Halloween Get-Together

Since coming to Laos, Halloween has become one of my favorite holidays. No, I don't like the scary, spooky, creepy part of it, but there are a lot of other aspects that are just a lot of fun. I often feel like a kid again! 

Today a group of students came over and carved pumpkins, did apple bobbing, had a team costume contest, did indoor trick-or-treating, and ate some delicious caramel apple cake (and I learned how to make caramel popcorn...so easy and so delicious!)

Here are a few pics from our fun day...

 Pumpkin carving

This is one of my favorites...this young man dressed up as a deer (And, I guess in this case, dressed up should be taken literally since he's wearing a woman's dress)

 Each group had a theme and this group's theme is Holiday stars...Spiderman, Cowgirl and Michael Jackson

 This group won the prize for best theme...Mafia woman and her bodyguards.

 Check out my eye make-up...not sure what I was supposed to be :) Everyone said I looked like a fortune teller, but that's not what I was going for!

 Apple Bobbing

 This is Shana...one of the new teachers that came in August. She joined us for the activity.

So, apparently the thing to do with your jack-o-lanterns is to put them in a tree...

 And, the spunkiest, smelliest, naughtiest cowgirl ever...Lily! She couldn't get enough of all the people and tried to get more than her share of snacks.

Taking a Break

I'm now in the second week of our almost three month break.

Because of international meetings in Vientiane and the Asian University Games, our university doesn't have class until January.

At first I thought, "What in the heck am I going to do for all that time?!"

But it has been so nice (granted, I'm only on week 2!).

Sometimes life can feel so hard here, and the unseen realm can be so exhausting that I often feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water. Not to mention having the responsibilities of being an English Teacher at a university! This semester has been especially difficult since S told her folks she didn't want to follow their traditions anymore. It has been a lot of struggle with unseen arrows wanting to pierce hearts and homes.

I honestly feel like the Father has blessed us with a fresh wind during this time.

It is 10:50 am and I am blasting Truth via a Travis Cottrell CD. I've had plenty of time to journal, read the Book, and another book by one of my newly-discovered favorite authors - Hannah Hurnard. She wrote Hinds' Feet on High Places (a must-read, and truly changing paradigms and perspectives in my life here), and her other not-as-well-known book Mountains of Spices.

For once I feel like there is more Truth than lies flooding my mind and heart.

Another cool aspect of having a break is that I have time to study Lao! There is a school that teaches Lao here in Vientiane and Christa and I are taking a class on Book Stories.  It's been challenging, but also really awesome, to read and discuss stories like the Prodigal, Calming the Storm and Jairus' Daughter in Lao and to talk about how we've seen Him do similar things in our lives, or experienced similar difficulties.

Our teacher is a precious Lao lady who is 35 and still single (which is very rare here). She has been like-minded for 15 years and continues to serve Him faithfully in the midst of difficulties and facing the prospect of never getting married. She told us about one of her friends who gave up waiting for a like-minded spouse because it was too hard, and is now married to a man who beats her and forbids her to go to Fellowship. Unfortunately, that is not a rare thing here I believe. But,it has been such a blessing getting to know her and hear about His faithfulness in her life.

Next month, our household (C, S, N and me) are going to the beach! We found an awesome deal on AirAsia for flights to Bangkok and then we'll bus to the beach. About $67 round trip! And N has never been on an airplane or seen the ocean! So excited for some roomie time together, and for the blessing of roommates that want to go on a trip together because we enjoy each other so much!

Here are some recent pictures for your viewing enjoyment:)

Lily getting a bath...she gets the nastiest, most ginormous ticks here and no matter how many times we bathe her, they don't go away. 

N practicing on our new keyboard! Christa has been teaching S and N

 

So thankful for my roomies. This was a special meal - fried ribs, eggplant sauce for the rice, and broccoli/cauliflower stir fry - because N was going back to her hometown for the break the next day.

Ok, I better get to my Lao homework now!

Funny Quotes

Some days I feel like I should write a book about the funny things that my students say or ask me.

For example, one day I get a text from a student that goes like this:

Teacher, what does it mean "to make love"?

Um, how do you answer that in a text!

And this week in class we were doing a group activity, when a student wanted to tell one of her classmates to turn around to form a circle. But instead of saying, "turn around" she said, "You turn me on."

I happened to overhear and I think based on my reaction she knew she'd said something quite different.

Then today I was craving some chocolate so I got a Reese's from the freezer and started eating it. Sone, laying on the couch next to me, says, "Hey! You are eating the one you bought for me. You're such a mooch!"

I'd taught her that word a while back but never thought she'd turn it on me! :) Haha, I love it when she busts out with a phrase like that!

New Neighbors!

It's been a while since I posted... Been having lots of computer woes (but that's another post altogether, and I don't want to be a Debbie-Downer at the moment:)

So, I wanted to make an important announcement! We will have new neighbors soon!! It's pretty exciting.

You actually already know them...

As you know, our current Lao roomies S & N were told they needed to move out. As you also know, yours truly was (surprise!) rather emotional about the whole ordeal. In fact, I'd been dealing with a lot of anxiety the past month as I anticipated their moving day, and how much more often I would be alone.

Well, as it turns out, they will not be our roomies any longer, which I am now at peace with, but...

they're going to be our next-door-neighbors.

I think that's pretty cool! :)

Our lease has always included two buildings - our home, and our landlady's old shop that we have been using for storage. But that shop is another house on its own - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a bigger room in the front. So, we appealed to have S & N be able to live there, and found out this week that the request was approved! 

I think I had come to the place where either way I would've been OK (definitely fewer tears shed this way). I had wrestled with the Father about this and had finally come to a place of peace in my heart. But I'm so thankful that in this case, He allowed me the desires of my heart - for them to still be close enough for us to hang out and be apart of each others' lives, while at the same time being able to honor this university's desire for professionalism amongst students and teachers.

My heart is bursting with thankfulness!

Phnom Penh

I'm in Cambodia for 9 days for a teacher mentor training session and then to observe our incoming teachers during their TESOL practicum. It's going to be a busy week, but I'm looking forward to spending time with some of our new teachers. Our team is basically doubling in size this year (country-wide) and my responsibilities will be increasing significantly as I'll be meeting weekly with some of the new teachers to discuss pertinent topics on teaching, as well as to assist with lesson planning and such. 

But this morning I had some free time, and strolled around Phnom Penh for a bit, mostly in search of a coffee shop where I could hole up and read in the air-con for a while, but also deep in thought about this infamous city.

I tried to imagine, as I took in the hustle and bustle of the busy Saturday morning...

I tried to imagine that just under 40 years ago - only 8 years before I was born - on April 17, 1975, this city was completely evacuated, all residents forced out into the countryside. They left everything behind, flooded the streets and started the slow crawl away from their homes, their jobs and for some, their families. 

Life was completely and utterly changed in an instant.

I'm staying in a home with some Cambodian girls (they're referred to as Khmai here) and when we were talking about our families, one girl said she has no family. She was raised in an orphanage. It didn't seem polite to press it any further, but it made me wonder. She is too young to have been orphaned by the events that took place from 1975-1979 when the Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia. But there are undoubtedly countless others, perhaps only a few years older than me, who have been effected.

It's a crazy thought - that in one instant your life is normal, the streets are busy in a comfortable sort-of-way, and then in the next nothing will ever be the same.

I'm reading a book I picked up at the library on campus where we've been meeting. It's on the Chinese Cultural Rev in the 60s. A pretty eerie read in many ways as I watch certain events unfolding in my homeland (and perhaps it's yours as well). 

Not sure where I first heard this quote, but it should be held in every mind as we reflect on the past and ponder the present. Those who refuse to recognize the past will be condemned to repeat it.

Treasuring the Moments

In spite of the sad news this week regarding our home arrangements next week, we've had some fun moments... Tuesday evening Koy, Sone, Nouy, Touy (and her bro and boyfriend) and I all went to the Mekong to do some shopping. The sky was so beautiful. And I'm so thankful for how the Father has brought each of these sweet people into my life. I have truly been touched by each of them.

 Two of my faves here... Touy and Sone. Touy has become like an extra roommate she visits us so often and I love how she has totally bonded with Sone and Nouy too. It's been a joy to see the Father work in her life this semester.

 A beautiful sky... Painted by Healing Hands

 There's just something about feeling like you're losing something that makes you treasure the moments you do have even more. With the news this week that S and N wouldn't be able to live with us next year, it has seemed to make every moment more special...and being the big cry baby I am, I tear up with each moment! Sone cleaned my room for me yesterday while I was giving exams and I walked in and saw it and started bawling. Something has also changed in S's heart since she heard the news. At first she was really sad too, of course, but the Father has given her great wisdom and strength regarding the big change and she has been speaking truth to my heart every day. In fact, the very next day she wanted to read together and we've been reading together every morning since. Each day it seems the Father gives me a segment of Truth to cling to...Trust in Him with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding...He will direct your paths...Consider it all joy...Cast all your cares on Him...I know the plans I have for you...for a hope and a future... His Truth has come alive to me more in these past few days than in a long time...and I think the same has been happening in S's heart. He is so good, and He never forsakes His sheep.

Another cool thing is S has loved learning guitar and she is learning W songs on the guitar now. This picture, though not the best, captures the joy that playing guitar is bringing to her! I remember how much playing the guitar blessed me 9 years ago when I first started learning and was going through a really low time in my life.

Another sentimental moment is captured in this picture...

 Nouy was cooking dinner last night and I started to think about how many meals we've shared and the ridiculous amount of laughter that she has brought into our home (often because I let out a shocking belch in the middle of dinner, or because of a funny language miscommunication, which happens all the time!), and I just blubbered like a baby and Nouy hugged me and said, "Ok, I will make something special." She had her apron on, shut the door and wouldn't let us in until she was completely finished.  

Here she is explaining about her meal. She's such a cutie! I will miss the joy and laughter she has brought into our home!

Sad

This is still a little fresh, tears haven’t quite dried yet, so I apologize in advance.

Had lunch with my boss/team leader today and he had some pretty hard news…The Dean of our faculty told him about a new rule that doesn’t allow teachers to live with any current students at the university, regardless of if they aren’t your students.

Translation: Sone and Noui have to move out at the beginning of next school year.

I realize it’s not the end of the world, especially in light of the recent loss I was told about at home.   There are far harder tidings to bear.

But  for me it’s still a loss. Sone and Noui are really the only family I’ve had here. They are sisters to me in the realest sense. Our home of 4 feels complete, like a real family; I mean, we even have a dog (somehow a dog makes things seem more official). Christa is often gone much of the time, so Sone and Noui and I are usually at home together, often eating all 3 meals together during a day. We laugh and we cry and we act crazy and, of course, argue sometimes. We cook together, talk to the Father together, play Uno or Jenga on weekends for hours with my students who come over. They have enriched my life in so many ways.

Thinking about not having that next year makes me feel really sad. The house will be so empty.  Living with Lao roommates has been one of the best roommate experiences I’ve ever had.

My boss said he would appeal to our dean based on the fact that they live in our home already. In fact, I never think of it as they live in my home, I think of it as our home collectively.  One of the main reasons Noui was able to come study was because of the money they were able to save living with us. 

Last night we sang the song Blessed Be Your Name and I tried to lay this down. He gave me a wonderful year living with my two sisters. I ask for another, but if He doesn’t see fit, there must be a better, higher purpose that is greater than the pain our hearts feel. Sometimes, (and I know we all have felt this multiple times) I just wish I could see from His vantage point and understand His ways.