A letter from Scott and Khanita Satterfield in Thailand
December 2, 2008
Dear Friends,
As we write this in early December, we find ourselves once again filled with delight and wonder at the coming of Advent and the celebration of Jesus' birth. We pray that during this season the love and grace of our Lord will surround you, and you will be filled with joy. So much uncertainty seems to loom before everything—economics and employment, war and peace—and yet there is much hope. It is the hope we find within our faith, a hope born of love and given form in a baby. In celebrating the birth of this baby we also celebrate the hope inside ourselves. Almost, as if it were a prelude to Advent, our election was a celebration of hope; it brought an awareness that whatever uncertainty exists will be faced with the gifts of hope: courage, maturity, dignity, and joy. May these gifts be with you this Christmas and in the year to come.
One of the joys we've experienced has been with Suebnathitham School (sueb-na-tee-tam). It is in the small farming town of Sarapee outside of Chiang Mai city, across from the McKean Rehabilitation Center, which was established by Presbyterian missionaries in the late nineteenth century as a leprosy hospital and is today a rehabilitation center and hospital for Hanson's disease, HIV/AIDS, and care for the elderly. Suebnathitham is one of our smallest and poorest schools.
The school was established in the 1960s, when Suebnathitham Church recognized the need for the children of farmers, both Christian and Buddhist, to have a school, since the local public school could only accept a small number of school-aged children. It was a bold decision in that there were few funds to begin such an endeavor. But with faith and with hope, the church was able to buy property and build a small classroom, hire teachers, and open the school. The Lions Club of Minnesota later gived money to build a second classroom building, but for so many years the school struggled to remain open. Classroom, chalkboards, and desks grew worn.
But in the 1990s, as part of the Education Ministry’s mission to help small church schools, the larger schools of the Church of Christ in Thailand helped fund Suebnathitham. The classroom buildings were painted, second-hand desks and chairs were purchased, and the canteen was fixed. We have been a part of this mission, having visited the school several times each year to train English teachers, talk to students, place mission volunteers from PC(USA) to teach in the school, and bring guests from churches in the United States and Australia to visit classrooms and meet the students.
Today, Suebnathitham is a completely different place from the school we first visited in the early 1990s. The director, Mrs. Jintana Inthapan, has worked hard to develop the school and upgrade teaching staff. Her vision has been to provide a quality education. Suebnathitham has classes from kindergarten through ninth grade. All students come from poor families who do not qualify to enter the public schools (due to insufficient seats)—still the school's mission.
Many uncertainties faced Mrs. Inthapan in the beginning, but now her hard work has paid off. Suebnathitham can boast that every year all of its ninth-graders pass the required entrance examinations for the 10th grade, and several students are attending top high schools in Chiang Mai city. With loans from Bangkok Christian College and a bank, Mrs. Inthapan has overseen the construction of a new three-storey classroom building for the increasing enrollment of middle school students. Once a week, she still finds time to cook lunch for the entire teaching staff (we were lucky enough to come on one of her cooking days—talk about fringe benefits!).
Suebnathitham still faces challenges, the biggest is finding scholarships for many of the new students. Another challenge is the growing immigrant labor population from Burma migrating to Chiang Mai for construction and other jobs. Since they are not citizens, their children have no right to receive an education in Thai schools. Suebnathitham admits their children anyway. Ajarn Jintana puts it bluntly, “Every child deserves an education. We take them in for free and hope we find scholarships for them.”
The English teachers with whom we work are representative of the school's teaching staff. We have watched them grow in their abilities and eagerness to improve their teaching skills and English usage. Their hard work is reflected in their students, who are ready to offer a “Hello, how are you?” “What is your name?” to the visitors we bring. We find it reassuring to see the way God works through people, places, and conditions to create change and make things better. Surely, with hope and perseverance in the face of uncertainty, this can happen anywhere.
Peace and contentment be with you,
The Satterfield Family
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 92
