Karen Celebration

 Naam, right, invited me to her home town for a celebration of the opening of a new church.  It was the biggest gathering of Karen people in their village in 10 years.  

 

We ate a lot of pork, as it is the food for special occasions.  Pigs were killed the day before we arrived.  One dish was raw pork in pig's blood, of which I wasn't very excited about.  However, I gave it a try, a little bit, and I'm alive.  Then I asked Naam, "Aren't you going to eat it too?"  "No, I'm scared."  She responded.

 

Meet Lek's dad.  Lek is another girl from the dorm where I live.  Her dad has worked at this elephant ride company for over 20 years.  He gave us a ride on his elephant, 24 year old, Jackfruit.

 Lek's mom (left), Michelle, Me, and Naam.

 Every house we visited had food to share with us.  (Even when we had just eaten.)  It is their way of being hospitable and sharing life with us.

We always ate on the floor or on a raised floor table.  Life is simple and relaxed, but all the essentials were met. 

Look past the row of heads to see the writing on the wall.  That is the church's key verse written in Karen.  I could not read a single word, but according to my book, it says "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)

 

Here we have three single ladies.  How do you know?  From their shirts, married women wear black shirts with red horizontal stripes around the middle.  Married men wear a red shirt with vertical stripes.  Single girls wear a long white dress or colorful shirt, and single guys wear a shirt any color other than red.  The clothes are handmade by by the older women in the village.

 Everyone was buy going here and there, taking care of guests who came from 4 other provinces, and getting everything ready for the celebration.

 Paintings decorated all walls of the church.  My favorite was Adam and Eve, wearing traditional Karen dress, in a beautiful garden, with a beautiful view of the hills and valleys surrounding them.

 The married men and women from this church singing.  Almost every church had a song to share in the Karen language. 

 While this looks too western for my idea of a Karen church, the amazing thing is that it was completely funded and built by the Karen congregation, an amazing picture of how a village can come work together.

The pages of this Karen hymn book were brown and falling out but it was still being used.  Naam, having grown up going to Thia school, can speak and understand Karen easily, but we had to ask for help to find the right page because she hasn't studied reading or writing Karen language.

 

My favorite part was meeting grandmas, aunts, uncles, and cousins and beginning to see what life was like for the students I live with while they were growing up.  7 students I know come from this village of about 200 homes.  Life is simple there, but God is working, growing the church, and changing people's lives.

Thailand Test (Just for fun, no stress required)

I'm always learning more about this amazing country.  See how you do on this quiz of facts I've learned recently. 
(Answers are at the bottom, but no peeking until you've guessed!)

1. How many languages are used by native Thais in Thailand?
a) 8
b) 34
c) 85

2. Which countries border Thailand?
a) Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia
b) Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam
c) Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China

3. With a population of about 67,091,100 how about many cell phones are in use?
a) Less than 50 million
b) Between 50 and 67 million
c) More than 67 million

4. What percent of the total population lives in an urban area?
a) 21%
b) 34%
c) 45%

5. What are the major agricultural products of Thailand?
a) Rice, coconuts, corn & rubber
b) Tapioca, sugarcane, soybeans & corn
c) All of the above

6. Bangkok is the home to the world's biggest ________?
a) skyscraper
b) Chinatown
c) pot of rice


7. What is the country's unemployment rate?
a) 1%
b) 14%
c) 32%

8. How many pounds of rice does the average Thai eat in one year?
(For reference, people in the USA average 15 pounds)
a) 60 pounds
b) 150 pounds
c) 300 pounds


9. What percent of the adult population is obese?
(For reference, USA is about 33%)
a) 7.8%
b) 10.2%
c) 28.9%


10. Exports of _______ are estimated at $250 million US dollars annually.
a) Diamonds and gems
b) Orchids
c) Coconuts




 

Answers:
1. c) 85 languages can be currently found spoken by native Thais.
2. a) Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia
3. c) More than 67 million (69,683,000 cellphones are in use)
4. b) 34% of the population lives in an urban area
5. c) All of the above (rice, coconuts, corn, rubber, tapioca, sugarcane, soybeans & corn are all major agricultural products of Thailand.)
6. b) Bangkok is the home to the world's biggest Chinatown.
7.  a) 1% of the country is unemployed.
8.  c) 300 pounds - amount of rice eaten by the average Thai in one year.
9. a) 7.8% of the adult population is obese.
10. b) Exports of Orchids are estimated at $250 million US dollars annually.

Information from: Operation World (www.operationworld.org/thai) and www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html

A Lesson in Faith and Prayer

Lhing, a BJD student from Northern Thailand.

Julia, please pray for my neighbors in the village where I grew up.  They are like family to me.  Her 4 year old son died two weeks ago, and for 10 days they left the body in the house and prayed for a miracle.  The boy didn't smell, so they really believed God was going to heal him, but finally they had to bury him.  The mom is sad, but she knows his life was given by God and taken in God's timing.

Sometimes I get confused about who is supposed to be challenging who.  It's a good thing.