Missionary Mondays - The Gospel vs. Eating Dogs, Worms & Chicken Feet

Welcome to week 2 of my August series called 'Missionary Mondays'!

Missionary Mondays are weekly updates on how God is guiding Dave and I in our journey to Burma & Thailand. We hope these posts will help answer any questions but if you have any other questions please ask! We love questions.

For previous updates on what God is doing please read the following:

Week 1- A recap on meeting the Holmes who serve in Thailand + an overview of the ministry there.

Overdue Update - This gives a general overview of our upcoming move and plans.

Pam & Zama in Myanmar - The people we are going to serve with in Burma have been so kind as to write a blog post all about the work they are doing over there. I hope you will check it out.

Today's title might have caught your eye and trust me, when I heard about this it caught my attention. 

Here's the story. My Dad had told me about a group of people in Thailand who eat dog. No, they don't eat their pets but yes they raise dogs and eat them (kind of how we raise cows except they are dogs). Anyways... I lived in Korea and they ate dog there too so it wasn't a huge shocker but seriously, dog? 

Well, during our meeting with the Holmes this topic came up. Apparently there is a tribe in Thailand that do indeed eat dog. I won't give you details but let's just say it's a quick kill and not slow and torturous like they do in Korea. 

We discussed this more and this is how the conversation went down: 

Me: "Mrs. Holmes! You gotta warn me if we go somewhere and they are going to serve us dog. And when I say I am going to eat it, what I really mean is that I'm going to dump it on Dave's plate when the people aren't looking". 

Mrs. Holmes: "Ok! I will give you some kind of signal. We will have to think of one". 

Me: "My dog's name is Static". 

Mrs. Holmes: "Staaaaatiiic! That's it! That's it! When they bring the dog out to eat I will say Static! Staaaatic! and you will know!" 

*I'm so glad my dog can't read this blog* 

They also told me that they sometimes eat worms (not ok) and chicken feet. The chicken feet didn't surprise me because they did that in Brazil.  

Also, Mrs. Holmes told me about a time where she was having a special celebration for the kids at the orphanage. She offered them their choice of meat: pork, chicken, beef, & I can't remember the last option. Apparently the kids got really quiet and when she asked what was wrong they said they wanted dog. So, she went and bought them dog meat.  

Ok! If you are still reading this by now *HIGH FIVE*. I'm going to be honest - the thought of eating a dog, a worm or chicken feet makes my stomach flip flop. It isn't my first choice or actually it isn't a choice at all for me but I've made the decision to mentally brace for that moment. Because here is the deal: what if someone that doesn't know Jesus yet gives me something to eat and I refuse? First, that is rude! Second, that could turn them away from listening to what we have to say about Jesus. 

Is this a hard idea / concept for me to swallow (ha ha, good pun, eh)? It sure is! BUT I hope if that day ever comes that I will pick Jesus over my food preferences. 

Also, I know the idea of eating 'weird' foods is offensive and gross to a lot of Americans but that is how other cultures are. It's part of going overseas and it is part of loving people. My Korean friend told me that she thought hamburgers were super hard to eat when she came to America and we think it's completely normal to slap a cow between a bun add a little pig to it and chomp it down. =) Oh and my Korean kids didn't like mac'n'cheese and trust me, I totally sacrificied a box of that to give to them. They said: "Teacher! This is not very delicious." I'm just glad I didn't share my black beans with them. 

With all that said ... please pray for me! I know in the big scheme of missions this is not a huge deal but I'm telling ya if they put 'Static' in front of me it's gonna be a big test of faith. 

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What is the weirdest food you have ever eaten? 

What's your feedback on this post? 

I don't even know what kind of proper question to ask because really, I'm not going to ask you if you would eat dog meat but, if I could ask one question, it would be this one: what are you willing to sacrifice for the gospel? It might not be eating dog but wherever you are, serving Jesus comes at a cost.