Fred de Sam Lazaro asked those questions in a mission outpost near the city of Chiang Rai in Thailand.
FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The remote northern hills may be the last place not swept up in Thailand's rapid modernization in recent years.
So-called hill tribe people, chiefly the Akha, occupy these forested lands. They migrated from China and Burma over the past century and have lived largely isolated, with subsistence farming and indigenous religious traditions uninfluenced by the Buddhist traditions of Thailand.The Akhas' introduction to the modern world came about four decades ago through Christian missionaries. Missionaries created a script for the Akha language and translated parts of the Bible.
This school in the city of Chiang Rai was founded in 1957 for tribal children by Cecil Carter, an American Baptist missionary.
Education: reading, writing, and awareness about drugs and HIV are all part of the curriculum here. So is Bible study in class and in the dormitories where most children are housed. Converting tribal people to Christianity was the central goal of the early missionaries -- often to the neglect of the pressing poverty and socioeconomic problems. It reflected the core evangelical belief that accepting Jesus Christ is one's only path to salvation and eternal life.
Professor SCOTT MOREAU (Department Chair, Missions and Intercultural Studies, Wheaton College): The catchphrase I heard on a regular basis in my early missionary career was, "Why take the time to straighten out pictures in a burning building?" What's more important, a person who's going to spend eternity in heaven or a person who will have justice here on earth but die not ever having heard the message of Jesus? It's only really been in the last 15 years, I would say, evangelical Christians have become very interested in a more holistic mission.DE SAM LAZARO: Scott Moreau teaches at Wheaton College near Chicago. It is the alma mater of Billy Graham and many evangelical missionaries. Moreau says most new aspirants feel they cannot ignore the immediate social, economic, or public health context.
EMILY SLINGER (Student): I think those things go hand in hand, in a way, that if I go to an impoverished place and speak to people who are dying from tuberculosis, but I don't -- I speak to them about Christ, how loving Christ is and tell the message of salvation, but I don't help them in some way, get them to a hospital or give them medicine of some kind, I don't think that I'm doing the full package.
DE SAM LAZARO: In Chiang Rai, Principal Wichai says Scripture, though encouraged, is not mandatory. Today's successors to the earlier American Baptist missionaries, like Chuck and Ruth Fox, say their work is mainly to help tribal villages adapt to living in a globalized world -- improving agricultural methods, for example, or developing a handicrafts business.In their home, Ruth Fox employs and contracts with dozens of Akha women to sell their sewing crafts in Thai cities and in the United States. The Foxes say they take pains not to force their beliefs on anyone or link them to their work.
RUTH FOX (Baptist Missionary): We do not tie it to any kind of strings attached, and usually it's a matter of building relationships with people, and then they might ask us, "Why are you doing this?"
CHUCK FOX (Baptist Missionary): You can say, "You know, I've come here -- this is a part of the expression of my faith, to help you with a water project or with planting coffee." So I think just simply making that statement is enough.DE SAM LAZARO: Another big issue is whether the work of Christian missionaries undermines or enhances Akha culture. Some critics are uneasy even with the low-key approach like the Foxes'.
Mr. POCHEAR (Through Translator): The Akha way of life is very connected to their belief system, and when you change their belief system you totally change their way of life.
Mr. AMOR (Through Translator): The statues of the male and female figure are representing people, and they're standing guard to make sure no disease or anything else enters the village. It's a sacred thing, just for people in the village to feel safe and protected -- to ward off evil and keep the community safe.
Mr. AMOR (Through Translator): When I lived in the old village, there were a lot of restrictions. When you did something wrong, you had to sacrifice an animal. Here, I can talk to the pastor instead for advice. Life is a lot easier.
Prof. MOREAU: If missionaries stand back and do nothing, these cultures are going to be impacted by outside forces in quite strong ways. So the question the missionary has to ask himself or herself is: "What forces do I want those to be? Do I want them to be forces of the gospel -- in its whole form -- relevant in the framework of the culture? Or do I want these forces to be multinational corporations or economic systems or radio or television or videos that are deeply impacting people whether or not I want them to?"
AJE KUKAEWKASEM (Akha Christian): I feel like, to be a Christian, meaning you're proud to be Akha because God created you to be Akha. And you can use your own language to sing, to worship him, and to be Akha. And writing -- you have the Akha script missionaries helped to construct.
