Hi there! I do hope you enjoy this month's read...
Our bible study group is still going strong, and finally Parvez's wife, Shamim, was able to join us for the first time. It made a big difference having her there as well. We always enjoy it enormously and just feel so refreshed and revived after our time in God's presence together. Since we started our small group last year November with Nee and Parvez, we've had so many answered prayers and miracles, and it certainly is a great encouragement to all of us.
Shamim with her Urdu bible, it starts at Revelations and ends at Genesis since they write from right to left... I just had to share it with you, I thought it was so cool!!
To those of you who haven't followed their story, Parvez, Shamim and their 4 children are asylum seekers from Pakistan. Some of their family members have been murdered for being Christians, and they fled the country soon after serious threats against their lives were made. They lived very comfortable lives in Pakistan, but now they all live together in a single-room apartment and can't even manage the rent. Though we help where we can, the need is just so big.
On another note, it was time for Chinese new year again, a week long celebration that every Thai person loves. During that time we've seen so many Thai people offering gifts to their beloved family members that's already passed away. It's quite a strange concept really, and doesn't seem to have it's roots in Buddhism but rather from Chinese practices. We've noticed this before but never really knew what it was for. So.... they basically put a drum out in the street and start burning small pictures or items, and whatever you burn, your beloved one on the other side receives. So if you burn a toy car- they get a brand new car, if you burn a piece of paper folded to look like a suit, they receive a stylish new suit, and so on.... Unfortunately I wasn't able to take a picture for you, but I managed to find something similar online... pardon the watermarks!
Right on top of the list of strange concepts.... there is a huge new trend in Thailand, called "Luk Thep" or spirit dolls. We daily see people walking around with these dolls, and it is really really creepy!! I've shared the following article from BBC News regarding this new craze. I know it seems lengthy, but please do read it, and watch the video to hear from people's personal 'testimonies' of what these dolls mean to and do for them.
A craze for eerily lifelike supernatural dolls has swept Thailand in recent months. Their name, "luk thep", literally translates as "child angels" and people believe they bring good fortune and they are pampered by their owners as if they were children.
But the privileges lavished upon them have also drawn a backlash and warnings from Thai authorities.After purchasing a doll, the owner brings it to a monk who conducts a prayer and an anointing ceremony known as "plook sek". Such prayers are normally used to bless lucky amulets, which are also popular in Thailand, where ancient beliefs in magic are still prevalent. In the case of "luk thep", it is often seen as a way of animating the doll, where a wandering spirit is invited to inhabit it and give it a soul.
Thai Smile Airways made news this week when it said passengers could purchase tickets for the dolls who would get their own seats, snacks and drinks. But officials have since stepped in: "Based on international aviation rules, passengers are people. So airlines aren't allowed to sell tickets for dolls," a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand was quoted as saying in The Bangkok Post. Passengers can buy a second seat under their names and place their "luk theps" there, he added.
They get to eat in fancy restaurants. At least one eatery in Bangkok has cashed in on the trend. Neta Grill said earlier this week it is offering meals for "luk theps" at child rates, adding that the restaurant is "open to all worshippers".
Several owners told BBC Thai that the doll was more than just a talisman, they treat them like their own children. "My daughter wants a sister and friend. In her school, her friends also have luk thep... so my daughter wants to have one like other people," one buyer said. Doting owners have been known to splash out on expensive accessories and jewellery for their dolls. Anthropologist Asama Mungkornchai from Pattani's Prince of Songkla University said the dolls appear to be particularly popular with middle-class women, and could "fulfill the need for motherhood" among such owners. But the fact that many say they need it for good luck and wealth also highlights "a current sense of insecurity among the Thai middle class, especially when it comes to the economy", she added.
Even religious questions have been raised about the appropriateness of conducting Buddhist rituals on the dolls. The trend has sparked a backlash online, with some criticising owners as being superstitious. But the National Office of Buddhism told Thai PBS the "plook sek" ritual was no different from blessings given by monks for other objects such as cars, a practice that is already widely accepted. Pra Acharn Winai Thitapanyo, a monk at Bua Kwan temple which is known for its doll blessings, told BBC Thai: "As it does not violate our monkhood discipline, monks can recite incantations to please people."
To those of you who haven't followed their story, Parvez, Shamim and their 4 children are asylum seekers from Pakistan. Some of their family members have been murdered for being Christians, and they fled the country soon after serious threats against their lives were made. They lived very comfortable lives in Pakistan, but now they all live together in a single-room apartment and can't even manage the rent. Though we help where we can, the need is just so big.
On another note, it was time for Chinese new year again, a week long celebration that every Thai person loves. During that time we've seen so many Thai people offering gifts to their beloved family members that's already passed away. It's quite a strange concept really, and doesn't seem to have it's roots in Buddhism but rather from Chinese practices. We've noticed this before but never really knew what it was for. So.... they basically put a drum out in the street and start burning small pictures or items, and whatever you burn, your beloved one on the other side receives. So if you burn a toy car- they get a brand new car, if you burn a piece of paper folded to look like a suit, they receive a stylish new suit, and so on.... Unfortunately I wasn't able to take a picture for you, but I managed to find something similar online... pardon the watermarks!
Right on top of the list of strange concepts.... there is a huge new trend in Thailand, called "Luk Thep" or spirit dolls. We daily see people walking around with these dolls, and it is really really creepy!! I've shared the following article from BBC News regarding this new craze. I know it seems lengthy, but please do read it, and watch the video to hear from people's personal 'testimonies' of what these dolls mean to and do for them.
But the privileges lavished upon them have also drawn a backlash and warnings from Thai authorities.After purchasing a doll, the owner brings it to a monk who conducts a prayer and an anointing ceremony known as "plook sek". Such prayers are normally used to bless lucky amulets, which are also popular in Thailand, where ancient beliefs in magic are still prevalent. In the case of "luk thep", it is often seen as a way of animating the doll, where a wandering spirit is invited to inhabit it and give it a soul.
Thai Smile Airways made news this week when it said passengers could purchase tickets for the dolls who would get their own seats, snacks and drinks. But officials have since stepped in: "Based on international aviation rules, passengers are people. So airlines aren't allowed to sell tickets for dolls," a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand was quoted as saying in The Bangkok Post. Passengers can buy a second seat under their names and place their "luk theps" there, he added.
They get to eat in fancy restaurants. At least one eatery in Bangkok has cashed in on the trend. Neta Grill said earlier this week it is offering meals for "luk theps" at child rates, adding that the restaurant is "open to all worshippers".
Several owners told BBC Thai that the doll was more than just a talisman, they treat them like their own children. "My daughter wants a sister and friend. In her school, her friends also have luk thep... so my daughter wants to have one like other people," one buyer said. Doting owners have been known to splash out on expensive accessories and jewellery for their dolls. Anthropologist Asama Mungkornchai from Pattani's Prince of Songkla University said the dolls appear to be particularly popular with middle-class women, and could "fulfill the need for motherhood" among such owners. But the fact that many say they need it for good luck and wealth also highlights "a current sense of insecurity among the Thai middle class, especially when it comes to the economy", she added.
Even religious questions have been raised about the appropriateness of conducting Buddhist rituals on the dolls. The trend has sparked a backlash online, with some criticising owners as being superstitious. But the National Office of Buddhism told Thai PBS the "plook sek" ritual was no different from blessings given by monks for other objects such as cars, a practice that is already widely accepted. Pra Acharn Winai Thitapanyo, a monk at Bua Kwan temple which is known for its doll blessings, told BBC Thai: "As it does not violate our monkhood discipline, monks can recite incantations to please people."
Ag hoe wens ek nou ek kon saam Bybel studie hou! Stuur asb groete vir Parvez en Shameem en Nee. Blessings vir julle. Lief julle. Trots op julle. Julle werk is baie werd
ReplyDeleteAg hoe wens ek nou ek kon saam Bybel studie hou! Stuur asb groete vir Parvez en Shameem en Nee. Blessings vir julle. Lief julle. Trots op julle. Julle werk is baie werd
ReplyDeleteBesef net weer dat ons in `n totaal ander geestelike omgewing is in SA en dat ons nie aan al hierdie afgode blootgestel is nie, Soos jy bedien het Johan, ons stryd is nie teen vlees en bloed nie, en ons kan nie die stryd voer nie, as die HG nie die werk doen nie is ons hopeloos.
ReplyDeleteBid vir julle dat die bloed van Jesus julle sal bedek, en as hulle die bloed sien, julle nie beinvloed sal word nie.