Adventures in Laos

We are in Laos right now, and I'm typing this bit of an update on the iPad. (edited later to add photos)
Wed  morning we hustled away in a great hurry to catch our bus, only to sit and wait at the office for a while until it arrived... This is life! Our ride was fairly uneventful. The children did quite well. We got to the border town around 4:30 or so, and were shown to our nights lodging... It was quite a luxury suite! Not! But I figured we'd still sleep just fine. There I was mistaken. It was under a bar and by another bar, so that about the time we settled in to sleep for the night some other folks were just beginning their evening's activities. The druken noises continued till sometime around 2:00 am, and shortly thereafter John awoke and decided he was ready to get up. Besides which my part of the twin sized bed in our fan-less room had a few extra comfy springs to massage my ribs!
Anyway, the night ended at last and after some toast and jam as our substantial breakfast we were on our way to cross the border.

Our crossing was by boat...quite the boat! Mom would have LOVED this! I was holding my breath and praying for safety, and definately relieved to reach the other side safetly!Maybe I wouldn't be so petrified of rickety overloaded boats if I knew how to swim, but since I don't and with two little ones besides.... And the life jacket you see on John was an adult one that didn't buckle... How much help that would have been God knows, but I'm glad we had no cause to find out!

We were taken to the bus station by our tour coordinator, and then a long wait for the bus while we found ourselves being closely observed by the Laotians around us. I had to wonder how often they had seen foreigners before, especially little foreigners!  The man you see beside Darren in the photo is from Israel. He joked about us being aliens and our our ufo being parked further down the road.
I spoke to him about the Lord, but he is not religious and looks at Christianity and other religions as being simple a product of the brain to make us all feel better about ourselves, so it was hard to get any where. He just smiled as if to say - Yes, it's so nice you can have such a comforting belief!  But of course I know better than to think it is reality.
Soon we were on our way on long bus ride to the village town we are staying in. On the way the driver stopped and said something in Laos. I asked a lady who spoke some English what we were stopping for and she said with a heavy accent and a gesture around her. "You can go to bathroom... Anywhere you want"
We arrived and got a taxi to a very nice guesthouse for around $8.50 a night. That's nice, especially since food is more expensive here than we expected. Today we spent some time exploring the town as well as in prayer and reading.

These two little girls were enjoying some desert together at the table outside our guesthouse

 

Here is a picture of the strange rotor tiller powered type vehicles that are common on the roads here in Laos - Driven by a youngster

 

Two cuties that we passed enjoying a secret

The landscape

The houses of the rich are quite a contrast to those of their poorer neighbors

 

John loved the riding toy that the guesthouse owners allowed him to use

 

Our cutey!

 

 

Refuge from the pouring rain

      We took public transport on the way back. Observe the speedometer reading and gages - We were going full speed though they do not show it.

      The Lord orchestrated our trip and led us to a man from Laos who wants to be a Christian.  Please pray for him that he will be real one. He wants to talk with Darren more on the phone today or tommorrow. Pray that God will give Darren the words to say and wisdom to make truth plain to him. His name is Sene.

     So here's a very recent family picture! We are just finishing up 4th term and ready to head off to Laos for our trip. It should be an adventure! We have bus tickets to get there and a hotel for the first night away from home. After that we are on our own. No connections in a foreign, and Communist country! So remember us to our Father! We really have no idea what to expect, and no real plans for what we will do there.  I have a phrase book with some Laotian phrases and usually you can find somebody who speaks at least a little English. Otherwise it will be through signs and wonders - We sign, and they wonder and vica versa.   So yeah, it could be interesting! It's a little scary, too, even though I do like adventure!

     And here's a snap-shot of the two of us that someone took the other evening at Rick's house.
Our time here had been very good for us as a couple. I think we've learned to know each other better than ever, and also to realize how much more we have to learn about how we each think, as we talk things through... miss each other occasionally, and finally learn to see how the other sees. I really appreciate those times of visiting and sharing hearts. Especially when Darren makes time after a long day of study!

Here is a picture of me working on the painting I've just finished on Lee and Joyce's wall... while it was still lacking some things! That was a lot of fun! I've got another one to do when we get back from Laos.

See John's bandaids? He just got over a case of boils and last night I discovered that it's Christy's turn next. :(  Please pray that she will get over them with out any more trouble! She cried like her heart would break when I squeezed them out last night. I know it has to be extremely painful! This morning she seemed like she had a grudge against me till finally I wondered if she was upset about me hurting her last night and so I sat down and talked with her and told her I was very sorry I had had to hurt her and that I didn't want to. Then she kissed me and was okay again. It's almost surprising sometimes how much she seems to understand!