"Notes from our Mission Team, in Thailand since 1991."
"Notes from our Mission Team, in Thailand since 1991."
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Thailand, the land of smiles is a marvelous country full of warm, friendly people. It is a country diverse in geography with tall mountains in the north to the sprawling central plains and to the countless white sand beaches of the south. Of all Asian people, the Thais are famous for their big smiles and wonderful hospitality. They are pro-Western and strive to imitate the ways of the West in economics, education and democratic style government.
A page-sized map of Thailand is here. A larger map gigives you a better sense of scope.
Thai food is quite delicious with its countless spices and myriad types of food. Thais enjoy eating all throughout the day; often snacking on fruit or barbecued meat on a stick. To the uninformed visitor Thai curries can give quite a shock to the mouth with their hot peppers. Sweat appears on the forehead, eyes start watering and the foreign eater often tries to extinguish the chili fire with countless glasses of Thai tea.
The official religion of Thailand is Buddhism. In fact 97% of Thailand's 56 million inhabitants claim adherence to this belief system. Another 2% claim Islam and less than 1% are Christians. In actuality the majority of Thais are animistic. They believe in a spiritual realm that is full of spirits that need to be appeased in order to live in peace and safety. Chinese-style ancestor worship is quite common, as well as fortune tellers, palm readers and spiritists. A Thai often will have a Hindu spirit house in their front yard and will place offerings of flowers, drink and food there daily to placate the dwelling spirits of that house.
Thais are very proud that their country has never been colonized by any European nation. Thailand, which means land of the free, also claims freedom of religion. Though this is legally true, in day-to-day life Thais often face fierce opposition and persecution from family and friends if they change to another religion. To the Thai, three pillars make up the foundation of their national identity: King.......Country..........Buddhism. There is a saying which goes, "To be Thai is to be Buddhist, and to be Buddhist is to be Thai."
To understand the difficulty that a Thai often faces when deciding to become a Christian, you have to imagine yourself facing this decision: "Would I be willing to be cut off from my family and my entire community if I change my belief system?" Many Thais truly have a steep cost to count before they can become followers of Jesus Christ.
Pray for Thailand. The Thais are wonderful people who need Jesus!
Article written by Steve Allen.
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Steve & Samantha Allen
P.O. Box 111
Phasicharoen
Bangkok, Thailand 10160
011-662-444-3787
stevesam@loxinfo.co.th
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But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear
him, and his righteousness with their children's children -- with those who
keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. Psalm 103:17-18 |
