The Akha Language

For those of you who might be wondering what the Akha language sounds like, Global Recordings has put together an evangelical recording called Words of Life which is available for download. Also, to give you an understanding of our language level, we can understand perhaps 15-20% of the Akha in these recordings, and although they are speaking clearly and slowly it is very difficult to keep up with the speed of the conversation. (I'm getting tired just listening to it) We hope to record people from our village over time and make available songs and stories that they like to sing and tell (walking up and down the mountains, our friends make up songs about walking up and down mountains, it sounds slightly like Native American story telling songs). Keep checking back here and on our downloads page for these updates.

We must be getting a little homesick for our village, it's really great to hear the Akha language again, even though it's obvious we have a long way to go! Well, off to our next commitment... we're looking forward to seeing many of you tonight and tomorrow in church!

Tags:

• Akha
• language

A first look at Second Chance

DenverPost.com - Movies

In a growing stream of Christian-focused features, "Second Chance" delivers its parable of spiritual growth with enough tender nuance that it doesn't merely preach to the choir.

In this tale of two young ministers - one white, one black - trying to figure out what Jesus really would do, money and power square off against poverty and social justice. Personal and institutional arrogance wrestle compassion and humility. Race stands front and center, speaking to the evolving demographics of many of America's Protestant churches.

I don't know much about this one yet, but it sure looks great, and even more encouraging is the "growing stream of Christian-focused features". It looks like this is a little bit of a smack-you-in-the-mouth movie for the Church to address head-on issues of race and social needs in the growing atmosphere of disconnected, "corporate" churches. A wake-up call to the body of Christ that we are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

Perhaps you all have heard the radio broadcasts or read the magazines or seen the trailers advertising for Second Chance. Maybe we've been running around so much that we are out of touch with current movies, but if you haven't heard of this movie yet, we encourage you to check it out - we sure will when we get the chance.

Tags:

• movies
• church

Busy-ness and Blogging

Technology available at every turn. Wireless, hi-speed internet connections. No nine-to-five to take us away. You would think we could be more consistent at updating our Journey Notes about our time in the States. Well, we have found that "computer" time is hard to come by. Hopefully most of you who check our site regularly have had a chance to catch up with us so far, but we know there are many of you we haven't had the opportunity to see yet.

For those we haven't seen, we hope to amend that in the next week and weekend. For those of your who attend Faith, we are hoping to be there this coming Sunday and are looking forward to seeing you then! Until then, we'll try to keep our blog(s) up-to-date for you to catch up with us here.

Thanks for visiting.

Refreshed and Weary

Our time in the States has been a real whirlwind, especially this last weekend (and the days ahead) where we have caught up with old friends and partners with us in our ministry while building new relationships with new friends. Between sharing and hearing we have been very busy, but this has also been such a refreshing time and a constant reminder that God is good. Sharing at Hope was wonderful, and even more encouraging was the buzz over the next days as people told us how they are telling their friends and family about the faith of our Akha friends.

Thank you all for praying for us as we have shared - and thanks to all the friends and family who have come (to churches, open houses and dinners) to hear us speak about our love for the Akha and our village. Over this next week we will be sharing with a school chapel and meeting with our pastors as we look to build vision for our next time in Thailand. Please continue to hold us in your prayers.

My sister and her two children (Junior and Tish) just arrived this evening. Also in town from Kassel, Germany are my Brother and his wife with one of their friends. Later this weekend, my sister's husband will join us as well and all the kids will be back under one roof. It's really wonderful to have everyone from all over the world back "where it all began".

Thanks again for all the support and encouragement here in the States, we have had such a wonderful time with you all (and look forward to time with those we haven't seen yet). We hope you all enjoy a great Valentine's Day!

Tags:

• family
• travel

Hear us share!

We wanted to invite all of you in the greater Denver area to come and hear us share during the services at Hope Chapel Northglenn this Friday and Sunday (the 10th and 12th of February). We will share some Akha music and pictures and will speak shortly about our experiences living with the Akha this past year.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for us to see many of you and also a great chance for you to come visit an incredible church. Our time in the U.S. has been very enjoyable, especially being with family and friends. Also wonderful has been the chance to hear sermons and teaching in English for a change! We look forward to seeing many of you in the next couple of weeks and thank you for your partnership with us as we look forward to our continued ministry among the Akha.

Tags:

• church

Hot lips...

Have we ever mentioned how spicy Akha food is? Most Akha meals are an upper-lip sweating, nose running, mouth burning, wonderful culinary experience. However, we didn't realize how much we had adjusted to the "spicy-ness", until we went to Taco Bell yesterday. Before we left for Thailand, my Taco Bell sauce of choice was "mild." Of course, Paul has always loved spicy foods, and before we went to Thailand, his sauce preference was one packet of "Hot" and one packet of "Fire." Well, yesterday neither of us could get enough hot sauce to satisfy our new spice-loving tongues. In one meal, the two of us used 6 packets of "Hot" and 10 "Fire" and walked out with that familiar comforting burning on our lips which has come to mean a tasty meal.

Tags:

• food