Rice Grains

Last night when I went to say hi to my elderly neighbors across the street, they invited me back for supper tonight. Bpaa (Aunt) Dang and Luung (Uncle) Boontahm are the folks who feel a bit like grandparents to me.

Luung is the man who has been ill; he is still not well, though doing somewhat better. He stayed out of bed long enough to eat with us, then was helped back to his bed in the back of their little storefront. He talks of always having back pain.

This couple say they believe in Jesus, but because of the language barrier, I am unable to understand what their story is. I am praying for wisdom in communicating more with them and for God to meet them where they're at.

Bpaa Dang and Luung Boontahm

Their son and grandson are currently here, visiting from southern Thailand some 12 hours away, so I had the privilege of meeting them.

The delicacy of the evening was "hoi", which I feared were raw oysters. "Raw" and "oyster" are both bad words in my book.:) Fortunately, they were not raw, but maybe steamed??. And no, they weren't oysters, but they were some sort of shell. The contents were just a bit slimy, but tasted pretty good when eaten with rice and covered with the spicy sauce provided.:). The other dish of which I "partook" was a delicious sweet and sour vegetable stir-fry with chicken.

The other main dishes were not offered to me, and I didn't ask too much, but I think they were some sort of fish dish. Steamed shrimp in a small bowl were offered to me, so I took a couple, but no one else took any, and I wasn't sure how to eat them, so on my plate they remained.:) But I really had a good time with these dear people.

On another note, at church this morning the pastor preached on the love of money. As I try not to use the English translation headphones, I usually understand very little of the sermon. But I did understand when the pastor pulled an American dollar bill out of his pocket, pointed to some wording, and read in English, "In God we trust". He proceeded to ask how true this really is, that maybe the truth is that "in money we trust". Hmmmm, good point.