About a week ago the Veldt family, their friends Liz and Dave, and I all piled into a truck at 6:30 am...heading for Burma (now called Myanmar).

Our mission: border run. We had to renew our visas.

It was about a five hour drive up north. Once we arrived we headed across. And once we crossed into Burma we were immediately face to face with the people of Burma. Most of whom are probably internally displaced peoples (IDPs). The streets were full of people wanting to sell the farang (Westerner or Caucasian person) anything from tours of Burma to CDs. Here's a picture of one of the streets. We didn't spend too much time there since Mr. Veldt and Kevin (our friend from Wheaton) were waiting on the Thai side of the border for us.

After we left the border we headed for a village where some the the "B-people" live. Liz, Mrs. Veldt's friend, works with Bible translators. She lived on and off in this specific village for five years learning the language and working to create a written language. She still works closely with these people and she's still is very close with many women in the village. She invited us to visit her there and have dinner with them. It was one of my favorite memories thus far.

Before dinner, we went on a walk around the village meeting many of the women. And than we headed for the rice fields. And I quickly discovered one of the most beautiful places in the world. The pictures I took really do not do it justice. Each family owns a certain portion of the fields that they are responsible to care for. And that is the rice they own, both to eat and to sell. Although the fact that they care for their own portion is individualistic, the entire layout of the rice fields depends upon the community to survive. They have a way of directing the water from a near-by stream to different parts of the field. And if one families' land needs more water, they all will work to redirect the water in order to support that family. It's beautiful the way their way of life is so dependent upon community. Sometimes I often wonder if we in the West have gotten it terribly wrong with our teachings of individualism.

We spent a lot of time just walking around the fiends learning about how rice is grown. And enjoying observing God's artwork. Here are a few pictures...again they really don't do it justice.

We then headed back to the village to have dinner. And once again I was struck with the fact that much of Thailand is a mix of old and new. Around Chiang Mai it is not uncommon to see people working the fiends by hand (the way they used to before machines) right next to shopping malls. And here in the village the same is true. At one house we passed there was a HUGE satellite dish right in the front "lawn" of this simple looking house. Liz said that television has really begun to change aspects of village life. For example, meals used to be the time when the family came together. They would talk and tell stories. Now it is not uncommon to find them around the television. Sound familiar?

I know these people's lives are hard. They work literally all day in the fields, only to come home needing to complete chores and make dinner. However, I sometimes wonder if maybe their way of life is better. Simpler. How different my life is from the lives of these "B-people". They do not have many "things". They do not have a closet full of clothes. Or a new car. Or the newest iPod. But they are happy. They are generous. And brave. And beautiful. Seriously, I think they are the most beautiful people in the world.

And I began to wonder that if all I owned was taken from me, could I still be happy. Sure, I liked to believe that the "things" I own don't make me happy. That if it was all taken away, if I lived as they did with very few "things", I would still be content. But I wonder how much of that statement is true. And how much of it is just talk.

We then went and had dinner. It was delicious. And definitely the way to experience a meal. We all sat on the floor in a circle with big bowls of food in the center. It was really fun sitting in that home listening to them talk and hearing about Liz's experiences of working with these people. She has so much wisdom. And once again was thankful I was able to spend time soaking up the wisdom and advice from the missionaries here.

In other news: I climbed a mountain on Saturday with my friend Christa. Chiang Mai's Guardian Mountain to be exact. The final destination was Wat Phra That Doi Suthep...and the trail followed waterfalls all the way up. It took us five hours to complete...but probably should have taken us about three. That's another story for another time. I'll try to post picture from that adventure the next time I get the chance.

I hope this finds all of you doing well, where ever you are in the world.