Flower Festival

You know, I find myself most inspired to write a blog when I'm surprised by something... and God seems to be into surprising me with things. Today was no exception.

I woke up to the thought of "ugh... the boys will be waking up soon..." or something to that effect. It was a normal Saturday morning and aside from getting the boys out of bed and to the breakfast table, I didn't really have any plans. I decided to slip into bed for a bit longer after the boys were up and with their nanny, and not long after that I got a phone call from my friend Lucy. She invited me to come see her dressed up in traditional Auca for this parade thing downtown. I didn't really know much else, but she said it would be fun so I decided to make my way down there by bike, bus, then taxi. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were no foreigners in sight at the parade; not what I expected! However, I did happen to be right where all the people were setting off for their march down the street. I stood on a corner taking pictures and soaking in the sights, since I wasn't having any luck getting a hold of my friend. Finally she called and told me "Go where the people are going. I'm there sitting on a truck. You can come inside." This was the extent of my directions, and she sounded busy so our conversation was short. I asked if this meant to walk to the end of the parade and that seemed to be the case. Well, I was surprised to find what a long route they marched! I walked and walked, all the while fairly certain this is not where I was supposed to be going. The best part about this walk was getting to hear a band play "Phantom of the Opera" for the SECOND time, since they had already passed me once. :) During this journey, I started piecing things together. It was a celebration of some sort involving flowers, because every float and every person was decorated with flowers somehow. Eventually I saw a banner than read in English, "5th Annual Flower Festival". Fun! I figured, even if I didn't find Lucy, this was well worth coming out to see.

After walking the length of the parade, I decided to go where the people were going when they finished. Maybe this was the "inside" that Lucy was talking about. Being, without exception, the only farong there, I felt a bit out of place, but feigned confidence as I quickly scanned the property and found nothing like what she described. By this time I was completely wiped out and had no idea where I was, and I was not about to walk the length of the parade to get back to the downtown area. I resolved to hop on the first songtaew (taxi) I saw. Well, the first one passed me by and I didn't manage to wave it down, and I wasn't feeling like running, so I settled for the second. The SECOND songtaew that came my way stopped, and I said "bai tah roht mai?" which means "can you take me to the bus station?" He seemed to understand and agreed, so I hopped in the back with a lively group of eight lotto ticket sellers. The man across from me tried to sell them to me and got a good laugh from the rest of them. It was only later that I realized they ALL had these ticket selling cases. They must all be friends, because generally songtaew rides are very quiet, yet this was not the case here. They were fun. :)

When we finally arrived at the destination, I had ABSOLUTELY no idea where I was. Wherever it was, the bus station was not in sight. I asked the guy about the bus station and he seemed to gesture that it was here, and I was really confused. I finally asked him to take me to the night bazaar which is right by the bus station I want to go to. I said farewell to my new friends and the driver began turning around to head back. Looking around, it seemed to be part of the flower festival. There were food stalls and flowers and people everywhere. Why not check it out, since I'm here anyway?

So, I stayed, and I'm so glad I did! There was so much there; I could hardly take it all in. I wandered through this one area that had sections representing each different hill tribal group, complete with a house you could look inside and people wearing their traditional garb, many of them selling their wares and cooking traditional food. I was delighted! After checking out the homes and some of the foods, I wandered on and found amazing gardens. They must have been preparing for this a long time. There was even a waterfall that I'm pretty sure was built just for this occasion. There were flowers of all kinds there, all over the place. I couldn't help but think how much God loves us to give us such beauty. The sad thing is in the midst of all of this Buddha was getting the glory and not Jesus.

This day was a complete surprise in everything I did. I was wiped out by the time I got home, but so glad that God gave me this day as a gift. He never ceases to take my breath away.

Smile in the Sky

This happened several days ago, almost a week now I think, but still I think it is worth mentioning. I was at Companion Coffee Shop with a bunch of friends last Monday night, if I remember right, and all of a sudden P'Lut (the owner of the shop) was calling us all come to the back kitchen area to see the sky. I looked in the sky and was totally astonished: there was a smile in the sky! No joke, it was amazing. The shot above was taken without a tripod, so it's not the clearest, but you get the "picture", hehe.

I'm pretty sure the eyes were planets; they were just too bright to be stars, in my opinion. below them was a crescent moon positioned perfectly to make a smiley face in the sky. How often does that happen? I'm pretty sure that was a once in a lifetime sight to see. It's funny because it happened amidst all kinds of turmoil with the government. The prime minister has since been ousted as a result of protesters stopping up the airports. It just doesn't seem like a time when God would want to give a country such a gift as a huge amazing smile. However, He did, and it just reminded me once again about His unconditional love. Plus, He knows that my love language from Him is love notes like that, so I felt like it was especially for me, showing me how pleased He is, that He is smiling on me right now. Who but our Great Lover would come up with something so clever? It's even better than Jimmy Stewart's line in It's a Wonderful Life: "You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it..." Seriously, to think that we have someone who is after our hearts so much that He will go to whatever extreme it takes to win us back to Him, or if our hearts are His, in my case, just to remind us of what we have in Him.... that's pretty awesome.

Oh, and the best part about all of that: the next day in preschool I was telling the story to my kids about how God put a smile in the sky to show us He was happy with us. I drew a picture to show them what it looked like and put it on the wall. Later that day, Mai was busy playing, then she looked up, stared at the picture for a second, and said, "I like God." That made my day. Pretty much my week, actually. I can teach them Bible stories, show them how to pray, etc, but I can't teach them to like God. He is the one that does that. So, that made me so happy to see that God was working in her heart.

Ok I better wrap this up for now. I feel like I should write more, but Companion is once again calling my name!

Thanks for reading,

Stephanie