Brrrrr

One of the unique ministries we had the opportunity to take part in was to take a river tour down the Salawin River that runs between Thailand and “Brrr Ma”, the same stretch of river that Rambo IV was filmed on. Before we could even get on the boat, we had to sign a log, nicknamed the Book of Death, writing our name, age, and country of citizenship, so if something happened to us while on this river, they could contact the country and let them know (quite comforting). So they give us our life jackets and we walk down to the pier and get on the boat. They tell us that we cannot go swimming in the river because there are some big, mean fish in that river. A few years ago, someone actually caught an 800 pound catfish on that river. They put up a little statue of it and everything.

So we’re riding down the river, taking pictures and bowing our heads for the opressed in the land to our right. It was so eerie because on the left side we see all kinds of Thai people running, working, and swimming. And on the right side we see no one. Directly across from the peir is a small cluster of houses, and our contact, John Smith, said that in all the years he has been taking groups to this river, he has NEVER seen anyone on the Brrrr Ma side. Not one. We accually saw someone the day we went, and it did not look legit. So mysterious.

Another creepy thing I found out from our popsicle buying friend is that when you cross the burder into Brrrr Ma, you are not allowed more than 3 klm in. Outsiders can’t go any farther in than that. They have military check points on all the roads. And they have no souvenier shops, no internet cafes, no tourist attractions. They seriously don’t want ANY company, much less C’s. And she said that she has been to a certain burder crossing city often enough to know that most everything you see in those 3 klm is exactly what the gov’t wants you to see, to a frightening extent. She said that after a few visits, you begin to realize that it’s always the same people at the same shops, same vendors selling to the same people. The same “friendly” merchant that just happens to follow you everywhere, asking you (non-chellantly) where you’re from and why you’re here, as though they were simply curious. She said that once she started paying attention, it reminded her of the movie The Trueman Show, where everything is set up to look normal. What truly goes on behind those closed doors? Beyond 3 klm? What do they so desperately hide?

Earlier in the month we had also gone to a refugee camp to do a little knee time for them. We didn’t get to go inside, but we sat at a little snack shop across the road and did our work from there. We were told that the water supply for this camp had recently been poisoned. Even after they get out, they’re still trying to kill them. Why? Same reason they don’t want Chr-i$t////ianz in there. Control. And He brings freedom to the captives. And they hate that. So keep bowing your heads that the body would thrive, even under oppression.