Skunk and Tongues

So every day on the race was pretty bizarre in it’s own little way but every now and then there would be days where you just lay down at night and say to yourself “Whoa, what the heck was that?!”. There was one day in Laos that really beat them all though and is literally the weirdest day I have ever had in my life.

It started out just like any other day really. You know those days where you wake up and hop out of bed head debating just how hungry you are because you only have $5 to spend on food that day without any way of cooking for yourself. You convince yourself it’s a good idea to go order some eggs from across the street and so you put your iphone in a waterproof case because it’s the middle of the Laos New Year which means your chances of walking outside without getting blasted by waterguns and water balloons are a whomping 0.

Yup! It was another one of those days. It wasn’t until that evening that things really got weird though. I was just upstairs in my room when my team mate Paul busted in “Tim! What are you doing tonight?? Want to go to a Laos house party with the owner of the hotel?!”

There was only one proper answer to that question which was “Well yeah, dude!”. So we jumped in the Laotians car and started off for the Laos house party. We were greeted warmly by the Laotians when we arrived and they quickly sat us down and started bringing out all kinds of curry dishes, fish and soups. We feasted.

The curry had a rather funky taste to it which posed the question to our little Laos friend “Pong… What the heck kinda meat is this?!” 

“Uhhhh, its like small deer” Pong said.

Just then my friend Paul reached into the heaping pile of mystery curry and pulled out what looked like a cat paw..

“Hey, Pong” Paul said, “This isn’t deer.. is it?”

Pong chuckled and replied with a smile on his face “Nooooo that is skunk”

After a quick little freakout Paul and I, not wanting to offend our generous hosts, decided to look into the soup they had brought out. Paul being the brave man that he is reached into the soup and pulled something out that was unlike anything I have ever seen.

“PONG! What is THIS??!?!?!”

“Ohhh yes. The skunk was pregnant!” Pong informed us!

Needless to say Paul and I decided to steer clear of the skunk curry and skunk fetus soup and just stick with the fish.

We proceeded to have an awesome night of laughs and conversations about who Jesus is and how He is the one all our hearts are truly longing for. 

Pong then drove us back to our hotel and although I expected most of the excitement of the day to be done God still had some things planned for the night.

It had gotten late and most people had gone to bed but I was still awake in the hotel lobby catching up with friends back in the states. There were a couple of other backpackers in the lobby with me who were throwing back some beers and conversing with each other in French. They came up to me and insisted they buy me a beer.

The night went on and we started talking about their travels with the little english they knew but anytime I would try talking to them about why I was there (because of Gods love and who Jesus is) they were unable to understand me. Apparently the school they learned english in failed to teach them what the words “Jesus loves you” means. Go figure.

Getting a little frustrated about the language barrier God reminded me of a couple verses. 
“anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works” John 14:12.

“And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability” Acts 2:4

“Well alright God, your word says it so I’ll give it a shot!” I prayed to myself.

Now just so you know, I don’t know ANY french other than “bonjour” and “merci”.. But Jesus knows french and His Spirit happened to be placed in me for the purpose of making disciples and bringing Heaven to earth.

So I opened my mouth to speak and miraculously these french sounding words started coming out of my mouth.

WEIRD right?!?

I looked at the belgian guy and asked if he knew what any of those words meant in english. He repeated a couple things and when I asked what they meant in english he looked at me and said “Peace and Love”. 

WARNING: this photo is not for weak stomachs! But you should look at it anyways!