February 16, 2007
Chinese New Year
Dear Friends and Family:
We send you our holiday greetings and best wishes for a healthy
and peaceful new year. Thailand had its share of troubles in 2006,
but we are all hoping that things will improve in the year of
the pig!
Many concerned friends contacted us last September when they
heard about the military coup here. Most people around the world
thought that Thailand was moving toward becoming a full-fledged
constitutional democracy and that military coups were a thing
of the past. Having witnessed several government takeovers during
our time in Thailand, we must say that this coup was different.
This time there was strong support for the takeover by many prominent
Thai leaders as well as by many of the common people. Time will
tell whether or not it was the right thing to happen.
Our life in Chiang Mai continues to be fulfilling. We have had
so many wonderful opportunities to learn, to share, to travel,
to meet good people of all nationalities and faiths. We have also
been fortunate to have the love and support of our family and
friends both in Thailand and in America. We are thankful to God
for providing us with such abundant lives.
Although John has now taught for over 40 years, he continues
to enjoy the challenge of getting students to think critically
about their religious beliefs. The international M. Div. program
will graduate its first group of students this year. It has been
exciting for us to see the intellectual and spiritual growth of
the students enrolled in that program. The graduates from Vietnam
and Burma will go back home in May with their new degrees to work
with Christian congregations and seminaries. They are a truly
remarkable group of young leaders. Payap University continues
to need financial support for students from neighboring countries
to study in this important program.
John is also working on preparations for the upcoming conference
on “Religion and Culture” that will be held at Payap
the last week of June 2007. This conference will bring together
scholars and religious leaders from around the world for six full
days of discussion and dialogue about how “culture”
and “religion” are understood and related in their
religious communities. Representatives from the Christian, Buddhist,
Islamic, Hindu, and other religious traditions will be participating.
The Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture, Payap University,
would welcome contributions for 20 scholarships of 600 dollars
for participants (five from each faith group and five at large)
from less-developed countries who will need financial assistance
to attend the conference.
Recent highlights from my work have been the opening of Payap
University’s “Paradorn-parb International House”
and the establishment of the “Research and Human Resource
Development Centre” in Kunming, China. The latter is supported
and operated jointly by Payap University and the Yunnan Academy
of Social Sciences. The International House is home to both foreign
and Thai students who want to share their lives and cultures with
each other while studying at Payap University.
Last October, I tripped while walking on the Payap University
campus and broke two bones in my ankle. After surgery to repair
the damage, I was ordered to stay off of my foot for two months!
Many of you know that I am not generally someone who (1) sits
very much or (2) spends many hours at home. In this condition,
I gained a greater awareness of my environment and the obstacles
to getting around in a wheel chair and on crutches. (And there
are many such obstacles in Thailand, where handicap accessibility
is neither stressed nor required.) I truly admire people who have
mastered physical challenges. And I thank those, especially John
and my office staff, who helped me during this time when I had
to be so dependent.
We are beginning to plan for 2007, our final year of service
with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We will be retiring at
the end of December. We will spend September through December
in the United States where we will visit churches to talk about
our work in Thailand over the past 40 years. We are especially
eager to let people know how Thailand has changed (or not changed)
during that period. For Presbyterians receiving this letter, please
let us know if you would like us to visit your congregation. John
will spend the month of October assigned to four different presbyteries
as part of a major mission speaking tour, but the other months
(September, November and December) are open for us both. We are
tentatively planning to spend the first two months on the East
Coast near our daughter, and the last two months in California
near our son.
On a personal note, my mother celebrated her 97th birthday with
us in Chiang Mai in January. She has been living here for nearly
three years now. We had lots of family here for the Christmas
holidays, and that brought joy to all of us. Our daughter, Chanya,
and her two boys will spend the month of July here. They were
unable to come for Christmas, but our son Paul and his wife Julie
and son Jesse were with us for the holidays.
Thank you for your interest and support in our lives and work.
We hope that we will have the opportunity to see many of you during
2007.
Sincerely,
Martha and John Butt
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
119
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