Our family has been staying in our city home in Chiangrai for all of October and we will probably remain here until the month is over as we adjust as a family to our new addition. We’re excited to get back into our normal ministry pace, but have really enjoyed this time in the city preparing for Izi, spending time as a family, and working on our city-side projects.

We have been tumbl’ing images of Izabel over on her own blog – Our Izi Ruth – rather than fill up this blog with tons of kid pictures (actually we all have Tumblr blogs if you would like to follow our lighter and more personal posts: Izi Abi Lori Paul) but wanted to share a few pictures here as well:

The silver lining in the last few weeks has been a really nice time as a family. A two-year old can sometimes be a handful, but it’s so fun to watch her personality, vocabulary and comprehension of the world around her as it expands daily.

Abi is very active, but very sweet. Right now, she really loves to be doing whatever her mom is doing. Last night, Abi was beginning to feel better and decided she wanted to help Lori make a dinner – a very American “Breakfast for Dinner” actually.

Here are some images from their time together:

Later that evening (when mom decided she needed the whole kitchen to herself if she was actually going to get dinner made) Abi and I went out to look at the sunset… and to take more pictures of Abi.

Those of you who are looking for even more Abigail than you can find here on the Vernon Journal, take a look at our scrapbook postings of pictures, unedited videos, and other tidbits at Abi’s Tumblr: Our Abi Hope.
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Anyone who has visited our village knows A-Paw, 8, is the younger of the two siblings. She is a beautiful and truly remarkable child. She is so smart and has a personality that just lights up a room. Her older brother, A-Wa, 15, is a handsome young man with a lot of confidence and potential, as well as a certain knack for getting into mischief.

Unlike many deaf children in America, these two have very little opportunity for “success”. Without any method of communication (they have had very little exposure to sign language) they have no opportunity to succeed in school (the Thai / modern definition of success) and very little opportunity to find someone to marry (the Akha / premodern definition of success).

The, in June 2009, we were honored and blessed to host Kristin & Dave – who came halfway around the world just to be a blessing to this family. Kristin is an audiologist and is currently working for the Denver Public School system. They not only brought the expertise to diagnose these kids, but they also brought first class equipment and top of the line hearing aids which had been donated to give to this family!

It was an extraordinary experience to see these two children hear for the first time ever. Both children have very minimal hearing, so much so that if you were standing right next to them, yelling their names… they wouldn’t hear you. But with the hearing aids they could hear even quietly spoken words!

After being fitted with her aids, we “spied” on A-paw as she was tried them out on the real world. She went outside, and was standing 50 meters from some of her friends who were playing with a bamboo stick by hitting it on the ground. As she heard the hollow, echoing sound of bamboo floating across the distance, her eyes grew wide and she looked back at us in amazement as if to say “Hey… that makes an incredible sound!”

We are so grateful for the opportunity that has been given to these kids. We know that the path will not be an easy one, as special needs education cases are largely ignored in rural Thailand. Also adding to the difficulty is the significant cultural and emotional adjustment as a child goes from a silent world to an audible one. We are hoping to get them some speech therapy (we might even do it ourselves if need be!) and help them to catch up in school, but these things will take time and patience.

Through this experience, however, we are again reminded and awestruck by the way our God lavishes his love upon the poor and the needy.

Ingredients:
* ½ pound of ground meat (we use pork)
* 3 large-ish eggplants
* 1 small onion (I used yellow here, but we prefer purple)
* 2 Eggs
* Green Onion
* Cilantro
* 3 cloves of garlic
* Thai Chili pepper (or similar)
* Salt
* Oil

Instructions & Notes:
1. This dish is served with rice. So it’s best to start your rice first, because it will take 15-20 minutes. (In other words… DO NOT use Minute Rice! Learn how to cook rice here.)
2. Cut the eggplant into large pieces. Boil with the eggs for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. When finished, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
*Note: For some reason we like green eggplant best. Purple seems to be more watery and have less flavor, but I don’t even know if green eggplant is available in the U.S.
3. Chop the onion, green onion and cilantro. Set aside.
4. Prepare garlic & chili peppers. We use a mortar and pestle, but a garlic press or any number of kitchen gadgets would work fine, I’m sure!
*Note: Add chili peppers to suit your family’s taste. We use about 3 to achieve “medium” spicyness… but it’s all subjective, so start slow.
5. Get your wok (a.k.a. “pan”) nice and hot. Add oil, garlic, peppers, meat and onion. Stir-fry until meat is browned.
6. Usually, by this time, my boiled eggplant has cooled off enough to handle. So, remove the meat from the heat for a moment and chop the boiled eggplant.
7. Now, add your chopped eggplant to the meat mixture in the wok and stir-fry. It should get a little mushier and a little browner when it’s done. Add salt to taste (approximately ½ to 1 teaspoon should be about right.)
8. Reserve a small handful of the chopped green onions & cilantro. Add the rest of the onions & cilantro to the wok and stir-fry for another minute or so.
9.Transfer to your serving plate, and garnish with sliced boiled eggs and remaining green onions and cilantro. Serve with rice.

However, I think one of the best stories came from a moment when the kids where having a hard time understanding…

One of the teachings we did was based on the story of the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18. We talked about how important each person is to God and that God loves everyone and seeks a relationship with everyone! After the teaching, we split the kids up by age groups to do the craft and work on the memory verse for the day. I was working with the older kids (age 9-13) and we were learning a separate but related sheep verse, John 10:27, 28. After repeating the verse several times, I asked the kids if they understood what it meant. They all stared back at me blankly (not even a glimmer of understanding!)

As I struggled to find the right words to explain this metaphor to kids who had never seen sheep, one of the kids piped up and asked a village grandpa (who was there repairing our roof from the storm the previous night and seemed to be enjoying eavesdropping on our little lesson) if he could explain the verse. Sure enough, he had the perfect illustration! He explained, “You know that if a chicken wanders off, and it’s owner goes looking for it, the owner doesn’t only look with her eyes, but she calls ‘Ku Ku Ku’. And the chicken knows the sound of its owners voice and will come running when it hears its owner calling. We can know God’s voice just like that chicken!” Simultaneously, the kids all had an “Ah-Ha” moment! Three cheers for Grandpa! This is what I love about living in a village; nearly everything is done with a little help from our friends!

In the end, we did a VBS in three different villages and ministered to about 90 kids (not to mention many parents and grandparents who hung around to enjoy the fun!) This was the first year we have done this and we were really pleased with it’s success; I’m sure it will become a yearly tradition!

After a few days, they have gotten a little more used to each other – and we have learned that sometimes we have to take Abi (by herself) to the local park so Sem can play quietly by himself for a while.

Sem is really sweet, and a great eater. Abi is learning from him to enjoy her food a little more, while Sem is learning from her that interaction with other kids has its place.

We have some pictures of their first few days together, playing together with Sem’s Opa Gerhard at Jeremy’s baseball game. Abi and Sem enjoying a Strawberry Cheesecake (look at the ecstasy on his face!), and some cute ones of the two of them in their Sunday best.

Three of the four clinics we did were especially exciting for Paul & I because they were in villages not associated with our organization. As is the case in much of the world, sometimes, here in Thailand, church groups have trouble getting along.Unity among Christians and Christian organizations is one of the areas that Paul and I really have a heart to see improve among the Akha. So, in providing a “no strings attached” clinic, we hope to not only bless the individual receiving the medical care, but to build relationship with village and church leadership which might remind them that the body of Christ can still function even outside of denominational affiliation!

In January we were blessed to have my (Lori’s) parents in country for a visit. Their arrival coincided with the Grand Opening of the new Foursquare church and ministry center in Bangkok. We flew down to meet them in Bangkok and while there took the opportunity to see a few sights. Can you believe that this was their fifth trip to Thailand and they had never been to the Grand Palace! (We must not be very good tour guides, eh?)

After a few days in Bangkok, we headed down to Southern Thailand for a few days at the beach! We ended up staying in Songkla (just outside of Hat Yai) for 3 nights. Our little hotel was right on the beach and we had such a nice relaxing time!

Esther (who has lived with us for almost 2 years now) and one of her friends came along as well. Neither of them had ever flown in a plane or seen the ocean, so it was exciting to be with them as they experienced these new things. It was also Abi’s first time seeing the ocean (Although, it certainly wasn’t her first time on the plane… she’s been on nearly 30 plane rides thus far and she’s not even two yet!) and, of course, she loved it! (Some photos of her at the beach are bound to show up on the baby blog sooner or later. So stay tuned!)

After we made it back up north, we all headed up to the village for about a week. My parents were troopers, braving the cold showers and hard beds with ease. We stayed pretty busy pouring a concrete pathway and building a deck as the finishing touches to our “new” village home. My dad, the builder, loved getting his hands dirty, working alongside the Akha men and noticing all the differences in how things are done here. And my mom, (not so keen on getting her hands dirty) was the resident baby sitter and kept Abi and her village friendsoccupied and out of harms way.

Mom & Dad… thanks so much for coming! We can’t wait for your next visit!

My role in the event was mostly “observer” with a little bit of “translator” and “photographer” thrown in. For one of the sessions, we were blessed to hear from an American friend, Marlene. Having been a family counselor for many years, she shared out of her expertise about the different stages in a woman’s life. This is an important topic for Akha women, because in traditional Akha culture it’s generally considered taboo to talk about things like menstruation or menopause, which often leaves women unprepared and scared when natural changes occur. In any case, I was elected to translate for this session.

Although I’ve been here for nearly 4 years, my language is not what you would call “microphone worthy”. So I stumbled through the session saying things like “Do you understand me? Did I say that correctly?” and “How do you say _________?” It was like being tossed in the deep end and told “Sink or swim!” While moments like this are difficult, for sure, I’m grateful for the opportunity to step up to a challenge and find that, even if I can only doggy paddle, at least I didn’t drown!

My other, less challenging, job was to take pictures during one of the craft times. My mission was to capture a picture of every woman for the slide show scheduled for the final night. As an added bonus, I got to witness the skilled craftsmanship of nearly a hundred women making traditional men’s headdresses. Take a peek at the pictures to see for yourself!

The final diagnosis was “food poisoning,” though we’re not sure where she was infected. By the time we got her to the hospital, her potassium levels were depleted from all the vomiting and diarrhea and she was quite dehydrated as well. They treated her with IV electrolytes and antibiotics for three days.

Everything went pretty smoothly. Our normally very active little girl was generally pretty content sitting in her hospital bed watching Sesame Street on the laptop. Even being tethered to the IV was not nearly as difficult as we anticipated. We explained to her that her hand was drinking the water in the bag, so she would hold her IV hand up to her mouth and “sluuurp”. (So darn cute!) In fact, she became so accustomed to having the IV pole follow us around everywhere that she actually cried when they were wheeling it away!

All that being said, the time certainly had it’s difficult moments as well! The worst being the several times they had to draw blood and/or insert the IV. To begin with they had to swaddle her to keep her immobilized, which she absolutely hated. Then, her tiny veins were apparently impossible to find so the nurses had to poke her and “dig around” in multiple locations to find a suitable vein. Meanwhile, Abi screamed and cried at the top of her lungs! And to top it all off, the whole process always left looking nasty looking bruises on her arms and legs as reminders of the traumatic experience!

The other difficult thing was the matter of sleep. Abi is really not a very good sleeper to begin with, so the constant flow of nurses in and out made it pretty hard for her to sleep. The first night she woke at 2am. When 3pm arrived and she hadn’t slept for more than about 45 minutes, we decided to ask the doctor for some sleeping medicine. Boy, did it do the trick! She slept like a rock from about 4pm until midnight. She woke up, went potty, had some dinner, took a walk around the ward and then slept again from 2am to 8 am. (Without a doubt, this was the BEST nights sleep I’ve had in 2 years!)

All in all, we’re thankful for God’s healing hand and for the availability of good health care in Chiang Rai. And, of course, we appreciate the prayers of so many during this tough time!

I’ve often been asked how I bathe in the village, so I thought I’d give you a step by step tutorial on the process! When I first arrived in the village, I had no idea how to shower at the public wells and had to walk about a mile to our Akha mom’s house to bathe in her indoor bathroom. Luckily, some of the young women in the village took pity on me and taught me all the ins and outs of bathing modestly in public! Of course, with our new house (We promise a video tour of the finished house is coming soon!) we have an indoor bathroom, so indoor bucket showers are also possible. However, I actually enjoy being outside and have become quite accustomed to showering like this, so I still prefer sarong showers (weather permitting).

Remember to click on the pictures below in order to read the captions and view the full size photo.

The event was so much fun (I’m serious, we had a blast!) that I only snapped a few shots at the very beginning and during the “formal picture taking time”, but here are a couple of moments captured throughout the day:

We had a great evening, too, but I’ll leave that story for Lori to share that with you in our Baby Notes.

Last week we went with a number of them to an Akha church here in Chiang Rai and at the beginning of this week we brought them down for a construction project in Wiangpapao (about 1.5 hours southwest of Chiang Rai). They were great workers and, partnering with the Akha from the village, were able to pour the foundation footers and floor for the new church in two days!

Lori was obviously not allowed to do any work, so we stationed her at the Akha Clinic and behind the camera. Here are some of the moments she captured:

There is a lot to be told about this event, and for Lori and I there is still a lot to be learned about this event, but today I just want to share some pictures of a young Akha bride and groom from a wedding ceremony in our village. Specifically, I want you all to see the long, involved process that is the donning of the traditional Akha headdress and attire.

Beautiful, is it not? We were honored to take pictures for two weddings in our village just before Lori became sick, and promised to put together a video slide show of the pictures for both couples’ families. We are planning to head back to the village this weekend to give out the finished videos.

It is a strange world the Akha live in today – they sit on dirt floors in their bamboo huts and watch family wedding videos on their televisions. Talk about an ancient-future experience.

I had promised some pictures of the ABI graduation and have also added some pictures of the graduation of our pastor from Phayao Bible College.

As you can see below, Dr. Paul Lewis was in Chiang Rai for the graduation. As the original transcriber of the Akha language and the original translator of the Akha Bible, he receives and incredible outpouring of love and respect from the Akha people. What was most incredible to us, however, was his flawless Akha. His accent is flawless, he truly speaks like a native Akha, as we are so often reminded by our Akha friends. Oh well, maybe in 50 years we’ll speak that well too.

As we have come to expect, the graduation at House of Joy was a spectacular event. Approximately 1,000 Akha from all over the region came down and enjoyed hearing from Dr. Lewis and Dean Fraise, watching choreographed dances, and listening to the spectacular choir led by Salama Bu-Zi. The graduation in Phayao was also a lot of fun for us, especially because six of our friends from our village came down to celebrate the graduation of the Mae Salong pastor.

The celebrations continue as this month three pastors will be sent out as missionaries to reach the Akha who have never heard the gospel. Please hold these men up in prayer as they represent the beginning of an exciting new era in the Akha Church.