Ministry In A Refugee Camp
In February of 1996, I found myself along with a co-worker, Brad Wynter, being smuggled into a 'no go' area for 'whities'. We were in Thailand, lying in the back of an old Toyota ute, passing military and police check points. We were on our way from Mae Sot to our destination - the Mae La refugee camp, deep in the mountainous jungle on the Thai-Burma border. It is a journey I will never forget. As my bones rattled around and as the fear of the unfamiliar and danger of this exploit began to hit home, I looked over at Brad at one point and whispered, 'We must be absolutely crazy.' Finally, this precarious journey came to an end. Suddenly out of the dense smoky jungle emerged an area teeming with human life. Amongst the hundreds of make-shift bamboo huts, children, women and men were busy at trying to survive a civil war and their non-status under the uncaring, ambivalent supervision of the Thai authorities. This was one of the biggest camps still operating. Another very big camp further north had recently fallen to the military forces (SLORC)1 of the Burmese dictatorship. The refugees are mainly Karen Burmese. A high percentage of the Karen people are Christian and they have been fighting for democracy and their right to exist as a sovereign people in Burma, since 1947. In 1988, under increased violence and SLORC strategies of genocide against indigenous groups such as the Karen, thousands began to pour across the border into Thailand. Since that time many refugee camps have emerged and constant attacks have been mounted against them by the SLORC army. The camp, like others, lives under the constant fear of immanent attack and forced repatriation.
We had been invited to come and offer support and encouragement by Simon Thoo, a Baptist minister and leader in the camp. Our number one task was to teach the Karen Bible students. This could not be an official visit. It had become illegal for foreigners to stay in the camp for various complex political reasons. However, Simon recognised the importance of outside support for his people in this critical time. The last thing the SLORC want is foreigners assisting the Karen and resisting their efforts to repatriate the refugees back into Burma. Thus we had to 'lie low' for our own safety and the safety of the camp.
Important lessons I learnt for ministry.
1 Ministry is sacrificial service. Ministry is being willing to die for your people. Ministry is being willing to give up everything for the sake of the Gospel. Simon was a professor of theology in Rangoon. In 1988, when he learned what was happening to his people in the Karen state, God called him to be true to his call as a Christian minister. So he, his wife, three daughters and his father-in-law packed a few belongings, left their two-storey house with its servants and walked 400 kilometres across the border to the Mae La camp. The father-in-law died as they made their way through treacherous jungle, bribing guards and defying so many odds. Simon and his family are now regarded as traitors by the Burmese junta. They are marked people along with many others. They know they will be tortured and executed if captured.
2 Ministry has a bias. While Jesus Christ offers salvation to all, paradoxically he did this by showing partiality when necessary. That is, he primarily worked amongst the poor and oppressed and against those leaders and structures which alienated the people and prevented them living life in all its abundance. As ministers we are called to be Christ-like and operate the same way. The Gospel writings show this quite clearly. The Karen refugees understand this more profoundly than I could ever know. Incredibly a Bible college has been set up in the camp! An important task for Brad and I was to teach the students some principles for interpreting the New Testament. I have never come across students so eager to make the Bible relevant to their situation. Many of these students, mostly in their early twenties, had lost their families in the war; some were soldiers and nearly all the young male students took shifts at guarding the camp at night with high calibre weapons. But we didn't really teach them. They taught us! I learnt what the liberation theologians mean when they say that we in the West need to be evangelised by the poor of the two-third's world. That is, amongst these refugees I truly encountered the living Jesus. Wah Doe, a student, one day cried out: 'We are refugees; we will be first in the Kingdom of God!' They know that Jesus is with them. That is why these Christians have so much hope amidst so much suffering. In my heart I knew how much more at home Jesus was here, than in many of our churches in Australia.
3 Ministry happens in community. Perhaps out of guilt it is becoming fashionable in Australian churches to insert the word community into the church title. In the camp I learnt that true ministry, the conversion of the whole person, only happens in community. This is of course an important part of village culture, which we in the West have largely lost. It is a loss that is compounded by the corporation style churches. In the camp, the church is the family. All are treated as sisters and brothers. Possessions are shared. Households are public places, not private. It was wonderful to be amongst people whose ultimate concern is the worship of God through practical acts of love of neighbour. These people are not distracted by the idol of private material gain. Community provides the time and space for hospitality to others, including strangers. A woman arrived in the camp one day, having escaped from Burma with four children. All they had were the clothes that hung from their bodies. That very day the community gathered to build a hut and provide food and clothing. This is an expensive exercise for these people. Every time this happens it means sacrifice. They cooked the best food and managed to get bottled water for Brad and I, because we would get sick on the rats and frogs and low protein rice that they eat. Our protest at this treatment, however, fell on deaf ears. This is how the stranger is treated. We were their guests. After all, one Karen student told me, the stranger might be Jesus.
4 Ministry is incarnational. God became incarnate in human history through Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus ministered alongside people. He lead by example, sharing the people's greatest moments of joy and their darkest times of pain. Likewise as ministers we must minister with our people, not from a distance or from behind an office desk. The refugees told us of a group of American pentecostals who came for awhile. They stayed in a guest-house some distance away. They would come and preach but not live with the people. The Karens said that these evangelists did not show them much understanding or concern. Brad and I were reminded regularly how much they appreciated that we lived with them in the camp.
5 Ministry has integrity. We need strong leaders in the biblical sense, not in the secular sense. Strong leaders, that is, those who lead with true authority, are given this privilege by the people of God because they have integrity. True leaders do not need title, office or special status. True leaders are simply known by their fruits. They are accountable to their people. They do not operate from above or in isolation. Ministers in the camp make the major decisions with the people. Different spiritual gifts are recognised and encouraged. Simon spoke of his role as partly to raise new leaders for the future of his people. This was why he had begun the Bible college in the camp. Simon was a great enabler and facilitator, ready to make decisive decisions, but never without consultation and the art of change management.
6 Ministry is prophetic. Part of the Christian ministry is to offer a prophetic vision for the people of God. Without a vision the people do perish. In the West we need ministers who are willing to challenge our cultural and religious captivity to the gods of power, materialism, comfort and instant gratification. We desperately need ministers who will prick the conscience of our churches and our society. We need ministers to articulate in new and creative ways that to follow Jesus of Nazareth is the only way to find true life - eternal life. But we need to be reminded that to follow requires leaving all the illusions and encumbrances behind. The heart of the prophetic message of the Gospel is that in reality, human beings are totally dependant upon God. When we take this to heart, the leaving of illusions and possessions behind is not so hard. The Karen refugees eagerly receive the Gospel. They know that they are totally dependant upon God. They receive God's grace with empty hands and hungry hearts. Towards the end of the month I got dysentery at the same time as we learnt that some armed SLORC agents were in the camp with a directive to kill or capture a foreigner. I felt dependant upon God like never before.
[Dedicated to Brad Wynter - a faithful mate, and to the Karen Christians for their bravery and faithfulness]
Blessings in Jesus' name.
Kim Thoday
1 SLORC is the official acronym for the military arm of the Burmese junta. It stands for State Law and Order Reconciliation Council.
Posted on 25th October 2005
From the Minister's
desk....
