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The Thai that Binds
7/2/09
At Papadaeng we work with children at my worksite in the morning.
After lunch we go visit people in the slum with Leslie, a friend of the Papadaeng ministry who is living at the hospital for a year. Leslie is fluent in Thai.
Before we went out, we were having a slow day talking on the school’s lovely, breezy porch about how her fluency is a “God-thing.” She said even as a child in her native New Zealand, she hated writing and spelling English and learning Maori in school. But when she was in Thailand for five years as a missionary, one of the most important things she learned at orientation was that “language is a social exercise, not an intellectual one.”
So Leslie went and sat with people in the evenings to learn Thai, while her housemate learned grammar at a desk in their home. Now Leslie is able to communicate with people enough to guide us through the neighborhood and pray for people.
I’m not afraid to speak the little Thai that I know, which is important especially since connections can still be made without fluency. Then again, as Leslie learned, the language will come through relationships.
Relationships are truly a “God-thing,” truly a part of the kingdom of God. So I’ve realized that learning someone else’s language is one of the most respectful and caring acts of friendship.
As we struggle here with our broken Thai, I hope we remember to be bold in friendship and trust that if we are called to speak Thai, the language will fall into place. Easier said than done, but worth a noble try.
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