MISSIONS, THE MESSAGE, AND THE MEANS
Exploring questions of Christianity & culture in Laos B Y S A R A H R E I L LY
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic lies in the heart of continental Southeast Asia and has trembled beneath waves of armies and refugees throughout history. The most recent of these conflicts, the Laotian front of the Vietnam War, was dubbed the “Secret War” because it was kept largely hidden from the American public. At the time the US had signed agreements ensuring the neutrality of Laos, but during the war, which was certainly no secret to the Lao people, Laos earned
the dubious distinction of being the most bombed country in the world. The communist Vietnamese and their Lao counterparts, the Pathet Lao, gained full sovereignty of their countries in 1975, and an era of extreme xenophobia began. In the 1970s and ’80s suspicion of foreigners was so extreme that all foreign missionaries were expelled from the country and the Lao government went as far as to eliminate Thai letters from the Lao alphabet. In the 1990s restrictions on foreign travelers and domes-
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Opposite: The Patuxai monument in Laos’ capital city,Vientiane, commemorates those who fought for independence from France.
LAOS
Alistair Michael Thomas, Shutterstock.
tic religious groups were eased, but Lao schools still teach children that foreigners are trying to colonize Laos through economic and cultural domination. The Lao government is particularly suspicious of Lao Christians, who are often viewed as betraying their culture and country.Their suspicion is not without historical merit—the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) was active in the same Laotian provinces in which the CIA’s Hmong army operated. Prior to 1975, all Hmong Christians fought against the communist forces, although today they are generally supportive of the present government. Some non-Christian Hmong folks I spoke with believe the CIA and CMA are one and the same, but this confusion may be caused by Hmong speakers’ difficulty pronouncing English final consonants. Whether the link between the CMA and CIA is more than circumstantial has been the subject of much speculation, but debating it further doesn’t help missions work in Laos. What is worth examining is whether or not today’s Lao government is justified in its suspicion of Christians. Are seemingly well-intentioned missionaries presenting a Euro-centered Christian message and devaluing Lao culture? Laos is a small but complex country with almost 50 distinct ethnic groups—most with their own language and traditions —as well as a variety of foreign Christian organizations. Lao society has recently opened up to Western tourism and is in a state of shuddering transition.Traveling through the most developed and the most war-torn parts of Laos in search of the heart and spirit of Lao Christianity, I caught a glimpse of the vibrancy and diversity of the Lao church and its foreign partners.
A Hmong pastor preaches from the Bible. Photo by Sarah Reilly.
groups to come to Laos and work with the LEC in church planting, but he was fiercely critical of any group that tries to make its own way. “When a Christian group goes off into the countryside and plants an unregistered church, it attracts the attention of the authorities and can hurt the LEC.” He mentioned an instance in a remote northern province where an American Protestant organization had applied to build a primary school. He said that some locals decided to join them in worship, so they opened an underground church. “It wasn’t long before they were shut down, and now any Christian activity in that province is heavily monitored. They could have contacted the LEC,” Dua said in exasperation, “and we would have communicated properly with the government and set up an LEC church.” It might appear that doing missions in Laos is relatively easy—simply show up, meet with the LEC staff, and get going —but there is a reason some denominations want to go their own way. Although Pastor Dua says that the LEC is nondenominational, he seems to believe that the LEC is the only denomination with the correct interpretation of the Bible. When I asked him how much freedom the leadership allows rural pastors on things like baptism age or the suitability of performing traditional Lao ceremonies with a Christian interpretation, his answer was, in principle, encouraging:“If someone doesn’t want to do it the same way as us, no problem. I invite them to Vientiane to discuss it.” But his terse and superior tone suggested that the discussion might very well be one-way. It wasn’t stories of government persecution or lack of funding that made Pastor Dua the angriest; instead it was other denominations coming to Laos, setting up shop, and luring LEC parishioners away. “They’re so wrong!” Dua said about another large Protestant group active in the Hmong community in Laos. “They would come to LEC services and encourage our followers to leave the LEC and join them. Then they tried to register with the government as a separate denomination, but most of their followers were LEC members already!”
The Lao Evangelical Church The Lao Evangelical Church (LEC) is one of three recognized Christian denominations registered in Laos, and at an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 members it is by far the largest.The other two groups are the Roman Catholic Church and the Seventh Day Adventists, each with far fewer members than the LEC. The LEC was formed in the early 1960s from the remnants of followers of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and Swiss Brethren, but membership remained low until government restrictions were relaxed and it was officially registered in the 1980s. Now the LEC can plant churches, provide low-key laypastor training, and channel foreign funding into Christian aid programs, but it still suffers misunderstandings with the government. Foreign missionaries are occasionally at the root of the LEC’s difficulties. At the LEC headquarters in Vientiane I asked Pastor Dua*, a church leader whose name was changed to protect him from undue government suspicion, how foreign missionaries should interact with the LEC to help Lao Christians and avoid legal complications. He replied that he strongly encourages Christian
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The LEC leadership holds a narrow view of Christianity for a reason. Its roots are in the 1960s evangelical movements, before culturally sensitive missionization was widespread, and it was isolated during the development of multiculturalism. Thus, while some aspects of traditional Lao culture—such as dress, food, and the huge water fights that take place during the Lao New Year and which the church has delightfully redefined to symbolize the waters of baptism—are viewed as acceptable by Pastor Dua, others are unfortunately and, I believe, unnecessarily excluded. Many Lao ceremonies that are completely compatible with biblical teaching—such as parental respect and community unity—are considered unacceptable by the LEC because of their Buddhist/Animist roots. The LEC leadership should be reminded that countless widely accepted European Christian practices have their roots in paganism, practices which have been redeemed by and transformed for the glory of God. The perfect example of a ceremony integral to Lao society, but that the LEC refuses to recognize, is the Baci. Laos perform the Baci at weddings, after the birth of a baby, when someone
goes on a long journey, and at the Lao NewYear. It’s a Buddhist/ Animist ceremony native to the ethnic majority Lao Lum, but many other ethnic groups have adapted their own versions. During the Baci, a community comes together to invite a person’s errant soul back into his or her body. Usually a monk prays over an offering to the errant spirit, after which participants bless each other and tie strings on each other’s wrists. The Baci is a staple of Lao culture, and each time I’ve participated in one I’ve been moved by the unity and selfless intentions of the participants. However, Pastor Dua believes that if a Christian attends a Baci ceremony or performs a Christian version of the Baci, he or she “doesn’t really understand Christianity and Christian culture.” But what exactly is Christian culture? Isn’t Christian faith nurtured most effectively and most meaningfully when Christ is invited into one’s own culture and asked to liberate, redeem, and transform it? Isn’t the immutable truth of Christ expressed differently within distinct cultural contexts? Pastor Dua appears to equate Christian culture with Western culture.When I asked him what Lao Christians do to mark significant life events instead of the Baci, he replied, “We do the same things as overseas Christians. We gather, pray, and sing praise songs.” I heard some youth singing these songs; they were Lao language versions of the same songs Protestant Americans sing every Sunday. Given the substantial administrative obstacles to performing missions work in Laos and the size of the LEC compared to other Christian groups in that country, working with the LEC can be a lot easier than trying to work apart from them. Their status with the government provides Christian aid organizations legitimization for their development work, while missionaries outside of the LEC risk being labeled as rogue evangelicals and deported. But the international body of Christ should pray that the LEC’s next foreign partner funds crosscultural training for Lao church leaders and encourages them to take a more open-minded approach to their own heritage.
Khmu Christians Eager to see how ethnic minority churches in rural northern Laos expressed their faith, I took the 10-hour bus ride from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, Laos’ Buddhist and tourist capital. While relaxing in a coffee shop, I met a young Khmu man, Khamsy*, who invited me to visit his predominantly Christian village over the Lao New Year. Of the diverse peoples living in the steep green mountains of northern Laos, the Khmu have the highest church membership and longest Christian history, thanks to Presbyterian missionary Dr. Daniel McGilvary who traveled to Laos from nearby Thailand from 1872 to 1934 and stayed in Khmu villages along the way. The next day Khamsy and I borrowed an old motorbike with no lights and no front brake, and with some trepidation
The playful water fights that take place during Laotian New Year have been given a spiritual significance by the indigenous church. Shutterstock
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we started down a narrow dirt road out of Luang Prabang. Two hours, two flat tires, and one motorbike crash later, we arrived — dirty but undeterred! It was the dry season, so the whole village was covered in a thin sheet of beige dust. As in most Lao villages, water buffalo, cows, and chickens roamed freely among the houses, nibbling on desiccated grass, while groups of kids splashed in patches of rainwater that resist evaporation in the shade. Village life is public. People swing open the woven walls of their tin-roofed huts in an effort to catch the frail breeze. Over the buzz of insects, I could make out a group of men in a distant hut celebrating the New Year in the usual Lao way, with whiskey and song. Some Khmu live in mountain villages accessible only by foot, don’t speak the national language, and
measure their income in rice and salt. But Khamsy’s village is comparatively well off; I was surprised to see that most of the two-room thatched houses on low stilts were new. “That’s because 90 percent of the village burned down in 2003,” Khamsy explained.“The government didn’t give us any money to rebuild, but the Christians in Vientiane did.” No one was able to tell me which Christians helped them, but the most likely candidate is the Lao Evangelical Church. Khamsy’s mother prepared a lunch of fresh barbecued fish and instant noodles for us, which we enjoyed under the gaze of a mob of curious kids in his family’s open-walled house. While we ate, I asked him about his faith. “I feel confident and happy about being a Christian, but it’s not always easy,” he said softly. “One time my teacher told
Loving—and learning from— our neighbors in Laos “What can I do?” you ask. Go to Laos and see how the Lao people, despite their poverty, take time to enjoy life and family. They will provide you with a challenging reality check with which to compare the constant pressure in the US to gain wealth at the expense of relationships and downtime. Foreign tourism gives Lao craftspeople a market, so while you’re there, buy new handicrafts direct from the producers. Enjoy food at Lao-owned restaurants. To flee touristy areas and meet villagers from some of the 50-odd ethnic minority groups, all you have to do is rent a motorcycle, point it down a road, and go. Laos is becoming a tourism hot spot, so it won’t remain “unspoiled” for long. Tourism information is available on the Lao Government’s tourism website (tourismlaos.gov.la), and the recently updated Lonely Planet Laos, by Andrew Burke and Justine Vaisutis (2007), is invaluable. If traveling 12 time zones away to a developing country isn’t your thing, there are other ways to help the Lao people. Visit CAMACRAFTS (camacrafts.org) to make a donation or order handmade products. As they are a Lao company and don’t take online credit card orders yet, call (tel. +856-21561-668) or email (et@camacrafts.org) them for purchasing details first. CAMACRAFTS is Fair Trade-certified and does wholesale. The following organizations are doing sound, biblical, and loving work in Laos. Contact them for information and
to support them in their work there. The Institute for Global Engagement (globalengage.org) works with Lao nationals to increase religious freedom in Laos. Lanna Christian College (lannachristiancollege.com) and Payap University (payap.ac.th/english), both in Thailand, educate Lao and Thai nationals for church leadership positions and accept donations. The Lao Evangelical Church (tel. +856-21-169-136) provides economic relief to the Lao people and forms partnerships with groups seeking to do mission work in Laos. Samaritan’s Purse (samaritanspurse.org) provides ongoing funding to local relief work. Wycliffe Bible Translators (wycliffe.org) have branches at work in Southeast Asia, where they maintain an excellent reputation for cultural awareness. Other Lao tourism websites: ecotourismlaos.com trekkingcentrallaos.com muonglaomagazine.com
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The Khmu people have the highest church membership and longest Christian history in Laos. Here a group of Khmu Christians pose for a family portrait. Photo by Sarah Reilly.
outstanding educations and the desire to do great things for the young Khmu church.
all the Christian students in my class to stand up. Of the handful of Christians, only I stood up. My teacher then told the class that Christianity is a foreign religion, and that I can’t really be a Christian because I’m Lao.” It is perhaps hardships like these that make Khamsy’s bright, intelligent eyes appear wiser than his 20-odd years. I asked Khamsy’s friend Muoi* why he thinks so many Khmu have become Christians. He didn’t mention salvation, but rather economics. “When an Animist is sick, his family sacrifices an animal to please the offending spirit,” explained Muoi. “When a Christian is sick, we take the animal to the market, sell it, and buy medicine. “Animists sacrifice animals at the water hole to get clean water,” he added. “Christians go to the waterhole and pray and sing instead.” I had just drunk a glass of water, so I was uneasy to learn that there was no church-sponsored hygiene education. After finishing lunch and brushing the scraps between the floorboards to the dogs below, I asked my hosts if Khmu Christians resented having to change their traditions. “It’s okay to change your traditions,” Khamsy said. “When you become a Christian, you have to leave the old behind. You can’t have both.” From what I witnessed, the majority of villagers didn’t seem to have a fully formed idea of what a native Khmu church should be like, but all had a deep sense of spirituality and joy. In Khamsy’s village the lack of Christian education is being addressed by Christian groups operating out of Thailand. Although there are fewer than a hundred families in this village, at least three people have received scholarships to study the Bible in Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second-largest city. They have now returned to their earthen-floored homes with
Doing more harm than good? A handful of expatriate Christians live in Laos, and some of them have set up businesses which act as bases for “tentmaking” evangelism. Unfortunately—and surely unintentionally—expatriate Christians often convey a critical message to the Lao people about both Westerners and Christianity. Some work independently, unaligned with an evangelical organization, a situation that can lead to problems due to lack of accountability and cross-cultural training. One illustration of this is a small,Western-style pastry café chain, owned by American Christians in Vientiane. The Luang Prabang Café’s windows look out onto a traditional Buddhist temple, but the interior is decorated to Western coffee-culture tastes, so much so that a casual coffee drinker absorbed in her newspaper and the piped-in Euro-jazz would never know she was in Laos. The first time I stopped in the Luang Prabang Café, I was surprised to find an American businesswoman managing the store, and I pulled her aside to ask her why she chose to move to Laos.“I’m a Christian woman, and Christianity is part of my being here,” she said.“All of my staff knows I’m Christian, and I do my best to help them. I pay for them to study English and for the internet because I want them to have access to other ideas.” I was impressed until she added,“I think it’s good that I don’t speak Lao, because they have to practice their English with me.” With all the advances the church has made in cross-cultural training and relational evangelism approaches, it is unfortunate
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College while she was overseas and now works as a Lao-English translator. While sitting in her house, beautifully decorated in both Lao and American styles, I asked her if she experienced a conflict between Christianity and Lao culture. “Change is always hard,” she replied, “but we don’t want to change the biblical values at the heart of Lao society: patience, flexibility, and respect for others.” She continued to praise Lao culture: “Unlike many Americans, the Lao are really accepting. They understand that what’s okay for one person may not be okay for another.” I then probed her thoughts on the Baci ceremony, which the LEC denounces, and whether or not she thought it might have a place in a Lao church. “The Lao church is dealing with how to handle any cultural and religious conflicts,” Long said. “It’s up to them, not us foreigners, to figure it out.” The Christian staff people of LaoCrafts have not only tangibly improved the lives of hundreds of rural families, but they have also shown the Lao people that American Christians can be compassionate and respectful people who value Lao language and culture enough to learn from it and even to adopt it as their own. If this is the direction of foreign missions in the future, I have very high hopes for Christ’s great commission in our beautifully diverse world. ■
that so many Westerners continue to hold attitudes and practices that run counter to how Jesus himself met with and engaged those around him. Further conversation revealed that in addition to refusing to learn the local language, the café manager expects her Lao staff to maintain a Western work ethic—but without the capitalist rewards. The money in the tip jar goes to buy school materials for rural kids, a noble idea but one that would be more effectively realized if each staff person had a choice of whether or not to donate. Behavior-based transformation—getting educated, sharing resources—can’t hold a candle to what real soul transformation does for a person who has met Christ. Are Western tentmakers in Laos modeling Christ, or are they modeling a Western-influenced idea of Christian behavior? Which approach has the desired results, both in this life and in the next? “My boss can really be a jerk sometimes!” one of the Lao employees confided to me, hot with resentment.“I don’t think she understands Lao culture.” I am deeply troubled that a woman who hasn’t bothered to study the Lao language and doesn’t understand Lao culture is representing Christianity.
A better way In comparison, some Christian development organizations are doing outstanding work in Laos, proof that foreign Christians can be culturally sympathetic and hold the best interests of the Lao people at heart. LaoCrafts* is a Lao-American partnership working to help rural women produce high-quality handicrafts that can compete on the foreign market. LaoCrafts first formed in Hmong refugee camps in Thailand and returned to Laos when most of the refugees had been resettled or repatriated. Their Western staff members do not refer to themselves as missionaries, but they are being paid by a Christian organization and being an evangelical Christian is a job requirement. “We know where the line is, and we don’t cross it,” said Derek White*, an American national who directs LaoCrafts from the Vientiane office. “We’re not allowed to take an active role in the Lao church, so I focus on developing personal relationships to introduce Christianity.” LaoCrafts insists its staff learn Lao and gives them the time and money to do so.Their goals are to create sustainable development in Laos and, when the Lao nationals are ready to take over, to step aside. I saw the effects of this policy firsthand in the Luang Prabang handicraft market, where successful craftspeople sell products similar to those on LaoCrafts’ website. “They took those ideas from us,” White said with an amused smile, “so we backed out of Luang Prabang and are focusing on other provinces.” When I was in rural Laos, I met with Susan Long*, another American LaoCrafts employee, who had gotten her master’s degree in intercultural communication online from Wheaton
*Names have been changed throughout the article to protect interviewees from unnecessary suspicion.
A native of Boston, Mass., Sarah Reilly has been living in Hanoi, Vietnam, since 2005, where she continues her studies in Vietnamese and Lao.
The Hmong people celebrate New Year with a festive game called Po-Po, designed to help young men and women living in remote villages meet and flirt with each other. Photo by Sarah Reilly.
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