Wedding Shots

We took this picture before we left to the wedding. 

Wedding Time Again!

During wedding season in Laos, we are asked to attend quite a few weddings.  Often we are invited if we know someone in the family, even if it's only a casual acquaintance.  I'm not entirely sure if it's viewed as lucky to have a foreigner attend or if they hope that we'll give more money to the bride and groom (it is expected that every person asked to attend the reception will put some money in an envelope and place it in a large fancy box that is placed at the entrance of the hall), but we are invited to our fair share.  

This last wedding was one that we had been looking forward to for months!  Our landlord's brother was getting married.  Since we spend quite a bit time with their family, we had heard so much about the wedding plans.  Our landlord was the oldest sister, so much of the preparation plans fell on her.  They had booked the reception in a large wedding hall that provided a fairly nice dinner and had room for some Lao traditional dancing.  

When Kirk and I came back from the wedding, we processed it together and had to agree that it was the most fun we had had at a Lao wedding.  We understood much of what was going on, we knew the order of events, and we had well over 15 Lao people that we could talk to and had a history with.  After a year of language school, we do realize we have so much to learn about the Lao culture and the Lao language; but it's times like these where we can sit back and smile and feel grateful for what we have learned and who we have invested in.

I took the girls to get their hair done at a shop down our street.  Kezi was so excited to have them curl hers!  It seemed worth it for the 60 cents I paid!

The hairdressers love to do Kolaya's hair and they ooh and ahh the whole time!  

"So soft and so yellow!"

Mikaya was pleased with her curls!  

Lao language classes for the girls!

Kolaya and Mikaya have loved spending time with their Lao language teacher, Tooey.  She is a really amazing lady from a tough family background.  Her joy and encouraging spirit has made learning Lao a fun time for the girls.  They act out vocabulary words, play bingo, play matching games, etc.  This last week they worked on vocabulary in the classroom and body parts.  Sentences structures they worked on were, "does she/he have (insert a noun like glasses, yellow hair, etc)?" and "are you (insert an adjective like hungry, sad, tired)?"

You could pray for Tooey who is getting engaged this next month and is preparing for the engagement party that goes along with it.  In Laos, you get engaged a week before or a few weeks before you get married.  She is doing much of the preparation on her own because her parents are not very involved in her life.  Also, pray for her older sister who has joined her the last two Sundays at fellowship.

Charity visits!

My sister Charity came with her boyfriend, Bracken, to visit us for a week!  The girls had a blast showing her around to all our favorite places (i.e. their favorite places: Swensons, the jump castle, the waterpark, and the pool near our house).  The girls loved having her here and we loved playing Rook every night!  

Charity, Bracken and girls at Patuxay

At the jump castle!

After Keziah jumped for awhile, she took a spin on the train!

After about 5 minutes, I'm pretty sure Charity was ready to get off!

Trip To The River!

Our neighbor, Noy, asked us to join her and her sister-in-law on an outing to the river about 45 minutes away on a holiday, so we joined them.  Two other lady friends of mine (Calah), Jai and Yoong, came along.   We packed the car with 4 kids in back, 4 ladies in the middle seats, and my mom and I in front.  It was a tight fit!   Since it seemed like everyone else in Laos knew that it was a perfect holiday to head to the river, the trip took over 2 hours each way.  We stopped along the way for grilled corn and ice cream to keep everyone happy!

The jam-packed road to the river

The girls in the back of our car

We finally found a spot to sit and prepare some lunch. 

In the river, sliding down the rocks . . . watch out for the massive holes!  

Kolaya makes her way through the river with some new Lao friends.

First day of school!

Kolaya was literally jumping uncontrollably last Friday night after we got home from our Home School Co-op open house.  This year the girls go to school in a home that has been remade into a school where ten families now send their children to school.  One parent from each family is responsible to volunteer, so Calah is back in her element as the 1^st & 2^nd grade teacher.  For the past few weeks, Calah has worked hard at transforming her small room into an amazing learning center complete with themed bulletin boards, activity centers, desks, a reading corner, and even curtains (Thanks Grammy!).  Again, this is a major blessing for our family to have a low-cost option for good education.

Kolaya started 3rd grade this year and will be in a classroom with 3 other students: Gabe (3rd grader), Ari (3rd grader), and Naya (4th grader).  Her teacher, Mrs. Dawna, is from the Philippines and ministering with her husband here in Laos.  Kolaya is most excited about science but loves the idea of going to school with other kids!

Mikaya is going into first grade and will be studying with 4 other students: Judah (1st grade), Hudson (1st grade), Shanae (2nd grade), and Madelyn (2nd grade).  I (Calah) will be her teacher this year.  She loves going to the inventor's center best of all, but she also loves writing stories and illustrating them.

Keziah will be in the "creche" (or nursery) with 4 other toddlers/babies.  She is the only girl, but she loves her teacher, Ms. Jolene.  She loves painting, singing, and playing outside.

We would appreciate your prayers for us as we travel 20 minutes every weekday to get to the Co-op through rush hour traffic.  Also, please pray for love and unity among the teachers and students as we teach and learn.