This. Is. Pakse.
1.) A small, dusty town set nearly 70 years behind US standards -at least when it comes to health care.
2.) Between the humidity and the 115 degree temperature, the heat was a constant battle.
3.) It is a closed country, so we used code words to communicate to other people, encrypting as we went.
4.) According to them, to be Lao, is to be Buddhist (there is no separation due to their history); same, same- to be American, is to be Christian.
5.) Along with that, it isn’t illegal for a Christian to be in a closed country. It is, however, illegal to be there as a missionary.
6.) If it were found out that we were missionaries, we would only be kicked out of the country- because we’re white.
7.) Persecution (including death), however, would face our Lao brothers and sisters in Christ if they were found to be associated with missionaries.
8.) Due to the government’s hostility with missionaries, there are completely unreached people there. People who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ.
9.) You never touch anyone’s feet (the dirtiest part of the body) or head (the cleanest part of the body).
10.) Their currency is called Kip, the exchange rate is 7950.69 to 1USD.
11.) We had bikes as our mode of transportation for the month;15,000 kip each = 1.90 USD.
Going to a closed country wasn’t something I would have ever dreamed that I would have an opportunity to do. It was incredibly eye opening to experience it first hand. And I couldn’t have done it with out you. Thank you to everyone in prayer for me and my squad. Thank you to everyone who has donated their money, time, and encouragement to me over these past 7 months.
Its been a wild ride, and I still have 4 months to go! My final financial deadline has been extended to April 5th- that’s right, Easter Sunday! I have a remainder of less than $1,500 to be fully funded by next Sunday. Please consider donating to keep me on the Race. If you have plans to donate, please let me know so I can let the staff at AIM know. To donate, please click “Support Me” on the upper right of my blog. Again, thank you for all of your support!
