International Ministries

The Measure of an American Missionary

July 30, 2004 Journal by Kit Ripley
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The Measure of an American Missionary

By Kit Ripley, Thailand

I have always thought that the ability to measure a length was a rather basic skill. One simply places a ruler on a piece of paper, marks the length, and draws a line, right? Ha! Not in Thailand.

Last month, I went to Chiang Rai, to work in our New Life Center, Chiang Rai branch. It's about 3 hours away. It was a wonderful experience. I particularly enjoyed getting to know the staff better. One staff member confessed that she felt like the "mia noy", the "second wife" to the Chiang Mai branch. Since our offices and 3 of the 4 residence houses are in Chiang Mai, she felt that the Chiang Rai branch didn't get as much attention as they did. So I was glad to go up there and do some pastoral care, encourage them, pray with them, advise them, and simply be with them. It was also fun to preach in worship.

While I was in Chiang Rai, I taught 2 art classes a day - 5 days a week. We did lots of fun projects. One of those projects involved cutting out 5 inch by 7 inch squares of cardboard to make book covers. So during one of the classes, I handed out rulers, and asked the kids to measure out a 5 by 7 inch rectangle on their cardboard. The next step would be to use a slicer to cut out the rectangle. So, I went around helping the girls make their lines accurately. There was one girl in the class that I was particularly attached to...I know teachers aren't allowed to have favorites, but I liked this girl. She was attentive, patient and polite. When I taught anything, she gave it her full attention, and I could tell that she was bright because she caught on so quickly. Plus her gentle, smiling, appreciative attitude added to her likeability. But when I got to her, she wasn't sure what to do. So I showed her how to use the edge of the cardboard, mark two 5 inch lengths, and then draw a line through the marks. Then I told her to do the same along the second edge, this time with 7 inch lengths. I came back 10 minutes later to discover that she had not drawn anything. So we discussed the procedure again, and I left. When I came back, this girl had made several lines on her cardboard, none of them 7 inches, and none of them parallel to the edge! So I asked this girl, "How old are you?" She smiled back, "I'm 17." The next question was, "And what grade are you in?" She smiled again, "I'm in kindergarten!" The tears just welled up in my eyes! "Have you ever seen a ruler before in your life?"..."No, ma'm." She hadn't even learned her numbers yet! So I gave her a big hug, and said, "Oh, you dear, sweet child. Of course you can't do this. Let me help you." I found out later that this girl had grown up in a family with several brothers. All of her brothers were sent to school. But her father had said, "School is a waste of time for girls. You will stay home, take care of your baby brothers, and work in the rice fields." But, she desperately wanted to go to school. So her older brother finally brought her to the New Life Center, despite their father's adamant objections. She now lives with us, and goes to kindergarten every day. She's so proud that she has a chance to study. I can't wait to see what God will do in her life.

I continue to work with the NLC staff on developing the handicraft program. We are producing some new products, and working out the most efficient and effective ways to make things. Choosing colors and appropriate raw materials are important. Concepts of quality, consistent sizing, and how to price an item are being discussed. Then this week, we ran into another issue. One of our new products is silk covered boxes. This involves cutting cardboard, constructing a box, cutting fabric and gluing it to the box. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, we received our first order for boxes, and the buyer requested 150 of them! So the girls got to work. I have been there each morning to get them started, and then let them finish up in the afternoons. But when I brought my ruler over to check the accuracy of the boxes, I discovered that they were all different sizes - lopsided, diagonal or off just enough to make the tops not fit properly. I thought to myself, "What is with this?!! The girls who are working on this project all have at least a 4th grade level education. They should be able to cut cardboard." So the handicrafts instructor and I investigated the situation more closely. After several days of checking things out, watching the kids measure, etc, we finally discovered what the problem was. The rulers aren't accurate!! Even though we had purchased the expensive, quality rulers, the centimeter and inch markings are not accurate. They aren't consistent with each other. And each ruler is not even individually consistent with itself. The distance between 0 and 10 centimeters is longer than the distance between 10 and 20 centimeters. The girls marveled at this. "You mean they are supposed to be the same?" "Yes!", I answered. "The distances are supposed to be the same!!" The next suggestion was, "Well, perhaps a Thai centimeter is not the same as an American centimeter?" I explained that a centimeter is a centimeter is a centimeter...the whole world over. But I don't think they were convinced. To top it off, I thought on an offhand chance that I should check out our ruler with a T-square on it. Using simple geometrical principals, I discovered that, of course...it's not a 90 degree angle! No wonder things in this country aren't measured accurately! No wonder Thai staircases have stairs of uneven heights! Another shock to my American sensibility.

In other news, I will be going to the Thailand Baptist Missionary Fellowship Annual Conference next week. I look forward to seeing TBMF missionaries from all over the country. I will be leading the worship team, and we will have a pastor from Illinois doing the teaching. He is also bringing a team from his church to do children's activities. We will also discuss issues related to our mission work, and our functioning as a group. Should be a fun time.

Then, on August 10, I will be heading to the States for 2 months. I will spend the first week with my family in Rangeley, Maine. After that, I will be doing deputation in Maine and then California. I decided to do this in response to the current financial concerns in International Ministries. In fact, IM has requested that any missionaries in the field who can go to the US and Puerto Rico to do some deputation for a few months this fall should do so. We are calling this push "The World Mission Offering Blitz". IM will not be able to cover the costs of the trip, but since I was planning to fly to Maine for this family vacation anyway, I decided that I could extend my stay without too much difficulty. World Mission Support staff, Ed Merrill and Steve Roblee have been kind enough to arrange for me to visit various churches in Maine and Southern California. So I look forward to strengthening my relationships with churches, and promoting the World Mission Offering. Ed has also worked hard to arrange for housing and transportation for the time that I will be in Maine. And Steve has worked to find housing for me at Atherton Baptist Homes in California. But I have just received news that they have not been able to find a car for me to use while I am in California (September 7-October 5). That would really make it hard for me to get to church events.

I trust that all of this is in God's capable hands, and I know that He can provide all I could ever need. I am also finding it hard to tear myself away from my work here. There's so much to do. We are in the middle of a number of projects. Plus others will have to take over the Bible studies I have been leading. So please pray for the New Life Center staff, the girls, and the handicraft program while I am gone. It has taken awhile to build the trust necessary to do the work I am doing, so I am praying that this 2-month hiatus won't hurt those relationships.

Thanks again for your ongoing prayers, financial support, and encouragement. This work couldn't go on without you!

Blessings to you.

Your Sister in Christ,

-Kit