Thailand!

It took us 24 hours to get from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai.  Our plan was to get to Thailand in time for Thanksgiving and Lou Krathong, the lunar new year.  We thought the bus would arrive around 3, but we should have expected longer and around 6pm we started to get very anxious because off in the distance we could see lots of small lights rising into the sky.  So when we finally arrived at the bus station we jumped off the bus and ran towards a taxi, we had no idea where the family's house was, so we just said "Koolpuntville 8" and thankfully, they responded with a nod.  We hopped in and headed "home".  We drove through the streets of the neighborhood looking for the house number 99/88.  We passed a playground and then all the sudden I hear Tad yell, "There's Mom!" Before the taxi had even come to a stop we jumped out of the car, ran towards Kathy and gave her a big hug.

She was shocked, we told them we would arrive on December 1st, and just one hour before we arrived she was sitting on her deck looking at the lanterns and fireworks wishing we would be there to enjoy it with her. So after hugs and stories we went downtown to enjoy the festival.

We have been so thankful to be with family again and relax into a more stable lifestyle.  We have been cooking a lot, and even got to make a big Thanksgiving dinner! And we have been going to markets, working out, reading books, put our backpacks away and decorated our room.

Our two good friends, Tim and Mandie, visit in less than a week and we will be sure to have lots of adventure stories with them.  But for now we have been really soaking up the time at home.

Divine Romance

It has been over a year and a half since we got married.  I will not lie in saying it has been easy.  It has been a challenge and there are days I don't want to work on it. But today we were listening to the song Divine Romance and it brought me back to the day we read our vows. Our good friend played this song during communion and  Jessica wrote a great blog about the communion which describes the moment pretty well, but what it doesn't say are the thoughts that were going through my head.   And I was again reminded by how much that moment meant.  It was perfect in the idiosyncrasies that it was.

I will also be honest in saying that I have deeply struggled with my faith.  I am slow to say I am a Christian and quick to admit my liberal views.  But in that moment of communion I felt my walls drop.  We had no idea that Jess, Seth and Sy would be standing there with us and their presence gave me the burst of joy and insight to fully realize the Love of God.

I felt a sense of peace; excited to be as I am in front of friends and family, many of which may disagree with my beliefs.  I felt proud because I know the love and respect they have for me, proud because there was a man looking in my eyes saying he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, proud because of the love I found for myself, and proud from the incredible love I felt from God.  In that moment I was not ashamed or confused by what it means to call myself a Christian.

To start our marriage within that space of confidence and love I am forever thankful. This trip has brought us to new understandings of what it takes to selflessly love each other.  And in more than one way we have failed but we have grace.  We are slowly learning what it takes to be more loving to each other, those around us, ourselves and God.  It is a lot of work.  I have to remind myself often to be gracious of my thoughts and actions but I am so thankful for moments like this where I remember the beautiful foundation that we share.

Khawp Jai Lai Lai

Our time here in Laung Prabang has been amazing!! We've met incredible people who have been so generous and encouraging.  Over the weeked Megan and I joined seven locals and Ryan who's been hosting us for the last week.  We were invited to come along with Lanoy the Lao country representative for Pencils of Promise a NGO based out of the United States which focuses its work on helping local communities build schools in Laos. They do an incerdible job working with the community and creating more than just the four walls. Lanoy is one of the most selfless people you would ever meet.  When she was asked to be the country representative, she said that she couldn't do it unless she could still give her grandmother a bath every day.  She loves hip hop, is extremely passionate about her work and might be the most adorable woman ever!!

We met on Friday afternoon got some sticky rice and chicken on a stick and piled into a van. Ryan played some hip hop and got everyone dancing in the car all the way to Na Mai, a three hour drive. We made several stops and Lanoy organized everything, purchasing snacks to hand out to the kids as her friends got an ample amount of Beer Lao for the trip (Lao people love their beer).  Megan and I bought a bunch of tooth brushes and Ryan got several boxes of colored pencils to hand out to the kids as well.  The drive was spectacular.  Northen Laos is an amazing landscape made up of limestone cliffs rising out of the rice fields.

Our first destination was a new building site for a school.  We got there a bit early and waited to meet the Naibon (Chief) and for the truck which was full of sand, rebar and cement for the project.  After that we  headed for Nong Khiaw a town cradled between massive cliffs.  We ate dinner then moved to a fire to sing and drink. We could only scrounge up three glasses between the 10 of us, but it didn't matter.  We drank the beer "Lao style" pouring the warm beer over ice, never for yourself always passing it to someone else. They passed the glass our way again and again saying "Ai Tohn" or "Euay Niim" our Lao given names meaning brother tree and sister smile.  We accepted each time with the phrase khawp jai lai lai (thank you very much) even as the watered down beer overfilled our stomachs.  This was our night, sitting under the stars seranaided by Lao folk songs and eating grilled fish over a cozy fire.  These are the momements that we look at each other and say "what the heck".

The next morning we woke to a misty fog which blanketed the surrounding mountains.  We gathered together and started our journey to Paiyoung another 2 hours into the mountains.  We crossed through a river and over 20 sketchy log bridges, but it was worth every jaring bump to arrive at the beautiful village greeted by smiling people.

The kids started to run out from the small houses to say hello and gathered around the van to see their reflection on the side of the car.  They laughed and pointed at each others reflections as we ate a late breakfast prepared by some of the villagers.  Afterwards Lanoy gathered the kids together and we handed out the colored pencils, clothes, snacks and toothbrushes.  The pictures speak louder then our words could possibly describe...

We spent the afternoon playing with some of the kids and just as we were about to leave one of the elders pulled out a big bottle of homemade Lao Lao (spiced whiskey). We knew there was no way to avoid the offer respectfully so we just smiled and once again said khawp jai lai lai.  It tasted surprisingly good, but not so much that we were excited to find out the custom is to always have two shots.

Our last stop was at the Educational Administrative office for the county, where Lanoy did some final paper work.  After the business was taken care of the director invited us to the school for a game of Lao bocce ball with some food and drinks (more warm Beer Lao over ice). There was a basketball court at the school so Ryan and Tad played a quick match with Lanoy and Sanoy. Oh by the way, Lanoy is the Laos MVP for womens basketball so they were ahead most of the game, until Ryan and Tad took full advantage of their height at the board.  After a few hours we all jumped back into the van for the final drive back home.  We've started to feel like we can call Luang Prabang a "home" which has been such an amazing feeling.

We felt incredibly honored to be able to join such a great group and witness the work they do. It has inspired us in many ways and pulled our hearts towards this place. Here are a few more photos that we can't resist but to share with you...

Primary school built by Pencils of Promise

Like Mother Like Daughter

Sandy in Muang Ngoi, 2005

Me in Nong Khiaw, 2010

Filling in the Gaps

We have been struggling to write and keep you all posted on many of our experiences but here are some photos and short stories to fill in the gaps from the last month.  I'm going to start by bringing it all the way back to Mui Ne, Vietnam!  We spent most of our time here enjoying the beautiful beach and eating at Lom Tom, the best seafood place to date. However, we also explored the country and I saw my first sand dunes!

From Mui Ne we headed into the mountains to a town called Dalat.  The truth is we didn't find much to do while we were there, and were a little bitter because we did a tour that in retrospect we may not have done, but we made the best of it.  We saw how rice wine is made and tried some (we recommend not trying the 60%- yikes).  We went to the local silk factory, which was our favorite part- it was fascinating to see the whole process.  The tour ended with a visit to one of the larger temples and waterfall.  The whole tour was done on the bike seat of two motorbikes.

There were two highlights from Nha Trang.  One was having an amazing microbrew which Tad wrote about, the second was going on a $5 boat trip.  Our guide was very enthusiastic, so much so that he decided to bust out a drum set and guitar and proceeded to serenaded us with his own live band.  Following the act he had people sing karaoke and then had an after party with a floating bar where he served free "all you can drink fruit wine" (turns out you don't need much cause its one of the worst things I have ever had).  We had a great time in Nha Trang, met some wonderful friends from Australia and even stayed in a room at a scuba dive shop for free through couchsurfing!

From Nha Trang we headed north to Hoi An.  We didn't love the 200 tailor shops always haggling you to buy something, but we did love the the french architecture and the cafe bakeries.  We also found the most beautiful beach just outside of the town.  It was so calm and peaceful their compared to the other towns in Vietnam.

There were several days in a row of pouring rain and since there are only so many hours that can be spent in a coffee shop reading or playing cards, we said forget it!  Let's rent a motorbike and just get soaked. So we drove for about an hour in the pouring rain, it felt like millions of little needles poking us but we did it with giant smiles on our faces.  We made our way up to Marble Mountain in Danang and it was beautiful.  The stairs looked like a waterfall and the wats and caves were stunning.

All that rain caused the river to flood into the city spilling over the riverside into the streets, but luckily the rain subsided and we went exploring and came across this woman who had a great smile and was perfectly regal.

Our last update for Vietnam was our time in Hue.  We were blessed to have our friend Renee visiting us there for a week!  She was doing some work there, but we were able to squeeze in lots of great adventures.  We rode bicycles around the city to the market and citadel, went to a wonderful French restaurant where we had incredible pasta with REAL cheese.  We also took a bike ride to the ocean where Renee bravely went into the raging waves that were crashing into the coast.

From there we headed up north to Hanoi and the bay so that should fill in most of the gaps for our time in Vietnam!  We are now in Luang Prabang, Laos and there are several things we plan to write about.  We absolutely love it here.  We've been meeting some incredible people and learning about different businesses and non-profits.  More to come soon!!

Lots of love!

M and T