The Satterfield Dream Wing and an Akha Doctor

Last Saturday AOF had a monumental celebration to dedicate the new classroom / future radio studio building as well as to recognize Aje for the completion of his Doctorate. Over a thousand Akha from around Northern Thailand, Christian and non-Christian alike, came to join in the festivities; and all the Satterfield girls were here for four days to celebrate with us as well.

The event was so much fun (I'm serious, we had a blast!) that I only snapped a few shots at the very beginning and during the "formal picture taking time", but here are a couple of moments captured throughout the day:

We had a great evening, too, but I'll leave that story for Lori to share that with you in our Baby Notes.

Tags:

• Akha
• AOF
• pictures

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A team from Faith Bible Chapel has come out for a short-term missions trip. They are a great group and we have enjoyed spending some time with them.

Last week we went with a number of them to an Akha church here in Chiang Rai and at the beginning of this week we brought them down for a construction project in Wiangpapao (about 1.5 hours southwest of Chiang Rai). They were great workers and, partnering with the Akha from the village, were able to pour the foundation footers and floor for the new church in two days!

Lori was obviously not allowed to do any work, so we stationed her at the Akha Clinic and behind the camera. Here are some of the moments she captured:

Tags:

• Akha
• church
• ministry
• pictures

The Akha Wedding

The Akha Wedding ceremony is a long process, beginning in the wife's family village and ending in the husband's family village. The big "wedding" event occurs in the husband's village with the "Wife Celebration".

There is a lot to be told about this event, and for Lori and I there is still a lot to be learned about this event, but today I just want to share some pictures of a young Akha bride and groom from a wedding ceremony in our village. Specifically, I want you all to see the long, involved process that is the donning of the traditional Akha headdress and attire.

Beautiful, is it not? We were honored to take pictures for two weddings in our village just before Lori became sick, and promised to put together a video slide show of the pictures for both couples' families. We are planning to head back to the village this weekend to give out the finished videos.

It is a strange world the Akha live in today - they sit on dirt floors in their bamboo huts and watch family wedding videos on their televisions. Talk about an ancient-future experience.

Tags:

• Akha
• culture
• village
• wedding

2007 Graduation Gallery

This has certainly been an exciting month for us. Between visa problems, guests, graduations and a new computer (hurray!) we have put a lot of miles on poor little Suzi with three trips each to Mae Salong, Mae Sai and Chiang Mai this month. It's our belief that God wanted us to have these 33 hours of driving together as a lasting memory of "how things were" before we have kids.

I had promised some pictures of the ABI graduation and have also added some pictures of the graduation of our pastor from Phayao Bible College.

As you can see below, Dr. Paul Lewis was in Chiang Rai for the graduation. As the original transcriber of the Akha language and the original translator of the Akha Bible, he receives and incredible outpouring of love and respect from the Akha people. What was most incredible to us, however, was his flawless Akha. His accent is flawless, he truly speaks like a native Akha, as we are so often reminded by our Akha friends. Oh well, maybe in 50 years we'll speak that well too.

As we have come to expect, the graduation at House of Joy was a spectacular event. Approximately 1,000 Akha from all over the region came down and enjoyed hearing from Dr. Lewis and Dean Fraise, watching choreographed dances, and listening to the spectacular choir led by Salama Bu-Zi. The graduation in Phayao was also a lot of fun for us, especially because six of our friends from our village came down to celebrate the graduation of the Mae Salong pastor.

The celebrations continue as this month three pastors will be sent out as missionaries to reach the Akha who have never heard the gospel. Please hold these men up in prayer as they represent the beginning of an exciting new era in the Akha Church.

Tags:

• Akha
• church
• ABI

The Akha Rice Festival

It is time for the rice harvest in Thailand, and to the Akha that means the celebration of the Haw Shui Dza (New Rice Festival). This celebration goes much further than the celebration of Rice, the staple element of the Akha diet, for they celebrate all of their harvest. Coffee, tea, corn, tomatoes, vegetables and fruits are part of the celebration. The harvest is a time of plenty, and though every year has its difficulties for the Akha, this is joyful time.

Yesterday we received a special treat and were able to go to Lawca Akha (Elephant Mountain Village) for their new rice celebration. This is the largest Akha village in all of Thailand and one of the most traditional Akha villages in Thailand, and we were honored to be invited to celebrate with them.

It's a rough road to Lawca, but it was worth it as we enjoyed singing, dancing, playing on the Akha Swing and - of course - the traditional Akha celebration meal of minced spicy pork (sa bieh), salsa (sa pi), soups, vegetables and new rice.

Tags:

• pictures
• akha
• rice-festival
• swing

Flowers of Northern Thailand

We have been spending some wonderful time with Jan and Gary as they have come out to visit. Because the Akha New Rice Festival season is around the corner we have been doing the tourist things this week and will spend all of next week going to festivals in villages.

You may have noticed our previous post where we complained about problems we had been having with our camera. Well, our friends, partners and former neighbors - the Scheyers - gave us a beautiful new (to us) digital camera and we've been having so much fun with it. Thanks Hal!

We've especially enjoyed the scenery as we've travelled around Northern Thailand. We miss the snow and the winters in America, but you just don't get flowers like this in October over there!

We hope you enjoy these images of some of the spectacular flowers in Thailand.

Tags:

• pictures
• flowers
• nature
• travel
• Thailand

An Akha Village at Dusk

Lately I've been on a photo kick; something in me is just yearning to be creative! So, despite our less than cooperative camera, I've been snapping pictures more often than usual.

A couple weeks ago, everything in the village just seemed especially beautiful, so I set out to capture all the little things that I love about the village.

Of course, it's just not an Akha village without multitudes of children about! And since I'm trying to show you the "all little things I love about the village", it seems appropriate to introduce you to a few of the munchkins in our village. The first picture is baby Ma-li who was born last December; hasn't she grown?! Next is sweet little A-nm carrying her babydoll strapped to her back, Akha style. Next is A-paw, A-ga and Sopida climbing a tree like the three little monkeys they are! Finally, a herd of toddlers chasing a grasshopper.

Tags:

• pictures
• children
• animals
• landscapes