Bridges

If you asked Tom or I what was the most memorable part of our time in Fiji you would get two different answers. We would, of course, both be right. Some amazing things happened but at the end of the day, we would both agree it was the handiwork of God that prevailed.

For me, it is a collection of small things all coming together. The beautiful 'hodgepodge' of people God throws together and then the beginning of relationships and memories that will endure a lifetime. I have traveled to the Fijian Islands for eleven years now and my relationships with the locals is like family to me. We sleep in the home of Tuey and Anna in the village of Nabouwalu and their grandkids call me Sithee (arabic for grandmother). They wait up for us at night and see us off each  morning. I spend time on the kitchen floor with the ladies as they endlessly prepare our meals. It is a family affair as we prepare lovo (BBQ) together. We sing together in the evenings before we go to bed and bathe each night in the coldest water ever!

I get to know people in some of their most vulnerable moments. Most are out of their comfort zones on the mission field and so we share life and our stories together. I savor these moments and are enriched by them.

Caring for the people in Fiji is an honor. Six medical providers saw and average of 200 people each day…listening, caring, teaching, touching, and praying for each and everyone that came to our clinic. We held our clinics in some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We gave physicals to the school kids…rows and rows of children in their bright pink uniforms waiting for their exams. We saw pregnant women who had never heard a fetal heartbeat. We would turn the doppler up high and a hush would settle in the room as everyone listened to  the sounds of the baby's heartbeat for the very first time.  Then, there would be tears of excitement by everyone.

In the Kymbalan language, the term diyoto means 'the coming together to work together'. In Fiji, the same concept occurs with great ease. The medical clinics are used in multiple ways. A tangible way to show the love of God, teaching health to those who have no other options, caring for the poorest by cleaning their wounds and treating their ailments, and then, bridging the way for others to follow when we are gone. We travel to places where no one else has ever come before. Medicine is the way in for those missionaries who remain long after we have gone. The impact of this made such an impression on both Tom and I this year.

We have been a part of something so beautiful and yet we have only seen a mere

moment of all that is yet to be. God is not done…things are still happening. I am excited to see what will transpire.

Refinement

I was thinking about the words of a song by Ginny Owens this morning…one I have not thought of for quite some time. They seem so appropriate for this season of my life.

It may not be the way I would have chosen
When You lead me through a world that's not my home
You never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone

It is the beginning of my travels and I as I sit here I know parts of this journey have not been easy…but without doubt, I am not alone.

I have long given up the notion that these are 'trips' I take to do 'good works' but a part of my life and calling. I found that I struggled some this year with that calling and many times wrestled with God asking 'for a life of ease' instead of asking for endurance and perseverance. It was a year filled with so many changes  I think I just grew weary and so many things felt hard.

Something happened right before we left and I have found myself thinking of it lately.  Tom and I  recently celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary in Pacific Grove. I was sitting in the courtyard of the Post Graduate School enjoying the cool breeze and listening to the faint sound of the waves as they hit the shoreline. I looked up and I noticed I was sitting in front of a beautiful array of flags from  countries around the world. I have always enjoyed traveling and so the beauty of this caught my attention. Almost, as if on cue, I  began to hear bagpipes playing inside  the Officers Club for what may have been a retirement ceremony. The timing of this  was overwhelming to me and I began to realize that this was no accident. As I began to fully appreciate the beauty around me God had one more exquisite gift for me to enjoy. The most impressive peacock I have ever seen walked in front of me displaying his full plumage. His wingspan was at least six feet wide and it was as if he appeared out of nowhere to suddenly stand before the flags and let his beauty take my breath away. What a beautiful gift it was. It was unforgettable to me….

I have just now begun to understand the depth of that moment. My life is that moment, filled with  incredible beauty in the gifts that God has given  me. The gifts are intentional on His part and He fills them with the things that give me the deepest satisfaction and joy. It is also intensely hard at times but I am beginning to remember that I am not alone in those times either. I remember He has given me intensely hard and incredibly beautiful and I shall settle for no less...

Silk Threads

We are aboard a DC-8 on the leg of our journey that takes us from Singapore to Japan. This flight runs twice a week from this location and is a luxurious way to travel. The back of the plane houses twenty-six first class seats and is walled off from the rest of the plane which serves as a cargo vessel. We are served  salmon, shrimp salad, fresh steamed vegetables, pasta with real cheese, bread and butter, and a glass of wine for lunch. For desert,  we are given the richest piece of chocolate cake. This was truly a first class ride.

As we head back I have hours to think of our journeys. I am forever grateful for the time we have had to be  together and the sacrifices made for this  kind of travel. To our family, we have missed you so very much and thank you for all your help and especially your communications to us so we never felt too far from home. Being away from you is the hardest part of our travels. For those of you who cover for us while we are gone, we owe a debt of gratitude we can never repay.

I find my self contemplating all that has transpired in these last few months.  I have been fascinated with something that I had thought about very early on in our trip. I am not sure if it had to do with the area we were in or the things we had seen but in the beginning of our travels I had dreamt about silkworms. I am not sure if the intensity of that dream had to do with God or the fact that we have been taking anti-malarial medications but it was an  exquisitely, beautiful dream. And, I don't usually say that about dreams that have worms in them. Some of the most beautiful silk in the  world is produced in the areas we visited and I was fascinated  how a worm could produce  a thread that would eventually contribute to something as beautiful as a piece of silk.

It seems that the silk worm has only one purpose in life.  That is to produce silk thread. Beautiful and strong thread.  I could watch for hours as the women would take these fibers of threads and faithfully intertwine them together and watch as the thread was transformed into beautiful silk. While a single thread has some strength and beauty in its own right, when combined with other fibers it transforms in to something  greater than itself.  I found many occasion to watch the women at the looms and never grew tired of watching this process.

It made me think of my life and the mere fiber that I am. On my own I am but a meager thread. But, with the many threads my life is interwoven with I have gotten to be a part of something beautiful and enduring and greater than it would have been if left on its own. You who read this are the foundations of that cloth. You are the beginnings and ends of the fabric that is my life. Other threads come in and fill the empty spaces. For me, when we travel we have the opportunity to incorporate the threads of other lives into this cloth. They add a dimension and a beauty  that we would not have found had we not been exactly where we were. They enhance the finished product in a way that is unforgettable and is of the greatest value to us. I love the beauty that they add and I am forever enriched because of their contributions.

I have  been blessed by a beautiful career serving and caring for others. And, while the venue for that has changed,  the depth of relationships and the way God has woven all those 'silken' threads together will not change and will always be a part of who I am. The touching of so many threads has deepened my life in many ways  and for the beauty of  that I am forever thankful.

I also realize that  I am a work in progress and so I open myself up for all that is yet to be. I am ready for the new  fibers that are sure to come my way. And while they may look a little different,  I know they will add just what is needed. I am trusting He who weaved and knitted me together in the womb of my mother...

We are home this morning and when I reflect upon the exquisite favor we have had during our travels, I thank God for His goodness to us. I am forever thankful for the way He has woven together all the threads of our lives and that we share together in the works of the Master.

We are happy to be home…see you soon!

Our Days in Malaysia

At the beginning of our sabbatical we met a man named Bud Bouchet in Hawaii who was traveling back to Thailand where he had lived for the last several years. He was retired from the military but had taken a civil servant job as an attaché and his last post was in Bangkok. He and his wife were going to move to Malaysia for their retirement years. We spent some time together in Japan and then again in Singapore. When we departed ways, he told us about the 'Jungle Train' through Malaysia. We have been captivated by this thought and his stories ever since.

This post is coming from seat 3B aboard the southbound train from KL Sentral, Malaysia to Woodland Station in Singapore. We are traveling in the first class section and it is charming. We have taken to reading the blogposts of a fellow train traveller and knew  exactly what we needed to do before boarding the train. We are set.

We have had a transitory visit here in Malaysia. We flew in from Lao and knew we would only spend about four days in this country. We looked forward to the train ride just so we could see the life on other side of the tracks. People come from all over the world to this area to eat and shop and to celebrate in some of the local customs. The Deepavali/Diwali festival begins this month. It is also known as the festival of the lights and many Hindu people celebrate this time with vacation and travel. For the many Hindu people in Malaysia it is a time of preparation and celebration. One of the most distinguishing symbols of the celebration is the beautiful and intricate art displays around the city. The symbol is the peacock and it is often depicted in a rice drawing. Here different colored grains of rice are meticulously laid  out in an intricate patterns. They are beautiful...

We have mastered the skill of public transportation and now look forward to the challenge of trying new forms of travel. We rode the monorail throughout the city for mere pennies and had an opportunity to see many things. The city is dense so we put on our walking shoes and just explored. In this way we could see and experience many different things. There is a Chinatown and Little India, a muslim area and the largest shopping complex I have ever seen. The Petronas Towers. This is the destination place of so many travelers we met while here in Kuala Lumpur. And, while I am not a shopper, I will have to say it was an exquisite architectural structure.

We tried the local food and it was delicious. We ate at an Indian restaurant where the owner took a liking to us and had us try every dish he was preparing. It was the best I have ever had and I wish I could make these things for you. We had had a little problem with the hotel we had originally booked for our stay while here in Kuala Lumpur and ended up staying in another place. But, when they heard that it was Tom's birthday, the hotel manager invited us over for dinner and gifted us with a delicious dinner and a most beautiful view of the cty. We felt so honored by this special treatment.

I sit in my window seat and within thirty minutes I am out of the city and deep into the jungle. Sometimes I can not even see the sky above me for the multitude of greenery. When there is a clearing I can see the water laden clouds and know that a storm will soon ensue. I am excited to be exactly where I am and look forward to the next several hours. I am excited to be homeward bound...

Happy Fiftieth Anniversary of Your Twenty-first Birthday Tommy Stoeckel!

The one and only consolation that we have for not being  home to celebrate Tom's birthday (all the fall birthdays really) is that for the last few years we have been in some  exotic place celebrating this day in a most memorable fashion. This year was not any different.  This year we were in Lao and the physicians we have been working with arranged a beautiful party for Tom at one of the authentic Lao restaurants. We knew we were meeting that night for a 'banquet' we just didn't know it was to honor Tom.

We started the day with a leisurely breakfast and then walked down the street for a spa day.One might get confused when reading this, thinking that this day was my anniversary/birthday but I think Tom is hooked on these massages. He always avoided them in the past because he is so ticklish but he has definitely gotten over that.  The thought of spending a couple of hours on massages and pedicures is now as appealing to him as it has always been to me. It was a traditional Lao massage with a warm herbal oil added in. We put ourselves in the hands of two small women and they worked wonders on every part of our body for a couple of hours. It was like heaven. We grabbed a quick lunch…a tuna sandwich which we have not had for months and a cold beer at a sidewalk cafe. It was perfect.

We  slowly sauntered home and began to prepare for the evenings festivities.  We arrived at the Pamnak Lao Restaurant and there before us was a banquet of wonderful traditional Lao foods. The table was covered with the specialities from different regions of Lao and so we tried things we have never seen or heard before. I sat next to the Physician who represents the Communist party and oversees the work of the hospital and the distribution of the medical equipment we send. She was lovely and explained how to eat the food before me. For example, we each have a cylinder like basket that is is filled with hot, purple sticky rice. You get a piece of that, roll it in a ball,  and then dip it into your soup broth or the broth from one of the other meat dishes. It is delicious and we feel right at home eating with our hands as this is the way most countries that we have been in this year eat. We are quite skilled and for those of you who know about Tom's need for every eating utensil when he eats, he can now roll rice with the best of them! We wanted for nothing and every time our plates looked half way empty someone put something new for us to try. It was delicious.

The restaurant also had traditional musicians and dancers so we enjoyed a beautiful evening watching and listening to the customs of Lao antiquity. Suddenly, everything came to a stop and Tom was called forward while the musicians played Happy Birthday on their instruments. It is the tradition to ring in your new year by hitting a large metal disc, 'as if you were twenty one'  He did it and everyone enjoyed it. They brought out a beautiful birthday cake and two dozen red roses. It was a beautiful evening and Tom felt very honored and humbled and I was  happy for him.

Tomorrow we fly to Malaysia where we will spend a few days. We plan on taking the "Jungle Train" through this country and into Singapore. We have heard that it is a beautiful journey and we are excited to be on the train again. We  are eager to see the countryside this way.

 We will let you know...

Bun Nam Festival

Today was the last day of the Bun Nam (River Festival) and it is held at the end of Buddhist lent. It is quite the talk of the town and we didn't want to miss it. Rowing teams from all over the country and region compete in the long tail boats races where 54 rowers with one oar each race along the Mekong River. It is a phenomenal thing to see. The riverbanks are lined with food stalls, carnival games, temporary discos, beer gardens, and a multitude of homemade shops. It is awesome. School and businesses close for a few days and everyone is out for the event.

We are finding, that while the Laotians are generally a quite group, they sure like to party. They will often set up stalls where they produce all kinds of food. Things I am not quite sure of and some things I wish I didn't recognize. Tables and chairs are set up along the street and music is playing and everyone is invited to everything. It is a blast. We spent the day at the races, came home to refresh and then went back out to enjoy the night time festivities.

We are back to meandering and enjoying the area after our time of work. Tomorrow we will do a little work at the Mother/Child hospital and then explore the countryside again.There is a small floating village we will visit on the Mekong. We have done the research on our train ride through Malaysia and found we are taking the 'Jungle Train' through the countryside. We are excited about that.

We look forward to the rest of our adventures and to seeing you again shortly...

Wonders of the World

When I woke up this morning, I found my thoughts were the same as they had been the night before. I have been thinking of the beautiful things we have been able to see and do and how something is defined as a 'Wonder of the World'. It is easy to compile a list that surpasses the original seven. In fact, the term eighth wonder of the world is often used to describe things in comparison to the Seven Wonders of the World, the widely-known list of seven remarkable constructions of classical antiquity. I have something to add to this list. Not a structure for sure but something that will take your breath away. And, while people from all one the world may never flock to see it, it is a beautiful thing none the less. It is the work of men and women committed to something greater than they are. I am thinking of our friends Boungham and his wife Kamla and the endless work they do to help better the lives of the people of Laos. From visiting and caring for the poor in the tribal hill villages to equipping and empowering physicians in hospitals and clinics throughout Laos these two are our heroes.

We have had the small opportunity to visit and work alongside some remarkable physicians this past week throughout Central Laos. Men and women who have dedicated their lives to a standard of excellence we should all strive for. We have seen the barest hospitals/clinics operating with old or make shift equipment and yet they are taking such good care of the people they serve. Women delivering their babies and placing them on the floor due to lack of space and bedding but leaving with healthy children. Being a physician or a nurse is not a lucrative position by any means. The hours are long and the work is hard and there is no prestige in the these titles. The average physician makes about $300.00 dollars a month and works a minimum of sixteen hours a day. What they do and how they do it is of great value to so many people.

So today, I stand in awe, in the beauty of a heart that serves so selflessly. Our friend says that some of these people are so downtrodden and poor that they can not even speak up for themselves.  So for those who labor endlessly to help and be the voice for those who are in need and can not speak for themselves my hats off to you.  I am reminded of the scripture in Hebrews 13:16...And do not forget to do good and share with others, for with such sacrifice God is pleased. I am humbled to be along side of you today...