The Vernon Journal

Globally, 1.1 Billion people drink from contaminated water sources every day, but thanks to the generosity of Pure Water International, there are now 12 fewer Akha families on that list.

Near our village is another small Akha village very close to our hearts called “Ayi Akha”. They are very poor, and have no access to electricity or clean water. The water source they have been using for all their cooking, cleaning and consumption is a 200-yard walk down a mountain, must be carried back to the homes in bottles, and is filthy. Through the years we have reached out to this village, building relationship, bringing medicine and even hosting a summer camp specifically for their 30+ children.

Late last year, we met a wonderful couple named Wade and Sarita who visited our village. After learning about our friends at Ayi Akha they gave us 12 Sawyer water filters, each of which can be used to clean water for a family for up to 50 years. Earlier this month, we presented the filters and instruction on how to use them to the twelve families in the village. Every family had at least one adult and child who listened attentively to what we shared with them and who now all have filters to clean their water and the knowledge to care for those filters for many years to come.

Next, we’d love to add some solar bottle lights to continue to brighten and bless their world. Anyone want to sponsor that project? $100 would add light to these homes. Leave a comment below or contact us with “Solar Lights” in the subject line for more info.

At the end of December, Christian churches around the globe celebrate the incarnation of the Eternal God, the dwelling of Emmanuel, Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ in a humble manger. The songs, the scriptures, the stories awake something eternal in us. We began Christmas early this year, and in an unexpected way. At the beginning of December we, along with fellow FMI missionaries in SE Asia, hosted a team of 8 pastors and leaders from the Gateway district, led by George Cline as they came on a short trip to two SE Asia nations to see what was happening out here and how the US church could partner with the work in Asia. This team was an encouragement to us in a way that few, if any, prior teams had been, and we would like to highlight four reasons why:

They Came, They Engaged, They Imparted, They Testified (and will continue to do so!)

To read the rest of this article,  follow this link over to the mommyhood memos where I had the honor of  writing as a guest blogger this week. If you’re visiting from the mommyhood memos… Welcome! Here are some posts from our archives that you might be interested in:

On Cross Cultural Pregnancy, Parenting & Kids:

• My Akha Pregnancy Guru
• The Birth Story
• It takes a village
• A Million Butts Can’t Be Wrong: Elimination Communication
• Diaperless Update: 3 Months
• EC Update: 1 Year
• Our Trilingual 2 Year Old
• A Different Kind of Milestone: Noodles and Chopsticks

Or if your interested in learning a bit more about the Akha people, our work, or our crazy life in the village, here are a few posts you may like:

• About the Akha
• Traditional Akha Vocals
• Vernon Vidcast #1: Our most recent ministry update
• 5 Minute Documentary about the Vernons
• The Akha and the West: Relevantly Traversing the Cultural Divide
• Pulling teeth on our own
• How to take a village shower
• The Rat and the Cat

Whether you’re an old friend or a new visitor,  thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment below and let us know you were here!