In visiting and getting to know P'Witoon and his sustainable agriculture work last week, I also got to know his family. P'Witoon and his extended family are quite close and share many resources. While P'Witoon has two 'traditional' bamboo houses in his field, he also lives/shares a house with his parents and sister in the village. His nephew also lives with the family because his parents are currently working abroad. One of P'Witoon's childhood friends also lives with them.
His story really hit close to home. I never got the full story, but Jonathan tried to fill in some details. Apparently P'Witoon's friend as a serious kidney disease and has for a few years now. He was originally told that he only live a couple of months, but it's been about 2 years. His wife left him since he was no longer able to work enough to provide for them ... working as hard as he used to was just too painful.
As a result, P'Witoon took him in. He helps out around the farm as he is able and in return P'Witoon and his family feed him and help him pay for his many medications.
Still, it's a hard place for him to be. It seems like he could really use a kidney transplant. But here in Thailand, organ donations aren't as common because of dominant Buddhists beliefs. In Buddhism, when you die you are reincarnated based on the life you live. If you lead a good life, your next life will be easier as you continue on your journey towards total enlightenment. If you don't lead a good life, your next life might be more difficult ... it all depends on the merit or karma you've received in your current situation. Because of reincarnation, people aren't too keen to give up body parts.
Basically, Witoon's friend is just waiting to die, which was painful to see. Almost every day he made some sort of comment ... how he was in so much pain, how he wish he could enjoy the spicy food, how he was surprised that he woke up that day, how sad he was that there's just no hope for him. He wasn't able to go sightseeing with us on Tuesday because he had to filter fluid through his body. I was amazed that he was able to do it out where we were. I know that being able to filter makes a quite difference, but after seeing my brother's system, his set up seemed so rudimentary.
I just wish there was something I was able to do to give him hope! My brother and family have been so blessed through my brother's battle with his kidney disease and we are confident he'll be able to find a kidney match and have a successful transplant ... maybe even as soon as this summer! The progress my brother made and care he received has been such an encouragement to our family even though it's been a difficult situation to deal with. P'Witoon's friend doesn't have this encouragement and I wish there was a way he could be encouraged and comforted through the uncertainty each day brings. I keep thinking, if the roles were reversed, if my brother had renal failure here ... I'd definitely feel hopeless for his situation. I'm so thankful for the care he is able to receive.
If you're praying for my brother as he's dealing with his kidney disease, please pray for P'Witoon's friend as well ... that he can find hope in God and that he doesn't suffer from too much pain. To learn more about my brother's kidney disease and how you can sign up to be a potential donor, check out his blog here.
Thanks for your prayers and support
Hannah
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Visiting P'Witoon (the details)
Jonathan and I arrived late Saturday afternoon to P'Witoon's village. We meet P'Naiu (Witoon's wife) and P'Dara (Witoon's sister) at the village house, dropped my stuff off, and headed out into the farm. At the main farm "house", P'Naiu and P'Dara began to make dinner while Jonathan took me on a short tour of the farm. Chickens and ducks are fenced in, but have plenty of space to roam as well as a coop for safety at night. Within the large fence, pigs are also kept in a pen. Above this fenced in area is another fenced in area where P'Witoon is keeping goats and has a large fish pond. Over-looking the fish pond is another small 'traditional' bamboo house. Still farther up is a water retention pond and water tank. All around this entire area are banana plants (I'm going to share my bio-nerd sidenote again, just to reiterate: banana 'trees' are not actually trees and are instead classified as herbaceous because the trunk is not a woody substance but the base of the leaves-called a sheath-that are tightly packed together... it's also known as a pseudostem). A little ways down from the main farm house is flatted land for rice fields. Beside the rice field is an 'integrated farm' ... coffee and passion fruit are planted among mango and lum yai (also known as longan) trees. Besides the 'integrated farm,' multitudes of banana plants, and main farm house, what I was shown was newly built or expanded within the last 3-4 months. As P'Witoon said, it's their 6 months of 'rest.' They have the time to invest in building/expanding/establishing projects before the rainy seasons comes and the 6 months of hard work begins.
Dinner Saturday night was quite delicious: mountain rice (my favorite next to sticky rice), freshly caught freshwater snails, and some other dish I'm forgetting at the moment. Lahu food tends to be on the spicy side, which I quite appreciated as I haven't been eating as much spicy Thai food as I though I'd be. As far as the snails go, they were deliciously flavored and seasoned! I'm not a huge fan of the texture, but if well-prepared like these were, it's easy to overlook and actually enjoy! Also, in taking seconds and thirds of rice is always appreciated ... it shows that you really do like the food and appreciate the hospitality.
Sunday was a day of rest and sightseeing! After breakfast of rice and 'pumpkin' at the farm, we dressed for then attend church. The service was in Lahu, so I didn't understand a single word, but I was able to follow and 'sing' along with the songs because written Lahu uses Roman-based (English) characters (whereas written Thai is Sanscrit-based and written Karen is typically Chinese-based). After church we all loaded into Jonathan's truck and drove to a large reservoir where we had lunch at restaurant just above the reservoir dam. Driving a little farther, we visited one of P'Witoon's friends who owns a little coffee shop. After enjoying a most delicious ice coffee and way too much iced green tea, we headed toward Doi Wawee and Doi Chang along with P'Witoon's friend. Doi Wawee and Doi Chang are somewhat known for their coffee as they have coffee shops throughout the rest of Thailand (I myself am quite a fan of Wawee Coffee's iced coffee and 'coffee boom'). We drove around/through Doi Wawee on the way to our actual destination: Doi Chang's botanical gardens. While we drove around most of the gardens, we did get out and walk through a couple different areas.
At one of these stops P'Witoon turned to me and, looking like a kid in a candy store, said, "This is what I dream my village will look like some day ... all green, with trees, and better farming." The people in the village P'Witoon lives in, along with the surrounding villages, practice slash and burn mono-culture farming. As a result once jungle-covered mountains are now darkened and smoldering during the dry season; the once fertile soil is striped of nutrients; farmers slip further into debt as they become more and more dependent on fertilizers and chemical pesticides. Through his own farm, and now his demonstration center, Witoon hopes to help farmers return to more sustainable and less debt-ridden farming techniques. Sightseeing over for the day, we headed home for dinner (I think we had the pumpkin again, along with a chicken and broth dish).
Monday was a 'work day.' After an early breakfast of potatoes and rice, the guys went to begin to build the upper water-retention pond and I was told I'd be making pig food. While I maybe made a hand-full of pig food, I mostly just watched the pig food making process. After lunch (leftover potatoes and vegetables), I went with the women to a nearby village where P'Witoon's 2 kids, nephew, parents and grandmother had been attending a Bible camp/VBS. It looked like it was quite the production ... the whole village was abuzz with activity. After meeting and visiting with a number of people, we loaded up and headed home, stopping at small market on the way back. Upon returning to the farm, chaos seemed to break out as the women set to preparing dinner and the kids began playing with their puppies (named Black, Brown, and White ... guess what color each one is). I decided to trek up to where the guys were digging out the retention pond (of course I ended up making this little trek in my flip-flops, no big deal, I'm a honorary villager now).
I learned a number of things from this village visit ... that there actually are scorpions and king cobra snakes in Thailand (I saw one of each with my own eyes!). I also learned that having a tokay living 'in' the room you're sleeping in is not enjoyable, but actually terrifying when it suddenly makes it's call and sounds like it is sharing your pillow. Finally, I learned something at dinner Monday night ... you can actually eat pigs' lungs. Definitely not my favorite cut of pork, but it beat other parts I've had, and I was still able to have seconds.
Tuesday was another sightseeing day. After an early breakfast, we loaded up into Jonathan's truck and headed north to MaeSai and the Thai-Burma border (we didn't go into Burma, but 3 villagers rode in the back as they were going to visit people in Burma and we were their ride). We had lunch beside the border and spent some time walking around the market that was right there. We were also able to climb up a temple that gave us a great view of the Thai-Burma border. It was hard to tell where one country ended and the other began, but the Burma side seemed to transition much more quickly from an urban to rural landscape. As we headed back to P'Witoon's village, we made a couple little detour stops. One at Doi Tung, another botanical garden, and one at the bizarre White Temple in Chaing Rai. Unfortunately, it the temple closed early and before we arrived, so I was only able to appreciate few of it's many oddities but plan on getting inside the temple at some point before I leave.
We got back just in time for dinner: snails and a whole black-bone chicken in broth. A whole chicken means that ... a whole chopped chicken ... basically everything is eaten ... including the blood. In trying to fish out a nice piece of chicken meat out of the bowl, I accidentally fished a nice piece of chicken blood. I got pretty used to eating chicken blood on my semester, as it was a favorite of my host family, but I'm not a huge fan ... the texture is somewhat similar to tofu, but it tastes metallic (which makes sense because of the high iron content).
Wednesday morning, besides our delicious Lahu breakfast-fare, we also had pancakes with directly from the comb fresh honey ... what a treat! The guys were actually able to finish digging out the water retention pond before breakfast (though they were a little late), so Jonathan and I began the drive back to Chiang Mai shortly after breakfast wrapped up.
All-in-all it was a wonderful trip. I got to meet and better get to know an incredible local leader who has such a wonderful vision for what his village could be and how to get there. Sure it takes a lot of hard work, but to see his face light up when talking about a project or seminar he wants to have to encourage other farmers to practice more sustainable farming practices, you can't help but want to join in! P'Witoon has given up a lot to serve the village he grew up in. He has a masters in sustainable agriculture from Chiang Mai University and worked for 7 years as the Project Manager for the agriculture division of the Integrated Tribal Development Program. According to Thai and Lahu culture, he shouldn't be living in the village he was raised in, but rather in the city using his education to make lots of money, and yet he choose to return to work in village and barely scrape out a living. His is definitely an inspiring story, which I find so much more inspiring after walking through his village, seeing the surrounding land smoldering, and sitting in the shade of his tall banana plants.
And we get to play a part of this story! You through your prayers and financial support of me and my administrative work here! It amazes me how God can use people across the globe to be an encourage each other, as well as the fact our faith in Him can bring us together as we both strive to build His Kingdom here.
Dinner Saturday night was quite delicious: mountain rice (my favorite next to sticky rice), freshly caught freshwater snails, and some other dish I'm forgetting at the moment. Lahu food tends to be on the spicy side, which I quite appreciated as I haven't been eating as much spicy Thai food as I though I'd be. As far as the snails go, they were deliciously flavored and seasoned! I'm not a huge fan of the texture, but if well-prepared like these were, it's easy to overlook and actually enjoy! Also, in taking seconds and thirds of rice is always appreciated ... it shows that you really do like the food and appreciate the hospitality.
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| P'Dara and I at the top of Doi Chang |
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| P'Witoon enjoying Doi Chang's beauty |
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| All in a day's work! |
I learned a number of things from this village visit ... that there actually are scorpions and king cobra snakes in Thailand (I saw one of each with my own eyes!). I also learned that having a tokay living 'in' the room you're sleeping in is not enjoyable, but actually terrifying when it suddenly makes it's call and sounds like it is sharing your pillow. Finally, I learned something at dinner Monday night ... you can actually eat pigs' lungs. Definitely not my favorite cut of pork, but it beat other parts I've had, and I was still able to have seconds.
Tuesday was another sightseeing day. After an early breakfast, we loaded up into Jonathan's truck and headed north to MaeSai and the Thai-Burma border (we didn't go into Burma, but 3 villagers rode in the back as they were going to visit people in Burma and we were their ride). We had lunch beside the border and spent some time walking around the market that was right there. We were also able to climb up a temple that gave us a great view of the Thai-Burma border. It was hard to tell where one country ended and the other began, but the Burma side seemed to transition much more quickly from an urban to rural landscape. As we headed back to P'Witoon's village, we made a couple little detour stops. One at Doi Tung, another botanical garden, and one at the bizarre White Temple in Chaing Rai. Unfortunately, it the temple closed early and before we arrived, so I was only able to appreciate few of it's many oddities but plan on getting inside the temple at some point before I leave.
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| White Temple (Wat Rong Khun), Chiang Rai |
Wednesday morning, besides our delicious Lahu breakfast-fare, we also had pancakes with directly from the comb fresh honey ... what a treat! The guys were actually able to finish digging out the water retention pond before breakfast (though they were a little late), so Jonathan and I began the drive back to Chiang Mai shortly after breakfast wrapped up.
All-in-all it was a wonderful trip. I got to meet and better get to know an incredible local leader who has such a wonderful vision for what his village could be and how to get there. Sure it takes a lot of hard work, but to see his face light up when talking about a project or seminar he wants to have to encourage other farmers to practice more sustainable farming practices, you can't help but want to join in! P'Witoon has given up a lot to serve the village he grew up in. He has a masters in sustainable agriculture from Chiang Mai University and worked for 7 years as the Project Manager for the agriculture division of the Integrated Tribal Development Program. According to Thai and Lahu culture, he shouldn't be living in the village he was raised in, but rather in the city using his education to make lots of money, and yet he choose to return to work in village and barely scrape out a living. His is definitely an inspiring story, which I find so much more inspiring after walking through his village, seeing the surrounding land smoldering, and sitting in the shade of his tall banana plants.
And we get to play a part of this story! You through your prayers and financial support of me and my administrative work here! It amazes me how God can use people across the globe to be an encourage each other, as well as the fact our faith in Him can bring us together as we both strive to build His Kingdom here.
"Thai" hospitality (How to be content doing "nothing")
Sometimes it feels like I've given up everything in order to be here -- a steady income, supportive community, special friendships -- but then I have the opportunity to get to know a beautiful "Thai" family that welcomes me with open arms, wide smiles, and incredibly generous hospitality. (I say "Thai" because while they live in Thailand and have for generations, they are ethnically different and slightly culturally different than Thai people)
This last week I was welcomed into P'Witoon's family. We're not just talking about his wife and kids, but his ENTIRE family -- parents, sister, grandmother, etc. P'Witoon and his family belong to the Lahu hilltribe group, live in Chiang Rai province (near WinPaPao village), and try to engage with the people in their village to participate in more sustainable agricultural practices. Most people in his village, and the villages surrounding his, practice mono-culture, slash-and-burn (not swidden) farming. Corn being the primary 'cash crop,' that has sent villagers spiraling into debt. P'Witoon encourages and practices planting a variety of different crops that are first used for the family's own consumption and then excess is sold at market.
I was excited to how P'Witoon has changed the landscape of his farm and participate in their daily life. P'Witoon explained to me that 6 months out of the year they work very hard every day on the farm and for 6 months they relax and have vacation. We're in the 6 months of relaxation, though they still keep very busy getting ready for the 6 months of hard work. As a result, of the 5 days I was with them, they only really worked on the farm 2.5-3 days. The full day of work I was there, the guys worked on creating a water retention pond and the women made pig food.
I was told that I'd help make the pig food. I was stoked because I have helped make pig food before and I was anxious to fine-tune and practice my pig food making/machete skills. Pigs eat almost anything, which is great if you have a variety of things to feed them, like P'Witoon does. A base food for P'Witoon's pigs happens to be the stalk base that supports the banana plant. (Bio-nerd sidenote: banana 'trees' are not actually trees and are instead classified as herbaceous because the trunk is not a woody substance but the base of the leaves-called a sheath-that are tightly packed together. It's also known as a pseudostem) The banana stalk looks somewhat like an onion when sliced, all the leaves layered together. To make pig food, the stalks are somewhat thinly sliced and then chopped up with a machete. P'Witoon cut down 4 large stalks to be chopped into pig food. Again, I was stoked.
I was told to sit in a chair in the shade while P'Dara and P'Naiu got set up and started. I wasn't given a machete to help them. After a few minutes, P'Naiu got up from chopping to take care of some other things around the farm, so I took her place with the machete ... I had an opportunity to contribute and prove myself as an adequate pig food maker! Not 5 minutes later P'Naiu returns and tells me that she will do it. I reluctantly gave up the machete, and moved back over to 'my' chair.
Sure, I was a bit disappointed. I hardly had an opportunity to work all week, and wanted to be able to 'earn my keep,' to show I was thankful for the room I had at their village house and the food they gave me. At the same time, I realized that I was a guest and they were probably trying to be hospitable towards me by not allowing to work and help them out. I could instead sit comfortably in the shade and watch them cut up 4 large stalks. While I did "nothing" other than watch them make pig food, I tried to think about it from the Lahu perspective. If I was P'Dara, I wouldn't necessarily want to make the foreign office-worker do stuff for me in the village because they do so much to support the work in the village ... things I would never dream of being able to do. I would want them to be able to relax in the village, and I wouldn't want them to get hurt while chopping up pig food with a machete. So I did my best to be a good guest. I sat there, I smiled, I ate as much as I could (good food=good hospitality) at every meal (even if the meal consisted of things I don't particularly like, but were decently seasoned like snails, fermented vegetables, pork lung, or all chicken parts including the blood) and let these beautiful people serve me.
I also had the opportunity to enjoy P'Witoon's hospitality and care after returning to Chiang Mai. The day after I returned, P'Witoon brought a truckload of bananas to sell at a market in Chiang Mai. It is only by the grace of God that we met up at this market. I was thoroughly lost and had my senses assaulted for almost an hour as I walked around, before P'Witoon spotted me on their way out. I now know exactly where to find them next time. P'Witoon and his wife took me and paid for a late lunch, they wouldn't let me help pay. They were then quite concerned because Jonathan was going to pick me up in about 15 minutes, it was hot out, and there wasn't either a nice place for me to wait or anything for me to do while I waited. According to P'Witoon, I shouldn't be left alone to wait for 15 minutes. Forget the fact I had just wandered around a market by myself for about an hour, that I'm a 23-year-old living in Chiang Mai, that I'm 'friends' with a homeless man near church, and that I almost always carry a sharp Buck knife on my person. Between Jonathan and I, we were able to convince P'Witoon that I would be fine and it wouldn't be a problem for me at all ... though he did walk me to the nearest 7-Eleven where I could wait a few minutes in the air-conditioning.
I feel incredibly blessed to be so fully welcomed and cared for by P'Witoon and his family. Yes, I like my independence and being able to take care of myself, but getting special attention and care (even if it feels excessive or not needed) makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside ... that the sacrifices I've made to be here are recognized and greatly appreciated. It still feels hard when I'm craving Easter candy, but I know the people I'm serving value my work and want to care for me in return. And so, I'll continue to try to be content doing "nothing" while experiencing Thai hospitality.
This last week I was welcomed into P'Witoon's family. We're not just talking about his wife and kids, but his ENTIRE family -- parents, sister, grandmother, etc. P'Witoon and his family belong to the Lahu hilltribe group, live in Chiang Rai province (near WinPaPao village), and try to engage with the people in their village to participate in more sustainable agricultural practices. Most people in his village, and the villages surrounding his, practice mono-culture, slash-and-burn (not swidden) farming. Corn being the primary 'cash crop,' that has sent villagers spiraling into debt. P'Witoon encourages and practices planting a variety of different crops that are first used for the family's own consumption and then excess is sold at market.
I was excited to how P'Witoon has changed the landscape of his farm and participate in their daily life. P'Witoon explained to me that 6 months out of the year they work very hard every day on the farm and for 6 months they relax and have vacation. We're in the 6 months of relaxation, though they still keep very busy getting ready for the 6 months of hard work. As a result, of the 5 days I was with them, they only really worked on the farm 2.5-3 days. The full day of work I was there, the guys worked on creating a water retention pond and the women made pig food.
I was told that I'd help make the pig food. I was stoked because I have helped make pig food before and I was anxious to fine-tune and practice my pig food making/machete skills. Pigs eat almost anything, which is great if you have a variety of things to feed them, like P'Witoon does. A base food for P'Witoon's pigs happens to be the stalk base that supports the banana plant. (Bio-nerd sidenote: banana 'trees' are not actually trees and are instead classified as herbaceous because the trunk is not a woody substance but the base of the leaves-called a sheath-that are tightly packed together. It's also known as a pseudostem) The banana stalk looks somewhat like an onion when sliced, all the leaves layered together. To make pig food, the stalks are somewhat thinly sliced and then chopped up with a machete. P'Witoon cut down 4 large stalks to be chopped into pig food. Again, I was stoked.
I was told to sit in a chair in the shade while P'Dara and P'Naiu got set up and started. I wasn't given a machete to help them. After a few minutes, P'Naiu got up from chopping to take care of some other things around the farm, so I took her place with the machete ... I had an opportunity to contribute and prove myself as an adequate pig food maker! Not 5 minutes later P'Naiu returns and tells me that she will do it. I reluctantly gave up the machete, and moved back over to 'my' chair.
Sure, I was a bit disappointed. I hardly had an opportunity to work all week, and wanted to be able to 'earn my keep,' to show I was thankful for the room I had at their village house and the food they gave me. At the same time, I realized that I was a guest and they were probably trying to be hospitable towards me by not allowing to work and help them out. I could instead sit comfortably in the shade and watch them cut up 4 large stalks. While I did "nothing" other than watch them make pig food, I tried to think about it from the Lahu perspective. If I was P'Dara, I wouldn't necessarily want to make the foreign office-worker do stuff for me in the village because they do so much to support the work in the village ... things I would never dream of being able to do. I would want them to be able to relax in the village, and I wouldn't want them to get hurt while chopping up pig food with a machete. So I did my best to be a good guest. I sat there, I smiled, I ate as much as I could (good food=good hospitality) at every meal (even if the meal consisted of things I don't particularly like, but were decently seasoned like snails, fermented vegetables, pork lung, or all chicken parts including the blood) and let these beautiful people serve me.
I also had the opportunity to enjoy P'Witoon's hospitality and care after returning to Chiang Mai. The day after I returned, P'Witoon brought a truckload of bananas to sell at a market in Chiang Mai. It is only by the grace of God that we met up at this market. I was thoroughly lost and had my senses assaulted for almost an hour as I walked around, before P'Witoon spotted me on their way out. I now know exactly where to find them next time. P'Witoon and his wife took me and paid for a late lunch, they wouldn't let me help pay. They were then quite concerned because Jonathan was going to pick me up in about 15 minutes, it was hot out, and there wasn't either a nice place for me to wait or anything for me to do while I waited. According to P'Witoon, I shouldn't be left alone to wait for 15 minutes. Forget the fact I had just wandered around a market by myself for about an hour, that I'm a 23-year-old living in Chiang Mai, that I'm 'friends' with a homeless man near church, and that I almost always carry a sharp Buck knife on my person. Between Jonathan and I, we were able to convince P'Witoon that I would be fine and it wouldn't be a problem for me at all ... though he did walk me to the nearest 7-Eleven where I could wait a few minutes in the air-conditioning.
I feel incredibly blessed to be so fully welcomed and cared for by P'Witoon and his family. Yes, I like my independence and being able to take care of myself, but getting special attention and care (even if it feels excessive or not needed) makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside ... that the sacrifices I've made to be here are recognized and greatly appreciated. It still feels hard when I'm craving Easter candy, but I know the people I'm serving value my work and want to care for me in return. And so, I'll continue to try to be content doing "nothing" while experiencing Thai hospitality.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Crossing Cultures
This past Saturday I attended a Seder, or Passover, dinner at Chiangmai Christian Fellowship church. While a bit difficult to pull off because 1. we're not Jewish and 2. we're in Thailand, I thought it was beautifully done and a great reminder that Easter is coming. Yes, I have committed to practicing Lent this year and deepening my relationship with God, but not hearing sermons regarding this season and the holiday to come has made it easy for it to slip to the back of my mind ... especially as I get caught up in everyday living in Thailand and the curve-balls that come at me each week.
We went through the order (seder literally means order) of blessings, eating, drinking, remembering the sadness and bitterness of the Israelites and how God delivered they from the Egyptians. It seems to me that very few Christians have been able to participate in a Passover meal, or know what one involves and what the different symbols associated with it represents. The actual meal we ate was catered by a local Middle Eastern restaurant and featured deliciously flavored chicken, salad, falafel, humus, and pita bread. Not quite at traditional Passover meal, but at least it was close.
On Monday, I joined Jonathan on a short trip to visit The Life Center. We took two Hmong American girls with us and dropped them off at a Karen/Hmong village where they will be volunteering for the next 2 weeks. While both girls were born in the states, both had extended family living in either Laos or Thailand.
We were greeted in the Karen/Hmong village at lunch time with a splendid spread of Karen food. Our plates overflowed with rice, perfectly seasoned morning glory and potato yellow curry, savory stir fry beans with pork, fried pork (that tastes like bacon), juicy watermelon, sweet pineapple, and one of my favorite fruits: green mango. This was probably one of the best meals I've had to date. And I proved it ... not by simply saying that it was a great meal (even though I did that), but I had generous second and third helpings of rice--proving that their cooking and hospitality was more that satisfactory. While I wasn't able to interact with any of the Hmong villagers (Jonathan and I had to head over to the Life Center), Jonathan pointed out an interesting difference between Hmong and Karen homes. Karen homes tend to be elevated and 'built on stilts,' while Hmong homes are built level on the ground.
After a few more hours bumping up, down, and around mountains in Jonathan's truck, we finally arrived at the Life Center. While pointing out the different buildings and explaining their uses, who should pull up on a motorbike, but the most loving, bubbly, and cheerful Karen woman. I was immediately wrapped into the biggest hug this tiny woman could give me and welcomed with the warmest smile. I had finally met Tatumo.
The Life Center itself is wonderfully located outside the village, in a naturally beautiful location. Tatumo and her husband, Tatupa have put a lot of work into making the place look even more beautiful and welcoming to those looking to break free from the powerful drug and alcohol addictions. You could really feel God's peace and His desire to restore and heal you throughout this place ... you couldn't escape it by walking up to the 'guys dorm,' or down to the stream, or in the kitchen, or out by Jonathan's rabbits, or by crossing the bridge over the pond. His presence settled over the entire Center. Unfortunately, His presence isn't always felt by those who come to the Life Center to break free from addiction ... of the 7 who started this last cycle, only 3 made a concerted effort to turn their lives around and graduated. A bit disappointing, but when you see the impact the Life Center has made over the years, and the impact the graduated students have made throughout the surrounding mountains, it reminds all of us that God is faithful. That it is His work in the students' lives and in Northern Thailand ... it's nothing we can do, but everything He can do.
During this short trip, I was also able to visit Tatumo and Tatupa's home in the village, where they live when they don't have students at the Life Center. A classic Karen design, though only slightly raised ... with the kitchen separate from the rest of the house and mostly made out of bamboo, and a wooden living/sleeping area. Both the Life Center and their house in the village are surrounding by fruit trees and vegetable gardens, but at the house, Tatumo has 3 pigs! We had an enjoyable time, walking around the village house, naming different fruits and vegetables in Thai, Karen and English.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to be welcomed into the lives and work of Tatumo and Tatupa. Their strength and faith is a wonderful encouragement to me and great testimony to the work God is doing through them and the Life Center.
On Saturday I'll join Jonathan on a visit to the sustainable agriculture program, lead by Witoon in Chiang Rai. While slightly disappointed I'll miss a majority of the Thai New Year/Water Fight/Songkran festivities, I'm excited to experience something brand new! I was able to "play water" while here for the semester, but I didn't go to a Lahu/Akah village and that's where I'll be headed on Saturday.
Thanks for joining this journey with me ... your prayers and financial support me a lot to me, and I love being able to share my experiences with you through this blog and my newsletter updates.
All the best,
Hannah
We went through the order (seder literally means order) of blessings, eating, drinking, remembering the sadness and bitterness of the Israelites and how God delivered they from the Egyptians. It seems to me that very few Christians have been able to participate in a Passover meal, or know what one involves and what the different symbols associated with it represents. The actual meal we ate was catered by a local Middle Eastern restaurant and featured deliciously flavored chicken, salad, falafel, humus, and pita bread. Not quite at traditional Passover meal, but at least it was close.
On Monday, I joined Jonathan on a short trip to visit The Life Center. We took two Hmong American girls with us and dropped them off at a Karen/Hmong village where they will be volunteering for the next 2 weeks. While both girls were born in the states, both had extended family living in either Laos or Thailand.
We were greeted in the Karen/Hmong village at lunch time with a splendid spread of Karen food. Our plates overflowed with rice, perfectly seasoned morning glory and potato yellow curry, savory stir fry beans with pork, fried pork (that tastes like bacon), juicy watermelon, sweet pineapple, and one of my favorite fruits: green mango. This was probably one of the best meals I've had to date. And I proved it ... not by simply saying that it was a great meal (even though I did that), but I had generous second and third helpings of rice--proving that their cooking and hospitality was more that satisfactory. While I wasn't able to interact with any of the Hmong villagers (Jonathan and I had to head over to the Life Center), Jonathan pointed out an interesting difference between Hmong and Karen homes. Karen homes tend to be elevated and 'built on stilts,' while Hmong homes are built level on the ground.
After a few more hours bumping up, down, and around mountains in Jonathan's truck, we finally arrived at the Life Center. While pointing out the different buildings and explaining their uses, who should pull up on a motorbike, but the most loving, bubbly, and cheerful Karen woman. I was immediately wrapped into the biggest hug this tiny woman could give me and welcomed with the warmest smile. I had finally met Tatumo.
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| How can you not feel loved, when greeted by this smiling face? |
During this short trip, I was also able to visit Tatumo and Tatupa's home in the village, where they live when they don't have students at the Life Center. A classic Karen design, though only slightly raised ... with the kitchen separate from the rest of the house and mostly made out of bamboo, and a wooden living/sleeping area. Both the Life Center and their house in the village are surrounding by fruit trees and vegetable gardens, but at the house, Tatumo has 3 pigs! We had an enjoyable time, walking around the village house, naming different fruits and vegetables in Thai, Karen and English.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to be welcomed into the lives and work of Tatumo and Tatupa. Their strength and faith is a wonderful encouragement to me and great testimony to the work God is doing through them and the Life Center.
On Saturday I'll join Jonathan on a visit to the sustainable agriculture program, lead by Witoon in Chiang Rai. While slightly disappointed I'll miss a majority of the Thai New Year/Water Fight/Songkran festivities, I'm excited to experience something brand new! I was able to "play water" while here for the semester, but I didn't go to a Lahu/Akah village and that's where I'll be headed on Saturday.
Thanks for joining this journey with me ... your prayers and financial support me a lot to me, and I love being able to share my experiences with you through this blog and my newsletter updates.
All the best,
Hannah
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Is it really April already!?!
April began with a bang for me and I had quite a lot going on this past week ... sure I had some excitement thanks to the hospital trip last week, but that was probably the most exciting thing that happened all week. I take that back, having lunch with Lana (my transition mentor) at an "actual" 'Rainforest Cafe' was also pretty exciting.
Since it was the first week of the month, the Family Connection Foundation (FCF) had its monthly meeting with all the projects they support on Wednesday. It's a great time to worship, learn, and eat together, but it makes for a long morning. I spent Wednesday afternoon learning about what I'll be doing as a FCF staff member (apart from my Project:Restore work) and learning how the system works, well, how it's supposed to work or will eventually work.
Eventually, I'll become the Human Resources department for foreign volunteers ... from the time a potential volunteer first contacts us to the time they land in Chiang Mai, I will be the go-to person for incoming volunteers. This means briefly going over applications, partnering volunteers with organization placements, making sure all people involved have all necessary information, sending visa packets, confirming arrival dates, passing information between 'everyone,' answering questions (as I'm able), and maintaining the HR database/personnel folders. Thankfully I didn't start ALL of this on Wednesday, but was merely introduced to it all. I was given the 'simple' task of making sure that of the potential volunteer documents FCF has recently received (applications, references, spiritual gifts and Jung personality test results) has made it into the HR/personnel folders, organizing and uploading documents when needed. Even though there's a bit of a backlog and I received a dump-truck load of information, I was able to muddle through the rest of the afternoon and actually get 'caught up' on Friday afternoon.
Thursday morning I attended a wonderful Bible study with my housemate, then Lana picked us both up to take us to lunch and then shopping for house stuff that is too difficult to get back to our house on my housemate's motorcycle. Such a blessing and such a fun day. I finally have a set of sheets that actually fit my bed! (Though, I did have to wash them twice because a bird pooped on it the first time it was out drying ... stupid birds!)
To top off my week, Jonathan was in town for the first time in 2 weeks. He's been hosting study abroad students in one of the villages, so while we were able to occasionally communicate through emails and phone calls, it was nice to finally be able to catch up and work through some things together. Jonathan and I are both really excited because one of the students who was just with him in the village decided that he wanted to volunteer with us after the program ended (which happened to end earlier this week). This student attend Messiah College in the states, happens to be a good friend of mine from back in high school, and will be working with me here in Chiang Mai!
I'm really excited about this next week as Monday--Wednesday I'll be visiting some villages where Project:Restore is working with Jonathan. Then on Thursday morning I should get my work permit! Look for a blog post towards the end of this week, beginning of next to hear about my time in the village and pray that everything will process smoothly for receiving my work permit!
Grace and Peace!
Since it was the first week of the month, the Family Connection Foundation (FCF) had its monthly meeting with all the projects they support on Wednesday. It's a great time to worship, learn, and eat together, but it makes for a long morning. I spent Wednesday afternoon learning about what I'll be doing as a FCF staff member (apart from my Project:Restore work) and learning how the system works, well, how it's supposed to work or will eventually work.
Eventually, I'll become the Human Resources department for foreign volunteers ... from the time a potential volunteer first contacts us to the time they land in Chiang Mai, I will be the go-to person for incoming volunteers. This means briefly going over applications, partnering volunteers with organization placements, making sure all people involved have all necessary information, sending visa packets, confirming arrival dates, passing information between 'everyone,' answering questions (as I'm able), and maintaining the HR database/personnel folders. Thankfully I didn't start ALL of this on Wednesday, but was merely introduced to it all. I was given the 'simple' task of making sure that of the potential volunteer documents FCF has recently received (applications, references, spiritual gifts and Jung personality test results) has made it into the HR/personnel folders, organizing and uploading documents when needed. Even though there's a bit of a backlog and I received a dump-truck load of information, I was able to muddle through the rest of the afternoon and actually get 'caught up' on Friday afternoon.
Thursday morning I attended a wonderful Bible study with my housemate, then Lana picked us both up to take us to lunch and then shopping for house stuff that is too difficult to get back to our house on my housemate's motorcycle. Such a blessing and such a fun day. I finally have a set of sheets that actually fit my bed! (Though, I did have to wash them twice because a bird pooped on it the first time it was out drying ... stupid birds!)
To top off my week, Jonathan was in town for the first time in 2 weeks. He's been hosting study abroad students in one of the villages, so while we were able to occasionally communicate through emails and phone calls, it was nice to finally be able to catch up and work through some things together. Jonathan and I are both really excited because one of the students who was just with him in the village decided that he wanted to volunteer with us after the program ended (which happened to end earlier this week). This student attend Messiah College in the states, happens to be a good friend of mine from back in high school, and will be working with me here in Chiang Mai!
I'm really excited about this next week as Monday--Wednesday I'll be visiting some villages where Project:Restore is working with Jonathan. Then on Thursday morning I should get my work permit! Look for a blog post towards the end of this week, beginning of next to hear about my time in the village and pray that everything will process smoothly for receiving my work permit!
Grace and Peace!
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