to go across the Mekong River to visit the villages. It was a full day of travel up the mountain roads to four villages, each about 45 minutes apart. Crossing the river on a small flat boat was a challenge. It sat right on the water so we had to step over to keep from getting our feet wet. The boat was rocking in the waves and with people stepping inside. I sat down as soon as I could on the tiny bench that went across the boat. It was only about a 10 minute ride across but a little scary with a wide, deep, mucky river that is cold.
The river is very busy at the Luang Prabang entry because the ferry goes across with people, cars and trucks about every half hour. Many tourists take river cruises in the larger boats. There are dinner cruises available also. It has a lot of traffic in this area and the wake from other boats keep the waters rough.
Our taxi driver friend was sick so we had to hire a tuk tuk (motor cycle taxi) for the day once we got to the other side. We made sure it was a vehicle strong enough to hold all of us and be able to climb the mountain roads. It was probably in the low 60's but the wind from riding in the back of this taxi was uncomfortable. Don't expect to have a nice hair style on a day like this. That is why you will not see any pictures of me this day!
We passed house after house along the way until we arrived at the first village.
Our workers are well known by these people (may even have relatives there). Ron provided help to these people last year. Poverty is unbelievable. They have no electrical power, or running water. It is the same, village after village. The houses are thrown together with whatever wood they can find; some made from straw like you would weave a basket. Many have straw roofs and hand carved wooden steps that are difficult to climb. Imagine not having proper saws, tools or building materials and having to build enough places for a large group of people to live.
The floors of the houses are hard dirt as is all of the area around the houses. They have some straw mats on the floors and some quilts or cloths to put down to sleep on the floor. There is no furniture in the houses. They may have a few handmade stools or small chairs and maybe a table like you see where we were sitting. The chairs were tiny and handmade and I wondered if they would hold our weight as we sat down. 
The church leaders usually come first to greet us and a few of the Christians show up and the longer we talk, more people come in and sit down on the ground to listen and see what is going on. Many were helped last year so they come back, hoping to get a little assistance again this year. This year turned out to be a drought instead of flooding. Their rice fields and corn crops did not produce any food. They have to buy what rice they have.
The sides of the mountains (or valleys) are cleared for crops. They may walk miles up and around these mountain roads to prepare fields where they can grow food. The valleys are the areas that usually flood during monsoon season. But, if there is insufficient rainfall, there is no way to irrigate the fields and they just dry up. They have little space around the village for gardens. Again, they have a problem watering gardens unless they bring water up a mountainside from the Mekong River.
A lot of shy little children come around but most are not smiling and seemed afraid of us. School was out for the holidays so there were many children playing with puppies, feeding baby chickens and just walking around with each other. The children have no toys but we did see a handmade slingshot handing around the neck of one little boy.
The young man in the picture below will buy a male and female calves to begin having cattle to raise and bring in future income.We also found many widows there without sufficient food and an old gentleman that was helped last year needed enough money to buy rice. Many had medical needs and all were poor.
We helped only the Christians due to limited funds. Usually, the larger room where they worship has a nice tile floor that is kept clean. People sit on the floor without any furniture in the room. The Bibles and song books are stacked up in a corner.
A blind lady received money for food.
A widow or a family that needs help for food or medical care was given money. Although many shared their situation and most received the help they requested, many did not ask for any assistance. We probably assisted 10 families in each village.
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