Journey Notes

News, notes and anecdotes about our life with the Akha hilltribe

Thank you for taking the time to view Journey Notes - our online journal. In this Journal you can read about Paul and Lori's experiences living in Northern Thailand as we work with the Akha Hilltribe.

Please also take a look at our prayer and praise reports and our personal blogs from the links on top of this page for more updates from us in this adventure. You can also visit our homepage at to view our bios, photo galleries, newsletters and a little information about the Akha hilltribe (more to come the more we learn - we're still new at all this).

Now... on to the posts!

Did we mention IT'S HOT!

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Yup, it's still hot here! Today the "real feel" temperature was 108. Thank goodness today was the beginning of Song Kran which is the celebration of the Thai new year during which the whole country engages in a week-long water fight. We're off to the village today (with a possible visit to the Mae Sai later this month to visit some friends) and will try to keep you updated from the village as much as possible!

'Til next time!

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My Akha Wife

Thursday, April 6, 2006

Please do not take this title as anything to be concerned about - I'm just bragging on Lori a little bit. As we wrapped up our time at the youth camp yesterday (a time which we often felt more in the way than helpful) we were off to the hills to bring some kids and bible students back to their villages. When you go to an Akha village you cannot just drop someone off and leave. You have to catch up on life and drink something (water, tea, coffee... depending on the area) with the villagers.

We had never been to this particular village before and were enjoying the obligatory stares from the children when some of the Grandmothers came up to greet us. Immediately one woman looked at Lori's Akha Bag and shouted out "This foreign girl sewed an Akha bag" - it was quite obviously not a purchased petung. All the grandmothers came around to examine it. It was a great opportunity to brag on Lori a bit so I told her to get the bag she was working on now. She pulled out her most recent Akha needlework and the women were so proud of her. One of them said "This foreign mom has an Akha heart" (she was called 'mom' because of her age - we are not reporting any new family additions).

The women in that village sell Akha bags, bracelets and other handicrafts to tourists who come through the area, so we spent a short time teaching them some key English phrases (numbers, "come look", prices) while we drank the water they offered. Then we were off again - but not without the Villagers asking us to "daw de ga la de" (come back and visit again).

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