Small Scale

I have to admit that sometimes it seems like there are dramatically different worlds colliding here, and maybe many places around the globe. Driving by an up-scale shopping center boastiing consumer name-brand, designer goods that most of our neighbors in Oklahoma wouldn't buy and that here are probably double or more what they are in the states, often makes me wonder "who's buying this stuff?" That seems especially true when I consider that much of the economy we see from day to day is just a fraction above the lemonade stand I tried unsuccessfully to run as a nine-year old boy. 

     

   This is small scale industrial delivery-- construction materials on a moto-trailer. Further over is the fresh meat delivery motorbike hauling a couple of pig carcasses, and a bike with a load of eggs and her blue stool from which to sell them on the way to market as well.

Sidewalk "cafe's" with small plastic stools and an attendant with a chest of ice, a few bottles of drinks, perhaps some tea (and yes, the addictive cancer sticks or water-pipes favored by the local males) seem to be everywhere. They have regular customers, and often serve up wholesome items such as a rice gruel breakfast soup, bun (rice noodles) cha (fried/broiled meats) with a spicy sauce and some greens, or banh my sandwiches, pho, and so forth. Most of them stake out their sidewalk territory and run a small kitchen off a cart, or with basins and portable charcoal stoves made from #10 cans and some insulating cement filler. It is rather amazing to think about what they do day after day. Some of them are even more minimalist, selling their breakfast xoi (a sticky rice dish) out of a large basket, and serving it up onto newsprint and a plastic bag. It makes food trucks seem like fine dining. 

                       

     This "nightspot" sidewalk cafe is upscale, boasting mood lighting and parking for your moto. The street is quiet as the schoolkids behind the wall have long since gone home, and located across from the park, it adds to the romance.

                      

        You can't read the signs any longer, but this one is popular with the taxi drivers for warm gio as well as drinks.

I think the same small scale capitalism operates as well for the "peddlers" some of who are actually pedaling their wares on their bikes, loaded with a consistent array of their particular product line-- be that household needs like straw mats, straw pillows, dusters, hula-hoops, and wooden-bead car seat covers, or an array of plastic sandals, or just the wire bins filled with bushels of limes or another fruit fresh from the farm (or at least the wholesale market.) At other times, we see bikers with an array of multi-colored balloons situated outside the edge of the park or amusement area to appeal to the younger set's parents. 

A variant on this is the service providers who circulate at different times of the day and night with a megaphone blasting out their service to the neighborhood in need. It may be laminating pages with plastic (a highly useful thing in a humid climate where paper quality is sometimes low), grinding out a new key, or sharpening scissors or something. Some of the other peddlers also employ this verbal advertising to sell snacks, coffee, or other things as well. Since sometimes the recordings are similar for vendors of a particular product, it isn't impossible that they are the moving sales force of a mega-corporation, but I doubt they get much for benefits if they are. One of my language aspirations for our stay is to be able to understand exactly what these voices are calling out. So far progress is slow, but I've been heartened when I learned that some of the native sister missionaries can't exactly figure it all out either! 

Building a new church unit is very much small scale interaction as well. God's Kingdom seems rarely to be built on the basis of mass transactions, which may be why events like the Day of Pentacost are so notable as to be recorded. By and large, converting events are not mass produced or consumed, but grow out of the consistent call to prayer and repentance, and the reliable offer of service to heal and help. Most people dismiss the sounds of the peddlers in the streets here, until they have the dull scissors, or need the mousetrap (finally got Fred!) and then they readily come. As Buddha is supposed to have once said, "when the student is ready, the teacher appears." We are frankly grateful that God's plan to bring light and joy to his children happens in such a way, since we can more easily take joy in each new individual we see progressing, and take care to help them without feeling totally overwhelmed.

        

     Family class students linger to chat after learning about divinely appointed roles for parents

We can also better take care to help them to continue to grow in understanding and capability, helping them stick closer to the path they've chosen even when it get rocky or challenging. The gospel of Jesus Christ while holding the truths that answer life's most significant questions, dose not always if ever lead to a smooth gentle slope that allows one to glide easily into his outstretched arms. Inevitably people taste the goodness of the way and the sweetness of the fruit, but stumble into a change in their life that vexes them in maintaining their balance on the path. That's where we need each other in the process. As long as we are not all crazy at the same time, we can see the way to help others if we allowourselves to be led by the spirit and eagerly respond to its promptings. We've seen that a lot, and are grateful to see others catching that ability to lift others when they are near to stumbling. So often it is just the smallest word or thought that helps. One visit from a home teacher on a day that was hard, an encouraging text or email, a phone call or a hug may be all that was needed to help maintain the balance and avoid the greater pains of falling off the edge of the chasm.

I relish the chances I get to go to visit one new member in the company of another new member. Seeing them take hold of the opportunity to minister to one another as Christ did gives me great hope for the longevity of our efforts to serve here. And quite frankly, the message of Jesus Christ as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints resonates well in this culture when they take time to consider it. This is nicely captured by a favorable article written and published in the national Religion magazine shown below with a cover photo of the delegation posing with Utah Governor Herbert and Elder Gerrit Gong, Asia Area President, and now in the Presidency of the Seventy.

      

The author of the article, on the far right in the image, brought his sons to attend our English classes recently in another show of understanding and resonance with the church's values. Such press is highly useful in breaking down barriers to acceptance of church membership by family members.

We have found that one of the benefits of working in a country with little awareness of the church is that there are not pre-conceived bias's that arouse suspicion of one's motives or message. While "rice-christians" were once a derided model of religious (non) engraftment into Vietnamese society, we do not carry that baggage the way other sects may, and since the church is recognized in a manner somewhat separate from other traditional christian groups, we have the chance to walk a separate path. In that, the challenge is to consistently and effectively build awareness of the church on the positive side so that we emerge from obscurity into the light in a way that reflects the true light of Christ. And most of the members we work with seem to have that light in their lives, even if they are still struggling forward or sometimes sideways on the path.