Yesterday we went to church in the village. The church was held in the building of the local preschool. We took our seats and swayed to music that was familiar because it included hymns popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but unfamiliar because it was all sung in Thai. The sermon was also preached in the local language of Thai and our host Pat translated it to us. Communion was familiar to what we see in America, with torn flat bread and grape juice each passed out to the congregation and brief familiar words spoken for each before they were taken. The service ended with a singing of the same song my church sings to dismiss every Sunday, but once again in Thai.
After the song, they asked if there was anyone there that was born this month. Our squad leader has a birthday this month and was ushered up front. She and another woman were given a donut with a candle, told to make a wish, sang happy birthday (in English!) to, and prayed for.
After the well wishes church ended and we were invited to lunch downstairs. Lunch was rice noodles, cilantro, pork, tofu, mushrooms, and bean sprouts. It was delicious and we had the chance to enjoy it while talking to a lady from the church named Margaret. She is originally from Singapore and came to Thailand to do missions. Margaret told us that there used to be only one Christian living in the village and they told their story until there were enough Christians in the community to form a church. She also informed us that the church meets in the preschool out of respect to the Buddhist in the community and the temple near enough that she was able to point it out as we were talking. Margaret excused herself, and after watching the men from the halfway house catch some fish in the adjacent fish farm, we headed out as well.
This morning we went to a Buddhist school for ministry. We walked into the morning assembly and sat in the back. The children chanted what I assume were prayers as they sat on their knees and bowed to the front where the stage was, which had an altar to the side. In between chants, a few of the children brought food and placed it in front of the altar.
Once the ceremony was finished, the principal invited us to come to the front and introduce ourselves. The children and staff were incredibly welcoming to us all day. After the assembly, we cleaned out a large storage room with the help of some of the older kids. The room was filled with old instruments, schoolwork, computers, and even a few termites’ nests. After a morning of cleaning we were told to join the school staff for a lunch of rice noodles with octopus, squid, and pork served in a radish broth.
Over lunch we spent time talking to one of the teachers about his culture and our culture in the United States. Once we finished eating, we washed our dishes and then were served milk tea with grass jelly. Just like lunch, the tea was delicious. When we finished the tea we headed to separate classes to teach English and spend some time with the kids. Makita and I went to the 2nd grade classroom. There we played games such as hangman, spelling races, and making letters out of our bodies. We sang songs and even played some until it was time for them to leave at 3:30. It was wonderful to spend the day with all of them.
Two very different days for sure; one honoring the God I grew up with and another at a school where He is still mostly unknown.
