We want to wish you a happy St. Patrick’s Day from Thailand. We donned our green clothes today after Tina playfully pinched me this morning to remind me what today was.
The percentage of Irish in Bangkok doesn’t quite have the critical mass to bring shamrocks and leprechauns into Bangkok. However as we spend time learning culture, we appreciate the real story of St. Patrick.
Our new friend Jason Ruggles who is coming to Bangkok to work with us has a good summary of Patrick’s real story, http://jasonruggles.com/2009/03/17/st-patrick/
Patrick’s story goes back centuries and inspires those following the mission of God. Patrick turned a terrible circumstance in his early life into an incredible opportunity to bring the story of God to the Celtic people of Ireland in a meaningful way.
As a child, Patrick’s kidnapping took him from Britain to Ireland. When he escaped, God met him in a vision to call him back to the people of Ireland. He was perfectly gifted now to reach the Celts with the good news of Jesus as he knew their culture, customs and language. He used such things as the shamrock as a metaphor of the trinity and made the story of God real to the local people.
As we serve in Thailand, we love stories of people who can find ways to make the story of Jesus and redemption understandable in the local culture and symbols.
ASK THE BLIND PASTOR 