There were a few different groups heading up to the village at different times. I went with Pastor Jamie, his family, Rose, Wean, and Pat and they picked me up at 5:30 am. No problem, I wanted as much time in the village as possible!
When Pastor Jamie arrived in his truck, I expected people to be sitting in the bed of the truck, but the back was empty. Feeling disappointed I’d have to ride in the actual cab of the truck I walked towards the door. Suddenly my friend Rose jumped out and asked if I wanted to sit inside the truck or in the back. Pastor Jamie was already laughing and moving things, he knew what my answer would be. I smiled and said, “I’ll sit in the back!” Rose and I jumped in the back, laid out a mat, pulled out some blankets and laid down in the bed of the truck looking up into the black sky. Only one star was in sight. We talked for a little but then decided to try to sleep. I laid snuggled under the blankets for almost an hour. Sleep was impossible…I felt so tired but my heart was so alive. All I could do was thank God for knowing my heart and blessing me with such an awesome opportunity. Finally I decided sleep was not going to happen, I might as well sit up and enjoy watching the beauty as we drive through the mountains. As I sat up Rose popped up as well and we began talking…talking about her village (she lives in the same village as Jiab) and her family. We discussed our childhoods and the things we loved to do as kids. We talked about our homes and what they’re like. We talked about our dreams and the dream of Rose coming to America one day. Before I knew it we were pulling into a village…but it was not Jiab’s village. Apparently we were stopping for breakfast at someone’s house and picking up our buddy Phop. As we pulled up to the home my heart flooded with excitement. I was going to have my first meal in a village home!!!!! I came into the house and was invited to have a seat on the floor. We began chowing down on a special Lawa bread that was more like bread dough unbaked and without flour. Interesting, slightly sweet, but very good. Not long after dish after dish was laid out on the floor for us to eat with our rice. I have no idea what I ate but it was all amazingly good! Wait…I do know that I ate some fish…delicious fish! Shortly after eating we jumped back in the truck and continued on our way. How fun..drop in real quick, eat an incredible meal–no expectations to stay and talk, just enjoy the company while it lasts and then they send us on our way with vegetables and treats!
The ride up to the village was about 4-5 hours with several stops along the way. I couldn’t wait to get to the village but at the same time did not want the ride to end. It was absolutely gorgeous! Talk about a sweet devo. time. While Rose took a nap I pulled out my Bible and meditated on Ps. 89. The whole time I could hear Phop, who joined us after we ate at his house, on the other side of the truck singing and praying. He was having his own devo. time as well. How else can your heart respond when surrounded by such beauty, sun shining down on your face, breeze blowing through your hair, breathing in the fresh crisp morning air of the mountains? There IS only one response and that’s in praise to God our creator who reigns forever and ever!
Once Rose woke up we talked and talked and talked some more. I love that girl!
Rose and I enjoying our ride up to the village!
The last 30 kilometers were full of twists and turns as we climbed the mountain. Finally, we turned into the village. We made it!! We stopped at Pastor Jamie’s family’s home first to eat lunch and relax. It was such a joy and honor to see his home where he grew up and meet his beautiful family. I got a special experience at lunch. They brought out what looked like a huge lid to a wicker basket. They then began putting scoops of rice around the outside and then placed the dishes of food on the inside. No plates-we all ate of this one big round wicker “bowl.” So cool!
Eating Thai Village Style
After lunch Rose and I took a walk up the road to visit a childhood friend of hers who is now studying at a Seminary. As we walked up to her house I noticed pigs were EVERYWHERE! This village raises pigs and they run free. Amazingly, they seem to know where they belong and the owners know their pigs.
Pretty Cute!
We walked in to Rose’s friend’s house and took a seat on the floor. After talking for awhile, I was offered to take a nap in their bed if I was tired. I thanked them and said I was fine. A little while later one family member after another showed up for an afternoon visit. Soon after the girl’s mom brought out some unripe mangoes and namplaa (fish sauce). (This is a common snack among Thai’s). After snacking on green mangoes Rose, her friend, and I decided to go out for some fun and visit a waterfall a little ways down the mountain. It was beautiful!
Rose and her friend at the waterfallRose and I doing...well I'm not really sure...it's what she and her friends always do!
When Rose and I got back Pastor Jamie had already left for Jiab’s village. No problem, though, everyone in that village is related. Someone was already taking their bike over to Jiab’s village-we can all hop on. For my first time, I took a 3 passanger drive on a motorbike. It was fun! I actually videotaped the drive over to Jiab’s village–it was stunning! Nothing like driving a motorbike on windy mountain roads!
Shortly after arriving at Jiab’s village, Jiab came cruising around the corner on her motorbike with Pastor Jamie’s wife on the back. They told me to follow them, so I stayed on the motorbike with some other girl and we followed Jiab. We ended up going to where we would be staying for the night and where everyone from church was. The rest of the afternoon I chilled there snacking on food and hanging out with friends from church. It was a beautiful place to relax with beautiful people I love!
The view from where we were staying-looking out into the villageJazzy and Wean hanging out in our roomPhop sharing Jesus with some girl; Daniel and I chatting about his work with CompassionCabbage Fields-One of the main crops grown in this village
In the evening one of Jiab’s family members came with a pick-up truck and we all jumped in the back and headed to her aunt’s home where Jiab and her aunt prepared a delicious dinner for us. It was so wonderful to see Jiab and get to talk to her. She had left Sookasem about a month ago and I had missed her so much. I couldn’t tell you what we ate but it was good. After eating we headed into the center of the village. As we turned the corner my eyes popped open…the village was booming. Music was blaring and people were EVERYWHERE preparing for the wedding festivities. There were water buffalo tied up, ready to be killed, men chopping up pork, the women setting up and decorating the stage, and no lie…a huge dead pig lying on the street getting ready to be butchered. I’ve never seen anything like it. A little further on were about 5 big pots of rice being cooked over fire. It seemed as though the whole village were there setting up. It was amazing!!!! That evening we hung out at Jiab’s house. It is tradition (I believe a Lawa tradition) that the night before the wedding the bride and groom go around from house to house, announce their wedding, and invite everyone to join the next day. How cool!?! We waited at Jiab’s home until she and her groom-to-be returned. We climbed up the wooden steps and as we turned the corner into the home there were people EVERYWHERE! Good thing they don’t have furniture, there would have never been enough room. We all sat around on the floor and talked. Outside the porch was filled with people and all around the outside of the house were people. Apparently tradition is typically that they celebrate the whole night before. I don’t think people really stayed the entire night, but definitely late into the night. We stayed until about 10 pm and then headed home. We walked down through the village. Throughout the evening we could hear gun shots…the buffalo were being killed. This time when we came back through the center of the village they were carrying pieces of buffalo to the men who were chopping the meat. So crazy!!! We got to the center of the village and waited a little bit and suddenly there was a truck there to pick us up and take us to the place where we were staying. Shortly after returning, we went to bed.
Riding on the Back of the Truck...My Favorite Form of Transportation
