Images from X-Life

Below I have put a photo blog from my time in a Karen Hilltribe Village.  The family stole my heart, and I wish to never forget them.  I pray we were at least 1/2 the blessing to them, that they were to us.  Enjoy the photos, and check out my mission blog for more on the village.

OUR LITTLE FARM HOUSE

ONE OF MANY OF THE WALKS WE TOOK

RICE FIELDS FOR DAYS

SWEEPING AWAY THE BUG WINGS EVERY MORNING

PLANTING YAMS WITH OUR HOUSE DAD

OUR LITTLE 4-DAY-OLD PIGLETS

SHELLING PEANUTS TO PLANT

Also, we learned a Karen recipe when we were helping cook one night.  I put it below since everyone needs to know it.  It is quite delicious.

PORK SQUASH SOUP

Heat oil and garlic in a pot.

Add chopped pork and brown.

Add squash cut small and mix.

Add water to make it soup (keep some on hand for evaporation)

Add salt and bouillon to taste.

Let cook for 20mins or until squash is soft. (covered)

Add Yellow Curry toward the end.

Serve with rice. (wild rice is most similar to Karen Rice)

My Life is a Joke...

Today I was participating in the "Monk Chat" ministry.  I enjoyed getting to talk with the monk I like to call "My friend from Mumbai".  He has been practicing his English by using a really old joke book.  We took a peek inside and saw that most jokes don't translate culturally.  He then asked us for a joke.

I told him one I found quite humorous about a pirate with a hook, bird poop, and an eye patch.  All together it is a funny joke...I think.  But after the punch line gets me tickled I look up from laughing to see my monk friend looking a little too sober for my liking.

On the walk home, my teammate and I talked about how odd our lives are.  I mean, really...we just spent the last fifteen minutes telling jokes to a monk and finally got him to laugh.  

At that point, I told my teammate that our lives are jokes right now.  Using the slurred words of the drunk American who wouldn't leave us alone during bar ministry, and shifting them into joke form when combined with our dear bartender's words: "Two religious fanatics and a Canadian walked into a Ladyboy Bar....(insert some joke story here)....and the bartender says, "I traded my lemons for coconuts!)  [THIS IS ALL BASED ON WHAT WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED THAT NIGHT...no words are originally mine...man life is crazy!]

It just makes me think, what other things have happened that make my life seem like an intro to a joke.  I can't even remember.  Something about chickens eating Cheetos in our Haitian Church.  Basically everything about transportation in Africa.  Anything that happened in the oxygen deprived area above 16,000 ft in Bolivia.  Rounding up cattle to loud Indian music and a moped, and the time I went to the market for ice cream and came back with a packet of hair weave instead.  And pretty much anything that happened on a bus could probably be a joke in itself.  

The best part is all the odd and amazing people we have met.  I have cringed at all the awkward moments, but now I have laughter for years.  I will end my blog this way, "One more time for Kris Jenna!"

To see how you can pray this month, check out my prayer newsletter at the link here.

New Ministry

Our Ministry this month is quite interesting!  We are only one day in on a three day orientation, but I can already tell, it is going to be a good month.  We are in Chiang Mai working with Lighthouse in Action.  They have three main ministries to work with, and we will also be helping around the complex as needed.  I might get to paint a little this month if I am lucky.

The three main ministries are as follows:
Love Acts: This ministry comes down to showing God's love to people through relationships.

• Bar ministry- making friends with the working girls in the bars, showing the love of Christ, being a listening ear, and a lot of praying and interceding.
• Monk Chat- going to temples just to talk with monks.  Listening to them, asking questions, sharing our beliefs as well, and overall, just building relationships.
• Slum Ministry-  I am going to request of my team that I can spend quite a bit of time with this one.  Usually it is playing with the kids in the nearby slums...they are hard affected by the Red Light District and need time to just be a kid again.  But two days before we came, a huge fire ravaged the slums.  They lost everything!  And so we are trying to raise money to get them some food and clothes and the like.

X-Life: This ministry involves going to the rural parts of Northern Thailand to work with a build relationships with the poorer families.  The more we can help them and give them options and opportunities, the less likely they will be to sell their children for food money.  We come with the Good News.  I am not certain if our team will be able to go into the rural areas, but I sure hope we do.

Zion Cafe:  Unfortunately the cafe is currently under construction.  But it is a place where rescued working girls can learn a trade in a safe environment.  Even though the cafe is closed, we still have four new ladies starting their second week here.  They cook and clean, earning a pay, until the cafe re-opens in June.  We will provide English language classes for them in the afternoons as well.

Continue to pray for our ministry this month, and please see my World Race Blog to hear more about things that are happening; debrief, ministry, person revelations, and our team Salt N Light.