On October 14th, my team and I heard that the king had died in Thailand. He was the king for 70 years and considered to be a VERY good king, he was beloved by his people. We at first were sad for the Thai people as they began this mourning process and most were doing it without kingdom knowledge. We were still unsure what this exactly meant for us for when we got to Thailand to do ministry.
The people of Thailand are currently in a month of mourning and the conservative culture of Thailand has become even more conservative. The Thai people wear only neutral colors but they mostly wear black. Those that cannot find black clothes wear a black ribbon on their shoulder. Your clothes must cover everything from your shoulders to past your knees. This has led to some very interesting outfits for us as World Racer’s.
I am sure you are aware Thailand is a hot country so being in black constantly is not comfortable, especially when you must be 90% covered. So of course, we prepared ourselves to lose a lot of water weight this month, just from sweating. My squad and I probably bought every article of black clothing in Cambodia before we even got to Thailand.
Our mind set changed when we got to Thailand spoke with our host and she mentioned how appreciative her and her girls are that we respected their culture enough to respect their mourning process. One of the girls working in the café pulled me aside today and told me how amazed she was that my squad and I have stuck to the rules of mourning so well. She told me “Our king was a good king and I am sad he is now gone, but I am very happy to see your group support us in this time.”
That is when it hit me how something as simple as wearing black clothes in hot weather can mean the world to someone else. I am currently working as God’s hands and feet in Thailand and just showing the respect of wearing the proper mourning clothes shows the respect I have for the Thai people. It makes them respect me more too. And if it is through that respect that they see God, then I will keep respecting them and loving on them in all the ways that I can.
As I sit here watching my black clothes wash for the second time this week, I can’t help but think of how grateful I am that I worship the one true king. That God turns our mourning into joy.
“Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.” Jeremiah 31:13
And I can’t wait to share it.
