After a long day of hiking into a village, we were all pretty anxious for showers. Unfortunately, the nearby faucet and bucket designed for bathing was being cleaned.

Option two? A nearby waterfall. Sounds beautiful, right? An experience, yes?

As gentleman, Stephen & Chris encouraged Jenn & I to go first. We put on our sarongs and headed to the waterfall with about five locals.

Take note of our get up: our sarongs are a simple tube of Karen material pulled around us and tucked in at the top. We have towels over our shoulders, flip flops on, and shampoo in hand. I also brought my razor, which I realized later was much too ambitious.

This waterfall was relatively nearby–about half a kilometer. A little further than anticipated for a shower. This short distance also included a hike through the jungle, crossing about six smallish waterfalls with a decent current, a steep vertical climb of mossy rock, and crossing a hydropower engine for the village.

It was hilarious in many ways.

Our first challenge was to simply keep our sarongs up. It’s easier said than done while standing, but hiking in a loose robe wouldn’t be my first choice. There is something about stretching out to step over rushing water and sharp rocks without underclothes that feels very vulnerable. It’s also quite challenging to climb up a vertical rock with one hand on your falling sarong and the other grasping the shampoo & razor you’re questioning was worth bringing. Let’s just say there were some close calls, and I definitely was wishing we had decided to just share shampoo for this one!

There was also the challenge of keeping on flipflops in rushing waters. I laughed at Jenn when she lost hers down a waterfall (to be recovered by a competent local), but then lost mine three times following–all to be recovered by someone more competent than I.

By the time we were on our way back, now in very wet, heavy sarongs, we had someone carrying our shoes, another someone carrying our shampoos, and someone else in charge of lending a hand when needed.  They had picked up on our inadequacies.

The actual bath was lovely. Having just finished rainy season, the water was forcefully coming off the mountain, so rather than attempting to hold tree roots in a pool of deep, swirling water, we sat on the rocks. We let this beautiful, fresh water flow over us, while we desperately grasped our sarongs. It was clumsy, and it encouraged stares and laughs.

It was funny enough that we did a re-creation for Chris & Stephen when we went to visit the waterfall the next afternoon.

And after hiking back from the “shower”, we had dirty hands from bracing on trees and dirty feet from trekking through dirt and mud. I had begun to sweat again.

The bathing faucet had been fixed by this time, and we could quickly rinse off. Again.

And hey, at least it was funny.

I’m celebrating two years of being married to this boy today.

And I’m still loving it, to say the least.

Our first [successful] cheese-making endeavor!

This is our latest endeavor: making cheese.

Jenn and I gave it a go today. I can’t say it went splendidly, and Chris would say it was much more ear wax-like than he would have liked. But we laughed, and we bought more milk this afternoon, so we obviously aren’t too discouraged.

With help from our Karen teacher, we now know where to find fresh milk in the market. She showed us the good shop where they don’t add water to stretch it further. Despite the unattractive presentation in the bags, it tastes really wonderful. And in the end, its actually cheaper than purchasing milk at the local Tescos.

After sorting out a new, freshly scented fridge, our second project since Chris & Jenn arrived has been at hand: provide Christmas in October to a whole lot of kiddos.

It’s been fun.

Chris’ mom has been hard at work at her school, helping the students there to raise money to purchase toys for the children here. While sharing our blog and about the neighbor children, she raised a whole lot of funds and sent over a lovely stash of toys.

They were in such abundance, we delivered to two locations. Our first stop was Heavenly Home, this incredible orphanage in town. It’s run by one the loveliest, most generous people I know.

Thant Zin & Lilly started the orphanage about seven years ago, simply because his spiritual leader encouraged him too. Thant Zin told us yesterday that his mentor loved children and wanted him to open the home, but he himself didn’t have a heart for children. He said he first the children were too loud, he didn’t have enough patience, and he “could not learn wisdom from them”; but now, they have clearly won his heart. They love a home of forty three kids with all they have.

I’m amazed how much I learn each time we go. And how much I’m refreshed and restored in being there. I never thought a room full of orphaned children could bring such deep rest and encouragement for my soul.

And today, we spent some time outside with our neighborhood kids. We’ll be keeping these toys with us in the house rather than giving them away, with hopes that time will enable us to communicate how to return things and treat them well.

They absolutely loved them!

This country sure knows how to welcome people well.

We met Chris & Jenn in Bangkok on Tuesday, after we’d travelled by bus through the night and they’d been flying through the night. And Thailand, with grace, couldn’t present their bags. This left us with a few extra 36 hours in the city. And we, of course, seized the day–smelly, yes; same clothes, yes; but out and about nonetheless.

It was fun to get around the city and even more wonderful to be with familiar faces. We haven’t spoken this much in months. There is so much to say, so many things possible to communicate!  It’s been lovely.

I was quite glad to be back in Mae Sot, though; I love this shady little town and was looking forward to having family fall in love with it, too.

It took a way too long fourteen hours to get home from Bangkok. We finally arrived home to have Jenn ask, “What is that smell?”  Oh, yes; it was seeping our concrete home.

Just before we had left town, our fridge needed defrosting. Our freezer is inside the fridge, thus not working at all, really. Instead, it causes ice to build up and need a defrosting every month or so. And this defrosting was poorly engineered, leaving large amounts of water all over the fridge and floor. We had been delaying it for so long, and finally defrosted it before going to Bangkok.

For over 24 hours we had the defrost on and were switching out dirty clothes in our fridge to absorb the water. And after these twenty four hours, Stephen had about had enough–this has happened before–and broke out with the screw driver and hammer to wedge the ice off in chunks.

It worked quickly. We had huge blocks of ice coming off and melting in minutes in the yard. Until he missed.

Freon began to leak, and we starting searching Google quickly. We plugged the hole with wax intended for prevent water from getting in your ears during swimming. It looked good & seemed like a great solution. So we left.

Not a good solution. Three kilos of frozen chicken, one gallon of milk, one block of cheese, and two bowls of homemade yogurt gone very, very bad. It was rank.

Welcome, guys.

The next few minutes were spent rapidly removing the rancid items and fridge. We tried to eat lunch without gagging and took quick showers before going out to purchase a new fridge that afternoon.

I suppose nothing says welcome to Mae Sot better than you’re plans being changed.

And other than that, we’re loving it. It’s been fun to hear their responses to Thailand, Mae Sot, and life here;  to have our worlds collide. For so long Mae Sot has been a little bit of our Narnia: where we’re describing something that is too far from normal for many to understand or wrap their heads around. You can describe it, and it can be believed; but it can’t be grasped without experiencing it or at least a little something of it. And now they’ve been welcomed to the wardrobe; magically nasty smells and all.

The kids explored a little more of our yard today, enjoying a game of hide & go seek among the weeds, doors, and water pumps. They also began climbing and quickly proved the insignificance of our walls and gate.

We were busy cleaning up our house today–quite a way to spend the day off–and suddenly heard our gate opening and shouting in the yard. We ran to the window to find some our neighbors shouting between each other and running around frantically.

Something was happening. Or as we soon learned, someone was coming.

And for the next little while, we had six guests hiding behind our house. There is a small walkway that goes past our water tank and behind the house along the drainage canal.

We brought them a bowl of oranges.

There were so many things to communicate: You are welcome here; stay as long as you need. Is there something we can do to help? What is happening? Who is coming? Can I get you anything? What do I do while you hide?

So we gave them oranges.

I snuck out the backdoor and simply bent down to give them a bowl full of little oranges, attempting to communicate friendship, welcome, support, encouragement, and love in one fell swoop. One little bowl of oranges.

I suppose the story was really told in their faces.

The older woman, maybe in her seventies or eighties–she looked scared.

And the men–they hung their heads; in embarrassment, it seemed.

And the teenage girls, who have spent many an afternoon playing in our yard, just brightened at the oranges.

The gate was left shut, and after some time everyone came out from hiding. They thanked us and left.

As we were preparing to move to Thailand, someone shared a story with us about a missionary who was living in a village and often welcomed the locals into her home. People were often visiting, and one day a young girl came to simply sit with her. The girl explained that for everyone in the village, this was their favorite place to be because it was peaceful.

We have prayed that over our house: that our house would be a place of peace and safety. That the Lord’s presence would be felt here; that in some way it might be a sanctuary.

Maybe a sanctuary that provides oranges when necessary.

Later this afternoon, we found a man sleeping on our porch chair.  This is a unique situation–there are few adults that will come around the house. They seem hesitant, and much more keen to watch the children from the road.

And we hope that today it might be because he just felt he could sleep peacefully.

I don’t really know a better way to say it.

But I do know I prefer to start with the good.

First, we celebrated Stephen’s birthday on Saturday. We organized a rest day for the team to enjoy a local cooking class and dinner with our boss while we celebrated!

We started by sleeping in until about 10am. A rare and cherished treat.

Stephen then got to open seven packages that had arrived in the week prior!

Everyone knew him so well, and our cupboards are now stacked full of mint chocolate treats, Reeses, and American cereals!  He also got American deodorant & body wash, and some new polos and white tees. Add in some new music and movies, and he was pretty excited.

Katherine & I went together to get him a ukelele, too, so he went to pick one out in town that day.  He has been so excited to learn and has spent the last few evenings practicing.

We’ve been eyeing bicycles ever since we moved, so I went ahead and ordered him one for his birthday. We had been faithfully searching for a used one in the local equivalent of a classifieds, but in the end I decided I’d rather spend a little more on him and get what he’d always wanted. He now has a nice bike, where the brakes work, all the gears change easily, and the 19″ frame fits him!  It’s affectionately named Chuck.

After we went to pick up his bicycle, which he was so excited about and so surprised at, we realized that we now had two forms of transportation: neither of which I could use.

So we went shopping for a bicycle for me!

That was a fun surprise. I’m a little less picky–my dream bike was just a cute frame with a basket. I didn’t particularly want gears since I don’t use them anyway, so it made it easier to find a simple used bike for me. We bought it from a wonderful little Burmese family, and they did include the basket.

She’s named Lucy.

And now, we both have our dream bicycles! We went for a ride that afternoon that adequately broke in Stephen’s mountain bike and took Lucy for the ride of her life. We’re loving it, and actually got caught in the rain just a few hours ago on another ride. We are really looking forward to biking to work, the market, and around town.

We really enjoyed the day off, and Stephen had a great birthday.

It was good.

More good?

The team that has been in town came out to our neighborhood yesterday to teach about good hygiene. The neighbor children that so often fill our porch were there as usual, but this time they were greeted with a lesson in hand washing!

After teaching the importance of keeping clean hands, each child had a chance to practice, and received their own soap to take home with them.  The team also taught about brushing teeth and flossing, and were able to use a huge set of teeth to show the kids.

Each child also received a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss to take home with them. We also gave out some clothing we’d been collecting for the community. The team was so willing to help, and it was a great opportunity to bless our neighbors, but through visitors, so that we can hopefully continue to develop friendships rather than simply provide for needs.

And through translation, we’re still discussing the garden. There have been repeated miscommunications, but we have pumpkin, okra, and bananas successfully growing. (Sadly our papaya tree fell down during a recent storm.) We’re grateful that it seems to now be understood that they can use the garden freely for their community–not just working for us. We had people out working in the yard when we awoke this morning!

We are really loving where we live. I love walking out the door into big hugs. I love coming home to so many hellos and always having the opportunity to sit down on the porch for a game.  I love learning to communicate and having my definition of friendship redefined.

We are nearing the end of our fourth team to visit Partners, and we are looking forward to a full month in the office to develop curriculum, evaluate the teams that have come through, and continue our Karen studies.

And that little stint in the office will be followed by the long-awaited visit from my sister & brother-in-law.

It’s all so wonderful, and we’re excited.

That’s the good.

The bad? The ugly?

Some fellow staff members were recently robbed over night, having their motorbike, three Mac laptops, and two SLRs taken. It shook them up quite a bit, so we’d appreciate your prayers for them as well as our own safety–personally & our belongings here.

Amidst the boxes we received for Stephen’s birthday, one of the soaps had leaked onto some of the candy suckers that had been included. We sorted through and picked out the ones unblemished (or slightly blemished…) and threw the rest away.

And today, as we drove away to meet the team, we passed the neighbor kids with suckers in their mouths.

I distinctly remember one little girl, being held by her dad, with a big smile on her face–eating the sucker I had discarded.

And I guess thats just a small example of how I this town can weigh on you sometimes.

I’m learning much better how to take one day at a time, one moment as it comes. To love the child in front of me; to take this unexpected turn without thinking of the five more that will probably be coming.  I don’t know how long we’ll be here, and I guess I know now more than ever that it doesn’t matter. I just live here–for now, and do my best to love well. To stop defending myself, to stop worrying about what patterns this is setting; but maybe just cherishing this moment, this smile, this bike ride, this one new word added to my vocabulary.

But I can still sense the weight of living in this world between.

I can still sense the sorrow that surrounds us and the battle at hand.

We were watching Prince Caspian last night, since Stephen received The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for his birthday. There is a scene where Peter leads the army into attack the Telmarines within their gates. The plan goes awry, and they are forced to flee–but many die. The scene shows many of them locked inside the gates, unable to retreat with the rest.

And for some reason as we watched this, it represented us. It represented the battle we’re fighting, and I began to cry.

I guess that’s the ugly of it: that sometimes it all feels so heavy and I’m just grasping at straws to focus on the little joy in front of me.

Sometimes family and friends feel so far away.

Sometimes the battles feel so big.

“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Romans 8:22-25