Update from Lao Vida

Recent Events

Current Situation

Greetings, dear friends, from the banks of the mighty Mekong River!!! We are in the middle of the season which sees the swirling darkened waters rise, and interesting things bob past us as we huddle under umbrellas!

Apart from the rain, which is seasonally normal, the dreaded Covid-19 has slowed the busyness of trade and travel around here.

The regular torrents from the heavens has in fact sped up other things: the growth in the size of pot holes on our street, and the phenomenal “jack’s-beanstalk-like” growth of weeds everywhere.

Lao Vida is badly affected by the COVID phenomenon. Some parents are afraid to send their beloveds to school, so our numbers for Summer School dropped by about 60%. We have kept classes open and staffed, though of course we suffer financially. Summer School concludes on Thursday 12 August. 

Cafe and Bakery

The café and bakery soldier on also, with Lao staff putting their shoulder to the wheel. We remain open six days a week, with our team giving their own time on Saturdays. We are keeping our nose above water. There is no government relief here. 

Guesthouse

Our guesthouse renovation continues steadily. Two more guestrooms have been finished nicely. Even before tourists trickle back, we have some foreign staff who will move in next month, so it’s exciting to see the place start to take shape and get used.

Carrying On

The Lao Vida team, which currently consists of eight foreigners and 30 Lao nationals, continue to work and pray together towards a vision of sharing the good news. In Laos, no one is quite sure what the rules for social regulations are. This confusion is quite normal. After a while, you get used to paddling your own canoe, until someone important tells you to go the other way!

So it’s in that context that we push forward with ‘teaching’ visits to targeted villages in neighbouring provinces. This always carries uncertainty and risk. But as messengers of true life, there is no point in remaining in the ‘safe’ zone. 

Sharing in the city is probably unwise at this time so we continue to create our own materials for mentoring, and we work in small groups to build maturity. The translation and production of these is a big effort, but we already see steady growth in those who are taking it seriously.

Sponsored Students

Two of our resident high schoolers completed their final year exams on Friday last week. They now face an uncertain future. At least for now, they are labouring at the guesthouse. One is unable to return home, as his province is completely closed off! Three other high schoolers are staying on for the next year. We are considering another young teenager whose brother committed suicide just a few months ago. She is in need of care. So we are exploring the pros and cons at the moment. We already have a sponsor lined up for her should we go ahead. Again, THANK YOU to you all for being so generous and having a heart for others.

COVID 

Finally, we all did it! We got the jab! All of us, at one time. We lined up together, went through hours of paperwork, and finally got the little sting, then our wonderful certificates, otherwise known here as the “green card”.

We really grabbed this opportunity of a jab because in these parts they are hard to come by. But it was only the next day that we realised the folly of everybody getting it at once . . . most of us keeled over with side effects in the afternoon, so we kind of closed down for the rest of the day! Never mind - it’s done. And people are now free to travel again.

We are expecting some kind of major lockdown here any day. Thailand has shut up shop, and Lao immigrant workers are all coming home, bringing the virus with them. So we think we will follow big brother shortly. Not to worry! Lots of material to write, translation to complete, walls to paint, online students to teach, baked goods to perfect, restaurant dishes to trial, computer skills to learn, costings to finish. So with half a plan in our heads, we await the inevitable!