Weddings and the Mafia

Sunday, I was invited to a wedding reception for one of my Thai friend's friend. After teaching English at church, I went with my friend to the reception. When we arrived I quickly realized my friend was very good friends with the groom. He was the equivalent of the best man in an American wedding reception. He recruited me to greet new comers and lead them to tables for dinner. People poured in in a constant stream for over an hour. I could have become tired of standing so long, but I just kept looking at the bride and groom who stood in the same place for pictures the whole time, and I felt better. Wedding receptions in Thailand are times for the friends and family of the bride and groom to feast, sing, and have a good time. For the bride and groom, it is a three hour photo shoot with everyone attending. After the first hour I sat down with some new friends and feasted on Chinese cuisine for two hours. It was a lot of fun, and I was able to meet some new people.

Some highlights from the reception:
1. All the people there were from Klong Toei. It was a great chance to meet and connect with a lot of Thais in my area of work.
2. I was introduced to the mayor of Klong Toei or Governor of Bangkok. I'm not sure. I was introduced to a guy who acted like he was important. Later I asked who he was, and was told, "He is the head of the government. Not the country government, the city."
3. An interesting dynamic of the reception, which I hope is not a foreshadowing of the marriage though I am scared it will be, was that after most people had left the groom found some friends and drank till he no longer could put a coherent sentence together while the wife counted the money gifts given to them. Interesting how the dynamic starts so early.

Yesterday I had lunch with a pastor of a local international church and a friend starting a project in the Klong Toei slums. We talked some about the Tallia church. I knew that a lot of the people in the church if not all came from backgrounds of excessive drinking and all the vices that are common in the slum. I found out the pastor of the church was actually part of the local mafia before his dad sent him to a Bible College in Korea. He became a Christian there and returned to plant a church. Since he has planted one church and is in the process of planting/training to churches/pastors in the area. The church building was actually bought from the mafia when the church began. This connected some dots in my mind. I have wondered how many of the friends I have been making are in the mafia. I wonder how much I am in the mafia circles now. Because the church is on good terms with the mafia, the pastor and members are friends with a lot of people in the mafia. I don't know the extent of the mafia, but I think it is more of an organization that unofficially runs the area. I know the motorbike drivers are all part of the mafia.

In any case, pray God will shine through me. My faith that God can speak through me in Thai is small. Pray God increases my faith. Pray He speaks even if its not through my mouth in Thai.