“Aha!” I thought to myself as Cindi and I watched a video about the life and ministry of fifteenth-century Bohemian reformer John Huss. Huss lived during a period of history when there was great ignorance of pure Bible truth. Because the scriptures were available only in Latin, which only the most educated could understand, the common people were left in abject darkness. Church services were held, but the language and liturgy used did not communicate to commoners. The people relied on the priesthood for spiritual guidance and instruction. Sadly, corruption ran rampant, and the true teachings of scripture were buried beneath a mass of error, tradition and superstition. Corruption within the church naturally led to widespread moral depravity and vice. Society was in need of a complete reformation. Enter John Huss.
Huss was ordained to the Gospel ministry in 1402 and was assigned to serve as rector and preacher at Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. A diligent Bible student and fearless preacher of truth, Huss attacked the evils he saw and appealed to the people to bring their lives into complete harmony with the Word of God. He won the favor of the people and attracted a large following. One of the keys to his success was that he preached and held services in the Czech language rather than Latin. This put him at odds with the ecclesiastical elite of his day.
As I thought about how the people must have loved hearing the Bible taught in their mother tongue, a light bulb turn on in my mind. The first task we must complete in our mission is to learn the Thai language. This may take up to two years of fulltime study. Since arriving in Thailand, I have spent the bulk of my time attending language school, doing homework, studying and practicing Thai with local people. It is easy to feel like I am not doing “real” missionary work yet. However, in order to be truly effective at reaching people, I must be able to speak their language and communicate in ways that reach their hearts. There is no getting around the necessity of learning the language.
As I have thought about the time commitment involved in learning a new language, I have come to realize more fully that I need to be thinking long-term. It is going to take a lot of time to lay a foundation for enduring success. Studying the lives of the great missionaries and reformers of the past, I have seen that they understood the importance of teaching the Bible in a way that common people could understand and giving them written scriptures they could read. For example, take the words of John Wycliffe, the man who first translated the Bible from Latin into English: “Christ and His apostles taught the people in that tongue that was best known to them. Why should men not do so now?”
William Tyndale, who blessed the world with the first English Bible translated from Hebrew and Greek rather than from Latin said, “I had perceaved by experyence how that it was impossible to stablysh the laye people in any truth, excepte the scripture were playnly layde before their eyes in their mother tongue.” Clearly if we hope to lay the foundation for a permanent work in Thailand, we must teach in Thai.
One day while I was riding in the back seat of a taxi cab I began practicing my Thai on the driver. His face lit up, and he engaged me in conversation. As I asked him the few questions I knew in Thai, he chuckled at my accent and then answered. By the time we reached our destination, I felt like we had become friends. Over and over, whenever I engage Thai people in Thai conversation, they begin to view me not merely as a foreigner but as a friend who is trying to identify with them.
Though it sometimes seems like we are making little progress toward saving souls, planting churches and training leaders, we must focus on the big picture beyond today. Within a century after the tragic martyrdom of John Huss at the stake, close to 90 percent of all Czech people were following his teachings. Many reformers and missionaries like Huss were never able to witness the full fruition of their life work, but eternity will display the results of their faithful, thorough labors. According to the Wycliffe Bible Translators, an organization devoted to making the Bible available in every language, history shows that there has never been a strong indigenous church without the availability of translated written scriptures. In other words, the only missionary endeavors that stand the test of time are those that put in the effort required to communicate Bible truth in the native language of the people.
A few days ago, Cindi was telling me how frustrating it was to go shopping without knowing the Thai language. She couldn’t locate the items she needed to buy, and when she tried to describe them to sellers, they didn’t understand her. As I reflect on her experience I cannot help but think of the millions of Thai Buddhists who are searching for something they need desperately—inner peace. What they need is Jesus, but they don’t know it. Unlike the store clerks who couldn’t understand Cindi to give her what she needed, we know what the Thai people need, but we don’t yet know how to communicate it.
How frustrating it must be for the millions of Buddhists in Thailand and the millions of unreached people all over the world who are searching but are not able to find what they seek. It is our prayer that, as we put in the time to learn the Thai language, one day soon we will be able, like John Huss of old, to relieve the frustration of many by communicating Gospel truth in their heart language.
