Well, where do I begin?
Heather and I are on the road. We have been for about 3 days short of a month, not that things were too calm before we got on the road. I don't think things have been calm for us since about February. Actually, the last time we were in one place for a week was April 15th. The last time we were in one place for a month really was February.
I love to put things in perspective like that.
Well, it's obvious that almost everyone has heard of our target country by now. I wish I knew how to talk about the place now that people have so many ideas about it due to the press and blogs and e-mails and Facebook action groups. It's kind of difficult to know how to feel right now.
I've thought and prayed and talked about this country and these people so much at this point. It's really not easy to hear all that people are saying is happening.
We've gotten so many questions and comments about the place and what is going on. "Is it scary there? Will you be safe? Will you be able to go? Do you still want to go? Should you go? You shouldn't go. You can't go. You're crazy. You're brave. You're stupid."
It's sometimes a little frustrating.
Realize that anything you hear from the press in this country is inflated 100 times. It's terribly one-sided. Realize also that you can't trust anything the military says about the situation, because it's deflated 100 times. Basically take the average, and you may be close. We just can't know what has happened. We probably never will. Yes, something terrible has happened. Yes, the people will recover. No, not much will change, most likely.
There are a lot of positive things we can take from this recent round of demonstrations and the government's response. Realize I am not defending the leaders in any way. They have done a terrible job. But actually there has been a positive side. Maybe not positive, maybe non-negative.
The government was not quick to crush the demonstration. They let it grow quite large before the expected actions were taken. Also, the protests were not completely peaceful demonstrations. Nor did they start out to be protests for democracy, as many in the press want us to think. The monks were also somewhat violent. Remember hearing that a number of monks took soldiers hostage and torched their trucks? Honestly, these things are nearly never one-sided. We often only hear the side we want to hear. Our number one desire as Americans is to see democracy and freedom move throughout the world into the less free areas, so that's what the press tells us. It's dramatic. It's heroic. They sell newspapers and people watch more TV.
Maybe it sounds like I am down on the job our press does on reporting news. That's probably because I am.
Yes, we're still going to SE Asia. We don't leave till February, so by then it should have calmed down. No foreigners or Christians have been the target of the military, unless they were acting political and involved in the demonstrations. And honestly, if a foreigner was involved in the demonstration, they might deserve to be kicked out. It really isn't our job to be inside the country stirring up trouble. It's one thing to protest from the outside in support of those inside. It's another to get involved inside and aide in the destabilizing of the situation.
If it is absolutely too dangerous, we won't go in right then. We'll be smart about it.
I've gone back and forth on wondering if it is our job as Christians to push for the destabilization of a country, or to even make it our concern. You know, I remember a while back Pat Robertson called for a dictator to be assassinated, as if the church had a stance on the leaders of a country having a right to be there or not be there.
Maybe I've come to the point with this country that I'd rather not have a thought about this government. Maybe that is the frame of mind I have to have when I'm there, so it's started to become my frame of mind here. I just don't think it's up to us (Heather and I) to have an opinion about it. The fact is, God has placed those leaders in power, whether I understand it or not (Romans 13). That's a whole different post in itself. (And to be honest, this government has not crushed the church or forced it underground. In fact, the church is growing quickly and has the right to in this country!)
Well, maybe this post was more for me than anything. I'm not sure I should have even wrote what I wrote. I'm unsure about how to be political about talking about this type of thing, especially when it's so close to me. I'll save it, and reread it later before posting.
I know one thing.
I'm very excited about this country. I've seen God's hand working in it already, and I can't help but be excited about the future of this country. We'll keep reading the news and tempering it as we go along. And we'll see where it takes us. Be praying for this country. But pray for more than what you've been reading about. There's so much more to this place than we're seeing in the press.
Later guys,
Matt
