The loss of a child

My heart is sad tonight for one of the young mothers we were with on Chang Island. She told us her baby was not nursing, and was very lethargic asking us if we knew what was wrong. Judy prayed for her, but we got word today that her baby died yesterday. The Mokens do not keep track of a birth date for their children, and many babies are several months old and still do not have a name. Their culture ways are different than ours, but I imagine this young mother is grieving today, and the loss of her tiny daughter. Mother and daughter are pictured here.

And on another note. As I told you, the water was extremely rough when we went to the islands this week. In fact, coming home was very frightening. Mike found out today, that two fishing boats heading out to sea as we were fighting the waves to get home, overturned shortly after we passed them and two people were killed. God did protect us that day. They also told Mike that we could not have gotten home the next day if we had spent the night on the islands because the water was too rough

Thank you, Father for your protection over the seven of us who went and came back from the islands that day.

If you are interested in our first day of the trip in Bangkok, scroll down to older posts. I have added a post about the day in Bangkok on June 14.

Day on the islands

I wrote this post over 24 hours ago, but am having trouble editing photos to go with it. Several of you who are encouragers of our trip are telling me you are checking the blog and missed a post yesterday. So I will post what I journaled with a few photos, but they are not the best. Judy has better ones on her camera, my camera battery died. I will add more photos tomorrow to the blog. Thanks for following!

We anticipated the island part of this trip to last two days, but in retrospect, seeing how bad the weather was, I am so thankful we were even able to go to the islands. I was so excited for this part of the trip! I have been to the islands with Mike and Judy countless times over the past four and a half years through the lens of Judy’s camera and the stories they have told. Nothing, however, could have painted the picture of the culture and heart of the people, like being there. Getting there (and back) only made the discoveries more precious.

On our stormy ride for four hours to the first island. The driver, Swat (pronounced s-wat) was very skilled at manueveringus through the waves. I really did feel pretty safe with him. He put his whole body into directing the boat to face into the waves, and at times, to ride the waves. Under the cover is Somsak, (pronounced some-sock) is a pastor who has just opened an orphanage for 10 orphan Moken kids (pictures in yesterday's post). The other woman is Latii (pronounced la-tea) is Swat's wife. In the front of them were the four of us on the boat.

Monsoon season in southern Thailand, on the Adaman Sea, makes a US ‘torrential downpour’ seem like a cheap showerhead. Our introduction to monsoon season was seven hours on the sea with rain so intense, the line between the seascape and the sky was invisible. Add heavy winds, waves, and lightning, and I was looking for the basement of the boat, certain Jesus must be calmly sleeping, and all I needed to do was wake him. There was no basement. There was no sleeping going on. But there was prayer. Lots of it, by this novas sea(wo)man, I can tell you! I did learn how to take photos with my camera in a plastic bag. Not bad. I wore my anti-motion sickness patch and it worked well, except for one time when I tried to sit under the little cover in the back of the boat, huddled too close to others with the diesel air hanging like a cloud. Good combination for offering my lunch to the sea creatures. Not to seem over dramatic, but it was all worth it for what I experienced in the six hours on the islands.

We were bundled up in rain coats, as we rode the longtail fishing boat that is run by a 1 cylindar John Deere B deisel engine.

Selecting words to pull you into yesterday’s experience leaves me as helpless as it was to verbally communicate with the Moken people, unable to speak their dialect of Thai.
Who are the Moken people? I am anxious for time to look them up and study them more. They are a tribe of sea gypsies, so like you and me, yet vastly, vastly different. They remind me of the mental picture I have of cave men. Self sufficient, self reliant, self governing, and self sustaining. Yet among themselves, they are dependent, reliant, abiding, and supporting. Mokens are not citizens of any country. Their ancestors are Burmese as well as Thai. They lived in grass roofed huts prior to the tsunami, but now have walls and tin roofs, due to the ministry of Mike and many others through Campus Crusade for Christ, the International Mission Board of the SBC and other generous ministries and people.
I am trying to keep this post short of a bound book, bear with me, there is a lot on my heart and mind. In order to get this post out for you to read, pictures will be limited.
We had the thrill of helping to provide for these people. We took clothes and each child got one garment. Then our dear Sunday school class sent money to purchase a school uniform consisting of a black back pack, shirt, shoes, socks and pants or skirt. The children came to us one by one, received their bundle of uniform items, then thanked us by folding their hands and bending forward toward us. They don’t show much emotion, but we knew they were happy to receive these items. We gave most of them a little Chick-fil-A cow, that they SO proudly carried everywhere.

If you are ever looking for a picture of bonding, put a grandpa and grandma in the center of adorable native little dark brown children! Language barriers are minimized. There were a few little tykes who clung to us, following us everywhere - much to our delight. Typical grandpa and grandma enticements are well received in any culture: a few sticks of gum in the pocket, arms to hold, attention, laughing at antics, and time. We overlooked garbage all around our feet, diaperless babies, head lice, decaying baby teeth, unsupervised babies playing alone on the peer and sea shore, mismatched American clothes, crowing roosters, fighting chickens and fighting dogs, and sickness.

What we did see was hearts and people who have little hope and future in the terms we evaluate hope and future by. But why do they need our future? The children are in schools taught by the Thai government, the families have little monetarily because they live off the sea, and their social needs are cared for within their own. What they need is Jesus. That is where their hope is empty. Buddhism is not their religion, although there are flavors of it in their belief system. Their faith is centered in ancestral spirits and ancestral worship. New born babies wear a string tied around their wrist to protect them from evil spirits.

Jesus has been introduced to them since the tsunami relief ministries over the past four and a half years. They are gradually turning from their spirit hope into hope in the living Jesus. Many of their cultural ways have not and may never change. I was overwhelmed to hear these people sing praise to Jesus in a language I could not follow, knowing it was precious to the one who created them.

I was disturbed to see the children raising children. Babies are cared for tenderly in their homes, in a swinging mosquito netted carrier. Once they are beyond infant stage, they are carried. Once they walk…they walk all around, guided by older children. They toddle along with the 5-8 year old kids to the pier, ocean edge, under huts, etc. Their little bottoms are uncovered completely until they are potty trained. Then they wear pants and underwear if they have them. School girls have two pair of panties to switch off/wash every other day. Boys are without shirts most of the time.

For school age children, clothing is different. Uniforms for school children are very important in Thailand in all cities, even these islands. Children are disciplined if they do not wear them and do not bring a P.E. uniform. This is why it was so precious to take money from our Sunday school class and go to town to buy uniforms for about 40 children. Some of the children had uniforms, many did not. Pastor Somsak and his wife got counts from the two islands we went to, knowing approximate sizes and number for us to shop. We went to the uniform store and bought shirts, skirts, shorts and belts, socks, shoes and a backpack. The children were instructed when they received them that they had to take them off when they get home from school and put on other clothes. They don’t know these things, but are being taught how to value things.

In addition to over 100 huts that have been constructed, ten concrete homes have been built through Mike’s leadership, and five of them were ready to be moved into the day we were there. The five homes were given to three widows, the island supervisor, and another young couple. Each home is one cement room, with a separate room containing a squatty potty. They will live, sleep, study, cook, and play in this one room. Each person or family has a story. It was so cool have them tell their story before they got possession of their home. Since we were there for giving of the ‘key’ to these families, Mike asked Kyle, Judy and me to each pray over one of them. Then they sang praises to the Lord for what they were given. I was overwhelmed.

I know I need to close this posting. It is already so much for you to read. I wish I could promise something like “if you made it to this point in the post, you have earned a trip to experience what we did on the islands”. Enjoy the photos and be reminded of how vast is the love and attention of our God, that He delights in the lives of ALL His children!

Now for a day and a half at the LeMeridien Resort. What a contrast…the same ocean, same water, same skies. The contrast is in the people that are inhabiting each.

And it was only to be a "Travel Day".....

On our agenda, today was planned to JUST be a travel day. That is like saying the color was blue, without telling the shade, richness or vibrance. Imagine Cousin Judy and me in the back seat of a pick-up truck finding new and regional experiences as we 'traveled'. We decided to each write about parts of the day, so after you read this, check out Judy's blog to see her stories. It was a day of vibrant colors!

Mike was such a good driver (from his right side of the truck and wrong side of the road)! He pulled over or made u-turns to let us see whatever, when we hollered "Ohhh, Mike, we have to see that"! We stopped to see pineapple fields that spread for thousands of acres.

We stopped in coconut harvesting yards.

Here's a little lady spinning sugar cane and showing us how to eat it in coconut based 'crepe's.

You have to watch this video of the 3 baby elephants rocking this truck from side to side as it lumbered down the highway. What a fun day of laughing and making memories.

It was such a highlight to see Somsak and Uan, a couple who have raised their own two children, welcome their 10 new orphans home after school. Over a couple years, they kept hearing God say to take children from the islands and provide an orphanage for them. Their orphange equipped hom was recently constructed by Mike's tsunami relief leadership and ministry teams. They are so proud of it. All 10 kids came in and sat with us and thanked us for providing school uniforms for them. They thank by folding their hands and bowing to us. So precious. We then went to the uniform store to purchase uniforms for the children, with the money our Sunday School class sent. It was very exciting, We wished our whole class could have been there. The children in these photos are not the only ones who will receive the clothes. Children from several schools and families will receive them. I will update you more on that later. Here we are with the ten precious children.

We leave in the morning at 5:00 a.m. by boat to go out to the islands for two days. Heavy rains are forecast, so we are leaving early to beat the storm. I will be sure to blog on that in a couple days!

I must add, that watching Mike and Judy interact, fluently speak the language and connect with these people, is very exciting for us. They are certainly where God has called them. More on that later, too! I have to get to bed, the boat will pull up bright and early tomorrow, and I can't miss it.

Arrival and first day in Bangkok.

Our flight arrived about twenty minutes early on Saturday evening. Mike had driven up from the islands in the south and Judy was flying in from Chiang Mai to welcome us. Well, the best laid plans did not work, Judy's flight was late. So Mike met us, the three of us ate, and exchanged U.S. currency for baht, and waited another hour for Judy to arrive. That night we went to the KT guest house, a nice Asian-style place that Mike and Judy use often when they are staying in Bangkok for ministry meetings, to go to doctor appointments, and to welcome guests. KT House, typical of most public areas in Thailand was not air conditioned in the lobby or dining room, only our sleeping room, and we were to turn that off when we were not in the room. We were thankful for the air conditioning to sleep because it is hot, humid rainy season.

The plan was to spend two nights at KT, and in the day in between, Mike and Judy wanted to keep us busy and awake until bedtime that night, to overcome jet lag. I had not slept well the two nights before our flight, and then had only a few hours sleep on the flight, so I was numb with exhaustion. They did a good job dragging us around Bangkok the next day, and it really was a good plan, as we have done really well with overcoming jet lag. The day was good, I just felt like a party-pooper, knowing all they wanted to share with us, and how tired we were.

So that first day began with breakfast at KT house. Khao Phad again, along with a banana mango shake. I told Judy I would be happy with Khao Phad every meal! (Since then I have altered my thoughts on this dish!) After breakfast, we took a taxi to the sky train in Bangkok.
I need to stop and explain traffic in Thailand. Wildness, chaos, pandemonium, dangerous, lawless, fast. I may think of more, but that is a fair start at explaining it. Oh yes, and driver sits on the right, driving on the left side of the road. The key thing that adds to all of this is bright orange, pink, yellow Toyota taxis in major abundance and a kazillion motorbikes plus buses and automobiles. The motorbikes have entire families on them, or furniture, or bags of rice, or food to sell, or just ANYTHING! These little bikes dart in and out like a lizard that never seems to get caught. Weather is not a factor, hard rain just causes them to wear plastic rain ponchos and keep the accelerator pressed!

We took the sky train down town, we were on it quite a while, going way into the city. Once downtown, our first stop was at the river going through town. We hired a driver on a longtail boat to take us through the city. Below is the boat coming in to get us.This was a great exposure to the lifestyle of native Thais. Homes built out over the river's edge, some crude, some nice, along side Buddhas, temples, and businesses. We stopped at a floating market where everything was sold, from every kind of cooked food, to handcrafts, to fresh produce. It was very cultural. Below is a woman selling items on the big river.

There are shrines all over the city that people worship. This is the back of Buddha (I did not see the front!)

Temple of the Dawn
We came upon a corner lot; Erawan Shrine (above), a Buddhist worship site. Women danced, people bought leis, fruits, birds and incense to burn and lay at the feet of the shrine. They bowed and prayed and left the gifts for a sacrifice. It was quite sad to see the intensity with which they spent money to buy the offerings to earn merit. Then the garbage man would go around and scoop all the flowers, fruit, etc into a garbage can and throw it away. He was very busy, as the shrine filled so fast with the offerings, and he was always making room for more. The air was thick with incense smoke. It gave me a headache. This was difficult to see. We don't see such blatant false Gods in America. They exist, but this devoted worship was hard to watch.

We shopped at a couple malls. The malls are more like flea markets, in that the open areas are lined with vendors of everything from electronics, to tourist keepsakes, to clothing. Judy and I did some Grandma shopping, and I bought some patio lights. BUT, the funnest part was when the four of us all had foot massages. One hour. We all slept through part of them. Kyle swore he would never have one, but you know what? He enjoyed it and I think he will do it again!

We ate at Outback, Mike and Judy like to go there whenever they are in Bangkok. They lived in Bangkok for 6 years before moving to Chiang Mai, so they have a lot of memories there. It is where Mike led the GCTC Training center. When we got back to KT that night, we were so exhausted. We went to bed and slept until 6:00, which is really good for jet lag.

The Asian culture is just so foreign to anything Americans know. I am still wrapping my mind around the practice of 'making merit' to earn the favor of their gods.

Landed!

We are here....in Bangkok at a guest house that Mike and Judy use often. Clean and cool. I am posting a blog before getting my shower and going to bed. I really have no idea what time it is. I think it is 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning in Thailand, making it 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Georgia.

We were met at baggage claim by our flight attendant because Kyle had lost his wallet in our seat on the plane. They brought it to us. Thank you Lord for that protection! Money and cards all inside safe and sound!

Okay, off to bed....goodnight. Thanks for your prayer and interest!

What's outside the window?

We are sitting on the plane with forced night time. Flying over Alaska, the flight attendants require the window shades all stay down so people can sleep. I want to see Alaska! I went to the back while on my 7 p.m. “midnight stroll” to a window in the open area of the back of the plane. I raised the shutter to see lakes and fields of ice. WOW-it’s Alaska!! But it wasn’t 2 minutes and a Korean flight attendant came communicating in rapid broken English, to close the window. People are sleeping. Bummer. God’s beauty is out that window, however I along with 300+ other Korean Air customers are held captive in the darkness of the cabin.

As I strolled up and down the isles, the surroundings remind me of people lost in the darkness of their lives, longing for relationships with vision, meaning and excitement. On flight #35, mini screens on the seat-back in front of each person keep them riveted to the flick of choice. Babies cry and are hushed back to sleep. Another round of food and beverage is served. Each person, each little family (there are a lot of children on the flight) engages with others only when necessary.

Life at 30,000 feet is really no different than life on the street level we live each day. Pre-ordered with what’s-currently-in-my-face choices, missing the opportunity to see the glory and beauty of what God has created for us outside our tunnel vision and tunnel experiences. I know I need to remind myself to pull up the shades, and I bet there are times when you do too…..to see God’s offer to experience life. As we approach another continent for the first time in our life, I hear Him nudging me to step into the sunshine of engaging in life and relationships beyond the familiar what’s-currently-in-my-face. So we will land in about 15 more hours. Ready to experience a view (other than a seat-back) as well as experiences.

Korean Air, here we come!

Last night we had dinner with Jason and Elizabeth and the kids, and this morning Chris and Katie are picking us up, so we can spend breakfast together when they take us to the airport. Yesterday was spent at doctor appointments, shopping, Kyle mowing, etc. We were pretty tired and still packing at almost midnight last night, but will hit the air with a dose of Tylenol PM. All will be smooth (as long as we don't snore). Well, I guess it would still be smooth for us......

I am so ready to go. Family, church friends, other friends and WinShape family have blessed us with their excitement, contributions, interest and promise of prayer support. Wednesday night when I was alone at WinShape Retreat for about an hour after everyone had gone, I turned out the overhead light, left my lamp and little brass fan on, and just spent some time in my cozy corner with the Lord. Amidst all the details of being away from work for three weeks, my heart was at such peace. I was overwhelmed with gratitude to Him for giving me peace for the days ahead, and no worries for the duties left behind. The teams I am on at WinShape are amazing, I can't wait to hear about all that happens when I am gone!

I will miss keeping up with our kids while gone. We'll have fun catching them up when we return and hearing their stories from over the next three weeks too!

I'm not sure when I will get to post again, but before then, I am hoping for a good long nap and some movie time. Oh, and enjoying the M&M/Cheezit/Teddy Graham combo I make for us to snack on in flight with our crunchy apples. Honey, wake up....it's snack time!