Sunday and Monday in Bangkok

I’d been looking forward to this leg of the trip for different reasons than for the other areas on the itinerary, as there is a church here in Bangkok. A young Thai Christian is attending boarding school in Pennsylvania, and attends the assemblies of the church where my brother Jeff is, and so I had been put in contact with this young man’s father, Jai. He is a deacon in the church here in Bangkok. Jai in fact invited me to preach, and that turned out to be an invitation to preach in their morning assembly, teach their Bible class for English speaking members, and then preach again in the evening.

Our initial face to face meeting came at the Bangkok airport, when Jai and his wife Ying picked up Daniel and me, to spend the night in their home. They are a very kind, hospitable, and welcoming couple – Ying had snacks for us as soon as we got in the car – and they are eminently likeable! (speaking of Jai and Ying, not the snacks! -although the snacks weren't bad)

Activities on Sunday with the brethren consume the whole day, though we took absence part of the time and explored the market areas near the meeting place, buying some street food to satisfy our hunger. The church here engages in some things I can’t conscientiously participate in, and that led to some awkwardness, and also a bit of regret on both sides, but it was a very enjoyable day otherwise.

In the morning assembly, I preached about the secularization of churches – that they miss their God-given mission when they adopt secular activities not authorized; I also briefly outlined my approach to determining what the mission of the church is.

The English speaking class was made up of an American who lives here, several Phillippinos, a Liberian who’s on a soccer team here, a girl also of African descent though I missed what country she is from, and a few others of unknown nationality, plus Daniel and me. Instead of just teaching my own topic of some kind, I asked if they perhaps had questions they would like to discuss. The first concerned non-Christians partaking of the Lord’s Supper – the questioner said he had observed a lack of teaching about this in the church here in regard to long-term visitors. The second question was from a Phillippino girl who is dating a Muslim: “Is it sinful to marry a non-Christian?” There was much good discussion about this question with really good comments from several people, and I think the girl involved decided not to make any commitments too quickly. That discussion then led into a discussion of divorce and remarriage: another good discussion, in which some learned that a person might legitimately remarry if they put away their spouse for adultery. It was a good class.

In the evening, I preached from Philippians, talking about personal conflict (Euodia and Syntoche), and all the aspects of the epistle which relate to that personal conflict. It’s a study of the letter that I really enjoy, and only discovered about 4 years ago. And it’s applicable in any church where interpersonal problems might occur . . . which, I think, means any church, period.

A final word about preaching that day: my translator was a young man who has just returned to Bangkok after studying at the Sunset School of Preaching. His English was very good, but he was also very good at conveying my tone: gestures and emphasis were carried very well in the translation – not that I noticed it, as I was focused more on what I was saying, not what he was saying. But Daniel relayed that report to me. It’s great to work with a great translator (which I also enjoy with Andres back in Long Beach).

By the evening assembly, a young just-married coupled had returned from their wedding in the States – she’s American, he’s Thai. In the announcements, it was revealed to everyone that her maiden name is the same as my last name, Smelser! The translation through headphones was a little slow, so the first I knew of this was as the new husband got up and stepped back to our pew (they were sitting right in front of us), asking whether my last name were indeed Smelser. I replied yes, and he said his wife’s name was also! Quite a surprise.

Jai and I both want to discuss my matters of conscience before I leave, but the opportune time to do that (Tuesday evening, right now as I am writing) turned out to be a time he was not available after all. He was going to be traveling with us right now, but then it turned out he needed to stay home. I don’t want to leave without talking with him more in depth about those things.

More about the street food: Bangkok is famous for it! Stalls and carts occupy the sidewalks, and food is cooked on the spot: shrimp, pork, chicken, squid, fish, fried bananas, and vegetables as well. Fresh fruit is sold in cut pieces: watermelon, mango, pineapple, etc. Whole meals over noodles or rice are also available in some of these areas. One can spend more money than planned, walking along these sidewalks!

On Monday, we went and toured , a canal area with floating markets. Shops line either side of the canal, with food also being prepared, cooked, and sold on the narrow boats. Really cool area. We chartered a boat for $5, bought food from another boat (photo), and ate as we were taken out into the nearby river. Upriver maybe a mile, we disembarked to explore an old fort, where there was (of course) another Buddhist structure with another Buddha inside. There were also animals at this location: goats, a mongoose, a porcupine of some sort, pheasants (our kind and an Asian kind), monkeys, a black bear, Asian deer, etc. On the way back we stopped at yet another Buddha site – this time with an incredibly carved wooden interior. It was truly intricate and magnificent work.
The wooden floor planks were 3-4 feet wide, and ran 30 to 40 feet long, solid, the length of the building. Came from some big trees.

On the way back into Bangkok, although it was getting dark, we stopped by a little spot where monkeys in the wild are known to live. Sure enough, as we pulled off the road, we immediately saw their shadowy figures up on the power lines. Walking closer we heard them jumping around in the trees and making their excited calls. A little peninsula of land went out between a small river on the right and a little marshy area on the left, and the monkeys began to appear everywhere. It was great. Having never been around wild monkeys, it was also a little intimidating walking within feet of them as they ran around and across this little peninsula in the near darkness, knowing they can make nasty bites if they wish, but I did reach out and stroke one on its back as it passed. He glanced back but seemed undisturbed. Later, as one was sizing up Daniel, and stepping away from me, I reached out a little too quickly, prompting him to turn and make a somewhat threatening motion toward me! Another swiped angrily at Daniel when he got a little too close. Others sat more calmly, letting us photograph them, though good photos were few.

Today, Tuesday, was a fairly slow day. We got a late start, and walked around Bangkok for a while, seeing more centers of Buddha worship. The ornateness of these places amazes us both, though gaudy is sometimes the better word.

Now it’s Tuesday night, and Daniel and I are onboard an overnight train to Nong Khai, just across the border from Vientiane, the capital of Loas. We will arrive there in the morning, and cross into Laos for the day. We had hoped to spend longer in Laos, but didn’t quite have time to make the train that left last night. Not sure when I’ll next have access to post this!