Close Encounter

To most people he may be just another driver – a chauffer, if you like to give an added dubious honor to that – but on closer look he happened to have a story.  A God-given story which he had no hesitation in sharing with other people.  We were just beginning to leave Bangkok on the way to a less-known resort where we hoped to find some rest for our wearied bodies and souls.

Leaving Bangkok

As we drove past the egde of Bangkok it began to rain – one of those tropical downpours that just starts without much warning.  We keenly looked through the window to get a glimpse of life at the edge which appeared not as neat as the city.  He proved to be talkative even in halting English, but in a non-invasive and non-annoying way.

He talked of the international mafias operating in and around Pattaya, of how they dupe, scam, threaten and rip off unsuspecting tourists.  Of the police-mafia nexus, likening it to a father and son relationship.  He complained bitterly of the rampant corruption in the country as he dismissed my observation of how it did not look that bad to us with a bemused laughter.

He pointed at the two car accidents along the way, of how people drove 140 kmh when the speed limit was a hundred.  Most drivers usually bypassed the permissible height and weight of goods a tripper could carry by contributing 100-200 baht to the family welfare funds of the traffic police on duty.

On a closer look he happened to be a believer.  Had been so for about three years.  He talked of how he had been afraid to talk to his family, mostly his grown-up children who he feared would not understand and approve his desire to convert.  Then God visited him in a dream one night.  He said God stood beside him and touched his arm with a very cold hand.  He trembled in fear but God said he knew his desire and fear to become a believer, and said he came for him.  He told him not to fear.

The anchor holds!

I don’t know how much of this would be understood by the largely individualistic western believers.  Faith and life issues are very much community things as much as they are the individual’s choice.  You don’t just make a move without calculating all the costs.  In most Asian societies it’s the same situation.  One would do well not to burn the bridges to his family, and to his community.

He called his family together for a meal.  As he tried to talk first to his two sons, the younger one said to him, “Father, I already know what you are going to say to us.  You are going to tell us that you want to become a believer.  It’s up to you, and it’s alright with me.”  Greatly surprised he asked how he knew. His son said, “The other night you talked in your sleep, and I already know.”  God had gone ahead of him, and prepared the minds of his family.  Everyone was okay with their father’s decision.

His wife had passed away.  He had worked in Germany and his children are now scattered in different countries.  I did not confirm with him if they also walk with the Lord.  He had a close encounter with the living God and his life was changed completely.  He is now serving with joy in his role as a driver, making sure workers find a place to rest. He’s just a driver to most people but on a closer look there is more to him than just his job description.

A much quieter destination

for the wearied souls

On Christmas and New Year

My mind was already switched on for the holidays since we had a team Christmas dinner on 19th December. The Foreign Exchange Department offered to take us out on a Christmas trip to a holiday resort a few weeks before Christmas. We saw Christmas decorations everywhere. Most restaurants wore Chrismas look and waiters were instructed to put on Santa’s hat and are liable to be fined if they took them off.

You see Santa smiling at you in the supermarkets and shops but what you will not see is a scene of the Nativity. However, even a week after Christmas we still need to work, holidays have not come yet. It was hard to get back to work on Boxing Day after a hard-earned day off on Christmas Day, but only to be made up the next day. Here’s a brief on what happened during the past two weeks:

Christmas at Xi’an

We are aware that it happened every year but we have never actually been there ourselves. So, we set out on Christmas eve to the Bell Tower, the city centre to witness the gathering of thousands of people to celebrate Christmas without knowing what it really means. We arrived at dusk but it was getting quite busy even then.

Many people did brisk business in the makeshift market on the sidewalk

We went looking for some gifts for friends and we dropped in at a book shop for about a quarter of an hour. When we emerged from the store the streets began to look really busy and it took us a long time to walk even a block because by this time the streets were absolutely crowded. The traffic was closed on all the four main roads leading to the Bell Tower at about 8 o’clock. The roads were jam packed all we could see was the back of the heads of people. A quiet corner was nowhere to be found and it became a bit suffocating in the end.

Christmas trees infront of Zhongda International on Nanda Street

We were fortunate to get a table in an Italian restaurant for our Christmas Eve dinner since every restautant was crowded (and the steak was scrumptious by the way). When we got back on the streets the party had already begun. Most people wore masks, Santa’s hat, wigs or a lighted devil’s horn or carry some Christmas balloons or other symbols. This is the time, it seems to me, when they mixed everything western together – Halloween, Yuletide, Valentine’s Day etc, etc . Among the thousands (more than a million I reckon, actually) who thronged the streets what chances had we to meet any of my students? But we did, though some of them had been told not to venture out from their dormitories but the pull was too strong I guess.

Christmas revellers on the main streets of Xi’an

Most Chinese see Christmas as a time to have fun with friends and it is supposed to be very romantic. What they know about Christmas showed in the decorations they put up which include Santa Claus (who they call Christmas old man), Christmas trees, and mostly Santa Claus. Things are usually very quiet during the traditional festivals (except for the Spring Festival when they may gather again in the same scale). But even then things are not as spontaneous and as free-spirited as they are on Christmas Eve. Traditional festivals are reserved for celebration with families and relatives. China Daily reported that Christmas is big business in China – even during the global economic slowdown. Read a little more here:

What was once simply a foreign affair has not just grown in popularity, but morphed into a festival with Chinese characteristics. So many worshippers and visitors crowded the Northern Church, also known as the Xishiku Catholic Church, in west Beijing on Christmas Eve that traffic controls were needed. Wang Peng, 29, a stock broker, has experienced the festival in the church for the fourth year. Although not a Catholic, he said the church is the best place to feel the spirit of Christmas and get a taste of different culture. “You go to a library to read books and to a church to spend Christmas,” said Wang, who attended the 5-pm Mass yesterday. “More people are coming here. They might not be religious people; they are here to relax and meet friends.” Read more

We decided to head home at about 10:30 but we had to go outside the city wall to get any form of transpotation. Taxis and buses were too crowded and too hard to find we had to hire a tricycle in the end. It was a totally different and interesting experience and we have a feeling that there’s so much that you can convey to people starting with what they already know. So we say, “yeah” for Christmas whatever that may mean to different people.

New Year

Never remembered when a New Year’s day was of any significance here for they have their own Lunar New Year which happens to be the most celebrated and eagerly waited time for all people. But the New Year’s day, or January the 1st had gained it’s place and popularity among the people. A number of students sent us New Year’s wishes which is a novelty. There was a TV show on CCTV 9, the only English Channel, to usher in the New Year along the lines of the Spring Festival TV Mega event but not as big which I can’t remember watching in the past. Things are changing here and I believe that it is for the better.

The President’s televised speech assured the people of the world that China’s reform and opening, in it’s 30th Year since Deng Xiaoping started it will continue in the coming years and it remains to be seen what that opening actually enta
ils.

Many things happened in 2008 and what a year it had been for us! So, out we went, after the classes to celebrate the year that was, and to give thanks for his goodness. We chose the Small World Cafe along the city wall and had a quiet, wonderful dinner. The food, as always, was just so wonderful. We are looking forward to have a great year with his leading. Happy New Year to you.

Xi’an City wall on New Year’s Eve