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just because

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

by an understandably grateful mother
Luang Prabang, Laos 

(and to show she *DOES* smile sometimes!!!!! but it’s true, she’s a serious wee poppet, this one, yet with a sparkle in her eyes even in those contemplative moments)

We love you sweetie, and are so pleased to be travelling with you. People have said you won’t remember the trip, but that doesn’t bother us – we really couldn’t bring ourselves to leave you behind <wink> You are a special part of our family, whether we are home or on the road. Wherever we are, you are happy if you can wake up next to Mama and Dadda each morning and snuggle with us during the day. That’s a good enough reason to bring you along! If you remember your elephant ride or being carried in a Thai wrap or sweetly saying, “sabaidee”, that’ll be a bonus! Love you darling.

Posted in children, postcard: Laos | 2 Comments »

weekends

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

By Da Mama
Luang Prabang, Laos

Weekends at home are a time for the children to race up and down the right-of-way with all the neighbourhood children, who don’t need to go to school.
Weekends in Laos, are no different, apart from the space being smaller and the fact that the children don’t share a common language. Doesn’t stop them chattering to each other nonstop though!

ER2 was never going to smile for that photo – adults pokeand prod and cuddle her all day long, and when they give her a break, this new special friend is there following the big-person example! But really, they do have fun together.

Sundays for us generally mean meeting with others in a building we call a church, (or meeting them at the beach <wink>)

I’ve been thinking.

We haven’t “been to church” the whole time we’ve been away – but that doesn’t mean we haven’t sat with people and talked of things that matter to us, it doesn’t mean we haven’t listened to sermons (our six year old requested to re-listen to Ravi Zacharias’s message on Jonah as soon as we had finished listening as a family!), it doesn’t mean we left our faith at home.
Planning on spending three weeks in Luang Prabang, we decided to try to hunt down a church though. Wats there are a-plenty, but not one church that we can find. 
What if there were a church here?  I’m wondering how people who man a stall from early morning to late at night seven days a week would benefit from it? The ladies who sell us filled rolls are one example. They are set up at the market before 8am, late in the afternoon they move over to the other side of the street, from which they serve night market customers until after 10pm. I actually wonder when they do their washing and cook their sticky rice! What do they do when their baby frets and the three year old can’t do one more hour on the side of the road? What would Jesus mean for them? What would “meeting together with other believers” look like? Truth be told, they already spend all day in community – and I suspect they *live* community. SOMEONE picks up their older children from school and feeds them and puts them to bed. SOMEONE sometimes takes the smaller ones somewhere before the night market session. And they are friendly – so friendly. They congratulate every new Lao word I speak, they wave out if we are walking by, they almost feel like friends! How much of the external trappings we call church would have any significance for them? Is some of it either unnecessary or at least optional? What could church look like in this culture? (church being defined somewhat loosely as “the family of believers”)

These are the things I think about as I tend the fire and watch the children play.

Posted in children, God, postcard: Laos, recreation, tradition | 3 Comments »

crafty goodness

Saturday, December 6th, 2008
By the Family's Knitter Luang Prabang, Laos

 

From December 1-6 Luang Prabang is hosting the first ever Handicraft Festival, which has been organised by the lady we stayed with the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in children, craft, dress, postcard: Laos, postcard: Thailand, souvenir | 5 Comments »

no room at the inn

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
by Rachael Luang Prabang, Laos As we prepare for Christmas, we are seeing the story through new eyes. We now have a fuller understanding of going door-to-door looking for a place to lay our heads for the night. When we left NZ ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in children, housing, money, postcard: Laos, postcard: Malaysia, postcard: Thailand | 2 Comments »

backtrack

Sunday, November 30th, 2008
Luang Prabang, Laos while internet access has been intermittent (that's a generous term for "non-existent for three days") in Luang Prabang, when we have had it, it's been FAST, so we've uploaded our pictures from the hilltribe trek we did ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in children, dress, postcard: Laos, postcard: Thailand, recreation, transport | No Comments »

What’s in ‘da Hood?

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

by Rob Luang Prabang, Laos 

Wats is around us? (Rach edits: I'm not sure if that's supposed to be another one of the far-too-many-wat-jokes or if it was just a typo!!!!!) What does life look like in a 1km ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in children, craft, food, God, postcard: Laos, recreation, tradition | 1 Comment »

inspired by experience

Saturday, November 29th, 2008
by Mama Luang Prabang, Laos  "Sabai dee, Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Would you please take a seat and put down your electronic games as I am about to perform a puppet show for you. Kop chai lai lai" Elephant made ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in children, craft, money, postcard: Laos, price, tradition | 1 Comment »

same same summer

Saturday, November 29th, 2008
prompted by Jgirl14's contemplations Luang Prabang, Laos The suddenly nippy mornings caught us by surprise and we found ourselves wondering if summer was nearly over. What it has lacked in length (it's only been seven weeks), it has made up for ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in children, learning, postcard: Laos, recreation, tradition | 1 Comment »

real life learning

Friday, November 28th, 2008
by an adult who keeps on learning Luang Prabang, Laos That's what we're into as an educational philosophy and methodology....and where we are staying right now is a perfect environment.

 

We have the top floor of ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in children, dress, food, intergenerationalism, learning, money, parenting, postcard: Laos, tradition | 2 Comments »

same same

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Luang Prabang, Laos 

Even if they don't speak English, there is one phrase that everyone here uses:

same sameIn case you don't notice it (and honestly, you cannot miss it if you're here for a few ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in children, learning, postcard: Laos, tradition | 6 Comments »

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