Straight travel for 7 days.
We had a great time, but there is no place like home, sweet home! Home here in Chiang Khong, that is.
March 8th, the girls and I left Chiang Khong bright and early at 4:30 AM (some of you didn’t think I could actually get up that early did you??) to travel to Pastor Somboon’s wedding. It was a 12 hour drive, the last hour going up and down 3 mountains before finally reaching a Hmong village nestled in a small valley. According to Hmong custom, the wedding was held at the bride’s village. We spent the night in the village, and attended the ceremony the following morning. The boys at the boys’ house arrived before we did, and they did a great job of decorating the church.
The girls at the girls’ house helped with various aspects of the ceremony.
It was a beautiful ceremony. The bride, Yee, was stunning in her wedding dress, and the groom’s face was full of love and joy. It was a blessing to be a part of the ceremony. After the ceremony we drove back to the groom’s village to be part of the reception there. (Again, according to Hmong custom.) That was a 9 hour drive, and we arrived at midnight. And, yes, I was driving! After the ceremony the following day, we drove back to Chiang Khong. Sunday
evening we had a small graduation ceremony for 2 of the boys, Wee and Tong, who
are graduating high school this year, as well as 3 girls and 2 boys who are
finishing 9th grade this year, a milestone for Thai students. Monday, many of the girls went back home to their villages and I went to Chiang Rai for a much needed 2 day vacation. I got a 3 hour massage for $12. I love this country!! Wednesday, our last day of travel, we went to
the border town of Measai as I needed to renew my visa. I had successfully renewed it in February, but they now stamp your passport for 1 month, and then you come back and they
stamp it for one year. Why? I don’t know.
I took 3 of the girls who are still here along with Mai who used to live
at the girls house and came back to help me this week. Phab, a Hmong American who is visiting and Chai went too. We had a great day of shopping. On the way back, we decided to visit a monkey cave. Well, I call it a monkey cave, but in reality it’s a mountain with a cave. There are many wild monkeys around. It’s a blast! There’s a great view at the top.
By the time we walked back down, we noticed that the sky was really dark. We had been driving back about 45 minutes when the wind and hail started coming down and rocking the truck. There were 5 people sitting in the back of the truck when this happened. They got soaked. I could only see about a foot in front of the car as I was driving and we were out in the middle of nowhere.
After about 10 minutes, we located a small restaurant on the outskirts
of a small town, and we stopped there to wait out the storm. I got out of the car, and all of the girls were grinning from ear to ear! They quite obviously enjoyed it more than I did.
Preaw, one of the girls, said to me “oh, Susan, I’m so glad you’re not crying”. She knows I get freaked out by this stuff. During all of our travels, the girls were great. Whenever I would
get freaked out, or get really tired, or there were more windy roads, or we weren’t sure which route to take, the girls would tell me to go ahead in faith. They would tell me that God is
with us and He will get us safely where we need to go. I am so thankful for each of these girls that
God has brought here this year. Just when I think that what I’m teaching isn’t getting through and that what I’m doing isn’t making a difference, God does little things to show me that He is
indeed working whether I see it or not.
We had a great time, but there is no place like home, sweet home! Home here in Chiang Khong, that is.
March 8th, the girls and I left Chiang Khong bright and early at 4:30 AM (some of you didn’t think I could actually get up that early did you??) to travel to Pastor Somboon’s wedding. It was a 12 hour drive, the last hour going up and down 3 mountains before finally reaching a Hmong village nestled in a small valley. According to Hmong custom, the wedding was held at the bride’s village. We spent the night in the village, and attended the ceremony the following morning. The boys at the boys’ house arrived before we did, and they did a great job of decorating the church.
The girls at the girls’ house helped with various aspects of the ceremony.
It was a beautiful ceremony. The bride, Yee, was stunning in her wedding dress, and the groom’s face was full of love and joy. It was a blessing to be a part of the ceremony. After the ceremony we drove back to the groom’s village to be part of the reception there. (Again, according to Hmong custom.) That was a 9 hour drive, and we arrived at midnight. And, yes, I was driving! After the ceremony the following day, we drove back to Chiang Khong. Sunday
evening we had a small graduation ceremony for 2 of the boys, Wee and Tong, who
are graduating high school this year, as well as 3 girls and 2 boys who are
finishing 9th grade this year, a milestone for Thai students. Monday, many of the girls went back home to their villages and I went to Chiang Rai for a much needed 2 day vacation. I got a 3 hour massage for $12. I love this country!! Wednesday, our last day of travel, we went to
the border town of Measai as I needed to renew my visa. I had successfully renewed it in February, but they now stamp your passport for 1 month, and then you come back and they
stamp it for one year. Why? I don’t know.
I took 3 of the girls who are still here along with Mai who used to live
at the girls house and came back to help me this week. Phab, a Hmong American who is visiting and Chai went too. We had a great day of shopping. On the way back, we decided to visit a monkey cave. Well, I call it a monkey cave, but in reality it’s a mountain with a cave. There are many wild monkeys around. It’s a blast! There’s a great view at the top.
By the time we walked back down, we noticed that the sky was really dark. We had been driving back about 45 minutes when the wind and hail started coming down and rocking the truck. There were 5 people sitting in the back of the truck when this happened. They got soaked. I could only see about a foot in front of the car as I was driving and we were out in the middle of nowhere.
After about 10 minutes, we located a small restaurant on the outskirts
of a small town, and we stopped there to wait out the storm. I got out of the car, and all of the girls were grinning from ear to ear! They quite obviously enjoyed it more than I did.
Preaw, one of the girls, said to me “oh, Susan, I’m so glad you’re not crying”. She knows I get freaked out by this stuff. During all of our travels, the girls were great. Whenever I would
get freaked out, or get really tired, or there were more windy roads, or we weren’t sure which route to take, the girls would tell me to go ahead in faith. They would tell me that God is
with us and He will get us safely where we need to go. I am so thankful for each of these girls that
God has brought here this year. Just when I think that what I’m teaching isn’t getting through and that what I’m doing isn’t making a difference, God does little things to show me that He is
indeed working whether I see it or not.
