This week we faced a spirit of restlessness in the school with the students. The students who are shy and rarely talk were acting out for two days (ironically, when we started introducing Jesus’ birth and John the Baptist). So, Wednesday, David and I were praying that their restlessness and distractions would be turned into attentiveness and curiosity. God definitely answered prayer, because the 6th graders that day were captivated by the stories of Jesus’ ministry. In particular, you could hear a pin drop with the story of Jarius’ daughter being raised from the dead and Jesus healing the sick lady. On Thursday afternoon, the teachers had a meeting (in Thailand, schools are cancelled more frequently for holidays and meetings than in the US. I don’t know when these kids are learning math and science…) so school was cancelled. We invited all the kids in the school who wanted to, to come after lunch to the soccer field to play games and we read the story about the Sermon on the Mount (“How to pray” in the JSB). There were more scream races, “Fishy Fishy, Come Swim in My Sea”, and “Duck, Duck, Goose”. The 6th grade girls (who happen to be Region Champs in Jr. Division Volleyball) whooped our butts (twice) in volleyball. The other kids climbed 25 ft. trees (barefoot) and banged on scraps of tin and trash as our cheerleaders. After our games, we found out that the kids usually stay at one or two houses as latchkey kids and wait for their parents to come home from the fields around 7ish. We were invited by one of the 6th graders to come to her house where we hung out with 12 kids (aged 2-11) while they watched a Hmong soap opera, talked, and ate sour tomatoes dipped in chili powder.

Eak, Well (our Shan couple) and Lim went to Khun Klang again to talk with Shan people about Jesus and to hand out tracks. They talked to 8 new families and even paid a visit to the mawpee (witch doctor). They said that people listened and asked many questions.

Earlier this week, Bruce Taylor had arranged for us to spend 48 hours with 4 Hmong families who are Christians. David, Uan, Au, and I went with a family down the street. The father is Yuh, the mother is Ju, and they have a daughter (Dogmai) and a son (Manit) (20 and 25) still living with them. We ate, slept, talked, worshiped with them and helped them pick strawberries/cabbage/oranges in their fields. Yeh and Ju told us that they moved to Khun Wang about 15 years ago and became Christians after they got married. They have 6 kids (5 girls and Manit) all of whom are married except Dogmai and Manit. Some of their daughters have turned away from God. So, at night we prayed for them and their family and gave them encouraging words. Au played some worship songs on his guitar. I think we threw them for a loop because it was obvious that they never considered worshiping together in their house. It was fun to work through periods of awkward silence and stares. At the field, we prayed blessings over their crops and flowers. (This family also works 6 rows of chrysanthemums at the King’s Project farm). They work very hard, but they are a shy and humble family. They have a good relationship with the non-believers in Khun Wang and the Lord has them here for a very strategic purpose.

P. Yeh and P. Ju said that they had worried about feeding 4 more people when we stayed, but the Lord provided food where they thought they had none and everyone was full at the table and there were always left-overs. This loving family gave us all that they had (which to many, may not have looked like much at all), but they were proud to kill some of their tilapia so we could have fried fish one night and they showed us pictures of their family. They were slightly embarrassed once they found out David and I were husband and wife, as they didn’t plan for us to sleep together. We told them “no worries” and I slept with Uan on a wooden pallet while David got his own private pup tent in the “living room” (that was appropriately Asian “fun-sized” so his feet stuck out). They got a kick out of David’s height and astounding beard. The family told us stories of how Manti got into a motorcycle accident when he was 15 years old and can’t go to school anymore. He collects birds and builds birdcages as a hobby. Dogmai got a degree studying Korean at university, but she was homesick in Chiang Mai and moved home. She wants to go to Bible school to study and become a leader in the church (DTS, anyone?) but she was worried about the money. We were able to tell her about how the Lord provided for us to come to DTS even when we thought it was impossible. I think she was encouraged. It was truly because of Jesus that we got the chance to share life with this family and it was an experience that we will never forget. This family welcomed us as sons and daughters into their lives and we are thankful and blessed to have gotten to know them. It will be bittersweet to leave Khun-Wang as we have been here long enough to finally interact in the community and people know our names and faces on the street.

One more week, we leave mid-week for debriefing. Please pray for a strong finish and that kids get their faces rocked off by Jesus’ death and resurrection (on Monday morning) and Holy Spirit teaching (on Tuesday).