Catholic Mission of Wiang Kaen

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So after a very fortunate meeting with Marie during our plane ride from Singapore to Bangkok we finally headed up to Chiang Khong to visit the ' Catholic Mission of Wiang Kaen' which has been the highlight of Thailand so far. The warmth we felt from the center and the welcome from Marie and the Sisters and Father Pauls humour kept us laughing all night.

So spent 3 days in the orphanage which was excellant and made a massive impression on us as we were n't that impressed with thailand so far - we were far north in the mountains amoungst villages of the Hmong Tribe where I think little westerners would have experienced what we did in the time we where there.

The kids at the centre were from a northern tribe called Hmong which you can also find in Loas and China I think ...(correct me if any of this is wrong!!)they have their own language which is unreadable....well for a start they can have a word like wrqz with no vowels....how does that work.... Like most tribes they believe in omens and ghost and spirits and so particularly in the north the catholic church has helped them alot hence the missionary for these children.

Anyway we stayed at the 'catholic mission of wiang kaen' where there were 33 girls and 20 boys between the ages of 5 and 18 from all different underprivalaged backgrounds to help the children through school and find sponsorship to go to university.

We went around the villages one day with the priest as in this one village one of the girls had been married off and so they then move to the husbands family home. She had two children and was the only catholic in the village so the priest went to pray with her and bless the children and we went along. Although while we were there we got invited to a Hmong wake....which was a really serial experience.

The second day we went to mass in the morning which was all in Hmong and Thai but still very interresting and then mango picking with the boys which involved us climbing trees again ...lol great fun.

The kids were fantastic and the area was amazing - We were so lucky to get to experience the mission center and visit the villages.

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Photos

Mekong River
The Mekong river from Chian Khong to Wiang Kaen seperating Thailand and Loas...

Caught in the act...
The kids playing games with elastic bands tied together..

Sunday morning mass...
The kids in church..

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The girls side....

Typical Thailand...
A family of five on a moped....

Mango picking...
A bamboo stick with a net attached at the end...