Ministry in Australia

island by the Prince of Chiang Mai. The church had tried to buy some land before to build such a place, but couldn't get the permission. This was a most impressive institution. I bought a small carved wooden cross there and a red preaching scarf, all made by the rehabilitated patients. I also met a former student from All Saints College, who was still working there at the hospital. She had married a local, and was a fine witness for the church.

A short bus trip took us to a jungle post where elephants were working in the teak forest. The 'Mahouts' were skilfully directing the elephants by sitting on their heads and tickling them behind their ears with their feet.

At one evening meal we were able to taste local Thai food. I had ordered the hot variety. The waiter came back, quite concerned that I would not be able to eat it. I said: "It's quite all right. I'm used to it."

The waiters and our group were all watching me as I relished eating this truly hot dish. They seemed to be surprised to see a westerner liking their hot food.

An overnight stay at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok was most embarrassing. Some local church leaders, who were to give us a talk about their work, apologised when they arrived late, as they couldn't find parking facilities. They had never been at that hotel. All rooms had wonderful views of the Chao Pya river, of course, but what had this luxury hotel to do with mission? I thought it represented the very opposite of what we were trying to do in the church. I included these comments later on in my report to John Brown.

Singapore was a pure tourist affair except that Tosh Arai from the Christian Conference of Asia gave us a talk on their work on human rights in Asia, and their social concern. A year or so after our meeting I heard that the CCA had been thrown out of Singapore because of their strong commitment in this area.

A member of our tour happened to be John Cleghorn's mother. He had visited us in Kupang in 1969/70 while studying for the ministry. She wrote this comment on the tour:

"It was an unforgettable experience, where we met the people, saw spectacular sights, and studied the church in action. The mission of the church came alive as we travelled through Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. No ordinary tourist would travel through wonderful tropical scenery to Blimbingsari, a tiny christian village in Bali, or experience such an interesting personalised tour of the Leprosy Hospital in Chiang Mai. Our group of 16, from three states in Australia, was escorted by the Rev. Dieter Tieman, who for three years was a missionary in Indonesia. He was our guide, interpreter, and mentor in every sense of the words, looking after our material, physical and spiritual needs at all times. Who has ever experienced a complete church service conducted on a bus at 7 am, which we did last Sunday,

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