Weekend in Parkvang

This weekend I went with the youth at Naxai church to Ban Parkvang, which is about two hours away from Vientiane. We left on Friday afternoon at about three and I got to go in the car with Yang, Youa, Tang and Mao. It of course was enjoyable spending time with these wonderful people. Eating Lao snacks and sing and going to markets the two hour drive felt like twenty minutes. We arrived at about 6:30 and started a church service at about 7. I helped make dinner which was sticky rice, bamboo with eggs, chicken soup, fried morning glory, bamboo soup, steamed bamboo and laap. We at a whole lot and even had left overs, Bee a friend from Naxai and also my teacher at language school is a very good cook and taught me how to make fried morning glory which is my favorite Lao food. The village has very strict regulations on foreigners  in their town and so we weren't able to stay at the church and had to stay at a guest house up the road. Youa, Bee, Rachel and I all slept in the same room. I was so tired that it didn't even matter where we slept which by the means of the guest house was a good thing. The other girls stayed up talking while I feel asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. In the morning the girls told me that I was the one that stayed up talking. I was angrily sleep talking all night! We woke up early in the morning and went to a market to by some things and then drove back to the church. We were split up into groups and then started the with worship and games. Green, pink, blue and yellow all competed against each other. In one game you're group was tried together and you had to walk to get bible verses in trees and so whoever got the verses the fastest won. In another game you had to blow flour to get a treasure and whoever got the treasure first won. The last game you had to pop balloons from the other teams side while protecting your own. In the end team green won! I was on green team and for the prize we got cookies and pepsi! The weekend was so great. Being able to meet many new  people and learn more Lao and get to know more of the Naxai youth made me feel like I was settling in and really fitting in, in Laos.

My new home.

Almost a month I have been in Laos and it has gone by fast!
I thought I would inform you all of where I am living here is my house:
I live in Ban Chommany Neua ( Village Chommany North)

To the right is where we wash the dishes.

This is my room and my mosquito net in the corner! 

This is my bathroom the two buckets on the side are for flushing the toilet and the shower bucket!

It has been so nice getting settled with Patti. When I heard I was living with a single women I thought she would be older and stay home but Patti is the most extroverted person I know. Almost every night we have gone out and went to birthday parties and to the MeKong night market she has been so wonderful to get to know. Things to love about Patti:
- She is so funny and can make you laugh at anything
- She dances when she hears music
- She sings when she is in the shower or driving
- She has a strong gift of prayer
- She is very giving
- She is very hospitable
- She care and worries for people
- She is a very good cook
- She follows after Jesus wholeheartedly
- She is flexible
- She is strong
I have been learning a lot from Patti and have been loving living with her and thankful for all she does. It feels like I am part of the family and gives me an incentive to learn Lao quickly so I can talk to the rest of her family because Patti speaks English very well. Many cousins and nieces are always around the house and live next store and they as well have been teaching me Lao. I hope that gives you a little insight on where I am living and my host sister as well.

   

Adventures in Thailand

Passing the Friendship Bridge to Thailand! 

Candy!

 Bueno bars are my favorite.

Banana waffles from the mall.

This isn't even all the meat ordered!

Flowers 

  On Saturday I got to visit Thailand! Last week on Thursday and Friday we had an MCC staff meeting and at the end of the meeting on Friday I was told that, " tomorrow you're going to Thailand." So the next day I woke up and went to MCC at 11 and we drove about an hour and then we were in Nongkhai! To get my business visa, you have to leave the country and then you are able to get your visa when you return. We, some co workers from Nita school, went to Tesco, a giant mall. In Tesco we went to KFC and shopped around. I got a waffle and ice coffee, some of my favorite things which was nice to have a change of foods, I had had sticky rice for many days in a row. We as well went to Makro an asian version of Costco, where I bought some American food to make for Patti, I made pasta with alfredo sauce a feet in many ways but a wonderful learning experience and on Wednesday morning I made pancakes. I also found Koala Marsh  in Makro which is what my mom always bought at home and was nice way to be reminded of home. One of the co workers was the cook for Nita school so at Makro we bought a lot of meat for the school lunches. We also went to a flower store where they bought plants and sod. I took too many pictures of flowers. Thailand was beautiful! It overall was an enjoyable experience. It's not everyday you get to say I went to Thailand for the weekend!

Strength

 Here in Laos things can change at the drop of a hat and what you will hear most on the streets is 'baw pen nyang" which means no problem. It amazes me each day how God has provided for me and blessed I really am, I have been able to move to a new country for a year and been able to find an amazing family to live with and a great team who are with me each step of the way. I am so thankful for the experience to be stretched each day. God has challenge me in new ways each and every day. With jumping into faith like I am there is no way that I could do this on my own. On thing that I have learned is that I can not lean on my own strength and it is amazing to see that Jesus uses me and that even when I am scared and don't know how I am going to make it through I can lean on him because I can't really do much myself. In Kenya one thing I learned was that I was stronger than I thought I was. And it wasn't because of me it was because I was being used by God. At times like sharing the gospel or my testimony I wasn't scared because I was empowered by God and how he was using me, but in reality with my own strength I would have been truly terrified. At times here in Laos when I am alone or when I am scared to ride a motorbike or I am scared about teaching or I am scared about learning and speaking a whole new language, I have been able to lean on God. Which is a blessing to be used and to be able to even have an experience like this.
  The quote from Mother Teresa has resonated with me.
“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 
― Mother Teresa

In the end it is all for the glory of God and in everything I do here there is no need to doubt that I can be used by God, that we all can be used each and everyday but the strength of God. 

Forgotten

  "Between 1964 and 1973 the United States conducted a secret air war, dropping over 2 million tons of bombs and making tiny Laos the most heavily bombed country in history. Millions of these 'cluster bombs' did not explode when dropped, leaving the country massively contaminated with 'bombies' as dangerous now as when they fell 30 years ago."  On Wednesday we went to COPE Center a place that informs people of the secret war. The secret war went on during the Vietnam war and was kept secret from America and others because it was against the Geneva Accord. In the Geneva Accord Laos was claimed a neutral country and so no wars were to happen there. In the movie it explained that sometimes they would not be able to go to Vietnam due to weather or when coming back from Vietnam they would have left over bombs so they would empty out the extra bombs on Laos. Cluster bombs are a larger casing that have thousands of little bombs in them. The bombs are dropped and they have a spin cycle that causes them to explode after three spins many of the bombs that were dropped didn't get the required spins and so they landed on the ground. Laos has millions of bombs left on the ground and could go off at any time and the Laos people have moved them and tried to remove as many as they can but they can be hidden as well as go under ground and be washed up by rain. For many they have to farm the land to get food and survive, and they continue to work even with the threat of bombs everywhere.
   Now if that wasn't depressing enough, the most depressing thing is that no one knows about it. There has been no help from America. They are slowing removing them but Lao people are removing them, not America the one that put them there! It is so sad to me to think that thousands of people have died because of something that people in my country did, and even in my town in America, there are people making bombs that I know. I feel like when America kept the war a secret the made a whole people group disappear. But I to am to blame too, when I was told about Laos I had no idea where it was and I had know idea that it was the most heavily bombed place in all of history. In the movie they talked about a man visiting a town and asked about casulaties and how many they had, the Lao people said they didn't have many. When they said how many casulaties there were it was a very high number and when asked why they didn't say that before, the Lao people though it was normal to have many people die. That is the life they had adapted to and accepted. Lao people shouldn't have to accept dieing they should except living. Now I know these people should not be forgotten. People who throw you a party because you have arrived ( they normally never have parties), people who buy you new skirts, and worry about you when you are sick, and help you learn languages and teach you how to cook and tell you that they love you already. Watching this movie just makes me realize that America has done a lot to hurt the world and when people think of America they have a single story that American's like guns. But I am here to change that single story, I am here to tell the Lao people that they are not forgotten, that not all American's drop bombs. Some American's are loving and kind and giving. 
  My first two weeks here and I already know these people will change my life and that Laos for me will never be forgotten.