Of Cows and Clotheslines

Well, it's been an interesting week here.

Monday morning began a bit strangely. It was, um...bizarre to say the least. Some sort of religious festival was going on throughout this week, so off and on Sunday night, we kept hearing the neighbors outside whacking bamboo, cutting wood, sharpening knives. Poor Hosanna had the joy of waking to the sound of a cow bellowing and struggling. Happily I slept through THAT part! Don't know if you'd call the cow a "sacrifice" or if it just had the unlucky opportunity to become the main course during the religious festival. But alas, it was killed.

I woke in the morning and realized that the neighbors had started a roaring fire just outside our window and the smoke was pouring into our house. Peeking out the window, I got the odd experience of watching them burn the hair off the dead cow. They had put the animal on this huge fire and turned it over and over to make sure that it was thoroughly burnt.

After that, they spent the next few hours scraping and hacking on the poor cow. Of course, beef was "what's for breakfast." That, and plenty of beer. By 9:00 A.M., I'd say several of the neighbors were inebriated and stayed that way much of the week.

For what it's worth, none of the cow was wasted. EVERY part was used for something. Hoof soup does NOT have a lovely smell, by the way.

Oh, after the cow sacrifice thingie, I was a bit on edge, I guess, as to the goings on of our neighbors. The next morning, the man of the house was outside again early with a big tub of something and a machete.

He began whacking on the tree right next to where the cow had been killed the previous morning. HACK! HACK! HACK! He just kept smacking at the limbs.

I thought to myself, "What? Do they have to sacrifice the tree now, too???"

After much to do, the neighbor seemed satisfied that enough whacking had occurred. He then proceeded to ...hang up the family's wet laundry on the clothesline that was attached to the tree. Apparently there were a few too many limbs, and they were blocking the sunlight and slowing the clothes drying.

Ahhhh...culture is an INTERESTING thing to try to figure out. I wonder what they'd think about our Halloween? :)

Be Still and Know

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the
nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:10


Hey folks. Don't know what's happening in your life today, but just want to encourage you...be still and know. He WILL be exalted. Be still. Sounds so simplistic. But just be still. And know. The God who created the seas, the mountains, and the heavens WILL be exalted.

As for us, this weekend we are REALLY enjoying being still. We are having a laid back time visiting with friends in Thailand and will be joining them tomorrow in worship in a tribal church up in the mountains.

Michael and the boys are just getting back from a quick run to the barbers. Time to lower everyone's ears as my dad would say. LOVIN' the prices here. Four haircuts, 100Baht. That's a TOTAL of $3.00. I am quite happy to not have to get out the clippers anymore and try to bring order to my boy's hair. Yeah for Thai barbers!

I'll take some pictures tomorrow when we are in the mountains and then SEE if I can master the art of actually posting them into this blog.