A letter from Scott and Khanita Satterfield in Thailand
April 28, 2009
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Chiang Mai where we have been celebrating Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, by paying respect to the elders in Khanita’s family as well as her ancestors.
One of the more beautiful aspects of Thai culture is expressing our gratitude to parents and grandparents for their love, support and all the things they do for us through the wai ngam dam hua ceremony. At Songkran, families gather, bringing fruit and garlands of jasmine flowers. They pour scented water on the hands of their elders and bow down at their feet as the greatest and gentlest act of respect. At church, the elder members of the congregation will sit in the front pews while everyone takes turn placing jasmine garlands on them and pouring scented water on their hands. It is a lovely and wonderful thing to be a part of each year.
A new English reading center for Suebnathitham School
Last December we wrote about Suebnathitham School and its principal, Mrs. Jintana Inthaphan. Thanks to a donation of books from Westminster Presbyterian Church in Madison, Wisconsin, Suebnathitham will start the school year in May with over 200 English books for its library. This is part of the “English Reading Center” project Khanita and I have initiated to provide poor schools in the Christian Church of Thailand (CCT) with English books for their libraries. Last year we were contacted by Kathy Granquist of Westminster, where my good friend and college roommate, Alex Thornburg, is now the pastor.
Mrs. Jintana Inthaphan receiving the books gived to Suebnathitham School by Westminster Presbyterian, Madison, Wisconsin.
The books arrived at the end of March, and we took them to the school where the principal and English teachers were excited to have these treasures. Khanita and I have been working with the English teachers to encourage reading in both Thai and English with their students. The English staff at Suebnathitham have needed books to support reading in their curriculum, but with only one copy of Cinderella to use with nearly 600 children in the first through ninth grades, it was hard to sell the idea. Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Westminster, the children of Suebnathitham will be able to improve their English in a very meaningful and exciting way. Mrs. Inthaphan told me that, “This gift of books gives students more than a love of reading, but shows them how God’s love is given to them through the kindness of others. Their education will benefit from this, but they will also learn to share love with others by this example of being kind and generous as Christ was.”
New volunteers to teach English
Early last year I was charged with reviving the CCT’s volunteer English teacher program. The Christian Volunteers in Thailand (CVT) program places qualified volunteers to work as English teachers in the church schools. Prayer and persistence have paid off. A new relationship with Azuza Pacific University in California has helped recruit volunteers, and new CVTs arrive in May and June.
Ben and Jenna Winship are recent graduates of APU, have previously done volunteer work in Thailand, and will be serving as English teachers for two years in Chiang Rai Vidhayakhome School. Andrea Johnson, another recent graduate, had been searching for an overseas mission volunteer opportunity when she answered the call to work in Thailand. Andrea has asked to teach in Suebnathitham School. We are very grateful for their willingness to give two years of their lives to serve the Lord working with the children of Thailand, and are looking forward to supporting them in this important ministry.
World Mission Challenge
Forty PC(USA) mission personnel will visit hundreds of congregations across the United States this fall to tell how God is at work around the world. World Mission Challenge, a reprise of a similar event in 2007, will be held September 25–October 18, 2009. Learn more at the Mission Challenge Web site or by calling Ellen Dozier at 888-728-7228, x5916.
World Mission Challenge will conclude with World Mission Celebration, a large gathering for Presbyterians who care deeply about mission. The event will be held October 22–24 in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and the adjoining Duke Energy Center. Learn more at the Mission Celebration Web site or by calling Lis Valle at 888-728-7228 x5279.
A prayer concern for Thailand
If you were following the news earlier this April and last fall, then you are aware of the civil unrest that has poisoned Thailand’s politics. The core of the conflict is the oppression of the poor by the elites and a rural population that has found its political voice and wants a more equal and generous society. Such a society was the goal of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawat until he was overthrown by the elites in a military coup. The demonstrations and actions by the elitist “yellow shirts” against Thaksin and his governments were violent. The pro-Thaksin “red shirts” responded in kind. This violence served only to petrify already inflexible positions, making it almost impossible for Parliament to heal the rift. In worship these past Sundays, we’ve read about the early church and how they built a society based upon equality, of each contributing what they owned so that the poorest among them had what they needed. Building such a society is part of our faith. Please pray for peace in Thailand, for a nonviolent way to be found to heal the differences between these groups, for the government and opposition party to overcome the urge to play politics and instead work for lasting solutions and an equal society that truly works to uplift the poor and marginalized.
Your servants,
Scott, Khanita and Christopher Satterfield
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 110
