Planning and Praying in Asia

I was not back home for three days after our vacation before I traveled to Thailand.  Now I have to share my glee when I boarded the plane in Dallas and buckled into my seat in row 30 (of course in economy class) when an American Airlines agent came up to me and said, “Mr. Hanggi, you’ve been upgraded.”   My son Bryan, who travels a great deal, had requested an upgrade for me.  After moving to my new seat in row 3 of business class, I could not believe the space and comfort (and later the meals that came with that seat).  So I stopped and prayed with immense thanksgiving, but I wasn’t sure whether to first thank God or thank Bryan.  God won, but Bryan was a close second, and it was a wonderful and restful way to travel halfway around the world.

I was invited to spend a week in Bangkok meeting with a “Scripture Engagement community of practice.”  Scripture Engagement indicates the ability to look at the big picture of our work that certainly includes Bible translation at the core of what we do, but also focuses on how we decide where work is needed, how we plan the activities of a language program, and most importantly how we engage in multiple forms of activities that allow the translated Word to reach, impact, and transform those that have Scriptures in a language they understand. We had several sessions that focused on orality and storying, as we increasingly pursue strategies for reaching people where literacy is not strong or where oral communication is more powerful than written communication in the culture.  This was a whole new way of thinking for me.  Another session introduced a program known as Healing the Wounds of Trauma (or trauma healing).  This begins with the reality that so many people from all cultures are wounded and deeply impacted by many forms of trauma–natural disasters, political or social oppression, extreme poverty and loss, many forms of abuse, torture, neglect, or other events.  For many these wounds so control their lives that they are not ready or able to receive God’s message of love and mercy.  So trauma healing seeks ways of helping people begin the path of healing that can, when a person is ready, allow them to bring their wounds to the cross to experience the deepest healing possible. Healing from these traumatic wounds allows people to be more ready to experience God’s Word and love.  The last presentation was the hardest for me.  EthnoArts explores the power when communities are able to experience God through local styles of music or dance or arts–experiences that touch different parts of their lives and souls.  My discomfort came because I have no evidence of these gifts in my life.  Yet I was still impressed to hear how effective this is when gifted people bring these skills and allow God’s Word to come alive through the different arts.  There were lots of other presentations and conversations, but you get the idea that Bible translation is part of a much greater mission context that allows people to hear, and know, and experience God’s great love for them.  It was amazing to be with this group as we discussed, learned, prayed, and worshiped together.

I also mentioned that this group was a “community of practice.”  That means that it brought together people from countries all over Asia, from many missions and organizations, all who wanted to learn about Scripture Engagement and explore how we can work together in these activities.  I cannot include any photos of the group or our meeting together, because many participants came from very sensitive countries.  Yet during the first day, I was able to share a presentation on the work our team is doing and explore with them how we might help them with the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of the many activities of Scripture Engagement.  Mostly, though, I was humbly amazed at the diversity of skills and the deep love for God’s work in the hearts of those that were gathered during that week; and I was thankful to be a part of it.

The end of this story is more humble than its beginning.  I sat in row 38 of economy class for 22+ hours of flying home.  While it was not as spacious or comfortable as the flight to Thailand, the spirit of quiet thankfulness from that week stayed with me on the way back home.