Mountain views

Today was a day off for most people as the country celebrated Father's Day, which coincides every year with the King's birthday. Since we had the day off a friend and I drove about an hour and a half outside of town to a famous national park with the "King and Queen's pagodas." The King's pagoda was built in 1987 and the Queen's in 1992, to commemorate their 60th birthdays.

Looking toward the Queen's pagoda

The weather was a little crazy. These two photos were taken less than 30 minutes apart. One minute we had blue skies, the next it was foggy and misty-and cold!

These clouds were amazing:

We didn't have blue skies at the waterfall, but it was still beautiful:

Thankful for a day off to enjoy His marvelous creation!

Day four

When evening came on Day #4 I was sleeping under a mosquito net and using a yoga mat as a cushion against the wooden floor. The family had turned off the generator (no electricity) and I was hoping my latest outhouse run would be enough to last till morning.

The day had been long. We'd rode in the truck nearly five hours on roads that weren't kind to my tendency to get car sick. When we were almost at the house the truck got stuck, again, in the mud and this time wasn't budging. So we gathered up all our stuff and walked a mile or two in the dark to the house.

I was already exhausted but we were far from time to sleep. After dinner the family and friends who'd gathered shared some of their stories with us. One woman told how she'd left her nearby village with her daughter, in the cover of night on their small wooden boat, to move here after being forced out because she was a Christian. The others told similar stories of standing firm despite opposition and pressure to turn back.

Please ask that these families will remain strong. They are very poor in terms of our earthly standards.

Here's the house and viewpoints all the way around:

And my favorite, because it has a "Little House on the Prairie" feel and we got some sunshine:

Boat making

This week tons of tourists have invaded the city! It's the annual lantern festival. Lanterns are decorated all over the city and people will release lanterns into the nighttime sky the next few evenings. Some people believe that releasing lanterns is a way to release their sins from the year.

The festival also includes making "boats," or kratongs, to release into the river. The boats are made out of banana leaves and stalks and they're a way to honor and thank the river goddess. Today at the school where I help teach English the children made kratongs and invited us to join them. Let's just say arts and crafts is not my thing and the kids laughed more at my lack of artistic ability than they did offer to teach :)

The boats and lanterns are beautiful. It's a fun festival with lots of food stalls on the streets, fireworks and a parade. But it's still a Buddhist holiday with people putting their faith into lanterns and boats to take away sins and appease gods. Pray that they will come to know the only God, the Living God, who can forgive sins and give peace and joy.

Village life

Last week I made my third visit to a nearby country, and this time to the northern villages. I still can't get over Southeast Asia's beauty:

We drove for hours to get to these villages. Narrow, winding mountain roads that were sometimes more like a dirt or gravel path than an actual road. In one village we met this 83-year-old woman who had moved from her village to a village farther up the mountain in order to share. She moved there with her husband when she was 24, and although most of the villagers hated them because they were believers, they didn't give up.

Upstairs in her bamboo home, sitting
near the fireplace. 

Some villages were completely on the water. Their "streets" were the waterways in between the floating gardens and they had no cars, only boats. If you want to visit your neighbor, you jump in the boat:

In the villages (and even in my city) a breakfast meal often looks the same as a lunch or dinner meal. There's not really special breakfast food. This was my breakfast one morning:

On the way out to the villages you never know what you might find. We had to pull over when we saw a group of workers out in the fields:

More village homes:

The people we met were incredibly kind, gracious and grateful. But most don't know Him and are firmly committed to Buddhism. When they do believe, they're often persecuted by others in the village, including family, and some are forced to leave the village. Ask that He will open many hearts, and that individuals and families will have the faith and strength to stand firm in Him.

The S People

The "S People" are a Buddhist/animist people group of about six million with less than one percent believing in Jesus. They are considered a minority people group in their country and throughout the years have been treated harshly by their government.

The S People live in temporary villages of tin and bamboo shacks and they're scattered across several different Southeast Asian countries. Many have fled their country in hopes of finding work and a better life for their families. Unfortunately, life is usually not much better in their new homes. They often work on construction sites and move from one job to the next. The work is hard, the days are long, the pay next to nothing.

When someone from the S People comes to faith it's not uncommon for persecution from family and friends to be immediate. Some are forced to leave their village, others are beaten and some are made to burn their Bible.

I recently attended a training weekend with others in the city to help us learn more about how to reach the S People. Please ask the Father to open the hearts of S People, so that they will desire to know and worship the one true, living God.

The training site was beautiful. Love this city's
mountain views.  

Happy Birihday

They laughed when I made them wait to light the candles so I could get my phone and take a picture. Note the spelling of "birthday."

Yep, that's how the candles were packaged. No "t" in sight.

Another one for #asia.

Also note the icing-free cake. Best kind.

Hold your breath

Although driving over here is totally different than in the States, as crazy as it sounds, it now feels quite normal. Driving is often compared to a river and you just have to "go with the flow" (I really don't like cliches, but this one seems to fit). Although there are no "rules" there are plenty of unwritten rules, and because everyone knows the "code," it just works.

For example:

• If a highway has more than one lane the far left lane becomes a parking lane. So if you just avoid driving in that lane you'll be much less frustrated about having to go around people who "had the nerve" to park in the middle of the road. Because, to them, they actually didn't park in the road...

• If you see an open space, it's for the taking. If there's a slight gap (meaning you think your vehicle can fit, not that it actually will) then go for it. People will stop for you. In America we'd probably say that someone pulled out in front of us and call it rude. Not here. Over here we just call it letting people into the flow of the river. 

• Know the peek and creep. If you keep inching out bit by bit and stick the nose of your vehicle out far enough, eventually, someone will let you out onto the road. In America the peek and creep would get you, at the very least, some ugly stares. Not here. Over here we call it "showing boldness," and without that you'd never get anywhere. 

• Beware the bikers. Bikers are everywhere and they think they own the roads. It's annoying because most of them don't even look when they pull out in front of you. You just pass them soon as you can, which is possible even with a car coming from the opposite direction. Then, remind yourself that without the bikers we'd have more cars, which would make the river more crowded.

And lastly, you learn to "think thin." Or, you hold your breath in tight spaces and pray that somehow you get in, out, around or whatever the situation might be. 

This is probably my closest call yet and I don't think I'm ready to repeat!

Good job, Gracie