two10eleven | Brook Sarver » Buddha

Our first Visitors and Foto Friday

Brook — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:58:57 +0000

We finally had our first visitors come and see us in Thailand! After over a year here, a family friend from my home church and the Midwest regional director for our denomination decided to extend their trip to Asia by a few days in order to come see what all our fuss about Thailand was all about. And, while Sara and I were admittedly a bit nervous, they had a great time! We are so thankful for the time they were able to spend with us, encourage us, and even bring us goodies from our sending church back in Indiana!

It was a whirlwind of a few days. Jetlagged and confused, our guests pushed through and by the end they were already talking about when they may be able to come back next! It’s been so long since Sara and I have looked at Thailand with “fresh eyes”, so it was a ton of fun to experience those first-responses once again after we first experienced Thailand 5 years ago.

One thing that our guests were able to bring from home was a box of camera equipment that didn’t make the trip over when we moved here last July. There just wasn’t the space for it then. But our friends gladly brought what they could fit in their spare suitcase space. Since then I’ve been charging batteries, brushing up on my camera 101′s, etc. But even before playing around with my new toys, I was able to pull a few shots out during the time when our friends were here.

…Which brings me to this next Foto Friday… Both were taken from our visit to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. We even got to take a river taxi to get there, which Sara and I haven’t done since I swallowed a mouthful of disgusting Chao Phraya water those 5 years ago on a similar boat ride. Anyways, here’s what I could salvage from the day trip. And now that I’ve got more gear to grab my attention, let’s all hope for more Foto Fridays to come! (click on the images to see them at higher resolution)

Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand.

Wat Phra Kaew. Thailand's home to the Emerald Buddha. Bangkok.

Leave a Comment (or just come visit us… or a Skype call would do)!

Buddhism vs Thai Buddhism

Brook — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:53:39 +0000

Sara and I have spent time learning about the world’s religions. We had a great class that we took while studying at Huntington University, our Alma Mater, and learned a ton. I’ve also spent quite a bit of time reading about Buddhism and religion in Asia in preparation for our coming to Thailand. We are by no means experts on the subject, but I’d bet we know quite a bit more about Buddhism than many people in the Midwest USA where we both grew up.

But, it doesn’t take an expert to soon see upon arrival in Thailand that Thai Buddhism isn’t clear-cut Buddhism by the books. While the original teachings of Buddha don’t speak at all to the spirit realm, Thailand is engrossed in fear of and want to appease the spirits that surround them.

OMF recently published a short video showcasing how Folk Buddhism has taken over in Thailand and what that means for its people. I’ll show the video below, but do be warned that it contains some graphic material…

The People’s Buddhism from OMF Media on Vimeo.

Please Pray…

what we’re up against

Brook — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:36:52 +0000

We can’t deny the fact that God has called us to serve in Thailand. He’s moved too many mountains and continued to open doors in that direction for the past 3 years for it not to be the case. With that said, we know opposition to us and the message we will be bringing will find us. We may not know exactly when or how, but do understand that it will be there.

I’ve recently been re-reading a book by an OMF missionary who served in Thailand called “HELP! My Halo’s Slipping”. In one of Larry Dinkins’ chapters he comments on the stronghold that Buddhism has in Thailand. Check out the passage from chapter 7 below:

Take [Thai Buddhist's] understanding of John 3:16, for instance. This famous verse, run through the Buddhist grid, presents a very confused picture of Christianity:

“For God (Buddhism has no concept of a creator God) … so loved (a desire to be quenched) … the world (an illusion) … that He gave (giving is done in order to get, repayment is expected) … His only begotten Son (this God has a wife?) … that whoever believes in Him (Buddha said, ‘Be a lamp unto yourself,’ and ‘work out your own salvation with diligence.’) … should not perish (hell is not eternal separation but temporary) … but have eternal life (the goal of Buddhism is nirvana–the extinction of suffering and the end of conscious existence).”

In fact, the whole of John 3 presents problems for the Thai. Take being born again. The last thing a Thai wants to do is be reborn. As a believer in reincarnation, his goal is to stop the never-ending cycle of birth/ old age/ sickness/ death. The Thai equate rebirth not with spiritual renewal but suffering.

This just caught my eye and mind in a new way as I read it on the flight here to Thailand. It reminds me of the fact that, once again, it is Christ alone who is able to bring about true life change and work through these cultural mis-/understandings.

Pray that the Thai people might first have the opportunity to hear about the gospel and then secondly pray for their response to that gospel message. Pray also for the missionaries who have, undoubtedly, all struggled to bridge the gap between Thai understanding and the Truth of the message.