Ron and Sally Jo Blog

We have returned to Laos as interim country reps for MCC for two months. In February we were here ”record-sorting” for MCC. You can see our blog from that time at MCC Laos  and Sites in Vientiane. It was nice to have had that experience so that we knew some of the staff when we arrived and we at least knew the physical surroundings of our house and office.

During our first three weeks we have been welcomed and been involved in saying good-by to a number of people. (Later there will be a blog specifically on one type of ceremony.) One of our responsibilities is to assist a local staff member in all the details of the IVEP/SALT/YAMEN program here. There are three young people who have been here a year and will leave this weekend. There have been parties with lots of good food and debriefing sessions. There have been financial reports to approve. We are usually given seats of honor and there have been speeches to make.

There are five young Laos people who will leave in a few weeks to spend a year in Canada/U.S./Indonesia/India. There are forms to complete. There are visas to apply for. There is an orientation to plan before they leave. And then there are two young people coming to Laos for a year from U.S. and Indonesia. There are again forms to complete, host families to locate, and questions to answer. AND there are two young people who have been in Canada and the U.S. this past year who will be returning home in a few weeks.

In the meantime we will be welcoming a new service worker in two weeks. Again plans need to be made for orientation, host family, and language study. And we want to continue to inform churches and young people of the opportunity for them in MCC’s young adult programs for the following year through informative sessions in the next several weeks.

However, we do not do this all by ourselves. We are assisting a young Lao woman who is trying to learn all the procedures/processes and is able to do much of the leading. However, she needs our support in the various tasks.

kami berdua

Fifty years of marriage required a whole month to celebrate! We first spent a week on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, with our entire family. When we returned to Goshen we celebrated with our extended family and many friends. And last of all, on the actual day we celebrated with new friends here in Laos.

On Kauai we stayed at a resort in Poipu where our rooms overlooked the ocean. It is known as the “Garden Isle” and is filled with beautiful beaches, steep cliffs, and canyons complete with stunning waterfalls. One day we drove to Waimea Canyon Park. It reminded us of a “little” Grand Canyon. Another day, some of us drove towards the north end of the island. One day three of us hiked a trail to the bottom of a gorge which had a sign at the beginning, “Hazardous Cliff” and another which said. “Area closed. Do not go beyond this point.” However, our guidebook said we could disregard the sign and just take care! And still yet another day, some of us visited a Buddhist monastery. We also just spent time together, watching waves, walking, taking hula and ukulele lessons, swimming and eating.

50 years

Jessica and Lucy were able to spend a week in Goshen after the Kauai trip, when we did more fun activities and got ready for a party, held at Rachel’s Bread with extended family and friends. Jessica had previously made a flag banner with 50 flags using material that reminded us of our experiences. Andrea, Jessica, and Michelle put together a timeline with photos of some of our highlights. The two of us had a wonderful time talking with friends from many aspects and time-periods of our lives.

final celebration!

Our actual anniversary date, June 25th, found us working with MCC in Vientiane, Laos. The staff surprised us with a cake in the morning and in the evening we ate at a nice French restaurant with another MCC couple who were celebrating their 4th anniversary on the same day.

*kami berdua = Indonesian for “the two of us”

Before we went to SE Asia we needed to look at the map to see where we were going. We also needed to look at a map several times when we were there. This was an area of the world where we did not know our geography. So—-in case you may be in the same boat, this is a map of our travels.

We flew to Hanoi, Vietnam first.  While there we traveled overland to Halong Bay.  We then flew to Phnom Penh, Cambodia via Vientiane, Laos.  While in Phnom Penh we traveled by bus to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat.  Next we flew back to Vientiane, Laos to do our MCC work and then flew to Luang Prabang, Laos.  Lastly, we flew to Chiang Mai, Thailand.  (Purple lines are flights and yellow lines are land travel.)

travel map

We spent two days in Luang Prabang, the first capital of Laos. It is situated at the merger of the Nam Khan and the Mekong Rivers and encircled by mountains. The city government has provided main roads around the city so that in the city proper there are no trucks or buses—mostly motorbikes, bicycles, tuk-tuks, and pedestrians. It has beautiful brilliant new and old temples with the orange-robed monks, old French-Lao colonial buildings, flowering trees, fascinating morning and evening markets, river traffic, coffee, and thousands of tourists. Our days were spent meandering around the town and climbing the one hill to look out over the countryside. We didn’t hurry because it was hot and we needed time to refresh ourselves with drinks and rest.

One evening we attended a royal ballet performance of classical dancing and music. It reminded us of classical performance in Indonesia. Another evening we attended a storytelling time with music. The Lao khaen was a new instrument for us and we found it interesting to hear and see played. Both performances were fun and provided a respite from the many temples we visited! We also visited the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) with information about Laos’ ethnic groups, traditional lifestyles, and handicrafts emphasizing women’s role in society.

Early mornings (6:00 am) we got up to watch the feeding of the monks. It is an interesting process. The monks file through the streets and collect food (rice, fruit, crackers, etc) from the devout—and from tourists. Local women along the street are happy to lend you a mat for a price and sell you food to give. We did not give any food but joined other tourists in taking photos. What each monk collects is what they will eat for that day.

Our work here in Vientiane began much the same as in the other two countries we were just in; we surveyed the work we needed to do. As in other offices we found documents in file cabinets in various offices, and boxes and boxes of files in a small storeroom and in a large barn/shed. However, when we actually started looking we found that most material could be thrown out. This country seems to have kept up with sending material to Akron fairly well. We did have a number of files which were only in Lao language. We were able to tell sometimes by the format what it might be about and we did learn to recognize the script for “Mennonite.” More helpful, though, was the MCC staff member who could sit with us and translate! Since it didn’t take so long to go through the files they asked us to “weed” their library. Sally Jo was very happy to help with that! We then reorganized the remaining books. We were able to move the library from six bookcases to three. We chose a small box of books that can be given to a thrift shop but the rest will be burnt. With the boxes of files and the boxes of books that needed to be burnt, they carried away at least two truck-loads plus more. They also burnt some on site.

As always, it was fun to get to know the MCC staff. Twice we had Lao meals fixed in the office and the other days we went to small restaurants in the area for lunches. We very much enjoyed the local food. Ron even “enjoyed” eating the chicken feet from one of the dishes. One evening we were invited to an MCC service workers home for supper. We were thrilled to meet a YAMENer from Indonesia who is here for the year. (YAMEN is the counterpart of IVEP involving young people in “south-to-south” exchange.) Gloria is from Pati, Indonesia, and we had common acquaintances. Also one morning a delegation from South Korea visited the MCC offices. Again, we found common acquaintances. It is always exciting to meet people from all over the world and make connections.

One morning we visited the COPE center (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise). It was inspiring to see the work they do to help people with disabilities. People of all ages are fitted with artificial limbs and given therapy. The center also explains the problems with unexplored ordnances (UXO) and the resulting disabilities. Lao is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita in history.  Sobering stories and videos.

We were invited to a Chinese New Year celebration at an MCC staff member’s home. There was a lot to eat and loud music. What impressed us was the “farm” at the home. Soi grows nearly everything she cooks, from chicken and fish to all sorts of vegetables and fruit. (It was dark so we could not get a good photo.)

Wendy, MCC rep, treated us to brunch the morning we left Vientiane. The restaurant was located on a small alley and served wonderful sticky rice mango pancakes with coconut coffee. Delicious!

“Sabaaidee!” Hello from Laos! It was great to meet Kris Peachey on our first day in Vientiane. She was a great tour leader showing us many sites around the city. We saw the Mekong River with the statue of Chao Fa Ngum, first king, looking towards Thailand. We visited a number of Wats (Buddhist temples)—some quite old and some newer. We don’t remember the names of all of them!

We climbed about 200 steps up Patuxai (which approximately means Arch of Triumph). It looks like its French namesake but has four archways rather than two. It was built in the 1960s from US cement which was supposed to be used to build an airport runway. There were good views of the city from the top.

Pha That Luang

We visited the most important national monument in Laos—Pha That Luang. It is the symbol of Buddhism and Laos sovereignty. Legend says that a piece of Buddha’s breastbone is enclosed in the stupa. There are two wats on the grounds of this monument; both are very colorful and interesting. There is also a large reclining Buddha.

One evening we went to see the Night Market near the river. Here, every evening from about 5-10 pm, hundreds of small stalls are erected. Locals and tourists were all enjoying the evening.  (Khao toum is stuffed boiled sticky rice–stuffed usually with beans and pork.)