A Burial in Nong Khai

One Sunday, Brother Bunthom asked Ray if we could meet him at the church at 1:00 the following day so Ray could help with a blessing. Ray said that, of course, we would be happy to help. We met him the next day and started on an unexpected journey. We drove to a town a little more than an hour  away. Brother Bunthom treated us to lunch on the way--som tam (green papaya salad) and barbecued chicken).

If you look closely, you can see that the heads are still attached to the chicken. It was delicious. (No, we didn't eat the heads.)

 

As we drove, we learned that the blessing Ray was to give was a dedication of a grave. A member of the church in Bangkok had passed away, and she did not want to be cremated, which is the normal Thai way. There are very few cemeteries in Thailand, but a kind member of the Church has donated this land in Nong Khai in the northeast of Thailand for this purpose. The sister's family had driven her over 400 hundred miles, some of them riding in the back of a pickup all the way, so she could have the blessing of a burial. The members prepared the vault, digging the grave and mixing the cement by hand.

There were probably 15 members who didn't know this sister who drove as far as we did to help give her a proper service. The people are so kind and generous. They are such a small percentage of the population that we really rally around each other as members of the Church.

They came prepared with hymnbooks so they could sing. (The sister to the right of the car is carrying buckets of sand to mix the cement.) As the brother conducting announced the program, he announced that Ray would give a talk and then dedicate the grave. He had a song and a prayer's length of time to prepare. It's a good thing he is always prepared with inspiring thoughts.

You can see that the cemetery is not cleared and beautiful like ours at home. They had to be careful as they carried the casket not to step in holes or trip over rocks and weeds.

There was a beautiful, loving spirit in a place we would consider a less than ideal, and the family was very grateful for the service given them.