January 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
We send you warm greetings for the Christmas season. 2005 has
been a year of hardship for many around the world. Here in Chiang
Mai, we experienced the worst flooding in 40 years during August
and September. Payap University collected clothing and household
items from students and instructors to donate to villagers who
lost everything in the floods. Martha’s office staff also
took toys that were donated from the United States for tsunami
victims to the School for Life project. This project has brought
50 orphans from southern Thailand to Chiang Mai. The children’s
parents died in the tsunami last December. We hope that these
expressions of love and care will bring a bit of Christmas joy
to those who have suffered greatly this year.
Our lives have continued to be blessed with good health and lots
of activity. We had a very good trip to the United States during
April and May. We visited churches and universities and were also
able to see our children and grandchildren. For one month we traveled
with the president of Payap University and his wife. We appreciated
the warmth and hospitality that we received from many of you during
that home assignment. We will be returning to the United States
again next April and May. Our schedule for that visit is not yet
set. We will most likely spend most of our time in the Midwest
and in eastern areas of the country.
John stepped down as director of Payap’s Institute for
the Study of Religion and Culture in March when a new director,
Dr. Mark Tamthai, was appointed as John’s successor. John
continues to work at the Institute as senior advisor and teaches
in the university’s international M.Div. and Thai-Southeast
Asian studies programs. The international M.Div. now has 25 students
from Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Cambodia. The students are
being taught by Payap’s seminary instructors, who come from
Thailand, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Korea, Germany, the
Netherlands, and the Philippines. The M.Div. group joined American
students studying in the Thai studies program for Thanksgiving
dinner at our home. We had a wonderful, international experience
over turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce!
Martha has had her days (and nights) filled with Payap meetings
and events related to international affairs. On October 5, HRH
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn came to Payap to dedicate the
new library. It was a grand occasion attended by the U.S. Ambassador
to Thailand and many other Thai and international guests.
One Payap committee, on which both of us serve, is looking at
the Christian identity of Payap University. We want to answer
the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian university
in Thailand—a predominantly Buddhist culture?” How
should Christians in Thailand behave? Can they participate in
Thai cultural activities that may have Buddhist origins? In June
2007, the Institute will be sponsoring an international conference
on religion and culture that will be exploring these and other
related questions with regard to both Thailand and the rest of
Asia and the world.
Some of you may recall that Martha’s mother, Maxine, came
to live with us in April of 2004. On January 10 she celebrated
her 96th birthday. She has had a good year except for a fall in
August when she broke her hip bone and was hospitalized for 10
days. She came through the surgery fine, but finds walking very
difficult. In spite of now needing to use a wheelchair, her attitude
is great, and she continues to think that this is the best place
for her to live at this time of her life. We are learning lots
about the aging process and have great respect for the two young
women who are helping us to take care of Mother. We also thank
Martha’s sisters, Barbara and Carol, who come all the way
to Thailand to stay with Maxine so that we can fulfill our duties
to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
We think of all of you often and are thankful for your support
of our work and for the opportunity and privilege of having known
you. As we approach our retirement in two years, we are more conscious
than ever of how meaningful to us our relationship with all of
you has been.
May the Ultimate and Transcendent Truth and Reality symbolized
for Christians as God and revealed for us in the life of Jesus
continue to guide and enrich our lives during the coming year.
We wish for each of you and for the entire world peace and love.
John and Martha
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
122
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