Curiouser and Curiouser... the cheshire cat in nongkhai

God has a sense of humor. I'm glad we are given a measure of humour too, so we can cope with His wit, glee and wisdom!

After leaving Nongkhai, for what I thought was a done deal- said my goodbyes, ate the farewell meals, visited and photoed the places, and, after a mere TWO WEEKS of absence... I'm back here again!??

But I'm not complaining... its wonderful to be back, and the two weeks home was tremendously fruitful- completed a bunch of errands, caught up with friends, and mades some preparations for the next microstep on the water.

Arrived back in Nongkhai on wednesday with a light heart, a bubbly gut, and a sleepy head. And already, again, more stuff is happening.

The last two days I've been pulled in to help out at the Isan Bible School's song-writing class. They've got 14 students (mostly Laos brothers), and they've all been given an assignment to write a worship song each. Now, I've been assigned to help them work out the harmonies, as well as possibly lending a hand in crafting their song. Its been tremendously exciting- working w a whole new cultural context, involved in a poineering batch of Lao worship music... CCM - Contemporary Christian Mâwlam! (sparrow, word, integrity... eat yer heart out! haha).

As I was just sitting at the bible school earlier this afternoon, listening to their rehearsal of one of their compositions in the infamous Mâwlam genre, it just struck me that I just participated in the very thing I've been dreaming of doing for years now - to somehow assist believers from non-western cultural backgrounds develop indigenous worship music which was true to their cultural context. As I sat there in the heat, I was close to tears realizing I was right in the middle of a great ethnomusicological moment, or to be more precise - Ethnodoxological... involving ethnic musical idioms in worship! Here I were amidst the pioneering batch of Laos hymnwriters, working through their indigenous song-forms, co-crafting to make their lines leaner and stronger, recording and documenting the process, sifting through the melodies, and redeeming their cultural heritage!! God, you're amazing! I want MORE of that!

...I've got a sneaky suspicion, we may just be singing Mâwlam in heaven someday too...!