harvesting the rice in Xian Kwang

I love the smile on the team leader...as we left he offered us a glass of water. Well, we thought it was water until we gulped the glass back only to find that it was 'fire' water. 80% prove Lao 'rice wine'. It ripped down our throats like crushed glass and we all smiled and said thanks...we jumped into the car and coughed and spluttered all the way down the dusty road!!!

harvesting the rice in Xian Kwang

it was a real treat to watch the harvest coming in...we got out of our cars and the team leader invited us to come and see up close. There was such a lot of hard work going on and each person was doing their part. Some were cutting, others were gathering, others were bundling and others were threshing and yet others were bagging the grain. People were smiling and sweating!!! Bring on the harvest!

C's good buddy Jenny...

we went on our first Vientiane Christian Co-operative (known fondly as the coop) leadership retreat. We've been cooping now for 1 term and so some of us got away and chatted and reflected on the strengths and weakness thus far...the girls slaved over the table so Dave and I kept the coffee coming...there was a magnificent sunset the night we arrived on the Mekong...praise the Lord for His color and splendor displayed in all Things!

The woman I love...

The sleeping shot was taken during our marriage retreat in Thailand. It was tiring...so the next week we arranged a romantic dinner on a boat floating down the Meekong River..

We were strolling and a long way from Singapore

The ladies on the left were on their daily work chores gathering fire wood so they can cook the lunch and get dinner ready for the night, which is going to be very cold for the family. Have a guess, what % of Laos cook their meals with electricity? ....okie, times up. 1% of Laos use electricity to cook their meals...the rest use wood and charcoal, a smaller % use gas.

On the road to the farm with the boys...

We were weighed down a little but but we got back...well almost!