We made it down to JH. It was a bit of an adventure getting here (and not the fun kind of adventure) but we made it.
Our flight from LJ to here left at 8pm and was supposed to arrive at 9. I was even telling Lindsey about how this would be a nice quick flight compared to all the others. The flight down to JH was pretty bumpy and the pilot took a lot of hard corners. We think he was new. He flew all the way down to JH, started to go down and then at the last minute pulled up and kept flying. They came on the announcements and said the weather was too bad to land so we were flying up to the provincial capitol.
There is a concept here of saving face, and it is the idea that people will do just about anything to not be embarrassed or embarrass others about things. What we think happened is that the pilot missed the runway, and instead of trying it again and everyone knowing he missed, he decided to blame it on the weather and fly an hour and a half out of the way. I know it sound ridiculous, but considering we almost landed and there was no rain, it was probably the case.
So we landed in the Capitol, got off the plane, stood around confused for about 30 minutes while they decided if we would fly or stay the night (while there was lots of yelling in Chinese), and then got back on the plane where they fed everyone weird sandwiches before we took off, and then made the 45 minute flight down there. We landed at midnight.
Other than the delay, it wasn't all that bad of a trip. We spent the day going around with one of our friends, caught up on what has been happening down here, and ate some good South Asian food. We spent the afternoon at a coffee shop talking about helping with planting. We were also able to roast some coffee. Tonight we went to the night market and looked around for a while It has been a much slower pace down here than it was up in LJ.
Tomorrow we will catch up with another friend and see the ag work that he is doing here. Then we start heading back on Friday.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Day 14 (Tuesday)
I'm writing this one a little early since I'm not sure when I'm going to have Internet again. Tonight we're getting on a plane to head down south to do some work with friend and look into some coffee things. We should be there for 3 days and head back home.
Today we've run some last minute errands, packed, and visited with friends. Other than that, it has been pretty slow. I'll be honest, I love it here, but I'm looking forward to some warm weather and tropical fruit. The mangos and pineapples where we're going are pretty amazing.
If we have a chance to update while we're gone, we will; otherwise we'll see you all when we get back go the States.
Day 12-13 (Sunday-Monday)
Well we went and hiked The Gorge and no one died. It wound up being pretty great weather the entire time. It was fun getting to do my favorite activity (hiking) in my favorite place (The Gorge) with my favorite person (Joie, just kidding...).
We had a little set back the first day because they're doing road construction. On Sunday we hiked about six hours and then another two on Monday morning. There were some clouds at the tops of the mountains, but other than that it was great. Oh yeah, and we got rained on for only about twenty minutes. There is this one part of the Gorge called the 28 bends. It is a set of 28 switchbacks that go up and up the mountain. Lindsey and I got to about bend 24 and it started to rain. By the time we scrambled to the top it was pouring down rain. There was a small lean-to at the top with an old man sitting in it, so we ran under it and waited out the rest of the rain.
Other than that, the hike was pretty uneventful. On the way out, we waited for a driver to come by so we could hop in his van. After waiting a while, the owner of the guest house told us we should walk about 15 minutes up the road because a lot of the drivers stop there to turn around. We made the hike up the nice newly paved road and rounded the corner to find out that a huge boulder had fallen and wiped out about a 30 yard section of the road. All that was left was a small goat trail around the side of the ridge. After some debate if we should do it (and watching 3 Chinese guys push a motorcycle across it) we walked across and got a ride back.
It was a fun trip and a nice break from all of the running around we have been doing. Tomorrow we finish off our time in LJ and head down south for some coffee work.
We had a little set back the first day because they're doing road construction. On Sunday we hiked about six hours and then another two on Monday morning. There were some clouds at the tops of the mountains, but other than that it was great. Oh yeah, and we got rained on for only about twenty minutes. There is this one part of the Gorge called the 28 bends. It is a set of 28 switchbacks that go up and up the mountain. Lindsey and I got to about bend 24 and it started to rain. By the time we scrambled to the top it was pouring down rain. There was a small lean-to at the top with an old man sitting in it, so we ran under it and waited out the rest of the rain.
Other than that, the hike was pretty uneventful. On the way out, we waited for a driver to come by so we could hop in his van. After waiting a while, the owner of the guest house told us we should walk about 15 minutes up the road because a lot of the drivers stop there to turn around. We made the hike up the nice newly paved road and rounded the corner to find out that a huge boulder had fallen and wiped out about a 30 yard section of the road. All that was left was a small goat trail around the side of the ridge. After some debate if we should do it (and watching 3 Chinese guys push a motorcycle across it) we walked across and got a ride back.
It was a fun trip and a nice break from all of the running around we have been doing. Tomorrow we finish off our time in LJ and head down south for some coffee work.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Day 11 (Saturday)
Today was kind of a slow day for me, and instead Lindsey had more to do than I did. This morning we caught up on sleep and I spent a couple of hours talking to Joie about future work and coffee. It was good to finally sit down and go into a lot of details face to face with him.
Lindsey met with a couple of girls for lunch. It was an opportunity to encourage a local girl and have a chance to do some things a little more on her own instead of being with me all the time. I spent lunch babysitting and trying to get some things set up for another guy that used to live here and will be coming back to visit in a few weeks.
After lunch, Joie wanted to meet up with a local girl's husband. We knew her but had never met him before. He runs a shop in a village about 20 minutes away by bus. It is a quick drive and a very historic place to visit. So we went out there and spent a couple hours with them. He is a Tibetan who is a former Buddhist monk. We sat around listening to his story about how he became a believer a few years ago. I also got him to write out some scripture for me in Tibetan, which is kind of a hard thing to find, even out here.
This evening Lindsey and I caught up on some things we needed to do around town and decided to call it an early night. We bought bus tickets to go and hike The Gorge tomorrow. We're not sure if we are going to go or not, it depends on what the weather looks like. If we do go, it'll be a day and a half hiking in a valley with two 18,000 foot mountains of both sides. It is quite possibly my favorite place in the whole world.
Lindsey met with a couple of girls for lunch. It was an opportunity to encourage a local girl and have a chance to do some things a little more on her own instead of being with me all the time. I spent lunch babysitting and trying to get some things set up for another guy that used to live here and will be coming back to visit in a few weeks.
After lunch, Joie wanted to meet up with a local girl's husband. We knew her but had never met him before. He runs a shop in a village about 20 minutes away by bus. It is a quick drive and a very historic place to visit. So we went out there and spent a couple hours with them. He is a Tibetan who is a former Buddhist monk. We sat around listening to his story about how he became a believer a few years ago. I also got him to write out some scripture for me in Tibetan, which is kind of a hard thing to find, even out here.
This evening Lindsey and I caught up on some things we needed to do around town and decided to call it an early night. We bought bus tickets to go and hike The Gorge tomorrow. We're not sure if we are going to go or not, it depends on what the weather looks like. If we do go, it'll be a day and a half hiking in a valley with two 18,000 foot mountains of both sides. It is quite possibly my favorite place in the whole world.
Day 12 (Saturday)
Today was kind of a slow day for me, and instead Lindsey had more to do than I did. This morning we caught up on sleep and I spent a couple of hours talking to Joie about future work and coffee. It was good to finally sit down and go into a lot of details face to face with him.
Lindsey met with a couple of girls for lunch. It was an opportunity to encourage a local girl and have a chance to do some things a little more on her own instead of being with me all the time. I spent lunch babysitting and trying to get some things set up for another guy that used to live here and will be coming back to visit in a few weeks.
After lunch, Joie wanted to meet up with a local girl's husband. We knew her but had never met him before. He runs a shop in a village about 20 minutes away by bus. It is a quick drive and a very historic place to visit. So we went out there and spent a couple hours with them. He is a Tibetan who is a former Buddhist monk. We sat around listening to his story about how he became a believer a few years ago. I also got him to write out some scripture for me in Tibetan, which is kind of a hard thing to find, even out here.
This evening Lindsey and I caught up on some things we needed to do around town and decided to call it an early night. We bought bus tickets to go and hike The Gorge tomorrow. We're not sure if we are going to go or not, it depends on what the weather looks like. If we do go, it'll be a day and a half hiking in a valley with two 18,000 foot mountains of both sides. It is quite possibly my favorite place in the whole world.
Lindsey met with a couple of girls for lunch. It was an opportunity to encourage a local girl and have a chance to do some things a little more on her own instead of being with me all the time. I spent lunch babysitting and trying to get some things set up for another guy that used to live here and will be coming back to visit in a few weeks.
After lunch, Joie wanted to meet up with a local girl's husband. We knew her but had never met him before. He runs a shop in a village about 20 minutes away by bus. It is a quick drive and a very historic place to visit. So we went out there and spent a couple hours with them. He is a Tibetan who is a former Buddhist monk. We sat around listening to his story about how he became a believer a few years ago. I also got him to write out some scripture for me in Tibetan, which is kind of a hard thing to find, even out here.
This evening Lindsey and I caught up on some things we needed to do around town and decided to call it an early night. We bought bus tickets to go and hike The Gorge tomorrow. We're not sure if we are going to go or not, it depends on what the weather looks like. If we do go, it'll be a day and a half hiking in a valley with two 18,000 foot mountains of both sides. It is quite possibly my favorite place in the whole world.
Day 10 (Friday)
Today was our last village day for a while. We got a bit of a late start on things today, but we eventually headed out of town a little before lunch. Our plan was to meet up with a village family that I had planted corn with when I lived here. I'd also spent a week living with them (one of my not-so-fun thrown in a village for a week excursions). Actually, I really enjoyed the time that I spent out with this family. The grandfather and I hit things off and I was looking forward to seeing him again.
When we arrived in the village, it was market day. I'm glad that Lindsey got to experience this, because it is a pretty authentic village experience. Basically everyone from all of the surrounding villages comes to this one village every couple of weeks to buy and sell goods and produce. Essentially you're surrounded by a few thousand villagers all buying things. We ended up finding our friends there and eating Liang Fen (another local thing I'm glad Lindsey was able to experience) with some old grandmas that were just hanging out at a table.
After the market we headed up to my friend's house. It is a good ways up the mountain and the view from there is amazing. When I lived with them we would go out hiking around the mountain to chop down trees to feed to the goats. We caught up with grandpa and spent some time sitting around the fire talking to him. I'm pretty sure he was drunk, since he didn't have a shirt on and his fly was open the entire time (and he didn't seem to care), but it was good to talk to him anyway. He has said he believed before, but I think he isn't really clear on what we're talking about most of the time. Either way, it was a great day of catching up with him.
When we arrived in the village, it was market day. I'm glad that Lindsey got to experience this, because it is a pretty authentic village experience. Basically everyone from all of the surrounding villages comes to this one village every couple of weeks to buy and sell goods and produce. Essentially you're surrounded by a few thousand villagers all buying things. We ended up finding our friends there and eating Liang Fen (another local thing I'm glad Lindsey was able to experience) with some old grandmas that were just hanging out at a table.
After the market we headed up to my friend's house. It is a good ways up the mountain and the view from there is amazing. When I lived with them we would go out hiking around the mountain to chop down trees to feed to the goats. We caught up with grandpa and spent some time sitting around the fire talking to him. I'm pretty sure he was drunk, since he didn't have a shirt on and his fly was open the entire time (and he didn't seem to care), but it was good to talk to him anyway. He has said he believed before, but I think he isn't really clear on what we're talking about most of the time. Either way, it was a great day of catching up with him.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Day 9 (Thursday)
As the locals say here, "My heart is warm." I just finished up meeting with a group of local believers for their mid-weekly study. It was a pretty amazing thing to be a part of and see how much things have changed over the past year and a half.
Before I left, a few of us started meeting with a handful of local guys on Wednesday nights. We'd sing a few songs and do a little teaching. Back then we'd have usually two or maybe three guys show up and most weeks it was pretty inconsistent and rough. Eventually the wives and some girls wanted to start coming, so it changed shape a little bit. Over the past couple of years, it has changed and grown into a full on fellowship that meets twice a week and is entirely led by locals in their local language. This is the first one of these that I know of and there were about 14 local people that came.
We started off the meeting with some singing. The last song they sang was one they wrote the week before in their local language and in a local style. We then had a message from one of the guys. They have started rotating who speaks each week so that they all have experience in how to write a message and share with others. Reproducibility and the ability to multiply is a huge thing out here. The message was out of Nahum. I can't really tell you the last time I heard a message out of Nahum, but it seemed to work for them. Because these are city people, they can all read so we read the entire book (3 chapters) and then the spent about thirty minutes going over the content and contrasting it with the message that Jonah had for Nineveh. The language was way over my head so I could only catch bits and pieces of it, however everyone was engaged and taking notes though. It is amazing to see the passion of people who have never heard the Word before.
After the study part of the meeting, one of our local friends started a language lesson. The local language here is an oral only language, which causes a lot of problems when you want locals to read scripture or other things. A friend has spent the last decade or so developing a writing system, but only a handful of people can read it. I'd guess that when I left, there were probably 10 of us in the world that could read the language (and about half of that was foreigners). Now there are probably 25-30 and many of those are locals. While we were sitting in the language lesson, I leaned over to my friend and told him it was strange watching people try to read when they already had the vocabulary. I would read trying to discern meaning, they read trying to understand the sounds the words made and already knew the meaning once they could get the sounds. It is a pretty rare moment in history to be there when a culture moves from oral to written. I'm sure it will be a slow process, but it is important for the Word to go forth here.
We also had a great morning out here. Lindsey (yes, she's been with me this whole time, and no, she hasn't fallen off a cliff or wanted to kill me yet) and I went out with some friends to a bluff on the ridge and had a picnic overlooking the city and talked about the work here over the past eight years. It was a good time. When I went to the study tonight, Lindsey decided to spend some time with my friend's wife and his girls. I figured I wouldn't make her sit through a local meeting. It is hard to follow even with language and incredibly boring if you don't know what anyone is saying for an hour and a half. I think the girls had fun doing their own thing. It was a good break day and we're heading out to the village again tomorrow.
Before I left, a few of us started meeting with a handful of local guys on Wednesday nights. We'd sing a few songs and do a little teaching. Back then we'd have usually two or maybe three guys show up and most weeks it was pretty inconsistent and rough. Eventually the wives and some girls wanted to start coming, so it changed shape a little bit. Over the past couple of years, it has changed and grown into a full on fellowship that meets twice a week and is entirely led by locals in their local language. This is the first one of these that I know of and there were about 14 local people that came.
We started off the meeting with some singing. The last song they sang was one they wrote the week before in their local language and in a local style. We then had a message from one of the guys. They have started rotating who speaks each week so that they all have experience in how to write a message and share with others. Reproducibility and the ability to multiply is a huge thing out here. The message was out of Nahum. I can't really tell you the last time I heard a message out of Nahum, but it seemed to work for them. Because these are city people, they can all read so we read the entire book (3 chapters) and then the spent about thirty minutes going over the content and contrasting it with the message that Jonah had for Nineveh. The language was way over my head so I could only catch bits and pieces of it, however everyone was engaged and taking notes though. It is amazing to see the passion of people who have never heard the Word before.
After the study part of the meeting, one of our local friends started a language lesson. The local language here is an oral only language, which causes a lot of problems when you want locals to read scripture or other things. A friend has spent the last decade or so developing a writing system, but only a handful of people can read it. I'd guess that when I left, there were probably 10 of us in the world that could read the language (and about half of that was foreigners). Now there are probably 25-30 and many of those are locals. While we were sitting in the language lesson, I leaned over to my friend and told him it was strange watching people try to read when they already had the vocabulary. I would read trying to discern meaning, they read trying to understand the sounds the words made and already knew the meaning once they could get the sounds. It is a pretty rare moment in history to be there when a culture moves from oral to written. I'm sure it will be a slow process, but it is important for the Word to go forth here.
We also had a great morning out here. Lindsey (yes, she's been with me this whole time, and no, she hasn't fallen off a cliff or wanted to kill me yet) and I went out with some friends to a bluff on the ridge and had a picnic overlooking the city and talked about the work here over the past eight years. It was a good time. When I went to the study tonight, Lindsey decided to spend some time with my friend's wife and his girls. I figured I wouldn't make her sit through a local meeting. It is hard to follow even with language and incredibly boring if you don't know what anyone is saying for an hour and a half. I think the girls had fun doing their own thing. It was a good break day and we're heading out to the village again tomorrow.
Day 7 (Tuesday)
Sorry this one is a couple days late. I've had some Internet issues out here.
It was another village day today. We had a slight change in plans and decided to go out and visit with some of the guys I used to spend time with in villages. One of the guys I used to go see lives way out in a tucked away valley. Joie and I used to have to take a bus out there, get off at a random spot, hike out to his house, and then hitchhike back home. We had the truck today, so it was much easier (and, contrary to popular belief, I wouldn't make Lindsey hitchhike).
The guy we went to see is probably in his early 60's and not a believer. His wife and daughter used to be strong believers and used to go out and share all the time. A few years ago, his wife was killed in a rockslide. His daugter also had to move away. Her husband did not like her going out and sharing so he would beat her when she would go out. One time he broke her leg. Since then, they had to move out of the village and left our friend by himself out there.
We would go out to our friend's house every few weeks and he was always excited for us to spend time with him. There were many times when I'm sure we were the only people to go out to see him each month. Since I left, people have lost track of him. We didn't have his phone number this morning when we left, so the entire trip out we hoped that he would be home.
When we showed up at his house, no one was there. We were also worried about him because there was trash everywhere and his house looked abandoned. (Side note: houses here have open courtyards in the middle of them and the rooms are in the walls around the courtyard. Most village houses don't have gates on them, so you can basically walk right in.) My first reaction was that he might have died over the past year and a half; however I looked into his kitchen, and saw some fruit that wasn't rotten, so I wasn't sure if he was there or not.
We walked around the village and asked an old man if he knew where he was, and he said that sometimes he will go and visit his family down the road at a fruit stand. I'd been there with him before and knew where it was, so we drove down to try and find him. We arrived at the fruit stand and the girl working there didn't know where he was. She told us that maybe he went to town for the day, but we could ask his daughter because she worked at the shop up the road. So we went up there and found his daughter and she told us that he was inside.
Since we left our friend had gotten a job working at a shop on the main road and would spend five days a week there selling things and then go home for two days. It was good to get to see him and catch up with him. He seemed like he was doing much better than before. He was able to spend time with his daughter every day and wasn't lonely like he used to be. He still isn't a believer, but he said he would sometimes pray with his daughter and some of the others. We spent about an hour talking to him and encouraging him and then we headed back to town.
It was another village day today. We had a slight change in plans and decided to go out and visit with some of the guys I used to spend time with in villages. One of the guys I used to go see lives way out in a tucked away valley. Joie and I used to have to take a bus out there, get off at a random spot, hike out to his house, and then hitchhike back home. We had the truck today, so it was much easier (and, contrary to popular belief, I wouldn't make Lindsey hitchhike).
The guy we went to see is probably in his early 60's and not a believer. His wife and daughter used to be strong believers and used to go out and share all the time. A few years ago, his wife was killed in a rockslide. His daugter also had to move away. Her husband did not like her going out and sharing so he would beat her when she would go out. One time he broke her leg. Since then, they had to move out of the village and left our friend by himself out there.
We would go out to our friend's house every few weeks and he was always excited for us to spend time with him. There were many times when I'm sure we were the only people to go out to see him each month. Since I left, people have lost track of him. We didn't have his phone number this morning when we left, so the entire trip out we hoped that he would be home.
When we showed up at his house, no one was there. We were also worried about him because there was trash everywhere and his house looked abandoned. (Side note: houses here have open courtyards in the middle of them and the rooms are in the walls around the courtyard. Most village houses don't have gates on them, so you can basically walk right in.) My first reaction was that he might have died over the past year and a half; however I looked into his kitchen, and saw some fruit that wasn't rotten, so I wasn't sure if he was there or not.
We walked around the village and asked an old man if he knew where he was, and he said that sometimes he will go and visit his family down the road at a fruit stand. I'd been there with him before and knew where it was, so we drove down to try and find him. We arrived at the fruit stand and the girl working there didn't know where he was. She told us that maybe he went to town for the day, but we could ask his daughter because she worked at the shop up the road. So we went up there and found his daughter and she told us that he was inside.
Since we left our friend had gotten a job working at a shop on the main road and would spend five days a week there selling things and then go home for two days. It was good to get to see him and catch up with him. He seemed like he was doing much better than before. He was able to spend time with his daughter every day and wasn't lonely like he used to be. He still isn't a believer, but he said he would sometimes pray with his daughter and some of the others. We spent about an hour talking to him and encouraging him and then we headed back to town.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Day 8 (Wednesday)
Today was another village day. Usually when I lived here we would only go out to the villages once or maybe twice a week. The rest of the time was spent working on language and meeting with people in town. The driving down dirt roads, around mountain passes, and hours in the car (or worse, a bus) just wears on you after a while. Because our time here is so short and there are so many people we want to see, we've been going out to villages more than usual.
Today we went out to a village where we planted coffee. It wasn't a bad trip, maybe an hour and a half to get there. The drive there is beautiful. It is down on the river, which is the lowest (and therefore warmest) place around here. When I lived here we would go there once every week or two.
When we arrived our friend was happy to see us. He is a funny older guy. He is very animated and jokes around a lot, which makes going to see him fun. We arrived there about 2pm, and it quickly became evident that we were going to be there a while. When we called to let him know that we were coming he killed a chicken for us, so we were going to be there at least until dinner. Village etiquette dictates that you must stay if they have killed something for you to eat.
Since I moved away, our friend started up a new business. He has started getting unique looking rocks from the river and selling them to people in a big city. Apparently business is good, because in the last year he has added a new wing to his house, complete with a big screen tv and really nice living room. It was by far the nicest village set up I've ever seen. We went around and looked at his crops and all of our coffee here had died. It is too cold in the winter for the coffee there (which is why you always plant a test plot to see if it will work). We also planted shade trees for our coffee and those were still there. In two years a couple of them had grown to over 15 feet tall, so at least we got some good coffee information from being out there.
While talking to our friend, he's started talking about a village about an hour away and how it probably had some people that my friend was looking for. Instead of a just sitting around until dinner, we jumped back in the truck with our local friend and drove out there. Not only was it a great opportunity to scope out a new village, it was a chance to spend a few hours restabishing a relationship with a brother and encouraging him. The village we went to was amazing. It is tucked away in a valley and has huge granite cliffs. In the next five years I'm sure it will become a huge tourist destination, but for now it is nice to see it as a sleepy village with only a handful of houses.
We returned to our friends house and ate dinner with his family. They must have cooked eight or ten different dishes for us. Between the five of us and his family, we might have eaten 1/4 of it. After dinner we headed out and arrived back in town about 9pm. We were pretty tired. Tomorrow we're switching off and will probably stay in town a little more than we have the past week.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Day 6 (Monday)
So when I was here I focused a lot on a certain people. Now that we're back for a visit I'm also tagging along with another friend that focuses on a different people for our first few days. Many of them speak the same language as I learned when I was here, but because several hundred years ago they were enemies of the other people in the area, they were run way up into the mountains. Because of this their villages are usually hard to access.
Today we went to visit one of these villages with my friend. It wouldn't have been that far away except we hit a traffic jam in the road that caused us to be stuck for almost an hour. After the traffic jam we jumped on a dirt road and headed straight up the mountain (about a 40 minute drive). We had a truck full of people so Joie and I had to ride in the camper in the back. It was pretty rough on the dirt road and we had to lay down in the back so we wouldn't wreck our backs or hit our heads on the ceiling. I definitely did not miss that part of living out here.
After we arrived in the village, we walked around for a while trying to find a place to visit with people. We came across a family that my friend had met before and we stayed there for lunch. We spent about 3 hours there and talked to them for a while. My friend was able to share with him, but they did not believe. Apparently some people had come through before and shared with some people. A small fellowship was started there, but later a cult came in. Cults here are different than in America. Here they are very aggressive. They will often come in to an area posing as believers and then start talking about teaching that is not in the Bible. Because most people here do not have access to a Bible in their own language and they cannot read, they believe these cult members. The cults end up stealing a lot of money and convincing people that they should not use medicine or go to a doctor. Apparently this is what happened in this village and some people had died from sickness and had money stolen. Whatever had happened, we did not have a very warm reception from them.
After we made the bumpy trek back down the mountain we went into Old Town and treated ourselves to $7.50 massages. We felt like we earned it.
Today we went to visit one of these villages with my friend. It wouldn't have been that far away except we hit a traffic jam in the road that caused us to be stuck for almost an hour. After the traffic jam we jumped on a dirt road and headed straight up the mountain (about a 40 minute drive). We had a truck full of people so Joie and I had to ride in the camper in the back. It was pretty rough on the dirt road and we had to lay down in the back so we wouldn't wreck our backs or hit our heads on the ceiling. I definitely did not miss that part of living out here.
After we arrived in the village, we walked around for a while trying to find a place to visit with people. We came across a family that my friend had met before and we stayed there for lunch. We spent about 3 hours there and talked to them for a while. My friend was able to share with him, but they did not believe. Apparently some people had come through before and shared with some people. A small fellowship was started there, but later a cult came in. Cults here are different than in America. Here they are very aggressive. They will often come in to an area posing as believers and then start talking about teaching that is not in the Bible. Because most people here do not have access to a Bible in their own language and they cannot read, they believe these cult members. The cults end up stealing a lot of money and convincing people that they should not use medicine or go to a doctor. Apparently this is what happened in this village and some people had died from sickness and had money stolen. Whatever had happened, we did not have a very warm reception from them.
After we made the bumpy trek back down the mountain we went into Old Town and treated ourselves to $7.50 massages. We felt like we earned it.
Day 5 (Sunday)
I feel like we've spent all day being around old friends. That is definitely one of the major reasons we're here, and it is what makes going here different than just taking a trip or going to help out in another country.
We had our morning "fellowship" with our foreigner friends this morning. It is definitely a switch having church in a living room with eight other people instead of being in a church building with several hundred people. There was no music leader (we sang with music on the computer), no projectors or screens, no order of service, and not even a live preacher (just a podcast). Even without all of the normal elements to a church service, there is something very intimate about it. It is definitely different, but it has some elements that the American church has a hard time capturing.
For lunch we went and met one of my local friends here. He was probably my closest local friend while I lived here. Now he is married and wanted all of us to have lunch together. On the way to the restaurant with them, he told me that he knows another one of my local friends that I shared with a lot while I was here. I guess my friend called him, because when we arrived at the restaurant he was waiting on us. It was a good surprise because I was not sure how I would find him and I wanted to reconnect with him while I was here. He told me that he has been going to a local church over the past year and that he might go with me when we go later this week.
For dinner we met with another one of my local friends. He had us over to his house, and his wife cooked us dinner. She is an amazing cook, and we had a great time catching up on things. He is a strong believer and would go out with me on most of my village trips when I lived here. We ended up spending a good hour and a half after dinner just sitting around talking and encouraging one another in what we've both been doing.
It was a great Sunday and tomorrow we're going out with a friend to help him in one of the villages he focuses on.
We had our morning "fellowship" with our foreigner friends this morning. It is definitely a switch having church in a living room with eight other people instead of being in a church building with several hundred people. There was no music leader (we sang with music on the computer), no projectors or screens, no order of service, and not even a live preacher (just a podcast). Even without all of the normal elements to a church service, there is something very intimate about it. It is definitely different, but it has some elements that the American church has a hard time capturing.
For lunch we went and met one of my local friends here. He was probably my closest local friend while I lived here. Now he is married and wanted all of us to have lunch together. On the way to the restaurant with them, he told me that he knows another one of my local friends that I shared with a lot while I was here. I guess my friend called him, because when we arrived at the restaurant he was waiting on us. It was a good surprise because I was not sure how I would find him and I wanted to reconnect with him while I was here. He told me that he has been going to a local church over the past year and that he might go with me when we go later this week.
For dinner we met with another one of my local friends. He had us over to his house, and his wife cooked us dinner. She is an amazing cook, and we had a great time catching up on things. He is a strong believer and would go out with me on most of my village trips when I lived here. We ended up spending a good hour and a half after dinner just sitting around talking and encouraging one another in what we've both been doing.
It was a great Sunday and tomorrow we're going out with a friend to help him in one of the villages he focuses on.
Day 4 (Saturday)
Well we had our tourist day today. We spent this morning out in Old Town. Old Town is the part of town that is around 1,000 years old. It is all cobblestone, canals and storefront shops. Old Town is great, with the exception of the 4-million Chinese tourists that come here every year. We beat most of the crowd by going in the morning and getting out of there by lunch.
We're styling in an apartment that my friend used to live in. It hasn't been lived in for almost tow years, so there we some minor repairs the landlord needed to come by and fix. Because this is a third world culture, what should've taken thirty minutes ended up taking two and a half hours. So the afternoon was pretty much gone after that. Someone needed to stay there all afternoon and make sure it got done, so I like to look at it as our work for the day.
This evening has been pretty relaxed and has just been spent with friends. It is nice coming back here and being able to spend the evenings with people we know.
We're styling in an apartment that my friend used to live in. It hasn't been lived in for almost tow years, so there we some minor repairs the landlord needed to come by and fix. Because this is a third world culture, what should've taken thirty minutes ended up taking two and a half hours. So the afternoon was pretty much gone after that. Someone needed to stay there all afternoon and make sure it got done, so I like to look at it as our work for the day.
This evening has been pretty relaxed and has just been spent with friends. It is nice coming back here and being able to spend the evenings with people we know.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Day 3
We made it. The best way to describe the travel out here this time is uneventful. Normally there is some sort of hiccup or long layover or something; not this time. It was smooth the whole way. We arrived in LJ about noon yesterday and basically hung out with friends all day. It was a good chance to catch up on things and hear about what has happened since I left. Really the only news is that there are a few new roads, some more foreigners moved out here, and some restaurants opened or closed. Really that is about it.
The biggest thing that I've noticed about being back is how normal everything feels. It really doesn't seem like much time has passed at all since I've left, even though it has been over a year and a half. There haven't been any of the weird culture moments or even anything seeming out of place, well except for having Lindsey with me (that minor detail). Really though, that doesn't seem strange either. It just all seems to fit just like it used to but even more so now. And she seems to be really enjoying it so far (or else she is a much better faker than I give her credit for).
It is early in the morning so we are about to go and see Old Town before it gets crowded. It'll be a nice touristy thing to do.
The biggest thing that I've noticed about being back is how normal everything feels. It really doesn't seem like much time has passed at all since I've left, even though it has been over a year and a half. There haven't been any of the weird culture moments or even anything seeming out of place, well except for having Lindsey with me (that minor detail). Really though, that doesn't seem strange either. It just all seems to fit just like it used to but even more so now. And she seems to be really enjoying it so far (or else she is a much better faker than I give her credit for).
It is early in the morning so we are about to go and see Old Town before it gets crowded. It'll be a nice touristy thing to do.
Day One (and sort of two)
Well we've been doing the planes, trains, and automobiles thing. Actually over the last 24 hours we've done all three. I'm sitting on our final flight right now and very much looking forward to being there in another hour. Lindsey has been a trooper though. I thought I was going to lose her to jet lag last night on the subway, but she hung in until we made it to the hotel. Here's a rundown of where we've been and what we've done over the past day or so (it is hard to keep time straight with that pesky international date line).
-flew to Vancouver: 4 hours plus a 2 hour layover
-flew to shanghai: 12 hours plus a 2 hour subway ride to our hotel and spent the night
-flew to LJ 4 more hours (and swearing I'm not getting on a plane again for another 2 weeks).
China has this amazing tension of beauty and chaos all at the same time. Admittedly, I usually remember the beauty a lot more than I remember the chaos. Three things about the chaos I've remembered since we got here:
1) There are a lot of bad Chinese parents out there. And I know the same can be true for Americans, and I know I shouldn't criticize when I don't have kids, but there was this kid on our long flight next to us that was nuts. I'm talking screaming, kicking, rolling in the floor because he didn't get a window seat - nuts. And mom was just like 'please don't do that' and then she changed to another set on a different row for the rest of the flight. I'm not gong to lie though, I did laugh when he got his head stuck in between the seats in front of him. He had it coming. All I know is that the girl sitting next to him had the patience of Job. Every time I looked over he was hitting her or screaming in her ear.
2) There is a lot of garbage in China. It is one of the details that gets lost after you live here. I guess I got so used to it I didn't notice it anymore. All I know is that there is a lot of garbage in Shanghai.
3) The economy of things here is crazy. For instance: we had steamed dumplings last nights for dinner and coffee before we flew out. Dinner for 2 cost just under $1. Coffee for two, just under $10. I now remember why I avoided Western hangout spots.
Like I said before, Lindsey has been a complete trooper. This has definitely been the smoothest trip here yet, but it is still a long one. She has been adventurous enough to eat off the street and wanted to take the subway instead of a taxi when we landed. And she insists on carrying her own backpack, which is also a plus (she keeps talking about having to haul a backpack through Italy with a broken elbow and saying this is nothing compared to that). I'm looking forward to ditching those big packs once we land though.
-flew to Vancouver: 4 hours plus a 2 hour layover
-flew to shanghai: 12 hours plus a 2 hour subway ride to our hotel and spent the night
-flew to LJ 4 more hours (and swearing I'm not getting on a plane again for another 2 weeks).
China has this amazing tension of beauty and chaos all at the same time. Admittedly, I usually remember the beauty a lot more than I remember the chaos. Three things about the chaos I've remembered since we got here:
1) There are a lot of bad Chinese parents out there. And I know the same can be true for Americans, and I know I shouldn't criticize when I don't have kids, but there was this kid on our long flight next to us that was nuts. I'm talking screaming, kicking, rolling in the floor because he didn't get a window seat - nuts. And mom was just like 'please don't do that' and then she changed to another set on a different row for the rest of the flight. I'm not gong to lie though, I did laugh when he got his head stuck in between the seats in front of him. He had it coming. All I know is that the girl sitting next to him had the patience of Job. Every time I looked over he was hitting her or screaming in her ear.
2) There is a lot of garbage in China. It is one of the details that gets lost after you live here. I guess I got so used to it I didn't notice it anymore. All I know is that there is a lot of garbage in Shanghai.
3) The economy of things here is crazy. For instance: we had steamed dumplings last nights for dinner and coffee before we flew out. Dinner for 2 cost just under $1. Coffee for two, just under $10. I now remember why I avoided Western hangout spots.
Like I said before, Lindsey has been a complete trooper. This has definitely been the smoothest trip here yet, but it is still a long one. She has been adventurous enough to eat off the street and wanted to take the subway instead of a taxi when we landed. And she insists on carrying her own backpack, which is also a plus (she keeps talking about having to haul a backpack through Italy with a broken elbow and saying this is nothing compared to that). I'm looking forward to ditching those big packs once we land though.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Resurrection II
Okay, so totally disregard the post from January about resurrecting the blog. That lasted for about a week. I've realized, I'm much better at writing about the randomness of life in Rural Asia than I am about living in Surburbia. Somehow being surrounded by houses stifles my creativity (I'm looking out my window at my neighbors nice brick wall as I type).
With that being said, I am resurrecting the blog AGAIN. This time I'll actually stick with it, since Lindsey and I are heading off to Asia for two and a half weeks. The game plan is to go back to the town that I lived in for eleven days, then head down south for four days. We have a basic plan of what we're doing, but all that could go out the window once we get there.
On a side note: My old Filipino roommate, Joie, is going to meet us over there. If you don't know Joie, he's full of fortune cookie wisdom and was the brains behind all of our coffee projects when we lived there. So Lindsey will get to meet him on this trip (maybe a good thing, maybe not...). Joie going with us is strategic, but more on that later.
Our basic game plan is that for the first half of the trip we're going to help out with the work that is continually going on there. We'll go out to some villages, probably help with some ag projects, catch up with local friends, and try to share whenever we can (even though my language is very rusty). This will also be a time where Lindsey gets to check things out and finally get to see what I've been talking about over the past year and a half.
The second half of the trip is going to be a little more business. We're going to travel down south where some people we know are growing coffee. We'll meet with them and talk about the possibility of partnering up with them in their work down there. We'll help them out with some of the coffee that they're growing, and we'll scope out some possible living/working situations for Joie. The hope is to have Joie living out there sometime in the first half of next year (for more on that see www.undergroundcoffeeintl.org). We've both been down there before and have friends there, but we've never looked at it as a place to live. It'll be a busy few days there, but we'll be enjoying some fresh mangos and pineapples, so I'll be just fine.
With that being said, I'll try and update this regularly over the next few weeks (assuming I can find a place with internet). The posts might be a little few and far between, but I'll try and keep things up to date. And I promise I won't do the American thing and only post about getting massages every day and taking pictures of the weird things we eat; however I'm expecting there to be quite a bit of both.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Thoughts from a Book Study
Occasionally things will pop out of my mouth that later I think 'oh, that was actually pretty good.' Now I'll admit, it doesn't happen often, and I'm far more likely to have things pop out of my mouth that I later regret, but sometimes I'll actually surprise myself.
Today some of us on staff started a once a week lunch study on Prodigal God by Tim Keller. It'll be a great book for our group, and even after one day I can tell we'll have some good discussion from it, assuming that we can keep the cell phones turned off (you know who you are...). Somehow our conversation today ranged from Free Will and Calvinism to Grace and Justice to why younger siblings are always the jacked up ones. It was a good time.
At one point during the grace and justice point I said that, "We can't truly appreciate grace until we understand justice." It is that idea that we can't truly appreciate driving a nice car until we understand what it is like to drive a P.o.S. every day. We were talking about why church usually turns so many people off, why there are so many older brothers from the story at churches, and the problem with 'turn or burn' mentality that a lot of people grew up in. I'm sure someone much smarter than I am has said my statement before (and probably more eloquently), but it is a truth none-the-less. It is hard for us to understand how much we've been (for)given if we don't understand how bad off we were in the first place.
The monkey wrench flew in when we started to talk about who Jesus was telling the parable of the Prodigal Son. There were both the sinners and the religious. The parable, along with most of the things Jesus said, had a great way of hitting home with both audiences. The sinners can identify with the younger son, the religious with the older. My questions were: which did Jesus preach most often, grace or justice, and did his audience changed which one he emphasized?
I'll allow for people to draw their own conclusions on this one, but from what I've read Jesus spends a lot more time preaching about justice to the religious and grace to the sinners. Somehow we've managed to get that backwards most of the time.
We all know of people who have grown up hearing about hellfire and brimstone and the judgment that comes from sin. And while that is all true, many times the message falls on deaf ears. In the same way, we all know of churches that preach a health and wealth type of gospel and the grace that comes along with our belief in Christ. And while that is all true, many times the message leads to complacency and a country club mentality at church. What would happen if we started reversing those messages to each audience more often?
Maybe what the sinners need is to hear about more is grace and the religious could use a little more judgment in their sermons.
Today some of us on staff started a once a week lunch study on Prodigal God by Tim Keller. It'll be a great book for our group, and even after one day I can tell we'll have some good discussion from it, assuming that we can keep the cell phones turned off (you know who you are...). Somehow our conversation today ranged from Free Will and Calvinism to Grace and Justice to why younger siblings are always the jacked up ones. It was a good time.
At one point during the grace and justice point I said that, "We can't truly appreciate grace until we understand justice." It is that idea that we can't truly appreciate driving a nice car until we understand what it is like to drive a P.o.S. every day. We were talking about why church usually turns so many people off, why there are so many older brothers from the story at churches, and the problem with 'turn or burn' mentality that a lot of people grew up in. I'm sure someone much smarter than I am has said my statement before (and probably more eloquently), but it is a truth none-the-less. It is hard for us to understand how much we've been (for)given if we don't understand how bad off we were in the first place.
The monkey wrench flew in when we started to talk about who Jesus was telling the parable of the Prodigal Son. There were both the sinners and the religious. The parable, along with most of the things Jesus said, had a great way of hitting home with both audiences. The sinners can identify with the younger son, the religious with the older. My questions were: which did Jesus preach most often, grace or justice, and did his audience changed which one he emphasized?
I'll allow for people to draw their own conclusions on this one, but from what I've read Jesus spends a lot more time preaching about justice to the religious and grace to the sinners. Somehow we've managed to get that backwards most of the time.
We all know of people who have grown up hearing about hellfire and brimstone and the judgment that comes from sin. And while that is all true, many times the message falls on deaf ears. In the same way, we all know of churches that preach a health and wealth type of gospel and the grace that comes along with our belief in Christ. And while that is all true, many times the message leads to complacency and a country club mentality at church. What would happen if we started reversing those messages to each audience more often?
Maybe what the sinners need is to hear about more is grace and the religious could use a little more judgment in their sermons.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Ressurection
So I've decided to resurrect the old blog. I've taken a year off and now I think it is time to start again. I'm sure this will be different than it used to be because I'm in a different place than I was the last time I wrote; both literally and figuratively. A lot has changed in the last year, so I'll try and catch everyone up to speed.
I finished up my two years of living in the Himalayas almost one year ago. By the end of it I was very ready to get back to America (and now that I'm back in America, I am very ready to go back). Somehow being away romanticizes places. America just seemed so much better than where I was until I got back here. I think it is like that girl that you date in another town. She seems really great until you are actually around her. Don't get me wrong, I love it here and know I'm supposed to be here; it just wasn't exactly the way I remembered it.
After I finished up my time in Asia, I decided to take a month long trip backpacking in Nepal. For one, I worked out for the trip to be on my way home so it didn't cost me any money, and two, backpacking through Nepal just seems like something an unemployed world-traveling type person would do. I loved it. It was fun. I spend every day as a vegetarian (not by choice) and with a Nepali guy named Dil (also not by choice). It was a great buffer between being overseas and returning home. I was able to process through a lot of things on my own before coming back. And I saw some of the most amazing mountains in the world. I've got to tell ya though, after being away for two years, having to spend those extra couple of weeks on the side of that mountain just about drove me crazy.
After I returned back to America, I did what anyone would do and planted a garden and got a girlfriend. She was my senior English teacher back in high school. I like to tell that story, and she swears she's not embarrassed by it. Luckily, the relationship worked out better than the garden did. We've recently become engaged and plan to get married in May.
I also got a job at a church. I had a little bit of an adjustment period coming back where church seemed really strange. I guess going from meeting in an underground house church for two years to a place that has several hundred people, lights, speakers, singers, and a band can be a shock to the system. I've ended up in a fairly large church (which I swore I would never do) in a fairly affluent part of town (which I also swore I would never do). It is funny how God ends up making that 'I swear I never will...' list get shorter as time goes on. It truly is a great church. It has taken some getting used to the aesthetics of the place, but I love a church that is dedicated to reaching the broken and lost. And they aren't big on buildings and like to plant new campuses, which makes me feel like I haven't totally sold out. I also work alongside a great staff, which makes it fun to go to work every day.
I also turned thirty this year. That's all I really have to say about that.
And finally I started up a non-profit. Since so much of my time in Asia was dedicated to maintaining a platform and giving a reason to be able to do what we did, I figured it was only natural to start a coffee company. Non-profit and coffee don't normally go together, but I think they can. Basically we (Underground Coffee International) buys coffee and then sells it under its own label, using the profits to support missionaries and fund humanitarian projects. Most of the people interested in partnering up are churches, so in effect we are partnering churches with missionaries. The missionaries we fund are back in Asia, working in closed countries, and using coffee training as their platform to be there and build relationships with locals. Eventually the locals will grow their own coffee, make more income than they otherwise would have with their old crops, and then we buy it from them because we've already established a market for their coffee here with churches. Assuming we can raise enough support, it shouldn't be too complicated, and hopefully I'll be able to go back overseas a few years down the line.
So yeah, that's pretty much the year in a nutshell. I am sure this blog will transform into something new. I don't exactly have random stories of eating pig brain or hitch hiking to mountains villages. This blog used to serve as a way to keep everyone updated on the work, but now that I'm here, there probably won't be a schedule to it, and it'll probably serve more as a place for me to ramble. So buckle up!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
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