Water

Thailand is a country with a lot of water. It has many rivers and dams, a 3200 km coastline and an annual rainfall average of around 200cm (up to 380cm in the south and as low as 140cm in the drier northeast). Water is very important to Thai life, religion and culture. Two of the Thai's most famous religious festivals involve water - Loy Krathong in November, where ornamental floats are released on rivers and dams in reverence of the river gods and Songkraan in April, where sacred statues are ritually washed and the country enjoys the mother of all water fights for 3 days solid (as seen in the pic above).

In days gone by, before tarmac roads and the mass production of motorcars, rivers and canals were the only mode of transport. They were the main arteries along which commerce and hence, development, took place. Not for nothing, Bangkok was known as the "Venice of the East". A remnant of this is to be seen in the famous "floating market" outside Bangkok, a favourite stop for tourists to Thailand. Sadly, many of the canals in Bangkok have been filled in to make room for wider roads and pavements.

Water is also essential to the production of rice, of which Thailand is the world's largest producer.

With all this water, one would think that there is plenty to drink too. Not true. Drinking water in Thailand has to be bought in bottles. In large cities, such as Bangkok, municipal water is piped to homes. In most of the rest of the country, however, there is no municipal water and most folk use borehole water. The water-table is generally very high, so borehole water does not come from deep wells. The result, brown, brackish water that is not fit for consumption.

We use borehole water in our home. We have a large tank in the garden, into which the water is pumped (a float system keeps the tank at a certain level). When we turn on a tap in the house, the water gets pumped from the tank, through a large sand and charcoal filter and into the house. This water is used for all our household purposes, other than drinking.

(This photo shows the stainless steel tank on the left, the long, blue filter on the right and the borehole and house pumps in the foreground on the right - Emily in the middle)

For our drinking water we rely on "Uncle Taa". He is our local water-man, who delivers water to our door in large plastic 20 liter bottles. A bottle like this costs 15 Baht (R 3.47 or US$ 0.50). This is municipal water that has been filtered (well, we trust that it has been filtered:-)

"Tyred" of garbage

Garbage, more precisely, what to do with it, is a question that no doubt has plagued man since time immemorial - more so since we started packaging things. Most cities and towns in the world today have garbage disposal services and garbage is either burned, buried, exported to poor countries, dumped in landfills, the sea, forests and other ecologically sensitive areas. Fact is, most of us don't really worry too much about where our garbage goes once it leaves the pavement in front of our homes.

In Thailand, up until not too many years ago, fresh food was packaged in leaves. In fact, today still, some food bought at markets is wrapped in banana, pandanus and other leaves. This makes for hassle-free disposal. You merely drop it wherever you please.

As Thailand has become more developed, however, it has had to deal more and more with plastic and other non-biodegradable packaging. This has not proved to be too much of a hassle to some folk - they merely burn it, thus contributing to the emission of odoriferous and noxious substances in the air. In March this year, the air pollution levels in Chiang Mai exceeded critical levels and the province was declared and environmental disaster area. The main culprits were farmers burning their waste, slash and burn farming and uncontrolled forest fires, but even as visibility was reduced to around 50 meters and tiny sooty particles were falling from the sky, noses running and eyes stinging, my neighbours were happily burning their household and garden refuse.

Thailand is modernising. We have regular, twice-a-week garbage collection (which my neighbours, for reasons unbeknown, prefer not to use) and are required to place our garbage in black bags, which are to be tied up and placed on the road on garbage collection days. This is an improvement but it has resulted in the demise of a unique and quaint Thai fixture...the rubber garbage bin.

As you can see, it is made "entyrely" from a car tyre, which has been cut and turned inside out. A novel way to keep your garbage out of the way and clever use of old car tyres.

Did you know?

Some interesting Thai Buddhist cultural information

• Some Thai proverbs have a corresponding English one. No prizes, but see if you can match these: “Escape from a tiger, and meet a crocodile”; “ When the cow’s gone, surround the cattle-pen” and “ When the water rises, hurry to collect some. (answers at the bottom of this post)

• Nine is an auspicious number and is seen as lucky – in 2003 a minister paid 4 million Baht (R800 000 or US $114 000) for a car number plate with the digits “9999”

• Thai people love uniforms – a society attuned to hierarchy needs clothing that helps people deduce each other’s relative status. Clothing sets the tone from farmers to the silk-clad elite.

• Each of Thailand’s provincial capital cities has its own “city pillar” which is marked by a shrine dedicated to the guardian spirit of that city.

• Some Thai people attach great significance to dreams. The two worst dreams are apparently dreaming of fire (especially of your house burning down), and about back teeth. The latter is usually related to death or sickness.

• The proper name of Bangkok is “City of Angels, great city of immortals, magnificent jewelled city of the god Indra, seat of the King of Ayutthaya, city of gleaming temples, city of the King’s most excellent Palace and Dominions, home of Vishnu and all the gods”. In Thai it is all joined in one 160-letter word.

• In Thailand just about everyone has a nickname. The commonest nicknames mean “small” e.g. Lek, Nit, or Noi.... which were given as terms of endearment when they were babies. Those who were less attractive babies, go by names such as Gob (frog) or Gung (Shrimp)!

• An old Thai superstition says that if you hear a jing-jok’s (gecko) cry just as you’re about to do something – then don’t do it! The cry sounds like “tch! tch!” - the sound you would make to warn someone... possibly the origin of this particular superstition.

• Even in our modern age some Thai children still have a “top knot”: a little tuft of hair with a ponytail in the middle of an otherwise completely shaven head! It is believed to be a cure for persistent sickliness, feverishness, or a tendency towards accidents during babyhood.

• Thailand is not a nation of great readers! According to a 2003 Unesco report, the average Thai person reads a scant 8 lines per year.

• An old Siamese proverb goes like this: To be educated and not be a [government] official is like receiving a Pali (i.e. sacred) education and not becoming a monk.

• At a Thai “housewarming” there should always be an uneven number of monks present – poor people would have 3 monks come to bless the house, richer folk might have 9 or more. Even numbers are considered “bad luck”

• All societies have some form of hierarchical ordering, but in Thai society people cannot really interact except in hierarchical terms.

• Traditionally rice is considered the only true food – one can eat to one’s fill without sinning and it is said to nourish the human “khwan” (soul).

• Gautama Buddha once preached, “I myself have renounced my earthly goods, lustful desires and have been celibate and considered myself a good person for more than 8 infinities multiplied by 10 to the 20^th strength. Add one hundred thousand eternities and 10 lives of the Buddha’s life in length and oh! You all, hear me if you do good this long you will still not be likely to escape or be delivered at all”

• Thai Buddhism regards women as having more worldly attachments than men. Thus, if women sin, it is only to be expected and the consequences of their sin are less. But, they need to make more merit than men do.

• Buddhism views the world as the consequence of ignorance – there is no concept of an original good creation.

• Thai Buddhism regards the King, high royalty and Buddhist monks, irrespective of their behaviour, to be higher moral beings than “ordinary’ humans. They are accorded special respect and special language is used to address them.

• “Phii” is the title used to address a man or a woman older than yourself, but younger than your parents.

• A monk is supposed to follow 227 Buddhist precepts (rules), a novice 10, a nun 9, but a layman only 5.

• The Buddhist concept of Nirvana is likened to a drop of water reaching the ocean – you lose your individual identity and become part of the larger “cosmic soul”.

• Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, never claimed to be God, and even though Buddhism is an atheistic religion, Thai Buddhists worship and revere images of Buddha, believing that they gain merit by doing so.

• The 5 precepts of Buddhism are: do not kill, do not steal. do not practice immorality, do not lie, do not take drugs or alcohol.

• Because the Buddhist people believe the Law of Karma is inescapable, they believe no one is free to choose an alternative way of life.

• Men benefit most from Buddhism – Buddhists believe that a woman can only attain Nirvana if she becomes a man in some future life.

• The three pillars of Thai society are; unity (their nation), continuity (their religion) and identity (their king)

• The fact that Jesus suffered and died on the cross makes him a failure who had bad karma in the eyes of Buddhists.

• Thailand has freedom of religion, but in terms of the Constitution the king is required to be a Buddhist.

• Thailand has 30 000 Buddhist temples and 300 000 monks.

• Thailand has 63 million people - roughly 92% are Buddhist, 1% are Christian.

(from the frying pan into the fire; closing the stable after the horse has bolted; make hay while the sun shines)

Bekkers' Bulletin - January 2007

TRAINING

This newsletter comes to you from Singapore where we have spent the past week attending OMF’s New Leaders’ Introductory course. Its been a great week and we return to Thailand feeling challenged and enthusiastic about applying the things we learned here.

We also had a wonderful opportunity to touch base with Steve and Jenny Murphy, South Africans working and ministering in Singapore. The photo above was taken at the Yacht Club where they took us for a “braai”.

Earlier last month Nick also attended a conference in Chiang Mai on Buddhism. The focus of this conference was using narrative to preach the gospel in oral cultures. Nick was able to put what he had learned into practice by preaching, using stories, two Sundays ago.

IN GRACE CHURCH

The land transfer for In Grace Church has finally gone through, but we were a bit worried to find out afterwards that the previous owner had buried some family members on the land – at a time when it was still legal to bury people on private property. Pastor Isara received assurances that the bones had been removed some time ago, but we found, in the undergrowth, what appeared to be a gravestone on top of a grave that had clearly not been disturbed. So, armed with spades and machetes Nick and Pastor Isara cleared the area and hunted for skeletons – not something that Bible College or the pastorate ever equipped them for. We are relieved to say that there were no dry bones to be found and it turns out that the “gravestone” was merely an old, but elaborate, spirit house.

Thai folk are notoriously superstitious and so we haven’t told too many people that there were graves on the land – not too sure how well that news will go down, even amongst the church members!

On a more spiritual note, two weeks ago, we had a time of prayer on the new site, dedicating it to the Lord (see photo below). Building will not commence in the foreseeable future, and for now we will be renting at the OMF Mekong Centre in an effort to cut costs.

FAMILY NEWS

Trish and baby Bekker 3 are doing well. We still don’t know the sex of our next baby – hopefully the next scan will reveal all.

Coming up, we have a short visit from Andy Sieberhagen, whom many of you know. Nick is optimistic about finding time for a game of golf!

Then, as mentioned in our last newsletter, we have to attend what is known as a Pre-Home Assignment Workshop (PHAW) to prepare us for the shock and horror of returning home. This course runs at the end of this month. After all this training, we are anticipating being very learned and wise!

Bekkers' Bulletin - May 2007

RE-BIRTH

We received the phone call on Thursday evening: Nick’s blood was needed. Noina, a friend of a friend, suffering from a blood disorder called Thalessemia had had complications after a spleen operation and needed to go in for another op. Nick was asked to donate blood for the operation, which could possibly save his life. He couldn’t say no, so the next morning at 9 a.m. he was at the hospital to give his blood.

Noina’s bed was in the far corner of the overcrowded hospital ward. Nick was shocked when he saw him. He knew that Noina was very ill, but was not prepared for the sight that met him. Noina was painfully thin and as a result of liver trouble he had an unhealthy sallow complexion and the whites of his eyes were yellow. The chirpy greeting that Nick had been rehearsing on the way over died on his lips.

They spent a while talking. Noina told Nick about his home on an idyllic island off the coast of Thailand near Cambodia. He said that when he got out of hospital he was going home and that we were welcome to visit him there. Then, using the illustration of his own blood which Nick was ready to freely give to help save Noina’s physical life, Nick told Noina about the blood of Jesus which had been freely shed to save his spiritual life. After praying for him, Nick went to another part of the hospital where a friendly nurse cheerfully drained half a litre of his blood.

Later on, our friends told us that they had had an opportunity to share the gospel with Noina and he had, though with limited understanding, accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

Nick’s blood never was used by Noina because he died that Friday evening, before they could operate on him. But we know that the blood of Jesus was sufficient to cleanse him from sin and give him eternal life. Noina never got to go home before he died and yet in dying as a child of God, he did go home - to a place more idyllic and beautiful than he ever could have imagined.

NEW BIRTH

The 2^nd of May was THE day. We had marked that day off in our calendars and cleared all appointments a few days before and after that day. It was the day that our 3^rd baby was due. Well, 2 May came and went. So did the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th … Finally the doctor convinced us to make an appointment for an induction on the 12^th.

6 a.m. and still half asleep, we were at the hospital. We both thought it would be quick – if not easy - and kind of expected it all to be over by lunchtime. But this baby had kept us waiting 10 days past her due date, and she was not about to start rushing things now! Finally at 6:26 p.m after a long, tiring and boring (not to mention painful) day in the labour waiting room, Nina Grace Bekker made her grand appearance. Trish (and Nick) have recovered well, and Nina is fitting into life back home, learning to cope with her big brother and sister.

Nina means “grace” and we thank God for his gracious gift of three miracle children - praise God for His gift of new life.

Bekkers' Bulletin - February 2007

BE MY VALENTINE

As Nick scanned the list of 10 names in front of him, he broke out in a sweat, partly because it is starting to warm up in Chiang Mai, but mainly because he was feeling anxious about the 10 telephone calls he was about to make to people we’d lost contact with over the last few months. It felt like we were inviting them to our Valentine’s outreach “out of the blue”. But the deal was that Trish would do the baking if Nick did the phoning: a fair – and wise – distribution of labour. Phii Jim was first on the list; she was delighted and asked if she could bring her husband and daughter as well. And so it went with all the others – delighted to hear from us and keen to attend.

We had a great afternoon together. No-one actually made a commitment to follow Christ, no-one even asked questions afterwards … but each one of them heard the good news of Jesus Christ and his love for us.

HEART FOR THE LOST

Remember Phong and An? We get together with them once a week for a meal and to build into their lives. (Sometimes they build into ours too). Last Thursday they brought their non-Christian friend, Yim (which means “Smile”) with them. What an encouragement! It shows an Awareness that evangelism is their responsibility and that it starts with those closest to them i.e. friends and family. We had a pleasant evening together and invited Smile to come again on Sunday afternoon for the Valentine's party at our home. She didn't seem too sure and when we asked An at church on Sunday morning whether Smile was coming, she said "no". Imagine our joy when on Sunday afternoon Smile arrived early, helped us get ready for the party, and heard about God's love for her.

A CHILD’S HEART

The doctor muttered and mumbled unintelligibly for a couple of minutes, and then said “well, I’m 99,9% certain: it’s a girl.” At last! 7 months into the pregnancy and we’ve finally discovered that Jonty and Emily will be getting a little sister. Not a “brother-girl” as Jonty had originally requested. Now we’re frantically searching for a name – got any good ideas? Send us your suggestions. If we use your idea, we’ll send you a special Thai prize.

IN THE HEART OF SANSAI, CHIANG MAI

Do you know where we live? Do you want to see our house? If you have Google Earth you can find our house. Go to the search box and “Fly To” 18 50’ 28.04”N, 99 01’ 15.46”E. Zoom in and you may even see Nick hanging up the washing (yeah right!!!).

Bekkers' Bulletin - March 2007

A REAL SMILE

Yim smiled. Her nickname means "smile", so obviously she is a great smiler...but this was the first time she truly experienced joy. It was the first time she could remember that she'd felt any peace and did not feel afraid. Smile and her friend Angun (grape) came to our home a week after our Valentine's outreach. They had many questions about Jesus, and the evening culminated in Smile saying that she was ready to receive Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. There was just one concern - she had been involved in the spirit-world and had even been a medium. We called Pastor Isara and together An, Nick and Isara prayed Smile, breaking bonds in her life and asking Jesus to be the Lord of her life.

Smile was unemployed and had been looking for a job for some time. At church the following Sunday, she asked us to pray for her to find a job - not just any job, but one that suited her skills and training. Smile's prayer was answered - within days she found a job. While this has been a huge encouragement to her, unfortunately the new job has long and demanding working hours which has kept her away from cell group and from Sunday worship.

SMILING IN LAMPANG

We weren't smiling when we arrived in hot hot hot Lampang in the last week of March. We'd gone to check out the lay of the land in this city, but for the first few hours, our most frequent observation was simply that "its hotter than Chiang Mai...!" Lampang is not only hot, its also a lot poorer than Chiang Mai, and there are far less foreigners - in fact, we were the only ones apart from one or two tourists we saw in the distance. We got stared at a lot and the children had their faces touched a lot.

We were trying to get a feel for what life is like in Lampang, and whether there is a need for a new church planting work. We did come across several churches, about five - most of which were fairly run down and deserted. We also came across about five temples - for every kilometre we travelled! So, we concluded that there is indeed a need and that we have more research to do. We've also realised that it's a daunting task and we've been made aware of some of the sacrifices we'll be making leaving the relative comforts of Chiang Mai. We don't want to say that we're discouraged because we know that with God all things are possible, but we do ask you to pray for guidance for us as we make plans for the future.

A NEW PASTOR'S SMILE

Everyone was full of smiles as we touched base with our old friends at Mae Mo Grace Church - we had not been able to for three months, not since the new pastor, Kampanaat (see photo below), and his wife, Ning, had arrived. Last week we were able to go and see how they, and the church members, are getting on. Despite his youth, the congregation seems to have accepted Pastor Kampanaat. We were particularly impressed that he limited his sermon to half and hour - quite and innovative approach to preaching in Thailand. Ning has no experience teaching children's Sunday School, but this is a responsibility she has had to take on as there is no one else to teach the children. She feels a bit overwhelmed, and distracted by their 2 year old son who "joins" in the class, but she had a lovely way with the children.

Bekkers' Bulletin - April 2007

WET WET WET

Jonty stood at the gate: hose pipe tucked under one arm; beady eyes watching out for passers-by. Emily had her water pistol “locked and loaded” – ready for action. A young couple on a motorbike zooted past – Jonty let rip with a spray of water. Emily drank the water from her pistol. A very old man wobbled past on a bicycle – showing no mercy, Jonty drenched him with a spray. Emily drank some more water from her pistol. So it went on all afternoon. And the reaction from these wet people? Smiles, grins, laughter, some even came closer to allow Jonty to truly drench them (his technique needs work!).

April is “silly season” in Thailand - everything in the country comes to a grinding halt whilst the entire population has a major 4-day water-fight to celebrate Songkran, the Thai New Year. While its all a lot of fun, and does provide cool relief from the 40 degree temperatures, we were reminded of the immense spiritual battle going on. As in all Thai customs and festivals, there is more than meets the eye and Songkran represents a lot more than just a waterfight….

On the eve of Songkran everyone spring-cleans their homes. They also take down from the spirit shelves in their homes, all their statues, images and “holy” items for cleaning. Then, on the first day of Songkran, all go off to the local village or district wat (temple) in order to bring alms to the monks in the hope of gaining merit for their next lives. In the afternoon of the same day there is a bathing ceremony of the temple’s Buddha images. The bathing of images is done as a ritualistic ceremony – it is a New Year's purification. Younger people will also pay their respect to and ask blessings from their elders and respected persons by pouring scented water into the palms of the elders’ hands. Another duty to bedone during the Songkran Festival is a religious service performed in sacred memory to the dead. In some parts of the country the guardian spirits of the village and town also receive their annual offerings on Songkran Days.

So when we throw water, and get water thrown on us, we remember to praise God that we don’t need to go through elaborate, man-made rituals, again and again, in order to be cleansed and purified – Jesus has cleansed us once and for all.

RAIN ON OUR PARADE

It was a Monday – our day off. We’d just had lunch, got the children into bed for their nap and were getting ready for a nice lazy afternoon nap ourselves when Phii Yaa phoned. She was just around the corner and wanted to drop in to visit us. She said she was missing us as she had not seen us for ages, besides, she had just bought a new car which she wanted to show us - she knew that we’d be home as she knew Monday was our day off. There was no getting out of it – a few moments later Phii Yaa arrived with armfuls of Thai delicacies, fruits, and an array of snacks. For the next three hours we entertained our friend, all the while wishing for a bit of “time out”.

The visit was not a momentous one… she did not give her life to the Lord, she didn’t even want to talk about the things of the Lord. Heck, she’s not even close to coming to faith! But our prayer is that our friendship with her is bringing her closer to the kingdom of God. We know the importance of showing God’s love and being hospitable, unfortunately, we cannot always do it on our terms and its not always convenient!

Bekkers' Bulletin - June 2007

THE ROAD NICK TRAVELLED

The 160km stretch of road to Phayao is mountainous and twisty. The motorbike ride there was fast and exhilarating and over too soon for my liking. But all good things come to an end and the trip to Phayao was not about the bike ride, but the meeting of the Phayao Bible College board, of which I am a member, for my sins.

As usual, the meeting was preceded by a sumptuous Thai lunch prepared by the director’s wife, followed by large portions of rich cake baked by Dr Ursula, a British missionary, who has been in Thailand for longer than I have lived, and has served at the college as lecturer and administrator for the past 26 years. With stomachs full and eyelids heavy we made our way to the meeting room. The first few items on the agenda were pretty standard. From about item 5, however, things got interesting. That’s when we got to hear about how many pigs had been born, sold and slaughtered since our last meeting in January. At present the pig population is standing at 134 – not too shabby considering that that’s worth around 300 000 Baht. The average market price of pork was discussed in detail, as well as the merits of raising wild boar as an alternative to pigs. Next we discussed how the fishery was doing and some time was spent talking about what type of fish grew faster, tasted better and sold better at the market. From there, we went on to discuss the orchards. The litchis have not done too well this season – the market is flooded and when taking into account the cost and hassle of watering and preparing fertilizer for the trees, it just isn’t worth it anymore. The rice crop is looking good and so are the veggies. Speaking of fertilizer, one of the professors at the college came up with the idea of marketing the abundant supply of pig manure. Much to everyone’s delight, its been selling like … hot cakes.

After the agricultural matters were dealt with, we dealt with the more mundane, such as finances, the student intake, staffing shortages, and future meeting dates. Meeting over, it was back on the bike and the race was on to get home before the rain caught me.

(Phayao Bible College is situated in the small town of Phayao in North Thailand. It has 201 students, all of whom board there, including married students with children. The College is totally self-sufficient: they grow all their own food and enough to sell to cover their other expenses. Everyone is involved in the running of the farm, cooking of meals, washing dishes, cleaning, selling produce, etc, as well as studying theology. The 9 full-time lecturing staff also live on campus and work side-by-side with the students in running and maintaining the College).

P.S. The rain won!

4 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD

We first met Kesara in Singapore on our Orientation Course in March 2003. She was in the room next-door to ours when we spent one month at the OMF International Headquarters. It turned out that Kesara was a Thai lady, going to work as a missionary in Cambodia. We spent a bit of time chatting to her, but it was hard – her English was not very good, and our Thai was non-existent. But still, it was fun to ask her to speak Thai and to hear this crazy language we were about to start learning.

The last four years have been focussed on learning Thai – there have been moments we’ve felt like giving up, times when we’ve been despondent and we’ve even wondered if we are actually making progress. We still have communication breakdowns, we still say the wrong things, we still have people staring at us blankly when we’ve just said something in our best Thai.

There was a special visitor at our OMF conference this year – Kesara! She has just started her home assignment, home to Thailand, and was invited to join in. She stood up to give some encouragement to the missionaries in Thailand, and thanked us all for our work here…. It was very touching, and guess what - we understood it all.