Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and once one of the most famous political prisoners in modern history, is now traveling the world on behalf of the government and people of her native Burma (Myanmar). She had been under house arrest for 15 of the last 21 years. Now her political party, called the National League for Democracy, is part of the Myanmar government and recently won 41 of the 43 vacant seats in the lower house of the Myanmar parliament. The military backed party still controls most of parliament, but her election and the inclusion of the NLD in government signals changes to come...
Monthly Archives: June 2012
4 posts
Dear Friends and Fellow Laborers, Last month I received a surprise telephone call from Queen Sirikit’s deputy private secretary. She said that Her Majesty was inviting Gloria and me to come to Bangkok for a concert. I explained that Gloria was already in California taking care of her 96-year-old Aunt Gerda for a few months. She said she would get back to me. A short time later, the queen’s secretary called back and asked if I would agree to accept the invitation and come alone. I said I would accept.
Who knew a little grain of rice took so much time and effort to produce! It is a small grain that is fairly inexpensive and unobtrusive but a staple food in most Asian countries. In late May at Jet Rye (3-1/2 acres), 30 minutes north of the school, we planted rice the Thai style or the wet patty process. As you will see below a full days work of tilling the ground, flooding the patties, pulling rice seedlings, and finally transplanting the rice plants in the two patties takes quite a bit of effort...