On our trip to Laos to see and work on the coffee farm, Bolaven Farms, I was struck with the daily life of the people. Culture is played out more in daily habits than in artifacts, art, and buildings.Laotian families do what all families do, but their conditions are different than ours. I love how children find fun and laugh no matter the condition of their home. (The boy giving the thumbs up and the child in the walker were at a cafe by a tourist attraction. They clearly lived where the family worked.)
Schools varied in size but most were surrounded by dirt fields where the students played and did what students do universally. (This is a typical school house we saw.)
But it is the children that capture your heart. Those that live on the farm will most likely work on a coffee farm much like their parents but their conditions can be much better with the help of Bolaven Farms and those who buy their coffee.
I've included a couple of pictures of the kitchen and food preparation on the farm. Everything is grown, gathered, and cooked on the farm. I loved the freshness and flavor of everything we ate; except one fish dish. I loved the combination of "sticky rice" and vegetables we had for each meal. I wanted to continue to eat that way when I got home, but failed in the first day or two back.
Why did we go to Laos? We went because God has given Legacy Church and others an opportunity to share the resources He has poured out on us in the name of Jesus. We also went because God's mission call on our lives (and yours) is to go to the ends of the earth to share the love of Jesus in tangible ways. The mission of God always includes those who have not heard. (Only 1.8% of Laos' 6.2 million people claim to follow Christ.)
Every time I drink a cup of coffee I pray for the farmers and their families and ask God what can I do today to make a difference in their lives and in those He leads me to each day. Why not introduce kingdom ways into your lifestyle in order to show others the presence and power of God in every day life?