In the Shadow of Chedis and Minarets

Born in South Africa in 1956, Andrea Witbooi grows up between two opposing laws: the rule of apartheid with its enforced racial segregation and discrimination, and the law of God to love your neighbour as yourself. Through the life and ministry of her father, she witnesses how the love of Jesus overcomes hatred and brings hope, healing and transformation to youngsters living in perilous conditions in Johannesburg's townships. This awakens a deep yearning to also invest her life for God's purposes. But where and how? Following God's prompting, her adventurous journey leads her to the Kingdom of Thailand. She studies the Thai language and grapples with everyday life ruled by unfamiliar cultural norms embedded in a Buddhist worldview. Then another move takes her to the Muslim dominated South of Thailand. Together with her growing family, she makes her home in provincial towns and villages, where the pillars of Islam determine the religious, behavioural and dietary rules of the local communities. As a Christian foreigner, she experiences both friendship and hostility, trust and suspicion, acceptance and rejection. This biographical narrative reflects how God's comforting nearness, help and protection carried Andrea Witbooi through times of upheaval and feelings of up-rootedness, loneliness and confusion. Her story also opens a window into the daily lives and struggles of Thai and Malay individuals and families whom she grew to love deeply.