Sabbath (Sunday, 6/7)

[Sunday Morning Worship]
I went to Erin’s church this past Sunday. It’s located on the outskirts of MHS, so Erin arranged to have the pastor pick me up on his motorbike. It was a bit embarrassing for me to ride behind Pastor Tong Sak, but that’s how people get around here, and Erin assured me beforehand that they think nothing of it.

The church was small, a humble, sparsely decorated one-room affair in the countryside—wooden pews with an aisle down the middle, a wooden podium with no mic, one keyboard, scattered songbooks and worn hymnals, pink cotton curtains covering the windows. It’s a Baptist church, one of over 50 planted in the region by Korean missionaries who run a seminary/Bible school not far from Mae Hong Son.

There were about 15 people total in attendance, a mix of Karen and Thai speakers. The songbooks are in both languages, but the Pastor preaches in Thai. Dao (a different Dao, not to be confused with Tew’s sister), a Thai Karen who works in the IRC health clinic, translated for Erin and me. Dao and her mother moved to MHS 2 years ago—I forget from where—and they have since been very active members of the church. Dao is about my age, I would guess, and very sweet and likable—I’m so glad to have met her. Apparently her English is so good because she learned from her mother. When I first arrived at the church, her mother was the one to greet me, seat me, and proceed to tell me all about the history of the church—a charming woman. :)

The pastor opened the worship by leading us in a time of praise—he played the guitar, a Karen woman played the keyboard, and a young adult guy sang. The songs were sung in Thai, but most of them were familiar melodies, praise songs from when I was young such as “This Is the Day,” “Come Bless the Lord,” and “Seek Ye First.” One of the songs I didn’t know was an “action” song, so we were asked to stand and follow the motions. It was great fun! It’s one of the things I loved and miss about serving in Children’s Church—singing with motions! The hymns, too, I recognized as ones often sung in Korean congregations back home—“I Know Whom I Have Believed” and “Old Rugged Cross.” It’s interesting—it must be the influence of the Korean missionaries. Even though I don’t understand all of the lyrics, I am always moved when I’m able to join my parents in a KM (Korean Ministry) service and sing hymns in Korean, so to hear these beloved hymns being sung in Thai was truly a blessing. Next week, Dao, Erin, and I will sing "Heart of Worship" for the offering song. :)

The sermon passage was Luke 18:35-43, the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. One of my favorite points in the sermon was when the pastor encouraged us to look to Jesus in the midst of trials, because He is looking upon us with love. He had us turn to each other and say, according to Dao’s translation, “You are the apple of His eyes.” I wanted to ask if this is an expression in Thai as well—because I haven’t seen any apples here in Thailand! ;P

[Sunday Afternoon with Mu Gay]
After church, I met with Mu Gay to go over some of the changes to the CSO Guidelines that needed to be translated into Burmese before our meeting with the Camp leadership on Tuesday. Mu Gay and I work closely together—she speaks Burmese, Karen, and English, so she will be doing all of the translation work for me, and after I leave in August, she will take over the CSO program.

A little bit about Mu Gay: Her family is from Rangoon, and she is the eldest (born 1981) of 6 children. She’s well-educated—spent the past year and a half completing her Master’s in India. She’s very feminine, soft-spoken, respectful, domestic—everything you’d expect of a stereotypical Asian woman. Although we come from different backgrounds, we are becoming fast friends; we can be very girly and comfortable around each other. I think Asians approach friendship with a familiarity and intimacy that is harder to find in Western cultures; there is a polite distance that Americans respect. What do you think?

Mu Gay is a Seventh-Day Adventist, and it’s been interesting learning about their practices. I think observing a strict Sabbath is a great idea, for personal spiritual growth in general. Being consumed 24/7 by studies and the anxieties of law school is really detrimental to one’s spiritual condition. We are commanded to rest, in the fullest sense of the word, one day out of seven, but the Sabbath is no longer a day of rest for me, no longer set apart from the other days of the week. I don’t want to be legalistic about it, but I’ve taken this commandment too lightly, and I am just now realizing that it really does have its consequences...

I recently learned that Mu Gay’s two oldest brothers (early 20s) were living in the Mae La camp, unable to return to Burma after having fought for the Karen National Union (KNU) military. The older of the two, Steven, has since rejoined the KNU, much to the distress of Mu Gay. Steven has had malaria three times now, and the last time he got it, he nearly died. He was in the hospital, unconscious—it attacked his brain, and Mu Gay says he is no longer the same mentally, emotionally. Mu Gay says that if he gets malaria again, he will surely die, and she can’t sleep at night, expecting at any moment to hear the news, “Your brother is dead.” Please take a moment to pray for Steven, Mu Gay, and the rest of her family.

After a couple hours in the office, I went over to Mu Gay’s place, where she cooked a delicious Burmese meal for us. I was so happy because the dishes were very similar to Korean dishes—닭도리탕, 감자볶음, and 계란마리 (Daddy’s specialty! ;P).

Did you know the Burmese eat with their hands? Mu Gay offered me a spoon, but she and her boyfriend Bobo ate with their hands! I know it’s not uncommon in various parts of the world, but it was still a bit shocking to see for the first time. After having seen it, though, I had no problem doing the same for dinner last night. On my way home from work, I bought pork soup and papaya salad from one of the many food vendors who set up every evening along one of the streets bordering the lake. (I’ve been told that women in Thailand don’t really cook. In fact, most kitchens don’t even have an oven—which I guess is understandable in this tropical climate. Instead, they buy prepared food—and it’s so cheap here, I suppose it doesn’t make sense to slave over a hot stove all day. Still, it’s so different from other Asian countries.) Anyway, the street vendors are usually cheaper than restaurants, and I wanted to give these folks some business. The problem is, they don’t provide containers or utensils—everything is poured into plastic baggies! And I have nothing in my room except two cups provided by the guesthouse. Sheila is going to lend me a plate and bowl set and utensils, but in the meantime, I have been drinking congee from a cup and eating salad with my fingers!

I don’t have any pictures from Sunday to reward you for reading all of this, but here are some random ones:

The trashcans (at least the ones in MHS) look like giant vats of witches’ brew!

Love the iced coffee at Pok’s!

Si belle. A lovely find during a walk in the park.

The rugged IRC trucks that take us over mountains and through streams (literally) to get to the Camps.