Photos from Mike

These are some images which Mike recently emailed me from Laos.

At 6 AM one morning, the two Jennifers and Mike joined the locals in waiting for hundreds of monks to arrive and offer them food.

In Luang Prabang, the two Jennifers and Ted Amsden (far right) sat and chatted with some young Buddhist monks, one of whom spoke a little English. They were from a temple close to the hotel where Mike, the two Jennifers and Ted were staying.

Shortly after arriving in Laos, Ted, Steve, the two Jennifers and Mike gather for drinks at the hotel in Luang Prabang.

Latest Updates from Adopt a Village in Laos

The first post is significant news for Steve Rutledge and Adopt a Village in Laos. After weeks of waiting, Adopt a Village in Laos finally achieved its much anticipated not-for-profit status.

In the second post, My Longest Hour, Steve Rutledge describes a whirlwind of significant events. One of the images (seen below) reveals only a portion of the boxes of water filters, each of which was donated by a person here in Canada, being prepared for transport to a couple of rural villages upriver from Luang Prabang. If you look carefully, you can see Steve's head behind the boxes.

Finished Reading

Early this morning I finally finished reading Greg Mortenson's book, Three Cups of Tea, which I can say was a truly wonderful, emotional and eye-opening experience for me. I can see how this book inspired Steve for Adopt a Village in Laos and I have a clearer understanding of the magnitude of the work he has embraced.

Skyping with Mike and Steve

Last night at around 7.30 PM (7.30 AM the next day in Laos), I decided to see if I could reach Mike and Steve on Skype before they headed out on their 7-hour drive to the most heavily bombed region in Laos. Luckily, after several rings Mike's happy face filled my screen from 13,000 kilometres (8,100 miles) away. For the duration of the video call, the connection was mostly free of hiccups.

Unfortunately, I was only able to chat with Mike and Steve for a few minutes. Steve didn't have much time to talk because he was rushing to get ready for an early morning meeting. But in that time he spoke excitedly about all the wonderful work, including a school project, they have been doing and indicated that he would be posting updates to his own blog, Adopt a Village in Laos.

Before Mike had to surrender the computer to Ted Amsden, the Northumberland Today journalist who is documenting Steve and Mike's work in Laos, so that he could upload some photos, Mike and I chatted for a couple of minutes more. Just prior to concluding the call, Mike made his signature signoff face, a grotesque caricature of his own face, which I, in turn, mimicked, then we waved and said good-bye to each other.

Mike Touches Base from Laos

At 10.57 AM this morning (that's 10.57 PM Laos time), I received an email from Mike, who has been in Laos since December 5. He explained that the five of them had just arrived back in Luang Prabang that evening. Though he didn't go into any detail, he continued by saying that they had done all the things they had needed to do with the hill tribes. Tomorrow they will be "heading out to the most heaviest [heavily] bomed [bombed] area in Laos". This is about a seven-hour drive from Luang Prabang and stay in that area overnight.

I replied to ask him if he had read any of the emails which I had sent to him over the weekend. A short time later, a reply came back congratulating me on my fundraising efforts. He promised that he would relay the good news to Steve.

In the days to come, I hope to have some detailed accounts of the work they have been doing thus far.

Passion of the Heart

Last night our household officially inaugurated the holiday season with a big house party, which went on into the wee hours of the morning. Everyone had a truly wonderful time. The evening was filled with wonderful people, lots of good food and drink, great conversation, dancing and entertainment.

During the course of the evening, three surprises presented themselves, each of which simply warmed my heart and made my spirit sing.

The first surprise came from an older friend, John, who after having read the latest issue of my newsletter, gave me a small white envelope within which was contained a cheque for $100 to put toward the cost of my flight to Laos next year.

The second surprise came from my new friend, Alvin, who presented me with a small envelope within which was contained a beautiful little card (see image above) accompanied by an equally beautiful sentiment. A post scriptum was included, which said:

Please accept the contents of this card as a contribution to your humanitarian efforts...truly a passion of the heart.

The contents of the card was $100 in cash, which Alvin told me was to help cover the cost of my flight.

The third and final surprise was presented by my friend Peter in a small brightly coloured, finely detailed envelope. Inside it was $160 in cash (enough to cover three water filters), which Peter explained was a donation to Adopt a Village in Laos. This money I will keep safely tucked away until I can personally give it to Steve upon his return from Laos in April 2011.

With the contributions which I received toward the cost of my flight, my travel fund now stands at $620, which is about one-third of the way to my goal.

Thinking About Laos

Late Wednesday afternoon I decided to go out for a couple of beers at my neighbourhood bar. As I was drinking, I began to think deep thoughts and those thoughts drifted toward Laos. As I continued to think, I felt tears well up in my eyes. Even though I haven't been to Laos yet, it is already having an effect upon me. Since I started reading Three Cups of Tea, this book is having a profound influence on and shift in my consciousness. I was thinking about all the wonderful things that Steve and Mike are doing for the villagers in Laos. And even though I knew that it wasn't possible for me to venture to Laos this year, I truly wished that I had been able to go with them this year.