Care Package, Mice, Thanksgiving, and Village Visit, Whew!

The last couple of weeks have been very eventful. We have received a care package, found a mouse in our printer, had a great Thanksgiving meal, and visited a village outside of Pakse.

The package was sent by my Mom’s Sunday school class at the Crosspointe fellowship. It was very thoughtful because we love care packages! They sent macaroni and cheese, spices for our Thanksgiving meal, plates and napkins for Christmas, and lots of other goodies. It makes us feel so loved!

Our next event was a visitor and not the good kind. Just over night, our printer stopped working. It was very frustrating. So I decided to call in the tech support, Jeff. Yes, he is a teacher and a teammate, but more importantly, he fixes all of our technical problems. He graciously came over late that night. After looking it over, he said, “Russell, I feel something is living in there.” I replied, “Jeff, I didn’t ask you to give me a psychic read. I just want you to fix the printer!” Come to find out, there was a mouse living in the printer. It was quite cute but very difficult to remove. We tried chopsticks but I ended up just shaking the printer profusely. Unfortunately, the printer is damaged beyond repair in Laos.

Thanksgiving was fun. Of course, we missed being with our family. But it was great being with our team and students. We had the whole Thanksgiving spread. I was in charge of the turkey and dressing. Bethany was in charge of green beans and deviled eggs. Truthfully, because of my teaching schedule, Bethany had a big hand in the turkey. Our only mishap was 30 minutes before the meal was supposed to start. The dressing was still in the oven and the oven ran out of gas. I didn’t panic. I hopped on the motor bike and went to a little shop down the road. Within minutes, a little Lao guy came to the house with a new gas tank. The oven hadn’t even cooled. We all ate more than we could and handle. And the evening was ended with a dramatic presentation about the meaning of Thanksgiving. The students thought it was great.

Last week we went to a village about 20 kilometers outside of town. This village makes furniture and we are in desperate need of making our house feel like a home. It was amazing to see how they live. And this village is a great representation of how the majority of Lao people live. We purchased two book shelves made out bamboo. They each cost $7. We also found some wicker furniture that we’d like to purchase later.

Bethany is going shopping in Thailand this weekend. It’s only a 45 minute drive to the border. She’s going with our teammate Amy. There are many things we can’t purchase in Laos but can in Thailand. This trip, buying a Christmas tree is a high priority. I’ll be on my own for a couple of days. And I’m looking forward to some quiet time.

Russell