A letter from Sharon Bryant in Thailand
March 2013
Dear Friends,
Mienda Uriarte, Sharon Bryant and Richard Williams by the Peace Vessel at Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum
When I arrived back in the U.S.A. to attend a meeting in Louisville, we sang the song “The Summons” and I reflected again on my call to this ministry: “Will you come and follow me if I but call your name? Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?” What a whirlwind of activity this first quarter has been! And yet, in the midst of all the chaos, God is at work and this co-worker continues to learn new things about the people she is serving. Sitting in my apartment at “Mission Ranch” at Austin Seminary (and praising God for all those who created and continue to maintain mission housing for those of us who are homeless when we come home), I realize that I long to have you travel with me during one brief week in February. Then, perhaps, you will begin to understand.
Rows of tombstones at the War Cemetery in Kanchanaburi of prisoners of war who died building the Death Railway
Mienda Uriarte, Area Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, and Richard Williams, Coordinator of the Young Adult Volunteer program, came to visit me in February. They wanted to get out of the cities and see the opportunities for volunteers in the rural areas of Thailand. So we traveled to Sangklaburi, close to the border with Burma (now Myanmar), stopping to visit the War Cemetery in Kanchanaburi and Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum along the way. It was a glimpse into a tragic part of Thai history—the silent collaboration with the Japanese during World War II that led to the death of thousands of prisoners of war during the construction of the “Death Railway.” We spent time looking at faded photographs and reading personal accounts of that brief but brutal time in the history of Thailand. And we reflected on the impact of this history on the Thai people, whose land was occupied and used by the Japanese for their own ends. How does that history shape a people? Will they be open to hearing the gospel from representatives of another imperial power? How do we demonstrate the love of Christ in this place? Can our volunteers do this as they live and work with the Thai people in these communities? Please pray for the answers to these questions.
The new Buddhist temple of the Mon people in Sangklaburi
Another place that we visited on this trip was a very new, beautiful and ornate Buddhist temple that is one of the holiest sites for the Mon people. This temple was built to replace one that was located in a valley that was flooded when the Thai government built a new dam. (You can still see the old temple under the waters of the reservoir.) I realized as I was walking through this temple that, while I knew this recent history of the temple, I knew very little about the Mon people. So I googled it and learned that the Mon people were one of the earliest people groups to inhabit Southeast Asia and were credited with bringing Theraveda Buddhism to Burma and Thailand. But they have endured centuries of oppression in Burma (now Myanmar) and thousands are refugees in Thailand. In my itineration presentation this year, I tell the story of Ahree, a young woman who came across the border into Thailand. Ahree is a composite of many different women, each with a different story to tell. But all the stories are about oppression and persecution. How can a young woman like Ahree believe the story of a loving Savior when she has never experienced such love in her own life? Will our volunteers be able to reach someone like Ahree with the love of Christ? Please pray with me for young women like Ahree and the volunteers who will touch their lives through this ministry.
Students at Saha Christian Suksa School enjoying a treat in class
The answer to many of these questions lies in small Christian schools like Saha Christian Suksa in Huey Malai, just minutes from the border with Burma/Myanmar. Hundreds of children like Ahree have crossed that border to escape oppression and persecution. While the situation is, perhaps, better today than in the past, few refugees trust the changes that have taken place. They have lived in fear for years and that fear continues to haunt them. But luckily Ahree, like the young women pictured here, has found refuge at Saha Christian Suksa School, where a significant percentage of the students are refugees. Saha Christian Suksa School is one of the 26 private Christian schools of our partner church, the Church of Christ in Thailand, that seek to reach out to Thai children with the message of love and redemption. Surrounded by loving Christian teachers and our Christian Volunteers in Thailand (CVT), children like Ahree can get the education that they need and come to understand what it means to love and be loved in a Christian community. Pray with me for the teachers at Saha Christian School and their ministry to these children—that they may be strengthened and supported in their ministry.
Lindsey Monroe, an American volunteer, who will be coming in September to work at Saha Christian Suksa School with Christian Volunteers in Thailand
Of course the question that always raises its ugly head is whether we will have the funds we need to continue this ministry in the future. As budgets tighten and our own budget with our partner church gets slashed, I wonder how we will continue to provide this ministry of CVT volunteers to the schools in Thailand. There are volunteers in the pipeline who want to come and make a difference. Lindsey Monroe, pictured here, has served with other secular organizations and found it frustrating not to be able to share her faith. She is looking forward to coming to Saha Christian School in September to begin working with the students here, living in the community and sharing her faith, even as she learns new expressions of faith from those she serves. The work that I do supports her and other CVT volunteers in their ministry to the school. If you would like to support my ministry and the work of Christian Volunteers in Thailand, please use the link below to donate to the work that I do in finding volunteers and preparing them for their time of service in Thailand. I could not do any of this without your letters, your prayers, your encouragement, and your unfailing generosity. From the depths of my heart, thank you for all that you do.
Sharon L. Bryant
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 195
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