The Butterfly Effect

Last weekend, I went to visit a friend and attend the Skyrocket festival in a neighbouring province. This is where people shoot home-made rockets into the sky to scare the rain-god so that he loses control of his bladder and therefore heralds the start of the rainy season! The visit was a reminder of why we are here, a reality check in many ways.

There were moments of culture shock such as not having running water, the absence of furniture in Thai village houses in favour of a 'piling system', sinks left unused in favour of washing up squatting on the floor, and worst of all, coming in the house to find a snake on the floor.

But besides this, we were struck again by the darkness that pervades this place. It is a darkness that envelops, touching every part of life: from eating a Thai barbecue to the sound of Buddhist chants ringing through the village, to children's games and grown ups' fears about ‘phi’ (ghosts or evil sprits); from going to a ‘wat’ (Buddhist temple) to see a dodgy pop/dance concert on temple premises, to the ever present ladyboys dancing at the festival amid phallic fertility symbols. I felt like we had stepped back in time, into the pages of the Canaanite rituals of Old Testament times.

While beautiful traditions live on, like traditional music, stunning traditional costumes and dances, the practice of generous hospitality, and the caring for the elderly by grandchildren; uglier traditions also die hard, like superstition, holding its captives in a vice-like grip of fear. The snake we found in the house was immediately released alive just outside the house, because of the belief that if you kill one, two will enter in its place.

It was all topped off by a reminder of how prevalent the ‘butterfly' effect is here. Someone who repeatedly chooses to be unfaithful to their spouse is known in Thai as a 'butterfly'. All the three Thai ladies with us had been affected by this. Two were nursing broken hearts from 'butterfly' husbands. One was a butterfly herself, married but using her good looks to have two other relationships with foreign men online in exchange for monthly payments. Her husband was unaware of this, but her children regularly saw her engaging in her online relationships. As we talked, her openness was almost as shocking as the content of the story. There was a complete absence of shame, no sense that this wasn't the way things should be. She was very matter-of-fact. She had 3 children and 2 elderly relatives to support, and it could not be done on her regular income. This was her solution.

What seems so clearly wrong to us may be easier to justify if you don't know where your next meal comes from, or how you can afford to send your children to school. Desperation has pushed so many Thai women into immoral or unhappy relationships, it is almost the norm here rather than the exception. They are disillusioned with men, with relationships (which can look more like a business deal than a bond of trust), disillusioned with life itself, in the absence of hope for the future. Some are motivated by greed, buying the lie that wealth and possessions bring happiness. It is an emptier, more hopeless, darker life than anything I could have imagined. 

This group of 22 million Isaan people have been without the light for so long, they scarcely recognise it when it is presented. They have been denied the chance to know the One who came to save them for so many centuries ... but the tide is slowly turning. Even since last year, there have been so many of God's servants we have seen called to move to this area. The Isaan New Testament has been translated and is in its final stages of review and awaiting publishing. It will be a beautiful day when the Isaan people will have the Word of God in their heart language! "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desire." (Heb 4:12 NLT)

A generation of believers is rising up, hungry and thirsty for the kingdom of God in Isaan. On the way back, we had the opportunity to visit a small Thai church. Only a handful of believers, they sang their worship simply to the beat of a tambourine. But their voices and hearts were full of devotion to their Lord, and passion for the lost. Fellowship with them was sweet. We experienced the same sweet aroma of Christ when we visited a small church in another province the previous weekend. These small beginnings make us rejoice, give us hope. In this broken nation, He will build his church, and the gates of hell will not stand against it. (Matt 16:18)