Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sabai Dee Laos!
Our last day in Laos was wonderful! We spent our last day just relaxing, which was amazing after a long year of working with the best kids in the world!! Me and Cherise went for a 3 hour massage (which was only 15 American dollars....gotta love Asia :)) and my dad cruised around the city, talking with new people, and enjoying a lovely bowl of soup. We did our last bit of shopping so we could finish up buying our souvenirs for all our lovely family and friends, and then we had our last pizza in Laos for dinner. We had to leave our hotel at 11:30 the next day because our plane was leaving for Chiang Mai at 1:10. We did our last little walk abouts of the city and played with our squirt guns one more time. We became good "squirt gun friends" with a couple of guys who had a little store and we would stand in front of their store with them and squirt the passerby's. It was a blast!! We're really going to miss our new buddies :) We piled into our little Tuk-Tuk that we bargained from 50,000 kip to 20,000 kip and putted our way to the airport. Luang Prabang is a small city so we got to the airport in about ten minutes, unloaded our stuff and piled inside to check in. When we got there, they informed us that our flight was delayed and wasn't leaving until 6:10. We arrived there a little before noon, so now we had 6 hours to kill in the airport. Who knew you could play so many games of cards over the span of 6 hours. The plane finally arrived and we piled into it, looking like hi-jackers with our squirt guns strapped to our backs. They even asked us as we stepped on the airplane if we were thinking about hi-jacking it. It was funny! As the plane began the take-off we looked out at the beautiful city of Luang Prabang, said Sabai Dee (that's good-bye in Laos), and looked forward to our landing in Chiang Mai.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Same Same But Different
It was so wonderful just letting myself wake up when my body said it was time to wake up and not getting up at 5:30. Once we were all awake and ready we walked out of our room and we were greeted with a good morning from the guy the day before that told us his guesthouse had the “best price….really”. We made our way to a restaurant that was serving “American Breakfast”. All 3 of us ordered an American breakfast and enjoyed every bit of it. We finished our breakfast and paid our 34,000 kip each (the conversion was 1 dollar to 8,700 kip….it’s good to be American J) and walked out into the beautiful Laos sun. We walked a bit down the road, looking up at the temples that towered over us and our thoughts were interrupted by a couple from Spain asking us if we wanted to go to the waterfalls today. It was a perfect invite because we didn’t really know where our day would take us, and it worked out great for them too because they needed a couple other people to fill up the tuk-tuk (which is what the little truck taxi’s are called) so they could get a better deal per person. We agreed and we found 3 other people who were from Sweden, so we got an even better deal. We decided to go to Kuang Si Falls, which also had a shelter for the endangered Moon Bears. When we arrived, we made our way around with the couple from Spain- their names were Oscar and Racquel. Oscar had already been to the Falls, so we designated him our tour guide. The Falls were tiered with beautiful limestone deposits everywhere. We walked up and stopped at each of the tiers, that became more and more beautiful. As we made our way up to the very top, there were men making steps out of concrete. We asked if we could write our names in the wet cement and they smiled and told us “dai, dai” (which means “can, can”- they also speak Thai in Laos). Each of us wrote our names and the date, so we will forever be a part of Laos. Then we continued our uphill journey to the top. I have decided that Thai flip-flops are not the best thing to hike in. I ended up just taking them off and hiking barefoot because it was easier. As we climbed to the top, we found a little path (well it wasn’t really a path, we just turned it into a path) that took us to a pool at the very top tier. There were hardly and people there because it was off the path. We cannon-bombed off the rocks into the pool and then rested where the water fell over the edge. It was exhilarating as we lay there, the water rushing over us and falling over 5 stories to the bottom.
We decided we couldn’t stay there forever like we wanted, so we got out and made our trek back up trying not to slip on the rocks (they become a lot more slippery when you’re wet) and walked across the top of the falls and then back down. There was a small wooden railing between us and the bottom, so we gripped it as we slowly walked across the top of the falls. As we walked down we passed by the other tiers and we stopped in the pool with the rope swing that I was wanting to stop at since we saw it at first. I climbed up the tree, reached over the edge, grabbed the rope and stepped back to jump. I didn’t realize how scary it was until I was up at the top having to jump. Everyone down in the water kept encouraging me. It took me about 3 minutes and then I finally went for it. It was a blast! I did it 4 more times…..I couldn’t do it anymore after that because my hands were killing me. I never realized how hard it is to hold yourself up on rope. Racquel took videos of me and they were hilarious! One time it even looked like I walked on the water and then biffed it face first. We saw our friends from Sweden and we all joined back together and headed back to our Tuk-Tuk. As we drove back, we were all immersed in conversation about Borat, as we were deep into laughter we got slammed with water. Right now in Laos and in Thailand they are celebrating their New Year. The way they celebrate is by splashing people with water. So by the time we arrived back into town we were soaked, but we had so much fun! We spent that night shopping in the night market, where you can find the best deals ever and barter with the people selling their things. I am pleased to say that I am an amazing barterer (it probably comes from my cheap dad J). We found some really cute shirts that said “Same Same” on the front and “Different” on the back. In Thailand, and in Laos, everyone always says “same, same” when they’re trying to say similar, so it’s a big joke to say “same, same”. So me and Cherise each bought a “same, same” shirt, but we got different colors. We wore them the next day (because we’re so cool) and everybody kept telling us you guys are “same, same…..but different"
We decided we couldn’t stay there forever like we wanted, so we got out and made our trek back up trying not to slip on the rocks (they become a lot more slippery when you’re wet) and walked across the top of the falls and then back down. There was a small wooden railing between us and the bottom, so we gripped it as we slowly walked across the top of the falls. As we walked down we passed by the other tiers and we stopped in the pool with the rope swing that I was wanting to stop at since we saw it at first. I climbed up the tree, reached over the edge, grabbed the rope and stepped back to jump. I didn’t realize how scary it was until I was up at the top having to jump. Everyone down in the water kept encouraging me. It took me about 3 minutes and then I finally went for it. It was a blast! I did it 4 more times…..I couldn’t do it anymore after that because my hands were killing me. I never realized how hard it is to hold yourself up on rope. Racquel took videos of me and they were hilarious! One time it even looked like I walked on the water and then biffed it face first. We saw our friends from Sweden and we all joined back together and headed back to our Tuk-Tuk. As we drove back, we were all immersed in conversation about Borat, as we were deep into laughter we got slammed with water. Right now in Laos and in Thailand they are celebrating their New Year. The way they celebrate is by splashing people with water. So by the time we arrived back into town we were soaked, but we had so much fun! We spent that night shopping in the night market, where you can find the best deals ever and barter with the people selling their things. I am pleased to say that I am an amazing barterer (it probably comes from my cheap dad J). We found some really cute shirts that said “Same Same” on the front and “Different” on the back. In Thailand, and in Laos, everyone always says “same, same” when they’re trying to say similar, so it’s a big joke to say “same, same”. So me and Cherise each bought a “same, same” shirt, but we got different colors. We wore them the next day (because we’re so cool) and everybody kept telling us you guys are “same, same…..but different"
Is it Lao or Laos?
We arrived in Chiang Khong about an hour and a half after we left Baan Immanuel. I tried to sleep on the drive, but it was a curvy, bumpy ride that kept forcing my tired head to hit either the chair in front of me, the window next to me, or Cherise’s shoulder. I finally decided to just stay awake and Cherise and I translated the Thai worship songs that were playing on the radio and sang them with passion and the driver and his friend were just smiling as we sang. When we arrived I’m sure the two guys were relieved because they no longer had to listen to our singing, but my dad was still stuck with our lovely voices as we walked to our boat to take us across the Mekong River to get to Laos (or as the Thai people say, Lao). We piled into the long, wooden boat, with many other foreigners from all around the world, and sat as our boat driver tried 3 times to start the boat. He would start it, we’d move a couple feet and then it would stall- exactly what we pictured our boat would be like to get us to Laos. Five minutes later, we were on the Laos side getting our Laos visas, handing our passports to the border patrol and then waiting for our taxi that took us to the 2 day boat that would bring us to Luang Prabang.
We had no idea what to expect for our boat that would drive us to Luang Prabang. It was longer than our first boat, but still wooden and creaky and the fumes that emitted from the engine were enough to make you want to jump over the side for some fresh air. We sat on wooden benches that could barely fit two people, with small cushions on them- which didn’t even help once your butt was completely numb anyways. The first boat ride was 8 hours and had us moving from the seat to the ground to standing to try to get the feeling back into our butts. We stayed that first night in Pakbeng- a small village on the way to Luang Prabang. We had a cute little guesthouse and we spent the night playing card games on our balcony and watching the locals as they went about their normal business. There is a large French influence in Laos, so the architecture was beautiful and at every turn there was a small food stand that sold sandwiches on French baguettes- it was so nice to have an actual sandwich. Our boat left that next morning, and this time we arrived early to try and get good seats. We were so thankful that we did, because this boat actually had seats in the front. There were about ten rows, with two seats on each side. The seats were like bus seats and they reclined. Our butts were very happy that we woke up early. This boat ride was another 8 hours to get us to Luang Prabang where we met really neat people from all around the world (Spain, France, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Switzerland, England, Germany, Canada, The States, Italy, Ireland, and more), had wonderful conversations, and filled up our time with more card games. Even though our seats were more comfortable, we were so glad when we saw the town of Luang Prabang approaching us. We gathered our backpacks and made our way down the plank, through the water, and up the hill. When we reached the top, there were the Laos people attacking us with “good price on guesthouse…best price, really I have best price”. We walked around the town, backpacks on backs, and ended up really finding “the best price”. We were exhausted but we treated ourselves to some pizza (which actually tasted like pizza), and then enjoyed a wonderful night’s sleep on our first night in Laos….or is it Lao?
We had no idea what to expect for our boat that would drive us to Luang Prabang. It was longer than our first boat, but still wooden and creaky and the fumes that emitted from the engine were enough to make you want to jump over the side for some fresh air. We sat on wooden benches that could barely fit two people, with small cushions on them- which didn’t even help once your butt was completely numb anyways. The first boat ride was 8 hours and had us moving from the seat to the ground to standing to try to get the feeling back into our butts. We stayed that first night in Pakbeng- a small village on the way to Luang Prabang. We had a cute little guesthouse and we spent the night playing card games on our balcony and watching the locals as they went about their normal business. There is a large French influence in Laos, so the architecture was beautiful and at every turn there was a small food stand that sold sandwiches on French baguettes- it was so nice to have an actual sandwich. Our boat left that next morning, and this time we arrived early to try and get good seats. We were so thankful that we did, because this boat actually had seats in the front. There were about ten rows, with two seats on each side. The seats were like bus seats and they reclined. Our butts were very happy that we woke up early. This boat ride was another 8 hours to get us to Luang Prabang where we met really neat people from all around the world (Spain, France, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Switzerland, England, Germany, Canada, The States, Italy, Ireland, and more), had wonderful conversations, and filled up our time with more card games. Even though our seats were more comfortable, we were so glad when we saw the town of Luang Prabang approaching us. We gathered our backpacks and made our way down the plank, through the water, and up the hill. When we reached the top, there were the Laos people attacking us with “good price on guesthouse…best price, really I have best price”. We walked around the town, backpacks on backs, and ended up really finding “the best price”. We were exhausted but we treated ourselves to some pizza (which actually tasted like pizza), and then enjoyed a wonderful night’s sleep on our first night in Laos….or is it Lao?
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Pyboon
“Hello”….running around in circles, laughing, “Hello, Hello, How aw you?”….more running with a huge smile. “What’s his name”, we asked Teenoo- the man who picked us up at the bus station and brought us to the Baan Immanuel orphanage in Chiang Rai- “That’s Pyboon. He has so much energy! He has a physical and learning disability, but he always runs around and always has a smile on his face”. From this first greeting, I was already in love with Baan Immanuel (and Pyboon). We left Agape on April 2 and arrived in Chiang Mai that night. It was a long day with two bus rides to get us to Chiang Rai, but it was worth it. We waited in the station as Teenoo told us it would be about 15 minutes until he arrived. As we sat there, rain fell all around us where there was no shelter. We were luckily under shelter as we waited. He arrived and we rushed with all our backpacks from our shelter to the Baan Immanuel truck. Teenoo educated us on the history of Baan Immanuel. It was started by a man named Ron, from Arizona, and he simply had a heart for the children that are forgotten in Thailand. He started it 15 years ago and has been touching children’s lives ever since. They have 4 homes throughout Chiang Mai and they are able to feed, clothe, and send the children to school. Things they would otherwise not have. They work a lot with the Lawhoo tribe, but there were also Karen, Thai, and Mong children. We went to Baan Immanuel to be able to serve in any way we could. When we arrived, Teenoo took us back to the orphanage and let us get settled in, then he invited us to go to Big C (the large shopping center in Chiang Rai) along with him, his family, and the children. Pyboon was the most excited to go to Big C. He walked around with us the whole time and pushed our cart for us. He had so much energy, so while me and Cherise shopped my dad had to run around the store with Pyboon and our shopping cart. Teenoo bought one snack for each of the kids, and to them that was such a wonderful gift. They all savored their snacks on our drive home, while I had the opportunity to speak Karen (the little that I know) and Thai with the children and some of the staff.
The next day our morning started with a wonderful breakfast with all the children and staff. We loved how everyone ate like a family. Then Teenoo took us on a boat ride along the Rock River and our boat ride ended with a lovely Elephant ride through one of the Lawhoo villages. After we finished lunch, Teenoo took us to another one of Baan Immanuel’s orphanages. This one was beautiful. It was up in the mountains, and was very close to completely being self-sustained. They had their cows, fish pond, chickens, vegetable farms, and the children as well as the staff were responsible for taking care of it all. They were another big family. That night, after dinner, Teenoo took us to the night market. I can’t believe how much there is to sell in Thailand. So many different things and more different kinds of food than I’ve ever seen being sold!
The next morning, we started our day with another enjoyable breakfast, and this time me and Cherise moved to the children’s tables and ate with them. Cherise is learning more and more Thai (from a great teacher, of course) so she was enjoying saying what she could with the children. After breakfast Teenoo took us to Chiang Khong so we could buy our boat tickets to Laos, as we were heading there the next day, and then we were able to visit another one of the Baan Immanuel homes. The people seemed even kinder , if that’s possible, here. We enjoyed a lovely lunch with them and then headed to the Golden Triangle. When you stand at the Golden Triangle, you’re on Thai ground with Laos to your right and Burma to your left. Then we were able to go to Teenoo’s village and visit his home and his Lawhoo people. It was a beautiful village and as we drove down from it, he pointed out the King’s mother’s garden. It was incredibly large and beautiful. As we drove we enjoyed looking at pictures of when Teenoo had visited America. He was in Idaho and it was his first time seeing snow. It was wonderful! That night was family night at Baan Immanuel and we were able to have a BBQ outside for dinner together, play games with the children, do dramas for them, and teach them some songs. Then we all sat down and enjoyed our fresh fruit.
We all were exhausted, so we went back into our room and Pyboon stayed with us asking where we were going and when we were coming back until we were all ready to go to bed and then he happily ran to his room. The next morning we had to leave at 6:00 and Pyboon was right out there waving good-bye to us until he couldn’t see us anymore.
The next day our morning started with a wonderful breakfast with all the children and staff. We loved how everyone ate like a family. Then Teenoo took us on a boat ride along the Rock River and our boat ride ended with a lovely Elephant ride through one of the Lawhoo villages. After we finished lunch, Teenoo took us to another one of Baan Immanuel’s orphanages. This one was beautiful. It was up in the mountains, and was very close to completely being self-sustained. They had their cows, fish pond, chickens, vegetable farms, and the children as well as the staff were responsible for taking care of it all. They were another big family. That night, after dinner, Teenoo took us to the night market. I can’t believe how much there is to sell in Thailand. So many different things and more different kinds of food than I’ve ever seen being sold!
The next morning, we started our day with another enjoyable breakfast, and this time me and Cherise moved to the children’s tables and ate with them. Cherise is learning more and more Thai (from a great teacher, of course) so she was enjoying saying what she could with the children. After breakfast Teenoo took us to Chiang Khong so we could buy our boat tickets to Laos, as we were heading there the next day, and then we were able to visit another one of the Baan Immanuel homes. The people seemed even kinder , if that’s possible, here. We enjoyed a lovely lunch with them and then headed to the Golden Triangle. When you stand at the Golden Triangle, you’re on Thai ground with Laos to your right and Burma to your left. Then we were able to go to Teenoo’s village and visit his home and his Lawhoo people. It was a beautiful village and as we drove down from it, he pointed out the King’s mother’s garden. It was incredibly large and beautiful. As we drove we enjoyed looking at pictures of when Teenoo had visited America. He was in Idaho and it was his first time seeing snow. It was wonderful! That night was family night at Baan Immanuel and we were able to have a BBQ outside for dinner together, play games with the children, do dramas for them, and teach them some songs. Then we all sat down and enjoyed our fresh fruit.
We all were exhausted, so we went back into our room and Pyboon stayed with us asking where we were going and when we were coming back until we were all ready to go to bed and then he happily ran to his room. The next morning we had to leave at 6:00 and Pyboon was right out there waving good-bye to us until he couldn’t see us anymore.
Don’t worry about food, we have enough we kill two pigs
My phone was ringing and I searched for it. I laughed at how full my Karen purse could be and finally found my phone, of course, at the bottom of my purse. I answered the phone and was greeted by a big hello and it was Solo’s voice. I was so excited because I hadn’t talked to him in a while and he’s such a good friend! Solo was calling me to invite me to the graduation of his students in the refugee camp. I had met his students before when they came to the villages to sing and celebrate Christmas with us. I also had the opportunity to teach them English a couple times. They’re so much fun to teach English to, because really the teaching is just having conversations with them. And they love to learn about me and I love to learn about them, so it leads to interesting conversation. Anyways, the next day me, my dad, and Cherise drove to the refugee camp and Solo had one of his students meet us at the gate. The graduation was a beautiful celebration. They opened and closed with prayer and had a sermon in the middle. Every student had their graduation cap and gown on (which I wasn’t expecting because it was the refugee camp, but I was informed they had very nice donors) and huge smiles. They were all happy to be finished. I think it’s wonderful they have the opportunity to have higher education, and any education at all, in the refugee camp. Many teachers donate their time and money for these students. It gives them a sense of accomplishment and hope and makes each day look brighter. We all really enjoyed the graduation and Solo was as proud as ever! He told me I had to bring my camera and that I was going to be the official photographer and he wanted me to take 1000 pictures….funny Solo. As they were closing up the ceremony, the man speaking asked all the guests to please stay for lunch, which we were more than happy to do, and he said “don’t worry about the food, we have enough, we kill two pigs!” We just about died laughing as we walked to the table and sat down to our pig feast.
HELP!! I’VE FALLEN THROUGH A BRIDGE!!!
After we got back from Yupaporn’s village, mine and Cherise’s days were dedicated to making picture frames. I know that sounds strange but my gift to the children when I leave here is a picture of me and them put in a frame. I was able to find frames for each of the kids and then I wanted them to be personalized so I bought super glue, sequens, markers, and stickers to decorate them. We started decorating them and writing on them and finished on the evening of the next day. All those hours later with super glue stuck to every part of our hands, we saw the finished products and it was all worth it! The kids are going to love them! We finished and had to start packing for our next journey to the last 3 Karen villages.
The first village we went to was Tupaw’s village. This was one of my favorite villages. We were able to drive all the way to the village and when we arrived at Tupaw’s house her grandpa (poo-poo in Karen) greeted us with a handshake and a big smile. He greeted my dad with a big bear hug. He was hilarious! Then Tupaw and a bunch of the other Agape kids who lived in the village gave us a tour of the village and their homes and we ended up at the river. Me and Cherise jumped in and took a little dip. It felt wonderful as the sun was so hot! We got right out because the kids were ready to head back to the village and we stopped at a home and had some shaved ice. It was the weirdest shaved ice I’ve ever eaten. It had cookies, strange jelly things, bread, and beans in the bottom of it, then the ice and then a weird flavor that tasted like tamarind poured all over it. It was actually pretty tasty. After we finished our shaved ice, we all went back to the river for a swim. As we walked we came to a bridge that went across the river. My dad and Cherise were a little ahead of me on the bridge and I was walking up behind, looking all around at the beauty that surrounded us. As I continued to look around, I was startled as my right foot fell straight through a hole in the bridge. I yelled to my dad and Cherise, and tried to get them to understand through my laughter that I fell through the bridge. It hurt a little (left a viscious bruise though), but I couldn’t stop laughing, because seriously who falls through a bridge. It reminded me of the scene from Shrek when Donkey falls through the bridge, and the bridge was pretty much the same as the one in the movie- wobbly, small, and obviously with holes in it. All the kids saw too and were laughing. I’m sure it looked funny from underneath the bridge where the kids were swimming because all they see is my one leg hanging through. Anyways, I got my leg out and walked back down to the water and jumped in. The current was strong, which only made it more fun to swim in. You pushed yourself through the current and then let yourself go and you were rushed down the river. We all had a blast and it was awesome time with the kids I love so much! Their laughs made my day!
We went back to Tupaw’s house to change our clothes and then we got ready to go to Tanoo’s (an Agape boy’s) farm. As I walked down the stairs from Tupaw’s house, all the kids were already down looking up at me, I missed one step and instead of walking down the stairs I, of course, slid all the way down the stairs. I had an orange in my hand and it got smashed and the juice squirted on me (but I never dropped it, so it was still delicious). I bruised my arm and the kids got another laugh from me. So not only was there a huge bruise on my leg, but now on my arm as well. I guess I just like to embarrass myself. We all walked to Tanoo’s banana farm and had a blast! My dad picked his very first banana straight from a tree. They weren’t ripe yet, but he didn’t care, he just wanted to pick one. Me and Cherise played with the little chick’s that would come straight up to us and sit in our hands. It was so cute!
The next day we got back into the truck and drove to Pahnee’s village. This time the truck could only drive so far and we had to walk about 4 km uphill (I’m thinking Karen people should build their villages in a place where you only have to walk straight to get there). A lot of my favorite kids lived in her village so I was so excited to go there and visit, plus none of the kids knew we were coming so I was excited to surprise them! We arrived and came to Veerayute’s house. This was the house we were going to be sleeping in. His parents as well as every one of the kids who were in there greeted us. They had a television (which always looks so funny to me in their bamboo/wood hut) and they were watching Rambo. Which was funny! We walked so far in the jungle and heat to a bamboo hut with a television showing Rambo. Funny!
We spent the day walking around and seeing the kids homes and the village. We watched the boys play a soccer game that evening and laughed as the pigs ran across the field and got in the way. That night we showered in a little stream with the girls. As we showered we heard trees crackling and falling in the not too far distance. The girls grabbed all of our stuff and moved it off the rock near the walk way and just in time too as a huge elephant walked through the jungle past us. It was a working elephant and it was towing large trees behind it. I have never been that close to an elephant before in it’s natural surroundings, and while I was taking a shower. It was really neat! After we finished our shower it was time to eat dinner. In the Karen villages everybody loves to feed you. So we have gained some weight I’m sure, as we’ve eaten 4 dinners, 3 lunches and 2 breakfasts in one day. It’s crazy! But you can’t say no, so somehow God makes our stomachs bigger. That night we had a wonderful dinner, then we layed a mat out and we all looked at the stars. There were so many because there weren’t any tall buildings or lights blocking our view. It was beautiful! We all sat around and ate peanuts that came from Songpon’s farm and we had the time of our lives. I slept with the girls that night in Pahnee’s house and it was a blast! While we layed there the girls asked me to tell them a story. They wanted to listen to me tell them a story and now their English is so good (the girls even translated for me when I gave the message in our worship service). So I told them the story of when I fell flat on my face at church camp, it got caught on the video camera, and how they showed it on the big screen at church. The girls loved it! I could hear though in their responses that I was talking them to sleep. Their responses were getting slower and slower.
The next day it was time to hike out of their village. All the kids walked out with us and we all stopped to play in this one beautiful waterfall. We all had a blast! We were posing on the rocks to take pictures, and me and Pahnee slipped on the rocks (of course) and slid straight into the pool of water. We all got one more good laugh. We hiked out and had worship at the top in a home then they served us a big lunch afterwards. It was absolutely wonderful! The Karen villages remain my favorite place to be!!
The first village we went to was Tupaw’s village. This was one of my favorite villages. We were able to drive all the way to the village and when we arrived at Tupaw’s house her grandpa (poo-poo in Karen) greeted us with a handshake and a big smile. He greeted my dad with a big bear hug. He was hilarious! Then Tupaw and a bunch of the other Agape kids who lived in the village gave us a tour of the village and their homes and we ended up at the river. Me and Cherise jumped in and took a little dip. It felt wonderful as the sun was so hot! We got right out because the kids were ready to head back to the village and we stopped at a home and had some shaved ice. It was the weirdest shaved ice I’ve ever eaten. It had cookies, strange jelly things, bread, and beans in the bottom of it, then the ice and then a weird flavor that tasted like tamarind poured all over it. It was actually pretty tasty. After we finished our shaved ice, we all went back to the river for a swim. As we walked we came to a bridge that went across the river. My dad and Cherise were a little ahead of me on the bridge and I was walking up behind, looking all around at the beauty that surrounded us. As I continued to look around, I was startled as my right foot fell straight through a hole in the bridge. I yelled to my dad and Cherise, and tried to get them to understand through my laughter that I fell through the bridge. It hurt a little (left a viscious bruise though), but I couldn’t stop laughing, because seriously who falls through a bridge. It reminded me of the scene from Shrek when Donkey falls through the bridge, and the bridge was pretty much the same as the one in the movie- wobbly, small, and obviously with holes in it. All the kids saw too and were laughing. I’m sure it looked funny from underneath the bridge where the kids were swimming because all they see is my one leg hanging through. Anyways, I got my leg out and walked back down to the water and jumped in. The current was strong, which only made it more fun to swim in. You pushed yourself through the current and then let yourself go and you were rushed down the river. We all had a blast and it was awesome time with the kids I love so much! Their laughs made my day!
We went back to Tupaw’s house to change our clothes and then we got ready to go to Tanoo’s (an Agape boy’s) farm. As I walked down the stairs from Tupaw’s house, all the kids were already down looking up at me, I missed one step and instead of walking down the stairs I, of course, slid all the way down the stairs. I had an orange in my hand and it got smashed and the juice squirted on me (but I never dropped it, so it was still delicious). I bruised my arm and the kids got another laugh from me. So not only was there a huge bruise on my leg, but now on my arm as well. I guess I just like to embarrass myself. We all walked to Tanoo’s banana farm and had a blast! My dad picked his very first banana straight from a tree. They weren’t ripe yet, but he didn’t care, he just wanted to pick one. Me and Cherise played with the little chick’s that would come straight up to us and sit in our hands. It was so cute!
The next day we got back into the truck and drove to Pahnee’s village. This time the truck could only drive so far and we had to walk about 4 km uphill (I’m thinking Karen people should build their villages in a place where you only have to walk straight to get there). A lot of my favorite kids lived in her village so I was so excited to go there and visit, plus none of the kids knew we were coming so I was excited to surprise them! We arrived and came to Veerayute’s house. This was the house we were going to be sleeping in. His parents as well as every one of the kids who were in there greeted us. They had a television (which always looks so funny to me in their bamboo/wood hut) and they were watching Rambo. Which was funny! We walked so far in the jungle and heat to a bamboo hut with a television showing Rambo. Funny!
We spent the day walking around and seeing the kids homes and the village. We watched the boys play a soccer game that evening and laughed as the pigs ran across the field and got in the way. That night we showered in a little stream with the girls. As we showered we heard trees crackling and falling in the not too far distance. The girls grabbed all of our stuff and moved it off the rock near the walk way and just in time too as a huge elephant walked through the jungle past us. It was a working elephant and it was towing large trees behind it. I have never been that close to an elephant before in it’s natural surroundings, and while I was taking a shower. It was really neat! After we finished our shower it was time to eat dinner. In the Karen villages everybody loves to feed you. So we have gained some weight I’m sure, as we’ve eaten 4 dinners, 3 lunches and 2 breakfasts in one day. It’s crazy! But you can’t say no, so somehow God makes our stomachs bigger. That night we had a wonderful dinner, then we layed a mat out and we all looked at the stars. There were so many because there weren’t any tall buildings or lights blocking our view. It was beautiful! We all sat around and ate peanuts that came from Songpon’s farm and we had the time of our lives. I slept with the girls that night in Pahnee’s house and it was a blast! While we layed there the girls asked me to tell them a story. They wanted to listen to me tell them a story and now their English is so good (the girls even translated for me when I gave the message in our worship service). So I told them the story of when I fell flat on my face at church camp, it got caught on the video camera, and how they showed it on the big screen at church. The girls loved it! I could hear though in their responses that I was talking them to sleep. Their responses were getting slower and slower.
The next day it was time to hike out of their village. All the kids walked out with us and we all stopped to play in this one beautiful waterfall. We all had a blast! We were posing on the rocks to take pictures, and me and Pahnee slipped on the rocks (of course) and slid straight into the pool of water. We all got one more good laugh. We hiked out and had worship at the top in a home then they served us a big lunch afterwards. It was absolutely wonderful! The Karen villages remain my favorite place to be!!
WWJD
“Bye guys! I’ll miss you! Don’t forget, when do you come back to Agape?.....That’s right, April 18th. See you then! I love you!” That’s what I said to the Agape kids as they piled in to the trucks and headed home to their villages. They were all so excited to be going home, because they hadn’t been home in over 4 months. I was excited too, because that meant I had the opportunity to go and visit them in their homes. Me, my dad and Cherise had the opportunity to visit four of the Karen villages and each village had many of our children living there! The four villages were the last ones I needed to go to for me to have visited all 102 of our children’s homes.
We took off March 21st for our first village visit. We were going to Yupaporn’s village (who is one of my favorite girls). We piled into the back of the truck and Pastor drove us to the entrance to a dirt road, helped us get our stuff out and then said his goodbyes. We picked our stuff up and started on our 12 km hike to the village. The sun was bright above us, but as we walked we suddenly got little sprinkles of relief. It felt like cool little rain drops falling all over our skin and face. We stopped for a second and let it refresh our skin and as we soaked it all in, the girls we were walking with informed us that “the cool rain drops” we were feeling was actually locust pee. At this, we frantically wiped at our skin and faces and ran until we could no longer feel it. As screams escaped from our running bodies, hysterical laughs was all that came from the beautiful girls who walked with us. As we continued our hike, we now knew that whenever we felt those nice cool drops, to keep our mouths closed and walk as fast as we could.
It took us 4 hours, but we finally arrived at Yupaporn’s village. Everybody welcomed us and the kids couldn’t wait to show us their homes. I walked from each home to the next and loved meeting all of the kid’s parents and siblings and seeing their homes. It was wonderful! And their parents’ faces were filled with smiles and their siblings hid anywhere they could but still being able to see us. It was so cute!
That night when we went to sleep we layed down on our mat on the wooden floor. I had a nice little spot in between Cherise and Terra on the ground. I am a very heavy sleeper (in fact I talk in my sleep and don’t even know it. Cherise sleeps very light and has informed me of this….I have even been speaking Thai in my sleep many times. I’m a real Thai), so I sleep through anything, but that night I was awoken by Terra and Cherise as they both were standing there with broom in hand and head lamp on head sweeping ants off their beds and trying gently to sweep them off my face. It was a pretty funny sight to dozily wake up to. I guess we were attacked by ants in the middle of the night. The house we were staying in had an ant problem, so each night we had ants jumping into bed with us. The last night we finally got smart and made a barrier around our mat with baby powder. I’m sure we looked like weird ghost worshipers with our ring of powder surrounding us, but hey it worked. The people who lived there probably thought we did weird chants and worship in the middle of the night. Anyways, it was really funny to say the least!
We had a wonderful worship service with the people in the village. We shared our testimonies, sang songs, and ate dinner with the people. Many of them were non-believers and they all piled into the house to listen and participate! It was wonderful! We also gave them soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. and we hoped we blessed them as much as they blessed us. They even killed their pig for us (we watched it from the beginning, and in the course of 3 hours it went from a walking and breathing pig to dinner on our plates. I don’t even like pork and it was pretty good. I’d like to dedicate this post to that little piggy who gave up his life for us)!
The next day we said our good-byes and my dad even had tears in his eyes as he said good bye to these amazing people. We walked about 3 km. to the next village. This village had no toilet or shower, so we all had a blast showering in the waterfall. The first time I’ve ever taken a shower fully clothed and underneath the pounding force of a Thai waterfall. It was awesome! It was also funny to just walk out into the jungle from your bamboo hut and go to the bathroom. We only had one head lamp, so that night me, Cherise, and Terra all had to go pee. We walked out to the jungle, lined up one right next to the other and went pee. Definitely a funny picture…..good ol’ bonding time.
The next day it was time for us to do our trek out. It was a 4 km. straight uphill hike. We each were carrying our backpacks, and me and my dad switched because his was pretty heavy and he’s an old man now so he lets the younger one hold it. Our backpacks were definitely slowing us down and forcing our out of shape bodies to work harder. As we continued to look up we could see nothing but more and more uphill, when would the relief come? As we continued to hike, our raspy breaths released from our mouths as our hearts beat faster and faster from all our hard work and out of nowhere comes the villagers. They hike up behind us and they took each of our backpacks and carried them for us. As many times as we said no and said we could carry it, they wouldn’t let us. They took our burdens and carried them on their backs and hiked in front of us and led the way out. As they did this I couldn’t get my mind off of Jesus. Jesus came and took all our burdens and put the whole world’s burdens and sins on his back. He said “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (mt. 11:38) He walks right up to us and tells us to give Him our backpacks and then He walks in front of us and leads the way. We follow as He carries the weight of our sins and burdens so we can walk easily. These Karen people were such a reminder to me about Jesus’ love. How He didn’t have to carry our sins, but He chose to because He loved us so much! I’m reminded to always think, WWJD? Jesus would walk up to me and take my backpack off and help me along the way….He would feed me if I was hungry…..He would clothe me if I was naked……He would love me if I was unloved…..He would, He would, He would……and He does.
We took off March 21st for our first village visit. We were going to Yupaporn’s village (who is one of my favorite girls). We piled into the back of the truck and Pastor drove us to the entrance to a dirt road, helped us get our stuff out and then said his goodbyes. We picked our stuff up and started on our 12 km hike to the village. The sun was bright above us, but as we walked we suddenly got little sprinkles of relief. It felt like cool little rain drops falling all over our skin and face. We stopped for a second and let it refresh our skin and as we soaked it all in, the girls we were walking with informed us that “the cool rain drops” we were feeling was actually locust pee. At this, we frantically wiped at our skin and faces and ran until we could no longer feel it. As screams escaped from our running bodies, hysterical laughs was all that came from the beautiful girls who walked with us. As we continued our hike, we now knew that whenever we felt those nice cool drops, to keep our mouths closed and walk as fast as we could.
It took us 4 hours, but we finally arrived at Yupaporn’s village. Everybody welcomed us and the kids couldn’t wait to show us their homes. I walked from each home to the next and loved meeting all of the kid’s parents and siblings and seeing their homes. It was wonderful! And their parents’ faces were filled with smiles and their siblings hid anywhere they could but still being able to see us. It was so cute!
That night when we went to sleep we layed down on our mat on the wooden floor. I had a nice little spot in between Cherise and Terra on the ground. I am a very heavy sleeper (in fact I talk in my sleep and don’t even know it. Cherise sleeps very light and has informed me of this….I have even been speaking Thai in my sleep many times. I’m a real Thai), so I sleep through anything, but that night I was awoken by Terra and Cherise as they both were standing there with broom in hand and head lamp on head sweeping ants off their beds and trying gently to sweep them off my face. It was a pretty funny sight to dozily wake up to. I guess we were attacked by ants in the middle of the night. The house we were staying in had an ant problem, so each night we had ants jumping into bed with us. The last night we finally got smart and made a barrier around our mat with baby powder. I’m sure we looked like weird ghost worshipers with our ring of powder surrounding us, but hey it worked. The people who lived there probably thought we did weird chants and worship in the middle of the night. Anyways, it was really funny to say the least!
We had a wonderful worship service with the people in the village. We shared our testimonies, sang songs, and ate dinner with the people. Many of them were non-believers and they all piled into the house to listen and participate! It was wonderful! We also gave them soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. and we hoped we blessed them as much as they blessed us. They even killed their pig for us (we watched it from the beginning, and in the course of 3 hours it went from a walking and breathing pig to dinner on our plates. I don’t even like pork and it was pretty good. I’d like to dedicate this post to that little piggy who gave up his life for us)!
The next day we said our good-byes and my dad even had tears in his eyes as he said good bye to these amazing people. We walked about 3 km. to the next village. This village had no toilet or shower, so we all had a blast showering in the waterfall. The first time I’ve ever taken a shower fully clothed and underneath the pounding force of a Thai waterfall. It was awesome! It was also funny to just walk out into the jungle from your bamboo hut and go to the bathroom. We only had one head lamp, so that night me, Cherise, and Terra all had to go pee. We walked out to the jungle, lined up one right next to the other and went pee. Definitely a funny picture…..good ol’ bonding time.
The next day it was time for us to do our trek out. It was a 4 km. straight uphill hike. We each were carrying our backpacks, and me and my dad switched because his was pretty heavy and he’s an old man now so he lets the younger one hold it. Our backpacks were definitely slowing us down and forcing our out of shape bodies to work harder. As we continued to look up we could see nothing but more and more uphill, when would the relief come? As we continued to hike, our raspy breaths released from our mouths as our hearts beat faster and faster from all our hard work and out of nowhere comes the villagers. They hike up behind us and they took each of our backpacks and carried them for us. As many times as we said no and said we could carry it, they wouldn’t let us. They took our burdens and carried them on their backs and hiked in front of us and led the way out. As they did this I couldn’t get my mind off of Jesus. Jesus came and took all our burdens and put the whole world’s burdens and sins on his back. He said “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (mt. 11:38) He walks right up to us and tells us to give Him our backpacks and then He walks in front of us and leads the way. We follow as He carries the weight of our sins and burdens so we can walk easily. These Karen people were such a reminder to me about Jesus’ love. How He didn’t have to carry our sins, but He chose to because He loved us so much! I’m reminded to always think, WWJD? Jesus would walk up to me and take my backpack off and help me along the way….He would feed me if I was hungry…..He would clothe me if I was naked……He would love me if I was unloved…..He would, He would, He would……and He does.
Summer in March
That’s right. It’s already summer break. It’s hard to believe, but I just had my last days at the schools I was teaching at on March 5th and 6th, and the kids had their last day a week later after they finished all their testing. It was such a fun last day! My last day at Huai Bong school was cute! Me and Cherise, with the help of some of the girls at Agape, made packages of cookies for each kid. I bought red, white and blue yarn and we all made bracelets. Red, white and blue are the colors of America, Thailand, and Karen. I told the kids whenever they missed me all they had to do was look at their bracelets. They loved it! It was funny to see all 300 kids at Huai Bong school walking around with their little bracelets on. For my last hour, the 7th-9th graders came out and I put them into groups and each group wrote a good-bye song for me. It was precious! Some sang their songs in English and then some in Thai and then it was translated to English for me. They were the sweetest songs. With the younger kids, we played games on the field. We played a huge game of duck, duck goose. I’ve never played with 200 kids before, so it was really funny!
My last day at the Mae Lamao schools was really fun too! We played musical chairs and made the bracelets there also. Some of the students were having a cooking class and me, Cherise, and my dad were served 4 different kind of Thai desserts and boy were they delicious! Then after we finished our celebrations with the children, the teachers took us to the Mae Lamao river. They had lunch all prepared for us and then we went white water rafting. It was a blast! The teachers were so sweet and it was a really neat time to spend with them! I have tried to be a blessing for them, and I continue to get blessed by them more and more! It’s been wonderful!
I can’t believe how time flies though! It’s already summer break in Thailand……and yes, it for sure already feels like summer! Bring on the heat!
My last day at the Mae Lamao schools was really fun too! We played musical chairs and made the bracelets there also. Some of the students were having a cooking class and me, Cherise, and my dad were served 4 different kind of Thai desserts and boy were they delicious! Then after we finished our celebrations with the children, the teachers took us to the Mae Lamao river. They had lunch all prepared for us and then we went white water rafting. It was a blast! The teachers were so sweet and it was a really neat time to spend with them! I have tried to be a blessing for them, and I continue to get blessed by them more and more! It’s been wonderful!
I can’t believe how time flies though! It’s already summer break in Thailand……and yes, it for sure already feels like summer! Bring on the heat!
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