Are you sure?

"Are you sure you want to do this?" These words from the bank teller caught us off guard as they brought home the finality of the decisons we have made over the past several months. She continued, "If you close these accounts, it is really difficult to open a new one."

"In three weeks we'll have moved back to the US, so we won't need these accounts anymore," I replied, the words sliding off my tongue, betraying the turmoil going on inside me. I had to speak quickly, before the impact of what she said sunk in any further.

We had taken advantage of a trip back to Phon Phisai to go to the bank where we had opened the accounts. We saved surcharges by doing that. We had already transferred most of the funds electronically to our US account, but wanted to wait until that cleared before we closed the accounts. As we walked away from the bank with the small remainder of the funds in our hands, I felt a strange sense of unease—in just one week we would be out of our house and in about two weeks we would be back the US as residents for the first time in over twelve years.

Sunset Over the Mekong River From the Moo Kata Restaurant

We had driven up to Phon Phisai the previous day. We took the church leaders out to dinner at a "Korean BBQ" place, known locally as Moo Kata. The sun had just set over the Mekong River as we arrived. We shared stories as we watched the meat cooking on the grill.

Waiting for the Food to Come Out

The following morning we picked up some folks from the church and drove about 25 kilometers to a village named Tha Luang where a group had gathered for singing, prayer and bible study. From there we went to visit a woman who is paralyzed on one side following a stroke two years ago. Then it was off to a small roadside restaurant for lunch. Our last stop before going to the bank was a remote village named Huay Poon that had neither running water nor electricity. The land was originally given to a communist group to live about 50 years ago, but they don't have title to the land and so they can't get utilities installed. We had a time of sharing, singing and prayer there as well.

Worship in Ban Tha Luang

Sharing the Word in Huai Poon

After we finished up at the bank, we went to Cake Lamoon—our favorite coffee shop in Phon Phisai. They really developed that place since we lived in Phon Phisai. They have a much greater variety of fresh baked goods and they now roast their own coffee. Later on we went to visit some friends before retiring for the evening.

Enjoying the Bear Ambiance at Cake Lamoon

Visit With Friends

On Saturday morning we drove about 13 km to Nong Bua Ngoen. At this village, they were holding only their second worship service. They meet at the home of a village head who came to Christ in the past year. This fellow used to sing Mor Lam—a type of Isaan folk music—and now he uses his voice to sing praises to God. We were given a special farewell lunch as it would be our last time in Phon Phisai before going back to the US. It made for a long day, but it was good to bring closure to that part of our lives.

Lunch at Nong Bua Ngoen

Mor Lam Praise

A Pleasant Surprise

As we finished up teaching English on Saturday, I mentioned that it would be our last time teaching English. It seemed like no one was paying attention when I said that, but it caught the attention of Aoi.

After English Teaching
Aoi second from left.

Aoi is from one of the elementary schools, and like most of the kids who come to our classes, her family is quite poor. Still, she came up with an idea: What if the kids pitched in 20 each (about 60 cents, USD), they could buy a going away cake to serve the next day after our worship service. A plan was developed and a cake was ordered from somewhere locally. However, the cake was late in coming, so keep it a surprise, we were sent on an errand to delay our arrival at Ajan Nat's house. Apparently, the cake arrived about 1 minute before we did.

Tun Serving the Cake

After our worship service was over, Tun presented the cake to us. As she presented it, she actually apologized because she hasn't been particiapting in any of our activities lately. As for Aoi, she was her usualy quiet self—always helpful but not wanting to make a name for herself.

รักตายาย = Love Grandpa and Grandma (our Thai titles)

To add to all this, once Moe's mom heard that one of our favorite Thai desserts is Mango with coconut cream and sticky rice—so there was a big pot of that to share as well

Mango with Sticky Rice

We will still have opportunity to see the children before we leave Thailand, but we won't be around for the next two Saturday's. We will certainly miss this group of young people when we leave Thailand.