Every email, I think I’ve mentioned how fast the time flies. The time is really FLYING this time! 6 weeks until I leave the village of Ban Tum, head to Bangkok, and then back to California. I am anxious to go home but not wanting to leave here either. It’s such a weird place to be in!
So the kids have been on “bit term” which is like a vacation break from school. No kids in school here = kids at Jenn and Naomi’s house all the time! Sometimes it’s just our normal group of girls, but sometimes their cousins and all their neighbor friends and siblings come over also. Some of the boys love bringing babies to our house just so the babies can see Naomi's and my white skin and cry.
We had the girls over for dinner at Mae and Pa’s house one night, and the electricity went out again. I left my flashlights at our supervisors, so all we had were a few candles. To the girls, the power going out meant: SLEEPOVER! So we had a sleepover at our house. We had some funny experiences. Loy (8) had a tummy ache, so I took her to the bathroom with one of the candles. After she was through, I handed her the toilet paper and she had no idea what to do with it! Once the electricity came back on, the girls demanded that all the lights be turned out, even our computer screens and the downstairs outside light so that they could sleep. Early in the morning, I hear our bedroom door open and the girls saying “Pi Jenn, chao leyo” (Jenn it’s morning already). My clock read 5:30AM!!! I took them to the bathroom, and then went back to bed for a few hours. Thais wake up so much earlier than I ever imagined. I’m still amazed everyday at the amazing differences in our lifestyles.
Ah, the 13 year old Thai friend of our supervisors came and spent a few weeks with us! This girl knows her Book and Book stories. She spent time hanging out with us at our house, playing with our girls and teaching them a few Book stories. I found it really special that the girls got to see a young C Thai girl, and they loved her a lot! In addition, we’ve had nineteen year old Garrett, MK (m kid) from Chiang Mai hanging out with us this last week. We’ve enjoyed fellowship with him and all of our girls have giant crushes on him.
A m team from my supervisor’s home Ch in Virginia came out last Monday and we’ve been working with them ever since! This has kept life exciting and also really busy. They did a fun game night in our village and one of the women gave free haircuts to the kids. We went yarp walking and distributed materials in different Kui villages. The only film to EVER have been made in the Kui language is…The J Film. It’s only been around for the last couple years, and we had a ton of copies to distribute to families in the villages. Can you imagine never hearing your own language on a video?!
On Thursday, the Bowles family, Naomi, Ariel, Garrett (MK from Chiang Mai) and the m team headed to SamRong Thap, the village where the first Kui ch was born. We held a 2 day English camp there for the Compassion International kids. It was a blast! Well, some of it was. Teaching 8, 30 minute sessions all day long was not exactly “fun.” The second day was fun (and easier) because the kids got to use the shopping words I taught them the day before and fake money to buy stuff with. They were happy campers, let me tell you! In our spare time, the kids taught us some Kui. I spent more time with the boys on this trip and they were hilarious! At the end of the camp, I got the honor of crowning “Mr. English Camp” a 13 year old boy that all the kids voted for.
I went to my first Kui meeting house ever in a city called Ban Bing. We worshipped there on Sunday and it was really cool to experience! They had a good sized group there and we enjoyed eating and fellowshipping with them. The women in the ch weave Kui silk, sell it, and then the money goes towards sending their youth to B college. This old Kui grandma showed me her Kui B and hymnal. I had never seen either of them before! The Kui language is not written, but the Kui B uses the Thai characters and when it’s read it sounds like spoken Kui. The language the service was done in was a mix of Kui, Thai, Lao and some Khmer. You’ve got to be pretty talented to translate all that! The new IMB M s in Sisaket, the Cobb’s have graciously allowed us to come to their home every Monday to use the internet at no charge! They are amazing. In addition, they have been visiting our coffee maker Khmer (Cambodian) friend Raem at her coffee cart. The Cobb’s are now m’s to the Thai-Khmer people and they are going to start meeting with Raem and her friends once a week to learn the Khmer language. I could not be more thankful for this! It is very exciting to know that Raem will have contact with Cs once Naomi and I leave. Praise the Father!
Well, the m team is leaving tomorrow and life will be normal for a little while. Normal, well that’s depending on what your definition of normal is. At the bathrooms next to the Cambodian border, a monkey came out from the bushes and walked right past Naomi and me. Anyway, the kids are going back to school, and Naomi and I have our papers to finish and friends to visit. Currently, Naomi and I are listening to Christmas music and are excited about coming home and seeing all of you!
Hope you’re enjoying Fall! Miss you!
jenn
Pictures for this update are at this website:
http://sbuniv.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007579&id=177500365&l=6b0dc
YARPING Warriors,
As I’ve been writing this strategy paper to reach the Kui, I’ve become a lot more aware of Satan’s stronghold on this village. More than anything else, the Kui just have no desire to change. Not because they are content already, they just don’t like change and choose not to act on things that are enormous needs. When it comes to their poor education, bad health or poverty, they choose not to take the measures to get themselves out of these bad situations. Life is the way it is.
Sadly, they live that way when it comes to their spiritual life. Some will know that the C Father is right, but they will not change because their family is Bud-ist and their ancestors were not Cs. It is so sad to watch!
A well-dressed man came one night to our supervisor’s house, openly admitting to everyone that Satan has his hand over the village. This particular man does see the need. However, this man has never come back or done anything that we know of to change the situation.
What Naomi and I have both come to is that the only thing that will change these people’s hearts is the movement of the HS. As for now, on the whole the people are just set in their ways and have no intention of changing.
This requires yarps on our part for them, yarps that the Father would change their hearts and show them their NEED for change and give them DESIRE to change. I would ask that you all would yarp for this, as yarper for them is so greatly needed!
Thank you for your yarpers!
jenn