My roommate and I were walking home last night after a LONG day of preparing for our party tonight when we were met with a seemingly friendly dog. He was all smiles and playful jumps. Here in Thailand people don't really have pets. (some people do, but the strays greatly out number the pets) So there are a lot of dogs just walking along the streets hoping people will feed them. Being a Buddhist nation, the people are usually very peaceful and not aggressive. Then to add to all of this, they believe in reincarnation. so these dogs could be a "next life" of one of their loved ones. They feed them sometimes to try and earn merit by showing kindness for their next life.
Now, why did I tell you all of that mini background on a piece of Buddhism? The dog that was so friendly and playful became a little too playful. it started to playfully bite at our cloths and our bags. Then he decided to play tug of war with our cloths and bags. If I was back home I probably would have punted that dog across the parking lot. (a mild exaggeration, of course) But this is Thailand and I'm here to represent Christ, and to show the Thai people what Christians really look like. Kicking a dog that could, in their beliefs, be one of their ancestors is not the impression I want to leave in their minds.
This is where we asked the question, "What in the world to we do now?" I tried to gently push it away, pull it by it's collar, gently nudge it with my foot. All of these resulted in me getting bit and at one point the dog really latched onto my hand. No worries though. Just a bruise across the top. I was so thrilled to see a Thai guy coming to our rescue! he did some motion with his hand and the dog started to run away, but he's a persistent puppy. Once we all thought he was gone. He snuck up the stairs of my building (the stairs are outside) and latched onto my bag again. Luckily the Thai guy was still standing near. He came to our rescue once again, and my roommate and I ran to our room.
This all just goes to show that culture really does effect you over seas. It's hard to find the balance of what should I do and what can I do? It's so hard! Tune in next time for more stories from the front lines.
Now, why did I tell you all of that mini background on a piece of Buddhism? The dog that was so friendly and playful became a little too playful. it started to playfully bite at our cloths and our bags. Then he decided to play tug of war with our cloths and bags. If I was back home I probably would have punted that dog across the parking lot. (a mild exaggeration, of course) But this is Thailand and I'm here to represent Christ, and to show the Thai people what Christians really look like. Kicking a dog that could, in their beliefs, be one of their ancestors is not the impression I want to leave in their minds.
This is where we asked the question, "What in the world to we do now?" I tried to gently push it away, pull it by it's collar, gently nudge it with my foot. All of these resulted in me getting bit and at one point the dog really latched onto my hand. No worries though. Just a bruise across the top. I was so thrilled to see a Thai guy coming to our rescue! he did some motion with his hand and the dog started to run away, but he's a persistent puppy. Once we all thought he was gone. He snuck up the stairs of my building (the stairs are outside) and latched onto my bag again. Luckily the Thai guy was still standing near. He came to our rescue once again, and my roommate and I ran to our room.
This all just goes to show that culture really does effect you over seas. It's hard to find the balance of what should I do and what can I do? It's so hard! Tune in next time for more stories from the front lines.
So love reading about what God's doing in your life! Praying for you!
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