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Don’t be Fooled…

Dave — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:32:26 +0000

The Light of the Gospel is greatly needed to break into this desperately dark place….. Don’t let the tourist travel brochures fool you….

Symbolism and beliefs behind Thai blood protest

When Thai red-shirt opposition protesters spilled their own blood at key locations in Bangkok, they were not just making a show for the TV cameras, as the BBC’s Vaudine England has been finding out.

Many Thais and Westerners were revolted by the spectacle and worried by the hygiene implications of the recent blood-spilling on Bangkok’s streets. Some denounced the sheer wastefulness of a precious resource which could have been used to help the sick. But red-shirt leaders said the blood spilling was a sacrifice for democracy and a curse on the government. In the battle for Thailand’s political soul – played out over several years by “yellow” and “red” waves of protesters – symbolism is probably the most important weapon. A powerful belief in astrology and the supernatural (‘saiyasat’) co-exists alongside an increasingly commercial, globalised culture. This is not just a frame of mind found in far-flung rural areas. Many of the country’s top leaders, civilian and military, have actively participated in magical rituals to seek special powers and enlist them on their side.

Harnessing spirits

A leading historian of Thailand, Chris Baker, and top economist and political analyst Pasuk Phongpaichit, have produced a paper entitled “The Spirits, the Stars, and Thai politics”.

It outlines several instances of serious consultation by leading political figures – from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to the generals who led the coup against him in 2006 – with astrologers, spirit mediums and supernatural forces. It details events such as damage to specific shrines and the smashing of a statue at the famous Erawan shrine in central Bangkok as efforts to either harness or distract spiritual forces at times of political tension.
“Of course this is not new; but there does seem to be a definite correlation between periods of military rule and upsurges of interest in supernatural influences on Thai politics,” the authors wrote.

One of the key complaints among red-shirt protesters against the current government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva is that the military was hand-maiden to its formation, and the military is what keeps Mr Abhisit in power. His retreat to the headquarters of the 11th Infantry battalion all this week while red-shirts protested may only have reinforced this point.

A stroll through red-shirt territory in Bangkok, where thousands of protesters are still camped out, shows most men wearing many large amulets (this is shown in the lead photo of the previous post)- considered a force of special protection at any time, but particularly in risky situations. More dramatically, analysts recall the incident of October 2008 when a group of women supporting the red-shirts’ rivals, the yellow-shirted Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD), offered up their sanitary napkins around the equestrian statue of King Rama V.

The PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul explained this was to counter attempts to sabotage the power of the statue to protect the nation – harnessing the perceived negative cosmic force of female blood to counteract, or un-do, the allegedly evil acts of others. ”For many years past, the powers of many sacred things… have been suppressed by evil people using magic,” Mr Sondhi wrote at the time. ”I must thank the women of the PAD because they took sanitary napkins from menstruating women and placed them on the six points (around the statue). ”Experts said that the spirit adepts were furious because their magic was rendered ineffective.” He cited symbolic centres of nationhood as being under threat – and appeared to believe that blood had helped to fend off the danger.

‘Black magic’

Cosmically therefore, when the leaders of the red-shirted United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) created ceremonies to spill blood at the entrances to the seat of government, it was intended as a powerful curse.

It could also be seen as an act to counter the perceived illegitimacy of that government – and Mr Abhisit who leads it – when the blood was spilled outside his home. That is not how the government chose to see it, of course. ”The world sees some people in Thailand as believers in black magic and as uncivilised,” said Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is in charge of national security. ”Blood is a symbol of violence and hurling it at the house is saddening. The prime minister is speechless over this incident,” a minister in the prime minister’s office, Satit Wongnhongtaey, told reporters.

But just as the red rallies were kicking off at the beginning of the week, one local paper chose to give most of its page two over to a feature about a veteran policeman proudly showing off his collection of amulets and the supernatural forces he calls into play to help solve crimes. Days of the week are associated with particular colours, certain numbers are significant and layers of symbolism abound. One red-shirt protester told the BBC he felt his donation of blood was akin to forging a bond of blood brotherhood with fellow protesters as ancient warriors have done. But the point of politicians employing certain rituals, Drs Pasuk and Baker say, is to harness and accumulate power. ”The ability to influence events through supernatural forces is a form of power.”

** We need your prayer… as do the people of Thailand and the ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Power in blood

Dave — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:18:17 +0000

This is real human blood… Protesters are giving pints by the thousands….

These protesters are covering the prime minister’s house and various other government buildings with blood to symbolize what they believe the gov’t has done to them through corruption. But there’s more… Using voodoo style cursing they are also attempting to manipulate Supernatural powers for success in this new attempt to topple the current military govt.

Straight out of the pages of pagan animism, complete with black magic occult ceremonies, curses and incantations, this illustrates the worldview in which we live and shine the light of Jesus Christ.

And now they are here in Chiang Mai also…. As of yesterday.

Presently, these protests have not affected daily living for us or those for whom we provide soul care. However, the spiritual battle is real and is taking a quiet toll on everyone. Please pray for us as we encourage Christ’s church here in Thailand and as we are careful not to take political sides but simply live and work to see Christ formed in others.

School Days…

Dave — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:49:03 +0000

We’ve survived the first week of school and are about to close out the second. Life here is beginning to settle into the new family rhythm. Jille gets to play after school while Christian is either in swim team or cranking out 5th grade home work. Right now we are not too happy about the work load (we actually have to read every day! Can you imagine!!!) The joys of growing up…

At any rate, we are slowly assessing how the year may unfold. The difficult thing about deciding when we are available and when we are not is that crisis never happens on schedule. We can plan for the various seminars and mentoring meetings we’ve been asked to do, but we simply cannot plan for bends in the road. So, we hold our family rhythm with an open hand, commit it to the Lord and plunge forward.

The days ahead

We are purposefully keeping the schedule open until October as we enter this new stage of life. While both kids are in school, the new changes seem to require a bit more attention and support after school right now. I’m schedules to be in Singapore from the 22nd or October until the 25th. In fact, we all get to go. We are beign intorduced to some folks that may be interested in supporting us. As well, I meet with the Director of the Singapore Center for Global Missions. They are interested to discuss how Ministry Essentials can partner with them in the soul care of pastors and missionaries. I also have my normal mentoring trips to Cambodia and Laos sometime early in November.

January is the big month. During the seemingly quiet moments, Jeanni and I will be preparing for 30 pastors and their wives to descend upon us here in Chiang Mai on the 4th of January. They have been asking us for a few years now to pour into their lives. So, this year, they decided to come to us since we’ve not been able to get to them. This event has also sparked another International Pastor’s Association to ask if we would consider providing something similar for them as well. So, we are preparing, writing and praying about how best to pour into these men and women.

After the pastor’s group leaves, the rest of Asia comes to Chiang Mai for various conferences in which we play various roles. Jeanni is the keynote speaker for one group and I’ve been asked to give the morning devotions. Jeanni is also the main speaker for the Chiang Mai women’s retreat (they did not want me for some reason). Something I’m praying about is offering to be pulpit supply for a local International congregation without a pastor right now. I miss teaching. Yet, I don’t want to misuse the gift of time I’ve been given now that my days are no longer punctuated with child care after lunch.

Just a word about our summer… We enjoyed the conference we attended to our refreshment. It was deeply needed. Our kids wanted to sit on the front row (something I don’t do if I can help it), so there I was right in the thick of things. I think I cried through worship every day. It felt good to bathe in something I did not have to sustain through my own leadership. **NOTE: the directors of this conference have asked us to return as spiritual directors for next year’s conference. Add this to your prayer list. The only thing stopping us is finances.

The time with our staff was also deeply refreshing. That kind of mutual encouragement and undergirding goes a long way. I also came away from our board meetings encouraged and stimulated by the potential that lay ahead.

Thanks for joining us in this wild journey of faith. Your companionship though often unseen over the miles, strengthens us to remain faithful to his call in our lives.

Commissioning

Dave — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:15:22 +0000

“How do people become staff with Ministry Essentials?” ”Do you think the board would accept me?” ”What could I do?” ”Can I be your assistant?” ”If I were your assistant, what do you need me to do?” ”Can I help now?”

At first I thought he was just asking because we had recently interviewed and accepted new staff. Maybe he just wanted to understand the process. But the more he talked, the more I realized the depth of what was being asked. He wanted to be a part. He wanted some ownership of the life we have in Thailand. But just being my son and going to school was not enough. His part had to be official and therefore meaningful.

Needing some time to think, I suggested he speak to the board about his desires since it could be a conflict of interest for me to interview him and decide whether he should have an ‘official role’. So, he did! Christian spoke to one of our advisory board members and then to our governing board. It was not until our staff gathering this past week that he underwent an “official” interview.

They asked about his relationship with the Lord and his desire to serve with the organization. Questions ranged from how he treats others to his attitude in doing what he is told.

Well, not wanting to be left out, Jille wanted to undergo the same. When the day came for the commissioning, she was so excited and kept calling it the “preaching”. ”When are we going to have the preaching?” What we didn’t know was that Al & Chris had come up with some certificates to present at ‘the preaching. We all sat around the table as Al & Chris explained the significance of Christian and Jille’s commitment and then read their certificate. You could feel their excitement and slight embarrassment… but mostly excitement.

Closing in prayer, we committed these tender lives to God and welcomed them to ‘the team’.

Remembrance…

Dave — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:46:40 +0000

I discovered how to use some fun applications on my computer recently and decided to create an “end of the year” video clip for the kids. Christian’s started out as a highlight of his swim meets but as I discovered I did not have enough photos I turned it into a summary of the year. Jille’s video features her favorite song from her favorite Barbie movie (Barbie in the Diamond Castle). She helped me pick out the photos. In my tests I was only able to get the video’s to play in “popup” mode. It could be internet issues here in Thailand but if not, try the popup mode for viewing while I figure out how to do this seamlessly.

Enjoy!

GIS Swim Meet – I.e. Christian was great!

Dave — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:00:09 +0000

Yesterday, 06 May 2009, GIS held their inter-school swim meet for elementary grades. The cloudy sky made bleacher sitting bearable and a good time was had by all. Included in the normal races were a few relays like ‘the Tee shirt’ race where members of the team had to swim with a Tee shirt, get to the other side, get out of the pool, take off the shirt and get it on their teammate, where they repeated the same.

Christian was in two relays as anchor (please excuse the proud papa moment here) and while another school took 1st in both heats, Christian pulled his team from third place to second both times. Truly, I wish I could say he is a chip off the old block. Frankly, we are just proud! :)

High Calling…

Dave — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:19:57 +0000

I’ve recently joined a blogging network called High Calling Blogs. In my attempt to read more widely and even interact beyond my borders I came across this network through other friend’s blogs. If, like me, you’ve used Google reader search to find others of like heart and mind out there reading and writing on the spiritual life, and if, like me you have come up empty handed, I recommend this site. I can’t vouch for every blogger but what I have read I’ve enjoyed.

Check it out, let me know what you think.