On the road again

Anyone who has lived or worked in Laos will understand when we talk about the love-hate relationship we feel with the roads here.  Since we started working here in the early 90's there has been tremendous improvement.  But getting out to villages in remote areas--and even some major roads to province capitals--still present major challenges.

The picture at the top of this page represents 3 hours of fun!  The Lao call it, "kin khao ling"--that is, "eating with the monkeys", an involuntary sojourn in the jungle when its impossible to do anything else.  So, in true Lao fashion... just turn it into a picnic or a party!  

Two large cement trucks, transporting dry powder to one Laos' many dam projects, had totally blocked the road, bogged down in 60 centimeters of red goo.  So, as we waited for a tractor to clear an alternative path around them--and then hook onto each normal vehicle to pull it through the much--we had a party.  Great entertainment.  Tires spinning and sending up smoke.  People pushing and slipping and falling in the mud.  Cheers and shouts of encouragement.  Music coming from somebody's fancy sound system.

Rivers swollen with rain, roads full of mud

Ruthie pointed out a spiritual lesson I could have learned from the incident (she's pretty good at that):  "When you hit a landslide in life, do you fuss and fume, or turn on the music and share the misery with your fellow travelers?"  

I said, "I was mostly thinking about how I could use the empty seats in my van to help out a few stranded travelers."  (Confession time:  I told them they would need to help by getting down in the mud to hook on the cable while I manned the wheel).

Then... the roads in Vientiane!  Once a quaint little town with only bicycles, Vientiane is beginning to look like Bangkok during rush hour.  In some respects, anyway.  Ruthie has confessed to acting like the Romans in Rome.  She has taken to driving her motorbike the wrong way down one-way roads.  She uses the sidewalk, nicely paved with bricks from a UNESCO project, as a bike lane and parking space.

Then, when we cross the bridge into Thailand, Ruthie observes:  "Hey, the roads are much more developed!  We sail along.  We love divided highways and speed.  But we seldom look outside.  We are intent on our destination and accomplishing our goals.  Do we really see what's around us?"

Not all the roads in our life are bad

Of course, driving our Lao van, the steering wheel is now on the WRONG SIDE.  A co-pilot becomes essential if we want to pass anybody.  Ruthie asks, "Do we remember that in life it's good to have a companion to help us navigate new situations?  Do we realize that while we're driving on the left, our car is still a right hand vehicle?  Our perspective isn't the same as a car made for Thailand.  We need to humbly ask for help, we need to realize our understanding, as guest-workers, will always be different..."

Pretty good stuff, Ruthie....  Now, am I clear to pass? 

Mulberries & Livelihoods

We spoke last newsletter about how our relationship with a Lao friend, "Aunt Lydia", has led us to partner with her organization to promote organic agriculture in a district of Xieng Khouang Province.  

That effort is well-underway.  Numerous trips and village meetings have begun to lay the foundation for a long-term project we hope will be an example of community development done well.  

Our project's goals?  To generate income for rural families, begin value-adding to those products, link farmers to markets, and preserve traditional knowledge and skills.

So, we are asking families if they want to join a co-op to begin planting organic mulberry, soy bean, and other crops.  Our goal for this year was  to find 75 families.  After our last round of village meetings we had well over 100 families asking to join us!  But...we will see how that all shakes out as we go through a process of visiting each of their fields, talking in more detail, checking to see if they understand what they are getting into.  

Woman signing up to plant soy bean and mulberry

We have told farmers they can expect several income streams:  Selling soybean, mulberry leaves for tea, silk cocoons from raising silk worms with the rest of their mulberry leaves, and silk cloth, if they choose to weave their own.

 

Lots of women and children in village meetings

This is an exciting time for us!  It's a pleasure to work with a woman and her organization with more than 30 years experience and a passion to really help people.  It's a pleasure to share experiences and values with Lao co-workers.  It's fun to be building again (I love building!)--a combination harvest--silk--mulberry--agro-eco-tourism center.  

Of course, we have only a little money to begin.  But we are believing it's going to come in! We'll keep you informed.    

The Ninety and Nine

The Ninety and Nine

 

While Peter dreams big, my calling is for the one lost on the hillside-or stuck in a lonely prison cell.  I have been coming alongside two women--a Lao and American-who faithfully visit prisoners of many nationalities in Vientiane's infamous Phontong Prison.  Visiting time is limited to 15 minutes per prisoner, one visit a month.  We talk and provide food and medicine. Initially it was overwhelming.  But to see the joy on prisoners' faces and to know that many are coming to know Jesus...  This is a good reminder that even when we make poor choices, God's grace is there.

Besides this, I have been privileged to see spiritual depth and growth in a number of people I have been seeing as a spiritual director or mentor.  Some of these are "Skype" relationships.  Others live nearby, both expat and Lao, whose search for wholeness and balance have brought us together.  I have been humbled and stimulated by the many books I have been reading for my certificate program in Spiritual Direction, a program I will complete in July.  The quote below says much about how I feel.

  

"...Spiritual formation does not occur by direct human effort, but through a relational process whereby we receive from God the power or ability to do what we cannot do by our own efforts. We do not produce the outcome. That is God's business. "

 Life with God, Richard Foster

Roi Et Rop Muang Center

Khamphan (Daeng) Sudcha, the Thailand Covenant Church President, has dreamed and strategized for years about the need to have a larger, more urban, church and training center in the lower Issaan area. While the Covenant in Roi Et has a "center" of sorts in the camp ground that has been established and is being regularly used, that camp is located 20 km outside the city of Roi Et. At one point the leadership rented a house in the city to serve as a church. It was filled with people, a younger demographic than is typical in rural villages. But the landlord raised the rent. It was too crowded. So, they discontinued renting.

President Sudcha's vision is to build a church/training center on the growing edge of Roi Et city. A piece of land will be purchased or rented. Educational programs focused on the community will be anchored, it is hoped, by Covenant expat personnel. A short-term, intensive, model of training, perhaps in concert with the North Park Center for World Christian Studies, will be used to supplement Biblical training acquired elsewhere by a new generation of Covenant leaders.

That's the vision.  It has been Peter's joy to work with Pastor Daeng to brainstorm, clarify, and finally write a project to see this vision get off the ground. Please pray that it will become a reality and our churches in Issaan will be strengthened to carry the vision forward.

Organic Farming, Mulberries & Livelihoods

The first relationship we followed was with "Aunt Lydia". We have known this woman from afar for many years. But when a friend asked if we would be willing to work along side her, we knew what the answer should be. Since that time we have made numerous trips to an area 5 hours north of Vientiane, made recently accessible by a new road.  

It has been a privilege to meet with villagers and brainstorm a new project into existence. Lydia was asked by local authorities to promote organic agriculture tied with cottage industry in this area where many new families are being re-settled and starting over from scratch. It has also been a tremendous learning experience to work alongside Lydia, her team, and extended family. She has a real passion to see rural poverty alleviated in Laos. She is experienced and knows how to get things done in Laos' unique environment. We'll be writing a lot more about this project, you can be sure.

Daniel Agro-Enterprises

Daniel bought the farm when our company was voted off the island back in 2008.  While we took a sabbatical, he caught a vision for agricultural business and ministry.  For two years he strove to carry on the work he felt was so important.  But finally he sold the fish ponds, buildings, and infrastructure to the government, paying us money that we re-invested in Mekong Valley Foods, Chiang Rai.  All the corn-handling equipment & grain bins he moved to Vientiane and set up another company about 40 minutes out of town.

His vision now couldn't be broader.  Three harvest centers--each bigger and with more capacity than our old company--have been set up, with more to follow.  Construction of a 250-sow piglet producing facility is well under way.  80 hectares of corn are being planted.  A cattle-raising project aims to make beef once more affordable in Vientiane (prices have shot through the roof in past months).

 

And finally, Peter is working to make Daniel Aquatics a reality.  Recently he has been digging fishponds, raising dikes, and putting in pipes and culverts to fill and drain the ponds.  He is working with a capable Lao manager that he and Daniel hired. They hope to bring in "mother and father fish" (as we say in Lao) early next month.  Two or three other workers are going for training next week with the talented team at SDRF's Issaan Aquatics Farm.  This renewed connection with our friends across the Mekong has been a real blessing.

Friendships Flowering

Peter and I were away for a few days.  On our return, the tree in our front yard that had been bare was suddenly a riot of leaves and flower!

    

As we have thought back over these past several months, this tree has come to symbolize our return to Laos.  We spoke in our last letter of how we felt God nudging us to just "follow the friendships"-not to worry too much where they were leading, but to obediently put one foot in front of the other.  Suddenly, it seems, those relationships have blossomed into some beautiful trees and ministries.