2 July 2008
We are BACK from Laos (to Chiang Mai)
Posted by admin under: Uncategorized .
Hello Family,
We just got back from Laos this morning around 8am after another 12 hour bus ride—this time it was not as comfortable. The blankets we got on this bus sported teddy bears and roses and smelled less (or more, depending on how you look at it) exciting, but of course, Morgan held onto her own, precious, lavender blankie. Esther kept getting dripped on from the faulty AC, and Advait’s backpack was the victim of spilled water. Jess bought some already-peeled grapefruit only to learn later that the already-peeled peels were hidden beneath the actual fruit and added to the weight and bulging appearance of the package. I used the bathroom during the bus ride and while I was watering the toilet, my right hand on the railing and my left hand on…my pants, the door swung open from a sharp turn. Hooray. But no one looked. I learned only later that the door could click shut if done in a very, very specific way. Advait and I saved some KFC “chicken” nuggets from the previous night for our breakfast on the bus. “yum.”
Anyways, our trip to Laos was awesome. The missionary family that hosted us were a huge blessing to our team. Most days were spent going to the rehab house in the morning, which is a home for recovering drug addicts, to help lead a study or share a testimony, and then attending a group in the evening to do similar work. It was amazing to see daddy minister to people at every single meeting we went to. We spent a lot of time with people and watching as he worked amazing transformation and deliverance for the Lao and for us.
We also attended a water ceremony. And since I’m in an interesting mood right now, let’s order generic ceremony experiences according to excitement:
1. by sprinkling
2. by dunking in chlorinated pool inside building
3. by dunking in chlorinated pool outside
4. by dunking in ocean (San Diego)
5. by dunking in the river Jordan
6. by dunking in a tropical river by a WATERFALL while a large butterfly lands on the leader’s forehead and people swing off of tall trees via vines into the pool of water! (Laos)
Sorry for being so random, but that place was just amazingly beautiful. We had to hike a pretty dangerous, rocky, muddy, and slippery trail to get to spot, but it was well worth it. We trekked slowly, bringing the elderly women and a friend along, who was seven months pregnant! A lot of us kept slipping and falling, and we returned with reddish bottoms, stained by the clay-colored mud. And yes, a butterfly actually landed on the leader’s forehead just as he was dunking the first person to be baptized. (Cool, because the butterfly is the symbol of his “enterprise” in Laos—a symbol of transformation that he uses.
We also played soccer with the people here. It was soooooo fun. I played barefoot because I didn’t have cleats and I don’t like playing in normal shoes. We won 1-0 after a pretty long battle to score and I got the assist! =)
Last thing for now, I promise. Singing with the Lao was awesome. They use a lot of American songs that have been translated into Lao. Playing guitar with a few of the brothers there and singing songs and exchanging chords was where I connected most naturally with the guys. I loved co-leading with two of the friends—it was fun and life-giving just having that connection through music as we gave and took wordless cues from each other during song time and laughed when we led the group in different directions.
I love the Lao people and their food. But more so the people (they create the food, anyways). A lot of the connections I had with the people there had no conversational basis, since we were there for only a week and I only learned the bare necessities of the language like “hello,” “thank you,” etc. Instead, most of the connections I had with the guys there were from encouraging each other. I have been on overseas trips before, but it was still harder than I thought saying goodbye to these friends of mine. Maybe it was because few of them have or can afford using the internet for emails. Maybe it was because the connections I felt with them through encouragement was stronger than in my past trips. Whatever it was, I know that part of me did not want to let go of the friends I had made or the clear work that daddy was doing in those people’s lives in Laos.
Ask me in person or through email for more details about what daddy did for me personally.
That’s all for now!
in him,
Michael Shawn “Henry” Feng
