I wish I could say I
have bruises and bamboo mat burns on my knees from personal prayer time. Or
maybe an intimate time pleading and praising my Lord. Only my purple and
scrapped knees have no relation to Jesus Christ, unless of course you are
referring to the Christ in me that was a servant today.
Nong Bua Baan, the statistics say there are only 2 households out of 400, which
claim to be Christians. To me, this number was astonishing. Needless to say, most
of the remaining 398 are Buddhist. Every vehicle you ride in, every yard you
pass, they all have carved idols and images; temples, altars, and of course
Buddha,
With limited resources,
our contact’s transportation consists of two motorbikes. When hosting a team,
you can see how this doesn’t seem adequate considering the nearest grocery
store and ATM are 30 minutes away. Due to this, many local friends have offered
to drive us around, showing us the well-known Thai hospitality. A few days ago the mother of our most
recent driver passed away, and we were asked to help serve water at the
funeral. As a payment of gratitude, we agreed, having no idea what we had just
walked into.
This afternoon, we
jumped on the back of the motorbikes with our contacts, who took us to a bus
stop which would take us to the temple. Once we were all on board, off we were
headed. I decided now was a good time to ask a few questions. You know, the
standard ‘How long will this take?’ and ‘What do they do?’ With no hesitations,
I got my answers. ‘Well, hopefully it will be over by 3. People will be praying
and talking to the spirits, trying to get to Buddha. Then they will announce
the one who has died, and after that they will burn so she can return again.’ I
think I looked like a dog who tilts their head in confusion when I said, ‘I’m
sorry, what do they burn? Incense or the body?’
this I suddenly felt ill. We had prayed as a team before leaving home, and I
was ready to serve from the Christ within me even though no one I was going to
meet was going to Heaven. I wasn’t ready to find out that not only might I
endure spiritual warfare, but also that it is custom to cremate, coffin and
all, at the end of the viewing procession. Dear Lord, help me.
After listening to 4
worship songs and praying my heart out, we had arrived. Approximately 500
others, and then us. With 92 monks present, 100 teachers from the local
institution wearing what looked like airline uniforms, and 300 civilians, we
had plenty of work. It was us 5 racers, and 10 schoolgirls, who would somehow
conquer giving water to each person here, more than once if needed. As we
began, we decided to be like the Thai, smiles as friendly as possible, despite
the circumstance of the gathering.
Koy, Nam, and myself setout on our mission. Stop one, civilians. Stop two, the monks. It didn’t take
long before I realized this was not an easy task. With shoes off, and now on my
knees wearing a skirt, how was I supposed to cover the ground of nearly 100 of
them? Not to mention, I can’t actually hand it to them, for it is forbidden for
a woman to give a monk anything. So instead, we set a cup of water, and a straw
on the ground for them to take. After multiple trips, my knees were in pain.
Never have I had to one, bend down to be lower than a man (who might I add is
currently sitting cross-legged), and two, never have I had to scoot on the
ground to be hospitable.
I wasn’t familiar with, or prepared for, I was ready to show the love of Christ,
even if I was serving at a Buddhist temple while on ‘holiday’. I was ready to
smile and pray as I handed them each a cup of water, knowing nothing else to
say.
I was going to be Christ
no matter how hard it was.
I was going to be Christ
to the line of men seated in the rear smelling of alcohol.
I was going to be Christ
to the rows of uniformed teachers, saying goodbye to a dear one.
I was going to be Christ
to the men making comments, and asking me for ‘services’.
I was going to be Christ
to the old women telling me I was beautiful.
I was going to be Christ
to the monks.
Even if that means I now
have scraped and purple knees.
I was going to be
Christ.
Christ loved them all,
and now it’s my turn.
