It is Sunday. The kids are in a camp for three days and it is so quite around the house. I spent two days in the mountains. We had to drive pipes and building material to a remote area in the Hui Kau Laam valley. My truck suffered a little, got scratched up and the tail gate was bend under the heavy load.
Driving back and forth through the forest I realized how much this placed has changed in the last 8 years I have come here. It used to be populated by four Lahu villages, which all have been relocated in the last four or five years. Further back in the deeper forest where we did our biggest water project the forest has disappeared due to slash and burn farming. There is a lack of land for the growing population of hill-tribe people in this area. Alot of the beautiful bamboo, the village has it's name from has been cut down for sale to orange farmers. Somehow sad what is happening in this once so very beautiful valley.
Enoch said how he remembered us coming here regularly to share the love of God with the people deep in the valley where in rainy season it was sometimes impossible to enter. All this is slowly disappearing and we are left with memories and pictures from our digital cameras.
On the last trip back from the jungle I caught a terribly itchy rash that lasted the last three days. Today I feel a bit better. I had to take some strong antihistamine that made me quite tired.
Friday evening I played with the Itinerants in the UN Irish pub. Once again I realized how much I enjoy playing folk music.
This is last week in short. I wish you all a good start into the new week.
