"This is new for us," the factional leader said.  I was at reconciliation talks in Thailand with Nagas from different factions.  For over 60 years the Nagas have struggled for independence from India.  Then 35 years ago a flawed peace agreement led to splits among the Nagas that have resulted in as many deaths as the violence between Naga groups and the Indian army.  Beginning in 2008 a series of reconciliation meetings have been held in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  I've been involved in many of these meetings, some of which I reported about in previous missionary journals.

So here we were in Chiang Mai again for another round of reconciliation talks.  I was asked to preach Sunday morning.  With little preparation time I went back to a favorite text--Romans 12.21:  "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  I preached about how we can be overcome by evil from within because we let the wrong done by my enemy be the excuse to justify my own evil.  But God calls us to a different way, using good means to strike at the heart of the spirit of evil, even bringing our enemies to repentance.

That message got one of the best responses I've ever received.  We followed up the Sunday service with sessions with each of the groups.  One leader began by saying he had intended to start the session by giving us a list of all the people murdered by orders of the head of another group.  I've received many such lists in my time working with the Nagas.  But then he said that listening to the sermon prompted him to take a different approach.  He didn't give us the list.  Instead he was looking to the future and how we might find some positive steps to continue the reconciliation process.  Our whole session was so much more positive thanks to this leader hearing God's Word and choosing to integrate it into the way he conducted his affairs.

As we discussed various matters he slipped back into the old habits of thinking.  He said his group had to act in a certain negative way because the other side had taken a provocative action.  I quickly challenged him that he didn't "have to" act in any particular way.  That gave all the power for determining action to the other side.  Rather Christ gives us the freedom to act creatively, even generously.  We can choose to act by a different script than the old, tired, dead-end conflict script we've worked with for so long and so fruitlessly (or if there is fruit, it is a bitter fruit).  I gave a quick brain-storm list of other actions that could have been taken just as easily, some of which would open up opportunities to further the reconciliation process.  The leader listened carefully to what I was saying, then responded, "This is new for us."  But like someone wearing a new shoe he didn't just take it off, he tried it, liked the size and kept walking with it.

Peacemaking is often a work of liberation whereby our minds are freed from the determinism of conflicted cycles of reaction.  What we do is conditioned by what our enemies do.  We are bound to them by a chain of reactivity, jerking each other around.  Peace requires that we set ourselves free from that chain, that we take our cues from good, specifically the good that is rooted in Christ, rather than from the evil that binds our enemies (and often us as well).  Once we are free to act in that good, God's surprises can unfold even in the midst of our conflicts.

At a later session this same leader began by turning to Philippians 1.6:  "He that has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion in the day of Christ Jesus."  He spoke about the journey toward reconciliation and how God would lead us in refining and perfecting this good work between us.  He still had his struggles, his fears, his distrust.  But he was opening to God at the cutting edge of political struggle.  I bless him for his courage, his openness, and his willingness to change by the prompting of God's Spirit.  We were seeing God's good work growing in him during those very sessions.

For me that was the spiritual highlight of the Thailand trip.  There were certainly moments of frustration.  There were moments of deep sorrow and healing grace.  Steps were taken forward, and sometimes we slid back a bit.  God has been doing amazing things in the Naga reconciliation process.  Someone estimated from earlier casualty rates that 500 people are alive now who probably would have been killed if we hadn't engaged in this process.  500 families are not experiencing grief, and many more families aren't sharing the suffering of having a loved one maimed.  The work has certainly been worth it.  Hope is growing.  But solving one problem raises a host of new concerns.  Peacemaking is never simple, and the way forward often presents twists and turns.  Please keep the Naga peacemakers in your prayers.

I always know I don't travel alone, but in this case I was even more keenly aware of the surrounding and sending community that partners in this mission.  My work budget for this fiscal year had been totally spent.  I sent a quick appeal out to my Mission Partnership Network about the invitation to help facilitate this round of talks.  Within a couple days the commitment was made for all the funds needed for travel.  Going with such support made me feel like the person in the telephone ad who walks around with their phone, followed by a crowd of people who provide all the necessary and sometimes hidden support services.  You are there in Thailand (or wherever!), supporting me with your prayers, your money, your words of encouragement and your love.  So thank you ever so much!

Peace,
Dan