Panic!!!

I loved all the comments to the last post about the poop hurling at the wedding and I will ask Luka tonight to figure out the significance of it.

On the same note, this morning Libby and I thought we would be adventurous and leave the house early in attempt to walk to Chiang Rai for Thai lessons. Normally we take the motorbike which takes about 30 minutes, or we will ride bicycles which takes 50 minutes or so. Well, we hadn't even walked 1/4 the way and had already taken 1 hour of our time with my legs tired and Libby getting blisters on her heels. We had five different trucks stop and ask us if we were ok and if we needed a ride. When we told them we were planning on walking into town they all started laughing with us and then continued on their way.

Then I had a serious case of explosive diarrhea hit me and I started to panic. I looked at Libby and nervously said, "Libby, I am going to poop my pants!!!" There was nowhere to go to the toilet near us so she yelled,"Well at least pull your pants down and go in the ditch!" I panicked at the thought of one of our friends driving by and seeing me pooping on the side of the road and started running towards the nearest house. There were three sweet Thai ladies sitting outside RIGHT next to the outdoor toilet who graciously allowed me to use their toilet as they chuckled under their breath. I asked Libby to talk with them loudly to distract them from my noises, then had the joy of wiping with only my hand and water. When I came out of the bathroom I explained the situation to them and thanked them. Lovely.

Luckily soon thereafter Rusty rode by and shuttled us the rest of the way into town in time for our lessons.

What a funny morning. We decided next time we need to bring toilet paper along and give ourselves a good 5 hours to walk into town. So that means leaving around 4 am? Probably not going to happen.

A traditional Akha Wedding Ceremony.

One of the students at the Akha Youth Development Center (Amporn Saepah) recently quit her studies and got married this last February. Her wedding was traditional Akha style, and over a period of three days she sat through various traditions and ceremonies. One of them being where everyone hurls pig poop at her (the bride) and she is unable to clean up before going to bed that night. The wedding took place in her future husbands village at his home. After she marries she will move in with her husbands family and be expected to take care of this family (cooking, farming, cleaning...etc). One of the specialties was the raw pork, which I kindly avoided. 

Ae and Joe's Wedding

Our dear friends Ae and Joe finally tied the knot last week and were were thankful to be able to be part of the preparations and there for the special day. Here are some photos from the wedding. Ae and Joe begged Rusty, Libby, and I to dress up in Akha attire so Luka's mother happily dressed Libby and I up in her clothing. We refused to wear the headdress because we didn't want the farangs (a.k.a. whities) to be the center of attention on their special day.

Stirring up my faith.

Last month I had the opportunity to go to a seminar here in Chiang Rai hosted by a Christian agriculture foundation that invited Luka and his staff to attend. The conference was about "Following Jesus," and was led by an American man who was formally a pastor in America as well as a missionary in Burma. There were about 20 people in attendance who were Thai, Filipino, American, Lahu (another hill tribe people group), and Akha. The seminar focused on teaching us seven basic characteristics of who Jesus is, scripture memorization, how to share our testimonies, and how to replicate this seminar to others around us. Honestly, when I was preparing to tgo I was feeling rather cynical about it, and was surprised at how much I got out of it and was challenged. It was such a refreshing and rich reminder of the reasons as to why I have chosen to serve Jesus, and the life that comes from reading the bible. Normally the word "evangelism" makes me cringe with all the ideas I associate with it. My first thoughts take me to someone forcing Jesus into a conversation that feels unnatural, or the man I remember in Seattle who would hand out tracks on a street corner in Capital Hill wearing headphones listening to a game and a shirt saying, "Turn or Burn"...all of which make my stomach turn. 

After this conference I was reminded of how simple the gospel is...and reminded that it is not our goal to lead someone to Jesus, but to instead bring them closer on the spectrum to knowing Him. The speaker shared that the average person needs to hear the gospel or about Jesus on average 8 times before they are ready to follow Him. Though it could be 4 times, or 44. But our role is to share Jesus with them in our daily lives...to love Jesus with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and from that same love we are to love our neighbors. Simpler said than done...but there was something about the simplicity that drew me closer to Jesus this week.