Service Work In Thailand

Jack Hart
May 1982

As the news of the Home Church providence began to drift across the continents to Thailand, I felt that it was something that God was very strongly urging us to do. But it seemed somewhat hopeless as I looked at Bangkok and at the difficulties we had in street witnessing alone. Still, we prayed and thought deeply about how to carry out Father's direction.

Thailand has a population of 44 million, about 5 million of whom live in Bangkok. Its Thai name is Kneng Thep, which means the city of angels. Bangkok's face appears to be rather modern, but behind the tourist hotels and shopping centers is a vast network of slums. When I first discovered this "inner city," it was overwhelming! Much of Bangkok is below sea level, and during the rainy season the many canals of the city overflow. The canals are used for drinking, bathing, washing clothes, washing dishes -- and for toilets as well. Some canals are filled with garbage and plastic bags. When it rains, water and garbage back up into the streets and the houses in the lower-income areas. The rich and the foreign communities are usually carefully protected from this. Many aren't even aware of this side of Thai life. Chicks, kittens and even puppies can be seen walking on the water, since there is so much garbage to support them!

Beyond the difficulties of the physical situation was the spiritual atmosphere, which almost always led us to persevere simply because of our own love for Thailand, which we knew came from God. In addition, the charm and simplicity of many Thai people kept us going too. Sometimes there seemed to be no other reasons for our love. Bangkok is a center for "sex tours" from Europe, and it has been estimated that 3-5 percent of all Thai women are prostitutes. There are massage parlors on every street, and at right homosexuals and transvestites creep out of the corners.

Even these aspects of life were easier to accept than what we began to discover more and more: Thai people really had very little hope, since Christianity had never met with much success there. But still, Eva, the German missionary, and I loved our "crippled child" and felt that God must have held Thailand in His arms many times -- just as He has all of fallen man.

In 1979, we began visiting middle class and upper middle class homes to lay a base for Home Church work. We encountered various difficulties: we didn't know if foreign members could legally do this kind of activity (we didn't have many Thai members at that time); people often weren't home, and if they were, the maid seldom let us past the gate; and when we did get a chance to serve in one of these richer homes, the people were so used to being served that they took it as a matter of course and sometimes really took advantage of our members.

With one sister, Rungporn, I went all over the city, looking at different areas, seeking one in which to concentrate Home Church work. Logically, I felt that upper class areas would be better, but spiritually I was more drawn to the slum areas, where it was more easy to visit people. Later on, Rungporn had a dream that we should do Home Church work in Makkasan.

A major portion of the Bangkok population is of Chinese descent, and many of them feel very strongly about maintaining the purity of their lineage. People in areas such as Makkasan, however, are often of Thai descent, more closely related to the peoples of neighboring countries such as Laos and Cambodia. The land in Makkasan is owned by the Thai railroad company, and housing for railroad employees is located on all four corners of the intersection of two major highways. Behind those buildings are squatters' houses and shacks. This slum area is the part I like best, because it is so interesting. People in the railroad housing have some pride, but in the slums, people live with no pretensions. People in Makkasan earn money by selling things on the streets, working as tailors and dressmakers, or making embroideries and other handicrafts for tourists. Therefore, some of the demonstrations we organized were geared to helping them learn these kinds of skills so they could earn more money for their families.

Beginning in 1980, three or four members went to Makkasan and began teaching children in several different houses, but it was a bit difficult because they didn't always have a reason for visiting. Also, the parents were sometimes slightly negative, but being shy, they didn't say much against what we were doing.

We began setting many prayer conditions for Home Church, and at our weekly family meetings I would give some ideas about what to do in the area, and Amala would note them all down and carry out each idea. (See her article for more details.)

I think the best idea we had was to bring in the group of social workers. We could observe their attitude and learn from them what were the acceptable ways to approach Thai people. It really gave us a lot of confidence. Their main premise was to help people so they would later be able to help themselves. Before, we had just thought about helping people -- we didn't have such a long-range goal of enabling them to help themselves. Sometimes parents took the money which was allocated for students' uniforms and spent it for themselves; my inclination was to feel sorry for the children and give their parents more money, but the social workers were against that. Now I can see that they were right, and their method was ultimately much better than ours.

Our members work very hard, but they feel much enthusiasm. In the mornings, they sell ginseng, and then witness on the streets for an hour and a half. Afterwards, they go to Home Church. If they didn't make their goal with ginseng, they go out again at night. In this way, each member participates in all activities, and it is a tight schedule.

In the early part of last year, about a dozen members were doing Home Church work. Now, we have extended our Home Church work throughout a greater part of the Makkasan area, and about 20 members go there each day. In addition, members who spend more time at the center -- such as Eva, who is in charge of teaching Principle -- are looking for nearby area in which to do Home Church work.

We are very grateful for our Japanese brothers and sisters from the medical team, who travel a long distance each week to come and assist us in giving medical care in Makkasan. I strongly feel that our unity as a family has been the key to bringing about whatever results we have bee able to gain. The freedom that we have felt through our love for one another always gave us hope to continue in the face of what often seemed to be an impossible situation. Our relationships had not come easily. We knew that if God could unite us so deeply, perhaps even Thailand could be restored.