Journey to Carolina

Two weeks ago, right about this time, I was boarding a plane headed from my city to China, then to New York, and finally to North Carolina. I got to the airport super early to check in so I could try to avoid the dreaded middle seat in the back of the plane (and, for any flights to China, you have to arrive super early to beat the long lines of Chinese tour groups). As it turned out, this particular airline wouldn't check me in all the way through, so I couldn't get my seat assignment for the fun-filled 15-hour journey from China to America.

When the woman sitting on my row (open middle seat, yes!) boarded I noticed her American passport and asked if she was headed home. She said yes, and she'd actually just been visiting her son in a country I'd traveled to several times. She was also headed to New York, on her way to Virginia. We talked most of the flight and then navigated the transfer desk together. And then something happened that's never happened to me before and may never again: FREE upgrade to business class for the 15-hour flight! Merry Christmas to me!!

We arrived in New York about an hour early, which was great because I was a little nervous about doing immigration, customs, re-checking in, etc. in the time allotted. The porter who helped me with my four huge bags not only got them all for me on the cart, but took me through customs, to the bag re-check and then checked me in for my next flight. He went beyond what he was "required" in order to help me.

The woman I'd met on the first flight was assigned a boarding gate right next to mine, so we got breakfast and she let me use her phone to call home since there was no wifi, at all, in the terminal. When my flight was delayed she came over from where she was about to board and told me to call home and let them know.

While waiting for my last flight I met a woman who grew up really close to the town where I went to college. Another friend to chat with and help pass the time.

With every leg of every flight, God provided more than what I could have thought to ask. Friendly passengers, people willing to go the extra mile to help, early flights, FREE upgrades.

So thankful for His grace in every moment!

Last leg of an amazing journey!

Oh Holy Night

Last week was a big week for outreach among the S People. Christmas parties were celebrated on three different nights in three different villages. Believers in my city, locals and foreigners, came together to host the parties. We sang, played games, shared gifts and snacks, and of course, told the Christmas story. A fourth party was held in another village this week, as well as a small party for children at the S People school.  

A believer from a S People village shared her testimony every night at the parties. She told how in recent years God had changed her life. For a long time she was the only one in her village to believe. Her husband often beat her or locked her outside because she believed in God. After sharing her testimony all week, others in her village had finally had enough. They've threatened her and her husband to the point that they're soon moving out of the village. Pray that this woman's husband will turn from Buddhism and trust in God. Pray for the woman to continue steadfast in her faith, and pray that the many villagers who heard her testimony will also believe.

I was only in town for one village party because I moved back to the States that same week. It's hard to believe my time living overseas has already ended.

But, what a great way to spend my last night in Asia:

You can't really tell, but I'm squatting down over
on the left and acting as one of the sheep.

Students at the S People school hearing the
Christmas story. Most had never heard about
the birth of Jesus.

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.