One of the local staff ladies is having a baby and we got to help prepare for it. Over the past couple of weeks we have been working in the church office and then going to two different homes to help with painting and construction. During the days we were in the office we had many different tasks to help with. Some were shredding documents for the legal office, some were transferring pictures from one computer program to another, some were helping sort other documents, and some of us were helping put together crafts for the children’s ministry and decorations for the baby shower.
In Thailand it is not normal to have a baby shower for expectant mothers. One of the staff ladies explained that in Buddhist culture they don’t want the spirits to find out the mother is having a baby because they could cause something bad to happen before the baby is born. Since Buddhism is so dominant in Thailand it has just become normal, even if you don’t believe it, to not have a party. This lady is a Christian, so she doesn’t believe that spirits could harm her unborn baby but she just hadn’t planned on having a party. One of the staff ladies asked her if she wanted one and she said yes!
While I was sitting in an office cutting out many many many circles I was reminded and filled with joy at the fact that I got to be a part of a special day for this woman. At my previous job in the states we would have mission groups come in to help and I learned that simple tasks help a lot. They would do deep cleaning, or little tasks here and there but those were things that us as staff couldn’t do on a day to day basis. I learned two things from that: 1) Be ok with simple tasks that don’t seem to make a difference – they actually make a big difference. 2) Be flexible when plans change – have an attitude that says yes to whatever is asked of you.
The Lord reminded me of these lessons as I was cutting out the circles, and as my teammates were doing their projects. I’m usually just fine doing repetitive tasks (especially if they’re crafts!) but I learned more deeply how to have joy. I knew that we were a part of a special day for a lady who had given her life to the Lord and was going against the cultural grain by celebrating her unborn child. Isn’t that the body of Christ? We rally around one another, uplifting, celebrating, and encouraging one another to become more like Christ. I’m not always going to know if what I’m doing makes any worldy difference, but I know it will in the kingdom.
In Cambodia our host said they try to not focus so much on what’s cultural or not, but instead what is kingdom. How do we act in the kingdom? How do we think in the kingdom? How do we relate to one another in the kingdom? Does culture matter? Yes. But kingdom matters more. I want to be a person who lives more out of the kingdom than out of my American culture. I’m still an American, but being a member of the kingdom makes being an American so much more meaningful.
I believe kingdom was brought as we celebrated new life this week. Celebrate the seemingly small things because they actually have so much more weight than we realize.
Keep the faith,
Malia
