Ghost Houses: May The Spirits Be With You
One of the distinctive features Bonnie and I notice wherever we travel is the influence of religious beliefs and practices on the architecture and adornments of the society. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out whether you’re in a Christian, Muslim, or some other type of society. Thailand, for instance, represents a religious blend of Buddhism, Hinduism, and animism. Of course, explicitly religious buildings reflect these various influences but what I’m referring to here is not only temples, mosques, churches, etc. Representations of Buddha and many Hindu gods and goddesses may be found outside temple precincts. Animism, however, at least as far as we can tell, is not represented by dedicated buildings as it by ghost houses found near many homes, apartments, and businesses.
Animism is a belief, and it is a very ancient one, that inanimate objects are imbued with some sort of soul or spirit and, therefore, have the power to harm or bless those who treat these spirits either neglectfully or reverently. As an example, one must not step on the threshold of a house because the spirit of the house is thought to reside there and to step on that spirit with the very shameful and disgusting bottom of one’s foot is not to be done. For the culturally unaware sometimes signs are posted reminding you of this taboo. Aside from the spirit of the threshold, many other spirits are found in and around the house, building, business or whatever. Spirits, like anyone else, need a place to live and one suspects that a preferred option is to have them live at a respectful distance outside the house. Hence, the very common presence of ghost houses. Here are a few examples:
As these pictures show, various offerings of drink, incense, and other gifts are presented to the spirits to solicit their good will.
Naturally, the degrees of piety and wealth suggest greater or lesser ghost houses. On one of my morning walks I encountered a rare rainfall and sought shelter in the nearest open building which turned out to be a large ghost house dealership. Below are a few of the offerings ranging in price from 300 dollars to 30,000 dollars US.
It is difficult to say precisely what an individual Thai might believe. As I mentioned, many beliefs are found intermingled. There is a significant Muslim minority and a quite modest (perhaps one percent or so) presence of Christianity.
Sa Wat Dee Krop, Chuck
Somos Misioneros
If you are an American in Honduras, everyone assumes you are a missionary. This assumption is based on the thousands of people who come down here to serve every year. Building, teaching, giving in attempt to gratify our Lord. This implication means that when people see the tall blond girl walking around they know that I came to their country as a missionary too. Once I was visiting my friends church and obviously stuck out a bit. The Pastor spotted me in the crowd and asked me to come up in front of the church and preach. On the spot and probably being the least qualified person to preach in the room I simply thanked the church for their hospitality and for serving the lord.
I sometimes think that the view of missionaries the Hondurans have is incomplete. They often may not recognize that they are in fact missionaries (and potentially better ones) than we are. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commands us to go to all peoples everywhere and make disciples. He does not command this to some but to all. If you are truly a Christian, then you must also be a missionary.
Two weeks ago, a couple of us went on an excursion with a local church. We rode horses deep into the mountains to visit some families in a small community 2 hours away from the nearest town. One of the woman who lives there makes the journey every Sunday on a mule to worship with the church. Our group brought some food for the families and held a worship service in the woman’s adobe house. The Pastor delivered a message and we all sang as the breeze blew through the open doorway. As I sat there singing in a foreign language so far away from place of birth I was struck by the thought of how we do not do this in my home country. In the US where we almost all have cars and supplies to share, we barely even go visit our neighbors. But the Hondurans do, they will walk incredibly far to share with both loved ones and strangers. They are missionaries.
Last week some of the teenagers from our children’s home held a concert. They have a band that practices for hours every week and writes their own songs. Each song that they write is a praise song written to glorify God. These youths, who have faced so much adversity in their past, held the concert to share the love of God they have found with others. They are missionaries.
While you can go halfway around the world to be a missionary you don’t have to. If you are loving and serving people in the name of Christ then it doesn’t matter where you are. You are a missionary.
Ron and Debby McKeon
We believe we are in the place God has called us to be. Ron is now discipling some of the men in our home parish as well as his regular ministry duties, all in Portuguese. Debby is currently teaching several classes on intercessory prayer, a new ministry that began in February, written in both English and Portuguese, but still using a translator for pronunciation purposes. Debby continues with the soup ministry twice monthly, which is also good practice for her Portuguese, during all the soup preparation and serving with the team of ladies.
In addition Ron has been called to assist our Suffragan Bishop in his new role as the Diocesan Missionary Bishop to reach the unchurched and underserved with the Gospel across Brazil. Ron will assist the Diocesan Missionary Bishop Flávio Soares to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s immeasurable love through planting new communities of faith throughout Brazil. More details on this new startup ministry to follow after the special Diocesan Synod in May.
The Bowers in Peru
Last week I made a trip from Lima to Juliaca. This industrial, trading city is located in the Andres at about 14,000 feet not far from Lake Titicaca. I arrived on a Monday and spent all day Tuesday with Padre Luis visiting members of the community. Padre Luis was one of my students when I was teaching courses at the seminary in Arequipa. Since his ordination four years ago he has served in Juliaca and he is doing a wonderful job.
Some of you may recall that two years ago a thirteen-year girl named Naty was violated and became pregnant. With the love and support of her family and her church, she gave birth to a daughter, Bianca. Naty had some life-threatening complications after Bianca’s birth. Some of you, especially members of St John’s Anglican Church, Petaluma, made generous gifts to help pay for life-saving surgery. The photo below fills my heart with joy and gratitude to God and to all who helped.
We also visited a K-8 school, Peruana Español. The owner, Eloi, is a community leader who has a radio program and is thinking about running for mayor. He told Padre Luis that one of the biggest issues is sanitation. There are open piles of garbage all over the city. May God bless and guide him if he decides to run.
Padre Luis’ friend and a community leader, Eloi
Hugs at Jardîn Peruana Español
On Tuesday night Padre Luis and his wife Alisia (they were married in December) and I went out to dinner at about 9:30 p.m., and I got to bed a little after 11:00 p.m. On Wednesday I was so exhausted I didn’t make it to 7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer with Padre Luis. I ended up spending twenty-four hours in bed–no headache, no upset stomach, just exhausted. As on previous visits, I had taken altitude medicine but this time it didn’t work. Could it be that I’m getting old?
There was a 6:00 p.m. service on Wednesday at Santa Marîa Magdalena in which I had planned to participate but I just couldn’t do it. At about 8:00 p.m. there came a knock on my door. I awoke from sleep and said, Come in. It was the youth choir, El Coro San Benito. They filed quietly into the room, sang two songs and then joined hand around my bed and prayed for me. What a blessing. I felt overwhelmed by their love and the healing presence of God.
El Coro San Benito in my bedroom. My toes are under the covers. Abimael, far right, is the leader of the choir and it was his idea to sing and pray for me.
I felt better on Thursday but it took all my breath and strength to climb up the stairs into the plane for the return flight to Lima. Back at sea level, I was OK but I wouldn’t have missed the trip to Juliaca for anything.
God bless you all,
Marvin