Same Same but Different

“Same Same but Different” is a phrase that seems to be used in every country that I have visited here in Asia.  It means that something is similar, yet not exactly what you were looking for.  Today I realized it holds true for the people that I have the opportunity to share a Sunday worship service with.  We are all God’s children...” Same Same but Different”.  Each Sunday I have the chance to rub shoulders with some wonder saints from around the world and each has a story to tell…

Today I sat and listened while the organ was played by a sister from Korea, and the music was lead by a 16 year old young woman.  The prayers were offered by refugees from Sri Lanka.  The meeting was lead by an American and when it was time for the saints to share their testimonies , I heard messages from a brother from Thailand, one from Japan, a sister from the Philippines, a young refugee father from Iran, two soft spoken men from Nepal, someone from Ghana and yet another from Nigeria.  The prayers were offered by refugees from Sri Lanka.  A few weeks ago the speakers were saints from Laos and Cambodia.  I sat close to families from Norway and Sweden, while a family from Vietnam and China sat a few rows behind.  They all had stories to tell of what the gospel means to them

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As A Sunday school teacher I have the good fortune to have a variety of nationalities of 16- 18 year olds in my class.  Each one is a son or daughter of a loving Heavenly Father.  Some are here because their parent’s jobs have taken them to Thailand, like us.  Others have come to Thailand fleeing their war torn countries with their families.  English is not their native language but they all try hard to understand.  Each teen is working hard at trying to live the principles of the gospel in a country that is foreign to them.  I am amazed at the resilience of these youth.

I have heard some of their personal stories, many which are fraught with hardships that I have only read about in the news.  The refiner’s fire for some of these Saints is searing their souls.  If some of these refugees are found by the immigration agents they will go to jail and wait deportation, which if they are deported might mean death when they return to their native countries.  As I struggle to live in a foreign land, I at least have my freedom, my family and my friends for support.  Some of the saints that I worship with at church have lost all three of those precious things for the sake of the gospel and a new life for their families. 

I have learned that we are “Same Same but Different”.  Same in that we are all saints and have the light of the gospel to help lead us back to our heavenly home.  We are different because our individual stories are literally “worlds apart”.  Those differences are of no real consequence in the eternal scheme of things.  We are all brothers and sisters looking to earning out way back to our home in heaven. 

So I today I am grateful to hear… “Same, Same but Different.”