Work continued on the ceiling of the church today in the heat and humidity. I never thought I would be able to sweat so much by simply painting.
We drank plenty of water and took a few breaks during the day. My favorite break spot was under the shade of a big leafy tree where I sat watching the Karin women deftly weave baskets. The bamboo baskets took about 20 minutes to complete; the women sell them for 4 baut or about 12 cents.
While I continued to paint and help with the ceiling a young boy would periodically bring me a handful of fruit. Through the miming of the little boy I learned that I was to bite a hole in the peel then suck the fruit out of the center. The peel was very tart and the taste stuck to my tongue, but the fruit was very refreshing. It reminded me of a cross between a ripe banana and a plumb.
The progress on the ceiling continued until we needed more supplies. We stopped working and took bucket baths to get ready for the evening meal.
Church members slowly filtered in to the main house; each one carrying a dish of food. Plates of mystery Karin and Thai food was placed on the floor in front of us as the villagers sat with us. Each of us took a little bit of each dish to add to our plate of rice. I have no idea what we ate, but some of it seemed to be straight from the woods. The hot sauce was so hot that my mouth burned and my nose started dripping. My favorite was the egg with fish sauce. As we ate with a fork and a spoon, the Karin people slowly moved away from our area over to where the kids were eating. Ray explained that they are shy and prefer to eat together with their hands rather than silverware. After dinner we gathered around to sing and listen to the church sing. We prayed for them and they prayed for us.
