“What brings you joy and satisfaction?”

Mrs. Waterlily thought a minute and answered, “Nothing. I do not have any satisfaction. I spend all my time trying to get enough food for my family and when I am not working, I am thinking and thinking, wondering and worrying how to make ends meet, how to care for my daughter and how my husband can get a job that pays enough for us to live on.”

Many Phuan women feel the same. Most Phuan families are subsistence farmers, living in fertile, green valleys where they cultivate wet-rice. Some Phuan, especially in villages along trade routes, have specialized in occupations other than farming. Mrs. Waterlily lives along one of these trade routes. She has a sewing machine and makes a little money by sewing.

Within the villages, the wealthier Phuan live in sturdy, teak or mahogany paneled house that are raised off the ground and have a plank floor and tile roof. The less wealthy live in low-pitched, bamboo-framed houses with thatched roofs and earthen floors. Mrs. Waterlily lives with her husband and daughter in a borrowed, single story – 2 room house. She dreams of one day having her own home.

• Pray for Mrs. Waterlily, and the many Phuan that she represents, whose lives are filled with living from one day to the next. Pray that they will come to know God the Father, Who loves them and wants to provide for all their needs.
• Pray many Phuan will soon come to know satisfaction in “the Life, the Truth and the Way”.