VBS in Klaw Taw Village

  Mae Sot, Thailand
Sunday, January 11, 2009

The first thing that comes to mind for our journal today is how COLD it is here in the hill-tribe village of Klaw Taw! The altitude is so high that the temperatures are MUCH cooler than any place we have previously visited in Thailand. All of us felt the cold even in our good sleeping bags throughout the night, and especially in the early morning hours. We arose early to be ready for our first of two VBS programs today, and enjoyed a breakfast of eggs, noodles, and toast (toasted on forks over hot charcoal).

Our first VBS program began at 9:00am, and lasted four hours. It was attended by about 50 children of ages 13 and older. We introduced ourselves, told them about Alaska, performed some drama, shared a Bible story, and then enjoyed a 'sticker story' craft. Allison wowed the crowd with her jump-rope acrobatics (she and her brother have placed in many competitions since they were young). Then we passed-out several jump-ropes for all to enjoy. There was much laughter, and some of the boys were actually catching-on to the harder acrobatics that Allison was teaching.  We then moved out into the open field to play with the parachute, footballs, and soccer balls. We had great fun!

We stopped for lunch around noon, and enjoyed some steamed rice with pork and vegetables. After our lunch, we conducted our second VBS program (very similar to the first). During our play-time, the field was covered with running children, balls, balloons, bubbles, and sounds of laughter! We were even treated to rides on Pastor Edmond's tractor!

In the afternoon, the children escorted us to their village (nearby down the hill) for a tour. We then enjoyed a yummy dinner, and visited with each other over coffee and Milo (hot chocolate) before retiring for bed. What a fun day! There was so much laughter, we totally forgot that we were in a village near a war zone!