of our own. And the good work continues. Some of those we met have recently retired ….. yet they remain active and busy in Chiang Mai’s Christian community. And we met a young family recently arrived from America, dispatched by Presbyterian Church USA to help develop HIV/AIDS programs in Thailand.