THE MOUNTAIN VILLAGES: GOING TO WHERE THEY LIVE

The Conference may be over, but WE'RE NOT!

On Saturday morning we pack up for our trip up to several mountain villages, some 3-4 hours West & North of Chiang Mai. Boonchu wants us to meet and minister to some of his people where they live. We want to go so that we can have a sense of what their life is like and what challenges they may face as they seek to teach children in their village context. So, off we went!

Hey, look what we saw along the way! This is no zoo, folks. This elephant works the fields and this is where he beds down for the night.

We also passed by various temples. Here are steps leading up to the Buddhist Temple at the top of the hill.

A little overheating. Nothing serious.

From this point on, the roads became...well, indescribable. I don't think any of us will be able to find words that will adequately give you an idea of what the roads were like. Suffice it to say that for the next 1.5 hours, we were bounced around like balls in those children's push toys that pop, pop, pop those balls all over the place as it moves along. And that is not to mention the drop offs at the edge of the road. Fortunately, it got dark before we reached our destination, so we couldn't see the various hazards surrounding us. But before it got dark, we were treated to some beautiful views (compensation for the beating we were taking!)

Because we arrived late, we went directly to the little village (c. 40 houses) who had THOUGHT we were coming sometime, but weren't sure exactly when. (Remember, no phones or electricity; well, small amounts via govt.-provided solar panels.) Even though it was late and some had already gone to bed, the calls went out throughout the village (some folks went door-to-door) to come down to the church building. Come they did. And, as is their custom, they entered after leaving their sandals at the door.

And to our great joy, the little kids came as well.

The humble pastor brought out his guitar and led his little flock in some singing.

And once again, that great COS choir shared a song. We all felt SO humbled and so blessed to be there.

Tom was asked to open up the Word, and even though it was late, the little group listened avidly (even though there was a bit of "baby/toddler noise" in the little room.)

And then the little Karen adult choir sang a beautiful hymn.

When the service was over, we invited all of the kids up so that we could take their picture. THIS IS WHY we did the conference. So that the person from this village who attended will be able to clearly and with excitement teach these kids about Jesus.

And then they who have so very little gave each of us a gift.

We then drove on (no, bounced on) to the village where we would be spending the next two nights. Boonchu's in-laws put us up and even prepared a late-night meal.

We went upstairs, tired & sticky, but so happy to be where we were. The bedrooms were lit by one candle on the floor, but we had no trouble tumbling into bed. Ask us about the VERY loud gecko who so enjoyed hearing himself croak throughout the night, AND about the chorus of roosters who began their wake up calls at 4 AM!

Early the next morning, Tom & Boonchu took off for still another village to participate in their worship service. More bouncing. And here's a pic of the "bridge" that they had to cross in Boonchu's 4x4. Before crossing, Tom was wondering where the life-vests were. It was close, but they didn't need 'em

They were greeted by the pastor and this woman who had attended the Conference.

That's the church in the background.

After chatting a bit, Boonchu took Tom around to see the Village and meet some of the people. While they were doing this, the sound of the "bell" from the church could be heard, calling the village to church. This village is made up of about 40 houses. 90% of the village are followers of Christ.

The little village school and the teacher who has nothing to work with except a big heart.

The grandmother of the village

Hey, look, a little piggy!

The singing had already begun when they got to church.

Another opportunity to experience the wonder of the Body of Christ in all of its diversity and to open the Word and rediscover its universality in addressing the hearts of men.

AND THEN A SURPRISE - "Would Pastor Tom be interested in baptizing a young man of our church?" "SURE!" So down to the riverside they went.

Here is the candidate, Chetchai (seated,) surrounded by family and others from the village.

What a thrill to be able to proclaim the truths behind the powerful symbolism of baptism and to give a challenge to young Chetchai here in this remote village in northern Thailand.

While all of this was going on, Ellie and team were ministering to the kids and women of the in-laws' village.

AND SUNDAY MORNING WASN'T OVER YET! Tom and Boonchu needed to scramble (and bounce) their way back to the in-laws' village in time to join the rest of the team for the 11 AM worship service. Just made it! This village is bigger and the church has been growing and is quite well organized. Note the size of the building as well as the young choir members' outfits. Impressive. Another marvelous experience of seeing the fruit of the work of the Spirit of God in this church and of participating in the worship and "koinonia" of His Body.

More time was spent up in the villages. That afternoon and the next day, Ellie & team continued to minister to the women and children of area villages, but these are the last of our pictures.

We all went back to Chiang Mai exhausted but "pumped" from the amazing things God enabled us to do and to see in that very remote corner of His creation.

We end the COS Thai Blog 2009 with this photo of some of the children of our "evening-worship village." Contemplate their faces and do three things:

1. Thank God that they live in a village where they can hear about Jesus and His love for them.

2. Pray for them and for those who will be teaching them.

3. Pray for the almost 200 other villages just like theirs who have children just like them and who have someone who attended our conference in Chiang Mai to teach them and to train others. Pray that your and our investment of giving of our time and talent and treasures will bear ETERNAL fruit in the lives of these children and in the expansion of the gospel in and through the Karen people here in northern Thailand and beyond.

AMEN!

DAY 4 - The Finale & The Future

AND THEN CAME FRIDAY MORNING.
What a week this has been! And finally the opportunity to wrap things up and send these great people back to their villages better equipped to plant the Word of God in the hearts of the next generation.
After some spirited and worshipful singing, Tom opened the Word for a brief final encouragement.




Cindy then shared with them how they can use RESURRECTION EGGS in teaching about many different aspects of the Gospel story. Each attendee received a couple dozen eggs and a whole bunch of ideas to take back with them.

Ellie then shared her final thoughts with them from the Word and led them through some very meaningful steps of commitment toward being faithful and effective Sunday School teachers. They stood and read in unison (a beautiful sound!) powerful statements of commitment, and then each one signed the document. They embraced this moment with great seriousness and conviction. An appropriate culmination to the conference.

But before we sent them home, we had so much more to give them (literally!) Remember that we had packed 7 suitcases full of materials? And that Kathy had already shipped over a bunch of boxes? Well, they weren't just for us to use at the conference, but to give away. SO, we ended the conference by calling out numbers (their notebooks were all numbered) and letting them come forward to choose whatever they wanted - from the Abeka curriculum/pictures, the puppets & masks and the flannelgraph sets. Was this ever fun to watch! Like kids in a Candy Store.

And then we gave away the COS banners so that they could be hung up in little, humble Karen church buildings spread throughout northern Thailand as a reminder of the "hands of friendship" that join us together from this day forward.

The last sight as we pulled away from the conference center was this Karen girl saying goodbye in the gracious Thai manner. But this is not really goodbye, because this is also how they say "hello." May there be many new "hello's" in the future.

The final "wrap" of the day was a little Team outing into the city for dinner and some browsing & buying in the "Night Market." We had a fun time, but "lovin' up on little people" never got lost in the fun and in the hussle & bustle of the Market - by guess who?

In that this whole week has been about getting the message of God's love to little people, we think that this is an appropriate photo on which to end our conference week.

STAY TUNED, THOUGH, FOR AN UPDATE ON OUR WEEKEND UP IN THE VILLAGES, W A Y, W A Y U P in the boonies.