Dear Friends & Family,
My Dream Guest House is in the middle of one of the Karen Tribe villages. I think Nan is a very wealthy man for his village. I think I described the homes here in an earlier letter. This village is very clean, and the people, though poor by our standards, are much better off than the tribes in the hills. Two nights ago we met with all the people in the village in the hall outside their church. The Pastor/Doctor of the village was once imprisoned in Burma. He escaped and ran for three days to get back here. He does not speak English, so Nan would translate. We started with a prayer led by the Pastor. Afterwards, Dad had Nan say that although we did not understand the words of the prayer, we felt the spirit of it, and know that we are all brothers and sisters who worship the same God. (This tribe is Christian, as well as a few others...though most our animist.) Then he told them that we wanted to teach them how to play some American Games. We brought some glow in the dark bracelets and a glow in the dark frisbee. It was quite a hit! Cody, Dad, Linny & I demonstrated how to play, and then let the children play. They were so cute! They caught on very fast-and one little boy was quite aggressive, yanking it out of other kids hands. They would laugh and cheer when they scored. The mothers sat watching them, and they were all laughter and smiles as well. We also gave them some soccer balls and cones. They were so grateful. Everyone has such great manners. All the children Wai when given anything. My children will be learning to Wai when I return home. Even the children Spencer's age and younger do it. You place your hands together, palms touching, under your chin, and bow your head slightly while saying 'thank you.' It' awesome.
The next morning was our trip to the Hill Tribes. Nan rented 4 jeeps for us. We have become friends with a man named Angus, who is from New Zealand, and he came along with us. Just an aside for any Lost fans. Angus IS Desmond. He has the accent, he has the long hair, he was here for a month in a monastery learning how to meditate, and his sister is named Penny!!!! We have to watch that we don't call him Desmond sometimes. Anywho...we had our packs for the tribes; stuffed animals, childrens books, toothbrushes and paste, work gloves, underwear, hats, first aid kits, jackets, arm warmers, candy, and soccer and footballs. We had some of the children from this village come down and gave some to them before heading up to the tribes.
There are some tribes that are visited by many tourists. They are fairly easy to get to. Nan took us on a scary, 7 prayer jeep ride into the heart of the jungle to see tribes that our very remote. Most of them were different branches of the Lahu tribe, with our last stop and lunch being with an Akha tribe. I just don't even know how to describe things to do it justice. You see places like these in movies, or in pictures, but there is something about being right there...
The homes are built of bamboo, and have thatched grass roofs. They are on stilts, and the animals live underneath. There are animals everywhere!!! Pigs, chickens, cows, dogs, everywhere. Most of the people are barefoot. There clothes could be one of maybe two outfits that they own. They are covered with dirt. Their little faces are dirty...but these children are so beautiful. They live in a poverty that we can not imagine, yet they are happy and grateful for the littlest things. The routine was pretty much the same at each village. We would pull up, the villagers would gather around, we would pass out our goods, which were always received with Wais and smiles, we would take a small tour, and then move on. We have great pictures of these beautiful Thai children with a sucker in their mouth holding their new books, stuffed animals, and balls. No offense to my own wonderful children--but I have never loved giving children presents more. First of all-the need is so great. And second--the gratitude is so sincere. Many of the children were very friendly and would hug us or hold our hands. Some of the little ones were very shy and would cry. One poor little boy must have been about 2, and I tried to give him a book, and he started crying because he was shy. But his Mother made him put his little hands in a Wai before she made him take the book. Poor little guy. In one village, a beautiful little girl, who looked about 4 had a pet on a string. She had a little string tied around the back leg of her pet.....dung beetle!!!!! It was huge! I held it and have the photo to prove it. She did not understand the big deal we were making over her little friend and seemed quite concerned that we saw it as a photo opportunity. In another village the children had cassette tape tied up from one home to another. That was their toy, because it made a cool windy sound when you shook. They had some makeshift swings under their homes, where they had tied a portion of sheet to the rafters. They don't have garbage collectors, so the garbage is just thrown on one end of the village. And by village, I mean 5 to 10 homes. These are very small. The mothers carry the babies in a sling over their back, and were carrying babies that looked old enough to walk. Nan said families have anywhere from 7-11 children. How could they not? There isn't birth control? And what is labor and delivery like up there? The drivers of our jeeps came with iodine, and some other type of medicine to care for anyone that was sick. In one village there was the cutest little boy, he looked around 3, who had sores on his head. After we had passed out our things, the drivers treated his head. He stood there with his arms around his new football, his new book, and his new stuffed animal and held perfectly still with no tears as these men cleaned his little sores. It had to burn! I about lost it. I wanted to cry so hard, but caught myself, as I didn't want to be rude. I just feel such love and compassion for these people, and especially for these beautiful children.
After just our time with our Karen village friends, I was almost feeling a little jipped that I got as a good a life as I did. I was a bit envious of the simplicity and purity of their lives-so untouched by materialism and greed. I was wanting my children to know this kind of a life. These people are so happy with so little. I was telling Ryan that I wanted us to move here and live for 6 months to a year. Of course, that isn't really a possibility, but I still think it would be great. But then the more tribes I saw, the more destitute situations, the sadder I felt. And guiltier. Why does my baby Milly get a crib, and clothes, and a high chair, and fruit puffs? And why does this little Akha baby I held and kissed not even get diapers? Wise Annie said that Heavenly Father gave us the life he did-and we need to first, not spit in the face of our gift, by wishing we had less--and then second, be good stewards of that gift, of that wealth beyond measure. We need to manage what we are given responsibly, live within our means, and then give back to others our excess. I'm not going to find Hill Tribes in Cache Valley, but I can maybe find a soup kitchen...or donate to the Humanitarian Center if nothing else.
This morning everyone but Lindsey and I left for a Mountain Bike ride. I'm a road biker! Not a mountain biker. I can bike 80 miles 2 months after having a baby, but I can't bike 1 mile on a mountain bike. Too scary. Mom and Sara just showed back up at My Dream an hour early. They said it was way too scary. Too bumpy and slippery. But my Ryan will be in Heaven. This will likely be his favorite part of the trip. When everyone gets back we are heading into the Karen Village to ride elephants. Oh! There were elephants here at My Dream at breakfast time. I got to pet one. It was very scary. They are very big! But I'm excited to ride one.
Alright. That is all for now. We fly to Phuket today and leave this world behind. Tonight we will be back in a Marriott with room service, bathtubs, swimming pools, and hot tubs. I'll try to enjoy it. :) I just don't want to forget these people and the life they lead. I'm going to hang pictures of the little children and villages in my home, so I can remember them, show more gratitude for what I have, and be reminded to give to others.
Hope all is well with everyone. Love & Kisses,
Love, Jo