This last week has been a whirlwind as we went to bangkok for our friend Em's engagement party and then came to Chiang Rai to visit Art and the New Generation Ministry. Many stories to tell, but little time. We'll pick just a few, including mountain biking for the first time in a long time on uncomfortable bikes which has a tendency to cause a problem in the bottom area. Make sure to check out our pictures also.Em's Engagement!!!
Our friend Em surprised us by bringing his girlfriend Kluay to Lopburi to meet us, and then inviting us to his engagement party the next weekend. Engagement party's in thailand are almost as big as the wedding.
The ceremony, in true THAI Style, took hours to prepare for and then lasted only a few minutes. We spent Sunday night making decorations, food, preparing the room. Then we woke at 5:30 am and ate breakfast at a nearby restaurant with Em's family and friends and waited around until 9am for the ceremony to start. Loud firecrackers started the ceremony, and Em led his family and friends into the building where Kluay's family and friends were waiting. Em presented the Dowry and other gifts to the family, the parents said a few blessings, and then it was picture time.
Ceremony - 15 minutes
Pictures - 45 minutes
Preparations- Hours
We did get to meet 1 of Em's friends (Klong) who is a strong Christian and is very good about encouraging and teaching Em in his faith. It was very cool to see these 2 young men standing strong in a world with values very different from theirs. They are truly a light in their world. Please keep Em and Kluay in your prayers, that their relationship will be blessed and that Kluay's relationship with God will continue to grow and continue to impact her life.
Akha Christian Youth Camp
In Chiang Rai, we got to see the yearly ACY camp which had 750 Akha Youth age 15-22 join. We taught English for an hour to 60+ students, and then sat back and watched this camp completely run by Akha men and women volunteering their time and money to reach their own people. It was a great sight, and amazing to see how well they put together a camp for so many people.
Pain in the Butt
Art also took us bike riding in the mountains near Chiang Rai. We rented 3 mountain bikes for the journey and loaded up a bag of snacks and water and set off into the unknown. The bikes were good, except that it felt like driving a tank and the seat had no padding whatsoever.
The trail at the start was great, it was a dirt road used by motorbikes over steep mountains with several stream crossings through beautiful rice fields and villages. Some hills were very steep and long, causing Art to throw up from exhaustion (not the first time Jonathan has caused a friend to throw up while bike riding). Several areas were very technical too, negotiating through rocks and mud and sticks. It made us miss Colorado.
We stopped for lunch at a small Akha village where Art quickly made friends who brought us out food and water. Their food was much better than what we brought, and they forced us to eat it, so we did and we gave them our food to eat later. We had a wonderful time resting, eating, talking, joking, and comparing "farang" (western) culture with the Akha culture. 2 old Akha ladies, when hearing we were riding bikes, exclaimed, "those farang are CRAZY".
Then, we decided on a shortcut the villagers told us about, which was very fun. It led us on the edge of cliffs, through the woods, and through at least 20 stream crossings. It was a awesome bike ride, but, left us with very sore butts.
New Generation Ministry
We also had a great time staying at the New Generation Ministry house for the week. We were very encouraged by what we saw and heard about how the ministry is going. We know many of you have supported the ministry with prayer and finances, and he wants to say a big THANK YOU for it all. The ministry is serving it's purpose to disciple young Akha men, give them opportunity to study at school, and train them up as leaders. We are very excited by what we see, and will update the New Generation Website with more info. God is truly blessing these kids through your support and prayers. And, if any of you are considering supporting a ministry, this is a great opportunity where your money will definitely be used wisely.
For Example, to pay for 5 students and 2 staff, the monthly expenses right now is around $300 including food for breakfast & dinner, rent, and utilities. The students are responsible to pay for their own lunch and school fees.
They cook and eat food together, play soccer, and then meet nightly to study the Bible, pray together, and worship God. God is blessing there relationships and is giving Art many opportunities to speak truth into their lives and to train them into leaders of the Akha community.
Invision Global Network
While at Art's house, we also met Tim and Cindy, 2 people from the US with an interisting vision ad mission. It was wonderful getting to exchange stories with them and hear about what they are doing. Anyone interested in organizing a short life changing mission trip with a group of friends or church members should check out there website. They have a very interesting and unique perspective on short term mission trips and how to take what you learn in a far away place and bring it home and allow it to change your life in a way that is honoring to God.
