Fellowship in Bangkok

Christian fellowship on Sundays in the Philippines or the United States is just simply a way of life or an accepted norm, and finding a group of Christians is as easy as locating a fast-food outlet. 

In Bangkok Thailand it is the opposite. You have to get a map of the city that shows the location of hotels, train stations and churches or you search in the Web and try to imagine the church that you are looking for. The latter option was the one that I tried recently after living in the City of Angels [Krung Thep] for a week.

I will admit that the angels in this city were mostly not from my church, since I honestly had a difficult time deciding which church to attend, notwithstanding the few choices that the Web had on hand. Finding the actual location by public transportation is another challenge because most nationals don’t speak English; much less know about Christianity and the place where Christians meet for worship.

After getting the address in the Web I asked some friends how to get there and then I took off on my own. First I took a red-orange bus #18 that took me all the way to the Victory Monument. Then I took a ride on the BTS sky train and got off the Asoke terminal, which is on Sukhumvit. Then I walked two blocks to Soi 10 were I discovered two vans with the sign “Free ride to ECB church.” When the driver saw me smile as I read the sign, he motioned for me to get in and he drove me right to the threshold of the church. The ushers outside welcomed me in and I was seated in a jam-packed church. Wow, it was that simple.

I found out that I came in midway into the sermon of the first service which started at 9 am. The second service would commence at 11, and so I stayed on and soaked in on the praise and worship. I felt so at home and it was like I never left my beloved ANCF. The only thing that was not like my own was that the band members were stiff and too formal. I also didn’t have the guts to dance and wave my hands for fear of stepping on the toes of the two American ladies who had sandwiched me and were standing taller than I am.

God is good and I came out refreshed and recharged. I retraced my steps through the same rides, this time more relaxed and now with a praise song in my heart. Next Sunday will find me worshiping God again, even in the “Land of Smiles.”