Blessed Christmas

To my dear friends out there, a Blessed Christmas to you all! May the Lord give you joy and a deeper understanding of the reason for the season! Blessings too, for a New Year - may you grow deeper in the knowledge of God's abundant love!

I'm off again for another trip (using Changi's free service to write this) - following my dad for a ministry trip up to the great land up north; back after the new year. Fancy spending Christmas and New Year up there.

To wrap up the last entry for this year, I can only testify to God's faithfulness and continued leading. I may not know the details, but at each step, I know I can obey and trust.

Prov 20:24
A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then, can anyone understand his own way?

Walk on. Take a walk on the water!

shalom,
JM

God Causes All Things to Grow

I have to say it has been quite a last six months. And its now Christmas time...

Its a fabulous time here in Nongkhai again! First, I'm totally grateful for the weather - its brilliant! A cool 12 degrees right now. What a contrast from the hot, mind-numbing mugginess previously. Then, there are the friends... lovely folk who will do amazing stuff for the gospel and for friends. For good humor and patience, hope and love. Humility and servanthood. Mattiu and Tahlan who will grow up loving the Lord more and serving Him wholeheartedly; challenging normal mindsets and my lack of faith. Background stories (ask me about the Laos incident). Believers who wait and pray and bide their time for a regime change.

Just as the ancients watched for the long expected messiah, so we whisper the sacred syllables - utterance made possible for each man because of the price he had to pay. O come O come Emmanuel! Come, and release us from our chains. Come again Lord, God Almighty, riding on a cloud, shining as the sun! Arise Sun of righteousness, with healing in your wings! Delight of the nations, Lily of the valley, the bright morning star. Son of david, bud of Jesse, Beloved! Come, Lord Jesus come!

God causes all things to grow,
walks with us, so that we know .
He is right here beside us
even when we've missed our bus.

You spring up on us unawares,
through each season we sow,
only to reap the fruits of Your scars
and drink from the River we go

Here I stand, simply,
wholely thine,
in awe of your grace,
time after time.
So hold me close;
warm me in your embrace

You surprise me around the corner
and in the middle of the night
giving me songs for the fight,
strenght to do what's right;
when I no longer bother

Sit, quake, wait, grate
balk at the path before me,
a walk on the water
in the dark of night.
Weep, wail, sulk and grouch
toss and scatter, sit and gather
wake to the sound of thunder
and listless waiting for the Whisper.

Come, long-awaited One, Come!

Gratitude Attitude

Its december already. Its that time of the year again - mad rush, pple back, sorta year end crush. AND yes, it is december again. Another year gone, a new one coming.

This year started for me, with a different tang. I remember telling a good friend, right on new year's morning (thats 2am) as we were walking back, that somehow it felt like this year's gonna be different - that I felt pretty uncertain, vulnerable. Naked was the word. Things just smelt different. Back then, it was music school, or work. Simple, but uncertain. O how the road has taken a twist, and the wicket gate has come and gone, dead-ends, no-through roads and cul-de-sacs. Though the righteous man stumbles, lo, he does not fall; and yes, I am the Righteousness of Christ inputed in me, not of my own merit or ability. Things smart, but we're moving on. Wholeness's begun.

The difference between healing and wholeness is thanksgiving, to the one True Priest who cleanses us.

Yes, there is so much to be thankful for. Small simplicities, and big, massive Thanksgivings. Friends about unexpected corners, news from far-away lands. Friends and strangers who've extended favor, grace, advice and peace. Joy in the journey. Rest and respite in the heat of day. Streams of living water to and drink from and green pastures to rest by. Oil to anoint my head and my cup runs over. Though a feast may be prepared in the midst of enemies, I hold my head, because You are with me, comforting me with Your rod and staff. Your love and mercy pursue me, chase me through the drifting days of my existence, and eventually overcome me, such that I will dwell in Your house, with final perfect rest for eternity.

For kids who grow up loving Jesus, who keep the Affekt. For walks in the rain, for icecream and gelato. Buses that run on time, and trains that come. For friends that sit and mourn, weather and gather. For news from Eretz Yisrael, Mongol Uuvs, Respublika Kazakstan, and the land of the free. Down-under, Isaan and Lao DPR. For the music of ancient caravans and spiced chai. Roasted coffee and tiramisu. And who could forget acquired tastes of Som-Tam and Uni. And of course, the oasis that is Joma.

For teachers, especially those that care more than just the subject they teach. Thankful for weirdness that sets in when you're no longer their student and they insist you call em by first name... Here's to Eddy and Constance and Winston. Thankful for education ministries that decide to write off a unpayable bond because another ministry decides not to have me work. For the postal service so we all get our letters and postcards that arrive well after I return.

For the cold weather so I miss the heat, and the HOT weather so I miss the cold, and for rainy seasons that just drive me silly. For hail, snow and sleet, I'm thankful I don't too often meet. Thank You for dombra, daf, shopar, shell, khaen, pi-saw, morin huur, feadog, quena, pi, limbe, amur khuur, khobuz, guitarra, pianoforte, flute a-béc and bodhran. For good producers and brilliant musicians. Pastorly pastors and shepherdly shepherds. Godly musicians and God-fearing artists. Masterful craftsmen who craft for His glory. Love, joy, peace, health, rest and hope!

Have I really tumbled out the door, out onto the road which leads ever on?

The Havens Grey
words by Ben Shive
There is no road to bear me from my sorrow
No healing that is deeper than this hurt
My heart is gone away across the water
To the bright, undying shores beyond the world

When I sail from havens grey
Caught up on the wind and blown away
I will close my eyes on the Shadowlands
and bid goodbye to all my friends
The parting is the price, it is the price that I must pay
To sail beyond the arms of the havens grey

And even though you know your heart is breaking
For a little longer still you must be whole
To love the life that's given for the taking
And to give the love the living's given for
And let it lead you to those shores

When you sail from havens grey
Caught up on the wind and blown away
Close your eyes on the Shadowlands
And bid goodbye to all your friends
And sail from havens grey
Caught up on the wind and blown away
You'll bid goodbye to all your friends
And close your eyes on the shadowlands
I know you will open them again in the endless day
Of a love that dawns beyond the havens grey

So follow the road through the rain
Down from the door where it began
Out of the rain, into the sun
follow it on and on and on

Keep to the road through the rain
Is there a there and back again?
Out of the rain, into the sun
follow it on and on and on
follow it on and on and on
follow it on and on and on and on

The parting is the price, it is the price that I must pay
to harbor far beyond the havens grey

"Home-coming" of Sorts

Been back in the ol' hometown of Kluang the last few days... will be here for a mere week. Been extraodinary. Relatives, church, food. Things seem to revolve around this theme with my folks here. And they're good at all three of em. =) Very good with em - trust me...

Been put to good use - mowed a lawn, had meals with amazing relations, playing catch-up. Amazing Amoy popiah at Tua-kim's - its not yer usual turnip fillings but meticulously prepared shredded bamboo shoots, and special prawn sauce... James, if you're reading this, you know what I'm talking about! And, of course, no meal with the Khoo's will be complete without the hearty, reverberant laughter and banter from their heavy-set jaws. And then there are the crowds of little second-cousins, that curiously come up to me and call me uncle... I'm the missing relation, the prodigal son that has finally come home - for a time.

Busy busy busy. Next few weeks will be a haze of weddings, dinners and lunches. Szechuan, Nongkhai, Kluang beckon - how to juggle em? Mongolian friends coming over too.

Stayers and Visitors - Back in Spore for a Bit More

"The essential meaning of exile is that we are where we don't want to be. We are separated from home. We are forced to be away from that which is most congenial to us... dislocation - out of joint. But this very strangeness can open up a new reality to us: "I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, says the LORD." " (excerpt from Run With the Horses, Eugene H. Peterson, pp. 145-156, InterVarsity Press, 1983)

It goes round and round. I'm finding Joy in the journey and my heart's full, but a tinge of longing fills the gaps. Been barely back a week and seems like its been a full month; I'm almost ready to scoot off again.

Things look different coming back to this familiarity, approaching with new perspectives of hope and joy. But somehow gradually, a week or two later, the little things (sms, people, deadlines etc, even waiting for the bus) begin to (inperceptibly and inconspicuously) whittle away the time, peace, hope, joy - that sense of God-wardness; and after a while, many of us settle for living at subsistence level, hand to mouth. Where's that victorious, faith-based living? We become excessively scrupulous: counting the costs in everything, exalting practicality beyond virtue. We slowly lose that God-awareness, forgetting He surprises us with His generosity and goodness, that He promises to fill our cups till overflowing; not just to have full lives but to abundance - literally packed bursting to the brim and overflowing. He's the Lord of the More-than-Enough. Sadly, its quite quite easy to get sucked down, scrape out our lives thinly, cobbling together snatches of existence. (I'm not exactly disappointed/disillusioned/depressed... just putting down an observation from this last week.)

In some sense, being happy to move off again could be escapism. But then, I realize it'll be the same everywhere/anywhere. Its not really about the environment, but about our hearts. Its about being content with God as our eternal refuge.

When we're merely visiting other environs, we have that boldness to start afresh, aware that that the experience is just temporal. Tabula Rasa. Now or never. Things come into perspective and we see the big picture - God's big picture and His heartbeat for people. Perhaps it is this attitude, this awareness, that needs to spill over when we return to 'home'. That, is a struggle though. It tends to be diluted at home simply because things are familiar, the disappointments and flaws are familiar... so familiar that somehow they seem impossible to mend. Perhaps we like our wounds. Things seemed to have always been like this. Simply because its familiar, we do not desire healing.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Jeremiah 29: 4-14: Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters... seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your refuge... For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me; when you seel with all your heart, I wil be found by you, says the LORD.

Jeremiah 29 reminds us we're on exile, and we're here to stay, not some temporal inconsequenticality. The struggle is how we can bring that courage and action into the apparently meaninglessness of everyday. When we have that 'alien perspective', we naturally prioritise the big things. Yet, we've still to contend with the next 60 years or so of existence here, and not settle for the easier way out.

Divine Discontent: October and Counting

As of today, I am a year and a full week over a quarter century.

It was exactly a year ago when I submitted my thesis, packed and went off to Mongolia and Siberia, expecting a short hiatus. Back then, I had very different ideas of what I should next be doing. Weeks turned into months, and a year later, I'm on the oddest journey conceivable. Much like Bilbo Baggins, I tumbled out of the door onto an adventure of divine proportions. Where this road - which runs ever on - will lead I do not know, except there is rest and promise in the goodness of my Guide. And what mighty sleeves He has!

How much of it is resignation? Sure, there is painfully little control over most things in life. However, there is rest, and joy, and peace! It is the little things that nibble away our senses, our vigor, our convictions. Hence I will not settle for the status quo; there must be more! A divine discontent; a sovereign hunger for true reality, a paradigm of Hope and Faith and Love.

We are such weak-willed, wretched creatures on our own, cobbling together snatches of existence borrowed from images of glory long faded. We conjure up smoke-and-mirror tricks in attempts to hide our fallen, perverse ways. Yet His Spirit calls us, stirs us, gnaws at the back of our minds in the quiet moments of the night- beckoning back to Him. Deep calls to deep. Over and over again, we are pursued by God into deeper intimacy, greater vulnerability and trust. How will we answer?

CS Lewis suggests that the reason why we are unable to obey and trust, isn't because we are not strong enough, but rather, that we are not weak enough: not weak enough to let go and let him come through for us. We cling, we clamber, we try to make it on our own. The story isn't so much about ourselves, but about our Author. Its His story we're telling.

"The first word that Jeremiah heard from God was "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (Jer 1:5). The verb formed is yatzar. Now, as Jeremiah is prepared to set an image before the people by which they can understand themselves in relation to their God, he standsd in the house of the yotzer, the potter. The word by which Jeremiah first learned to understand his own life, yatzar, is the word which is now used to let the people understand their lives: God shaped Jeremiah; God is shaping the people. God is a potter, a yotzer, working at his wheel on Jeremiah the lump of clay, on the people who who are a lump of clay; he forms, yatzar, them...

"Jeremiah experienced his life as the created work of God. He was not a random accumulation of cells; he was formed by loving, skilled hands. He wasn't a potentiality of material just waiting for the lucky time when he could, by asserting his will, make something of his life; he was already made something by God, formed for his purposes. The life of faith is very physical. Being a Christian is very much a matter of the flesh - of space and time and things. It means being thrown on the potter's wheel and shaped, our entire selves, into something useful and beautiful. And when we are not useful or beautiful we are reshaped. Painful, but worth it.

"Our lives become the pottery that makes possible the emergence of civilatization - what Jeremiah called the "people of God," what Jesus called the "kingdom of God," what Augustine called the "city of God." We are containers, "regions of being" in Heideger's words, in which love and salvation and mercy are conserved and shared. Everything is connected and makes sense now - the shape of creation and the shape of salvation, God's shaping hand and the shape of my life. "

Excerpt from Run with the Horses - the Quest for Life at Its Best, Eugene H. Peterson, pp. 80-81, InterVarsity Press, 1983.

On the Road

excerpts from The Sacred Romance - Drawing Closer to the Heart of God, Brnt Curtis & John Eldredge, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997.

EVERY GREAT STORY involves a quest. IN J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins ran from the door at a quarter till eleven without even so much as a pocket hankerchief and launched on an adventure that would change his life forever. Alice stepped through the looking glass into Wonderland; Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter stumbled through the wardrobe into Narnia. Abraham left "his country, his people and hs father's household" to follow the most outlandish sort of promise form a God he'd only just met, and he never came back. Jacob and his sons went to Egypt for some groceries and four hundred years later the Israelite nation pulled up stakes and headed for home. Peter, Andrew, James, and John all turned up on a dime one day to follow the master, their fishing nets heaped in wet piles behind them. The Sacred Romance involves for every soul a journey of heroic proportions. And while it may require for some a change of geography, for every soul it means a journey of the heart.

John Donne - HOLY SONNETS. XIV.
Batter My Heart

BATTER my heart, three person'd God; for, you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow mee,'and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, to'another due,
Labour to'admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue.

Yet dearely'I love you, 'and would be loved faine,
But am betroth'd unto your enemie:
Divorce mee, 'untie, or breake that knot againe;
Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I
Except you'enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.

The Other Side of the Fence

ANOTHER amazing week has passed in this sleepy town. God has tricks up his sleeves you could never out-guess or out-plan for!

Last sunday was the graduation service for the Lao bible students, where we premier-ed four of their original worship songs, including a jazz and Mawlam number! Pretty neat stuff - got the congregation up and dancing!


Ps Thamanoon and wife pi-Mai

Things were nicely quiet at the beginning of the week (and insanely rainy: rained practically non-stop for 2-3 days, with 3 hour respite inbetween); the Lao bible students were preparing for their return to Laos, since their semester ended, and their visit passes were running out. Mainly hung out at home and tried to do laundry, read my books, and listen to great music. For the first time, i realized that too much rain, may just drive people insane. But a cuppa darjeeling, a good book and music works wonder!


insane activities for a rainy afternoon


rainy friend on a rainy day

[side note: i've recently discovered one of the hidden wonders of Thai technology- the mosquito racket. Its a simple device, looks like a tennis racket, but at the flick of a button, its fully electrified, and you can swing it around at flying mozzies, and zap em dead! Totally cool toy... i've since been using it to zap ticks picked off our resident rottweiler. Cathartic! Just NEVER get your fingers caught in that thing...]

The rainy reverie was abruptly interrupted tuesday night, when Hubert received news that 5 of the Lao bible students were caught and detained while crossing the border back to their country. They were found to be carrying their bibles together with bible notes, and promptly arrested. Now, Laos is a communist nation, and although the constitution upholds the right to practice personal belief, unless you're a buddhist, other religions are simply not tolerated. Add to that a paranoia of 'foreign' ideologies in the corrupt communist government, Christianity is barely tolerated, as long as no proselyting happens. Pretty much like China, but more severe... corrupt officials and a disregard for human rights compound the consequences once you're caught.

The situation for these 5 brothers was pretty grave... a few years ago, when there was a massive purge of underground christians, believers caught were imprisoned for a year. Add to that torture and interrogation... if any of them cracked under the pressure and revealed identities, location and strategies, the game was up, and the goose cooked; these brothers were all strategic members of the house church movement. It didn't just affect them, but the hundreds of underground pastors and house-groups across this police state, as well as the various foreign outreaches working covertly in the nation.


vientienne, heightened security for the summit

For us on the other side of the fence, there wasn't much left to do, except to pray. And pray we did! Interestingly, that week Vientienne was hosting a massive international summit- the 26th AIPO (ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization) General Assembly, ironically formed to address social, economic and political issues, to discuss and share best practices. Hubert decided that one avenue was to slip into Vientienne, tip off diplomats at the meeting about the human rights violation which just took place earlier that day, and hope one of them take up the case. So early wednesday morning, Hubert and I went into Vientienne, with a simple strategy: drop off a tip-off letter to the various embassadors of countries represented at the summit... so we did just that. Interesting time roving through Vientienne amidst the diplomatic motorcades, heightened security and sleepy streets, dropping by various embassies and ambassador's residences, always careful NOT to retrace our steps for security's sake. Looped around, and soon found ourselves back at the Friendship Bridge. By 4pm we were 'safely' back home, commited it to God, and sat back and waited.



AIPO


mea culpa


aussie-land


philipine embassador's residence


mmmm

Thursday morning found ourselves setting off for youth camp, in a fabulously ULU wildlife reserve: Phu Wua Wildlife Reserve... 40 campers, a jungle setting, loads of nature =). Worshipped under the stars, fed loads of mozzies, workshop sessions, dancing around the campfire, trekked through a jungle, up a cliff, waded (and slipped) at a waterfall, made new friends. Kids came to Christ, others renewed their relationships w Him, life issues addressed.


on the bus to youth camp at Phu Wua wildlife reserve


toucan at the wildlife park


youth camp: after a zany game... gettin too old for such stuff!


Jeff and Tammy taking a session w the youths


an aggravated jeff with an aggravated bird


vince and me, tin soldiers


waterfall... and happy kids


bus back to church... all knocked out!

Thursday evening, just some 24 hrs after our vientienne operation, we received news that the Lao brothers were released, and were coming to join us at camp! It was amazing news.

The whole time from the detention on tuesday up to thursday afternoon, they were treated badly by the authorities (abused/humiliated?), interrogated, jeered, given little food and drink, stripped and kept in a tiny holding cell. What apparently happened, from their report later, was that on thursday afternoon they were all suddenly being treated very civil-ly , given a polite excuse, and had all their personal belongings accounted for and returned to them. Just before releasing them, the authorities also made a specific disclaimer that they were NOT 'detained' because they were christians, but because of a "slight error on their travel document". What exactly transpired behind closed doors we'll never know; we'll find out in heaven I guess.

The icing on the cake, was that while behind bars, the brothers got to share their faith with the other prisoners, and a few came to Christ! In fact, the brothers were told that the prisoners all knew they were christians the moment they stepped into the place simply because of the smiles that were always on their faces. Oh, what faith and boldness they possess!

So, its been another week. God moving, we sit back and be amazed. So humbled, so blessed, so awed.


fabulous Joma cafe


hornet grubs, waiting to be friend and eaten


dyed silk sold at Talat Sao


the jungle we were in...


fungi in forest


midway up the mountain


fuzzy plant


wild orchid


red flower


my group... reached the sandstone plateau on top of the jungle...


if you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat


vincent and kiong should have a showdown someday!


i've got happy feet!


the view from the top! You're looking at Laos... the Annamite range

Happy Mooncake to You

taken 17 Sept 2005 7:27pm, Nongkhai Thailand

Curiouser and Curiouser... the cheshire cat in nongkhai

God has a sense of humor. I'm glad we are given a measure of humour too, so we can cope with His wit, glee and wisdom!

After leaving Nongkhai, for what I thought was a done deal- said my goodbyes, ate the farewell meals, visited and photoed the places, and, after a mere TWO WEEKS of absence... I'm back here again!??

But I'm not complaining... its wonderful to be back, and the two weeks home was tremendously fruitful- completed a bunch of errands, caught up with friends, and mades some preparations for the next microstep on the water.

Arrived back in Nongkhai on wednesday with a light heart, a bubbly gut, and a sleepy head. And already, again, more stuff is happening.

The last two days I've been pulled in to help out at the Isan Bible School's song-writing class. They've got 14 students (mostly Laos brothers), and they've all been given an assignment to write a worship song each. Now, I've been assigned to help them work out the harmonies, as well as possibly lending a hand in crafting their song. Its been tremendously exciting- working w a whole new cultural context, involved in a poineering batch of Lao worship music... CCM - Contemporary Christian Mâwlam! (sparrow, word, integrity... eat yer heart out! haha).

As I was just sitting at the bible school earlier this afternoon, listening to their rehearsal of one of their compositions in the infamous Mâwlam genre, it just struck me that I just participated in the very thing I've been dreaming of doing for years now - to somehow assist believers from non-western cultural backgrounds develop indigenous worship music which was true to their cultural context. As I sat there in the heat, I was close to tears realizing I was right in the middle of a great ethnomusicological moment, or to be more precise - Ethnodoxological... involving ethnic musical idioms in worship! Here I were amidst the pioneering batch of Laos hymnwriters, working through their indigenous song-forms, co-crafting to make their lines leaner and stronger, recording and documenting the process, sifting through the melodies, and redeeming their cultural heritage!! God, you're amazing! I want MORE of that!

...I've got a sneaky suspicion, we may just be singing Mâwlam in heaven someday too...!

Back in HOT SUNNY spore.

Back at Changi, waiting for the minutes to tick by until my carriage becomes a pumpkin...

ITs been an exciting last 35 days- Yunnan, Sapporo, Nongkhai, Vientienne. God is really reall really faithful, doing what He does best- exceedingly, abundantly blessing beyond what I can ask, think or imagine! And what an excuse for a ministry trip! Ha... His ways are surely higher and greater than our ways! Thank God! Whew.

Got to encourage fellow believers in unbelievable settings and divine appointments; Shared my testimony in unusual settings (a carpark? a governor's compound?) - dunno what the fruits are, but I'm commiting that to God. After all, its His story... I'm merely the pages of the book He's writing.

Met amazing, wonderful, lovely people- unexpected, refreshing and gracious- former royalty, governors, mayor, pop singers, actor, political activist (orthodox zionist, left of the middle right...?!), teacher (who wins the best teacher in Thailand award), scrabble champ, TV station boss, but best of all- fellow believers, who've chosen to live out their lives to honor God. Deeply humbled by their livestyles and their outlook. Learning loads. I hope one day I'll have something like it to show for.

What happens next is a good question. I don't know, really!What I do know is, God's totally in charge, and He'll not leave me if I answer His call... "Come, walk on the water with me!"

If you want to walk on water, you have got to get out of the boat.

The nations are waiting... =)

Laos Update

Just got back from Laos... amazing country, amazing people. Change is happening in this backwater nation- just you wait. Some forces cannot be stopped by political ideology. An awakening is happening.

Although it was merely a daytrip, it was action-packed, and the pace felt like a covert espionage operation! [names have been coded to protect the identity of parties involved]


The way to go!


Crossing the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong


the Laotian Flag


Arrival in Laos- the Lao Coat-of-Arms representing aspects of the Lao PDR propaganda: agriculture, buddhism, modernisation, forestry, industry.


Government propaganda


one corner of the morning market, Talat Sao


Uh???!!

- Met Ps W at Talat Sao, had breakfast with him. Got to learn abit about him and his heart. That very morning, the HS reminded Him of the unity of the Church- the state-recognized as well as the underground home churches. Right after that revelation fr HS, he received a call fr a friend, informing him that a brother in the Eglisé Evangelique (a state-sanctioned church) had passed away: would he attend the funeral? He immediately replied that he would, affirming solidarity in Christ. What a powerful gesture.


Scene at the Bus Station


a regular morning in vientienne


Busy people


random scene in Vientienne


Ps W

- After breakfast, we visited the Patuxay- a quadruple-arched victory monument in the heart of Vientienne, styled after te Arc de Triomphe in Paris, with a twist- Khmer/Pali styled idols and filigree ornamented the structure. I haven't t he faintest idea why this monstrous structure was built in 1962 (it was never completed anyway due to the country's turbulent history).


the Patuxay... monstrous structure... nicknamed the "vertical runway" in reference to the concrete that was initially intended for the building of the airport, but diverted to build this folly.

- Climbed to the top of the monstrosity, with a bird's eye view of the capital, and blew the Shofar, making a declaration of God's sovereignty in the land, His victory and announcing the year of Jubilee- slaves set free and debts cancelled.


View of Vientienne from the top of Patuxay

- Visited Ps S at his place and met some campus crusade staff... never expected to meet crusaders in laos- they've apparently got an active ministry there... amazing amazing God.


- At Ps S's they've got this cool recording studio set up- coupla PC's, editing tools and then killer musicians! The strategy is brilliant- they use this cool Isaan song-form called Mâw Lam- its less of a musical form than a social critique. The instrumentation is standard- a Khené, the Laotian 3 stringed guitar and some clangy percussion (a cow bell would do nicely). The trick in Mâw Lam is the lyrics: two singers (sometimes more, rarely a solo) will take turns to sing spontaneous verse; the other singer is to pick up where the previous singer left off- the song content can range from political critique to social commentaries to love songs... Consequentially, this spontaneous artform has managed to escape government censorship (remeber Laos is a socialist/communist state, and all forms of media are heavily filtered). The strategy is to use Mâw Lam to preach the gospel! They are doing exactly that, and it works! Wonderful stuff!


Clandestine recording facility....

- Followed Ps W to the Eglisé Evangelique, sat through the funeral service, and travelled some 30km out to the countryside to the cemetary. What a trip- a train of trucks, vans, buses ferrying the mourners over muddy, sloppy roads soaked through by the rainy season (it rains here everyday- the rivers bursting their banks... more later). It was a miracle our pickup did not get stuck in the icky stuff... otherwise, i'd have alot more pictures to share!


Rainy season and dirt roads DO NOT make a good combination.


Train of mourners struggle to the cemetary. Killer sticky mud.

- Reached the cemetary at 2pm-ish, simmering... HOT, STICKY and Muddy. We gathered round, and the Hmaung pastor led in a short worship session- joyful songs for a solemn occasion and preached some more... Attending a laotian, christian, hmaung funeral is definitely an eyeopener. Again, there is that unity in the faith, and the assurance and joy in the afterlife- we'll meet this brother in heaven! How cool is that!


Hmuong Pastor (from the state-sanctioned church) preaching at the funeral/burial.

- Proceeded to Ps D's home for the music appointment, another half hour or so away. Had to cross a flooded river to get to the village. Ps D wasn't at home when we reached.


Getting to Ps D's house involves crossing a river that has burst its banks.


Lady weaving

- Decided to visit another sister in the village- Pi W. She's quite a character... a member of the former Thai Dam royalty in Laos (deposed after the communist take-over), she still retains a regal demeanor. She now weaves for a living, and does an excellent job. I'm honored to have some of her handiwork!


approaching the princess' residence


typical open fire kitchen

- Hurried back to Ps D's place, but he was again not back yet. Had to wait a bit before he got back; snoozed some in the sweltering heat. Ps D arrived well past 4pm and we lunched.


Ps D's


lunch at Ps D's... sticky rice and papaya salad... Yum!

- Ps D is an amazing fella. A top scholar in Laos, he was one of the elite students sent to the Soviet Union for special training. It was an odd moment when we exchanged greetings with each other in Russian- Ps D misses speaking Russian! As things turned out, Ps D lived in Irkutsk in his first year of education in USSR, and visited Lake Baikal, went to Olkhon Island on the lake, met the museum director in Khuzir town, whom I met too! He was the first Laotian to ever set foot at Lake Baikal. It was a strange feeling knowing that we both walked the same path before and met the same people. As an agriculturalist, he's converted his homestead into a self sufficient resource, living almost totally off the produce of his land. An amazing array of vegetables, herbs, fruit trees and fish pond surround his house. He's taken it on himself to educate the local farmers the finer points of sustainable agriculture, and in the process refused several prestigous government posts. He has an amazing pastoral heart, and invites folk to live with him for periods of time. Truly life impartation.
- Had our 1 hr crash course on the Khéne. Totally challenging! Got a loooong way to go.


Khene crash course

- Left Ps D's just before 6, in time to catch an array of nacreous clouds on display in the glowing sunset! From what I understand, this is no common phenomena- need to have high ice-clouds, a low sun and low clouds as the 'projection screen'. It truly felt like God was smiling on us.


Nacreous clouds 1


Nacreous clouds 2


Nacreous clouds 3

- Back to Vientienne, just as the sun was setting; got to the state hospital to pray for a sick brother... found ourselves through the maze of corridors and courtyards, curiously labeled in Lao and French, and completed our mission.


Emergency Room at the Hospital, Vientienne

- Found Joma Cafe at 730 (Lao-Thai border closes at 9pm, last bus at 8-ish...), hung around for a bit, got a lovely mocha ice-blend, got my cookies, and scooted. Said our goodbyes and thanks to Ps W, and hopped on a tuk-tuk for the hour long ride back to the Friendship bridge. Got back to the Thai side with monstrous rain clouds hard on our heels...


beautiful cafe Joma...


...what a paradise!

- Vincent rode us back, our hearts full of thanks and wonder at the day! Reached home to a sumptious dinner and special dinner guests Ajan Chudapa and her Husband, and Danielle. The heavens gave way the moment we stepped into the house. The clouds emptied themselves for the rest of the night.


Back home in Nongkhai, Danielle all dressed for the downpour!

Totally awestruck at God's faithfulness and goodness! Really, we sit back and Sabai.