New Experiences

So, I just recently returned from an awesome trip into the countryside. I had the chance to go to a Hmong village that was about three hours away, in another province. We drove through huge mountains and jungle, and we passed by several small villages and rice farms along the way.

The family we stayed with were basically the only Christians in the whole area, and they lived in a small hut with a straw/bamboo roof. There were 11 people living in the house, but they were very inviting. We knew the father of the family's son because he attended a language school in the city. I was able speak to them a little, which was really exciting, because I learned to speak about a paragraph of the Hmong language last year at school. The family seemed to get really excited when I began to speak, so it was a nice experience that I accidentally prepared for earlier in the year.

It was really awesome to see the family live because they were a light to the other people around them. One family was drawn to Christ because of them. Their baby was sick and no matter what they did, the baby wasn't getting better. They brought the baby to the family because they knew they were Christians, and, after they prayed for the child, it was completely healed. It was so great to see that God is even working in places where it seems very unlikely.

The father of the family was a knife-maker, and he was the only one bringing in any money. He was very experienced and had been doing it his whole life. It took him an entire day just to make one knife. I watched him make two knives on saturday and sunday, and it took a lot of work. When he finished making the knife on sunday, he just gave it to me. Can you believe that he would do that. He gave gift that he worked on for hours...worth an entire days wages, when he is the only source of income, and they are trying to save money for a house than can better fit his family. It is really a gift I will cherish.

Even more than that, one of the sons of the family had a newborn daughter. Hmong people do not give a child a name until it is at least ten days old. They were planning on doing the naming ceremony on the second day we were there, and when the time came, they asked us to pray for the baby and give it a name! At first we kind of laughed because we thought they couldn't be serious, but they definitely were. After talking it over and asking our Hmong friend about it, the baby's name came to be Esther (Eseter in Hmong). That name was chosen because of the way that Esther saved the Israelites. That was a seriously new kind of experience. I mean who has actually ever gotten to name someone else's baby?

While we were there, they also killed several chickens to eat, and we found out they normally only eat about two to three per month, so we know that had to be a sacrifice on our behalf. We had a time to sing songs with them and just tell them what was on our hearts, which we did through their one son who can speak english. We also got to go to hike to some caves with that same son. Many people hid in them during the war, and some of the wounded were kept in a lower chamber. It was so amazing to see all that we did.

These past few weeks have been filled with new experiences for me, and there is plenty still ahead of me. I know I will be doing plenty to let everyone know about because some of it has already been planned. Thanks for all the prayers and support. God has absolutely been blessing me. Also, please pray for the family. They are such a light in the darkness, so pray that God will use people like them in this place where it can be extremely difficult.