As we have begun our ministry and life in Thailand we as a team and individually have had to adjust to a new culture and a very different language. One of the first things that we encountered in Thailand is that they do NOT speak English! Surprise, surprise… Not only do they not speak English but the language sounds completely different than anything remotely similar to English.
All the signs and directions are in Thai and the alphabet and characters are completely different. It is very difficult to find a random person who speaks English on the streets. That is why we have been blessed to have our own translator (Ja) for the month – We would not survive without her. Communication with a regular Thai person is difficult and fingers and hand motions are invaluable but not always perfect.
Can you guess what this is? My name in Thai!
Another type of culture shock we have experienced is with the social acceptance of prostitution. As I have mentioned in previous blogs – prostitution is illegal in Thailand but it is readily practiced and virtually ignored by the police and by the public. I have seen the extreme side of prostitution while ministering in Pattaya. Pattaya is known for the boating and sex (the travel books even say that!). In Pattaya the tourists come here some for the beach but many to find “love” and “companionship” in a Thai woman. I have been in malls, on the beach, on the street, etc… and seen many western men with Thai women. We have seen them at nights in the bars and during the day walking the streets. Two things have struck me as hard to comprehend and understand in the sex trade here in Pattaya.
First of all, the women and men both act like they are in relationships. I have seen the “couples” holding hands and walking down the streets or whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears. Many of the women have a dream that the man will fall in love with them and take them back to the West and get them out of their life in Thailand. Their hope everyday when they go to work is that tonight, maybe tonight, I will meet the man who will love me and take me out of here. We have heard numerous stories from women in the bars every night that they are waiting on their boyfriend from some western country to come and get them. Or they have been abandoned by their western boyfriend and now are desperate for love and acceptance in anyone who walks through the door. The men that we encounter (I have not had a chance to talk to one yet) but I am guessing that they are searching for love and companionship even if they have to pay for it.
Secondly, the culture virtually ignores this phenomenon. Most of the women are sending money home to their villages to their children or parents. When these couples are walking down the street the locals ignore the obvious. (Just a side note) There are couples who love each other dearly and are in committed relationships that consist of a western man and a Thai woman. You can usually tell the difference when the female is about 18 and the man is in his 60’s. Or you can also see the difference because of their dress, etc…
When I walk down these streets my heart cries out to God “Lord why do you allow this to continue?” “Why do they not see their needs will not be met with the flesh but only through Jesus?” I then remember that these people are sinners just like myself. My sin is equal to their sin. God sees my sin and their sin in the same light. By God’s grace and mercy I have received salvation through Jesus Christ through faith alone. I have seen my sin against God’s holiness and know that I am a sinner and in need of a great savior. Jesus has saved me. And Jesus can save them too!
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:1-10
These things that I am learning have also shown me that in my life there are things where I look for the world to satisfy and not Christ alone. I still have things that I hold onto in the flesh and refuse to submit them to God and trust Him to satisfy. These men and women do the same thing that I do – look to the world to satisfy their needs. Only Christ alone can satisfy our deepest needs.
