"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" Luke 2:14.

December 2000

Merry Christmas!

The Cold Season arrived early, though the rains of November are still lingering, bringing colder than normal temperatures and making this "feel" like Christmas. I have adjusted to Christmas in the tropics. I have no illusions of snow or anything besides a green Christmas, but I do get more of "the spirit" when the weather is cold. Strange, I guess, considering how warm Christmas is, as families and friends gather together to celebrate and worship the birth of our Savior. The church here presents Christmas the same as in the United States. While you are going to candlelight Christmas Eve services, your Thai brothers and sisters will already have done that. While you go caroling through your neighborhood, the people of Chiang Mai First Church will already have gone caroling through theirs. While you are waking early for sunrise Christmas services, we will already have given our praise. And while you are sharing the day with family, Thai Christians will be celebrating much the same way, but as a congregational family in Christ. The
language is different, but the words are the same. The customs and traditions are different, but the spirit is still the same.

I have noticed that Christmas is infectious. When I first came to Thailand, in 1988, Christmas was to most Thais part of the materialism of new-found wealth and development. Santa, reindeer, elves and snowmen decorated department stores as shoppers rushed home with their presents (given around New Year’s Day). It seemed this part of Christmas had infected everyone. A few years ago I was watching a talk show with a Christmas theme. I expected it to be a musical, but instead the guests were all Christian
and they were being asked by their Buddhist hosts to explain to a Buddhist audience what Christmas meant. People wanted to understand Christmas.

Since that time, actors and singers who are Christian have witnessed their faith in talk shows and to fans. Last week, when a musical program in celebration of the King’s birthday was given by Christians, the music was all religious. The Church of Christ in Thailand’s message is "How does a life in Christ make a difference in your life?" and what that means to each individual. People respond. At the CCT’s Payap University, more of the Buddhist students have expressed an interest in learning about Christianity and becoming Christian than ever before. Why? No one can really say. After the economic crash in 1997 people found their lives spiritually empty. Perhaps they were responding to an inner voice.

Thailand is more than 95 percent Buddhist, and for most Thais to be Thai is to be Buddhist—a feeling to be respected. And being a traditional culture where the family is the center of life and guidance, becoming Christian is not an individual decision. Still, whether openly professed or quietly acknowledged in the soul, the love of God is made known in His way. The story of Christmas reaches beyond the veil of the material to touch His children in any way it can.

Our life in Thailand over the past year has been blessed. Khanita’s mother, who has suffered from bad health over the years, has been fine. Khanita has had more time to visit schools with me and share her faith with other Thais. When we met, she was Buddhist, as are her parents and cousins. When we met we agreed to share a life of two faiths. But we found that as we lived and worked together our life together was one in Christ. The concerns of her parents—mainly cultural and dealing with the nature of the Thai family and the customs and beliefs important to that—were influencing her. But as her parents saw us raising Chris to be Christian, they told her one day, "Why don’t you become Christian." So, last June, Christopher and mother were baptized together at First Church in Chiang Mai. For us as a family it was a special moment.

Christopher is in the second term of "Kindergarten 2." In Thailand, the first two years of preschool are called Kindergarten 1 and 2, and Kindergarten 3 is the equivalent of kindergarten in America. We decided to place him in the Thai school system so that he could become bilingual and learn the important lessons of Thai culture that children get at this age. Going to an international school’s kindergarten he would not have learned what it means to be Thai. As a child of two cultures we feel we have the responsibility as parents to see that he learns about both—not to make a choice between the two, but understand he belongs to both. We want him to have the language, skills, and history to live within both. Well, OK, at 4 he won’t appreciate that, but someday he will. For now he appreciates Winnie the Pooh in two languages.

In October, I held a training seminar for our junior and senior high English teachers on "Planning, Preparing, and Managing Student-Centered Teaching." November plans were canceled due to flooding in the south, where I was to visit schools for training. This week I have worked with teachers in two of our Chiang Mai schools. I am learning that the need for training on student-centered teaching is great for other subject areas, so I am hoping to have a series of programs for teachers in all subject areas. This will require the bringing together of minds and talents better than mine.

For now it is enough to set thoughts and plans aside. A gentle rain has been falling, making it very cold. Chris and Khanita are by the tree, and carols are playing on the stereo. It’s time for hot chocolate and to plug in the Christmas tree lights. Enjoy yours, too.

Grace,

Scott, Khanita, and Christopher Satterfield

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 171