We continued to travel between the United States and Thailand over the next five years; leading teams and growing in our relationship with each other and with the ministry to the Akha. Finally in 2005 we moved here full-time, and Akha Outreach Foundation had grown and matured in its ministry. By this time the ministry here was serving the Akha with three ministry focuses: House of Joy, a children’s home for orphaned and high-risk kids; Akha Bible Institute, a training program for young emerging Akha leaders; Akha Outreach Services, a ministry to Akha villages and churches.

Earlier this month Akha Outreach Foundation celebrated it’s 10th year of ministry. Nearly 2,000 Akha men, women and children came to participate in the event and to celebrate the heritage of ministry that Akha Outreach Foundation has fostered.

The 10-Year Anniversary celebration was a beautiful event that was well worth the months of preparation that we put into it by printing books, images, pamphlets and banners, editing videos, and coordinating visitors. It was amazing to see what God has done over the past ten years. Former drug addicts leading their villages in worship. Men and women who had been witch doctors and mediums smiling with the joy that comes with the freedom of the gospel. Christians from multiple denominations and backgrounds laughing, singing and eating together.

But as exciting as the look back was, and as encouraging as it has been to see what God is doing, the most exhilarating thing is that the vision for ministry to the Akha is just beginning. The barriers that have bound the Akha for generations are being broken, but this is just the start. As God leads the Akha into freedom, the barriers that exist between individuals, villages, regions, and nations are being broken. The rice is ripe and harvest is coming.

I want to start by sharing an excerpt from an insightful article entitled “Why we don’t go or send much anymore” by Dr. Patrick Johnstone of WEC International (link goes to a repost of the article on John Lambert‘s blog):

My immediate reaction:

There is no question that we in the west are part of an “instant generation”, and as digital-age missionaries to a pre-modern culture, we are constantly changing states, speeds and worldviews as we attempt to communicate to our unique world(s).

In working with the Akha we say the following statement all the time and, although it is admittedly an oversimplification, it is largely true: Relationships in Asia, and specifically with the Akha, have no relevance until they have history. Dr. Johnstone uses different terms, but the same idea lies within his article when he says a missionary has no “right to communicate the gospel” [relevance] until he has “one”-ness [history] with the people.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t correctly handle the Word of Truth as we build history. But too often we feel like we have all the answers, our pride gets in the way and we think everything has to get fixed now. Working in Asia we must realize that until we have history the words we speak have no weight – even if they are true.

Experiences with the Akha

In our Akha village, we have showed the love of Christ by spending a majority of our time sitting, drinking tea, discussing the weather and the crops, learning the Akha language within the context of community, and caring for physical needs without cost or discrimination as we experience the minutia of life within a community in order to build relevance. It is slow. It is unglamorous. But it is necessary to affect a community towards healthy long-term growth.

Our ministry has only recently, after nearly six years of building history, earned enough relational relevance to be a resource of accountability, exhortation and truth in love in a way that will be productively and actively received by some of the people around us.

Unfortunately, this process of patience means that there have been many times where we have seen dysfunctional behavior that is unable to receive input from any source which is not equally as dysfunctional. So, in these times, we have had to stand silently, brokenhearted, so that we might maintain the relationships and history we are building, which, in turn, will give us the relevance to minister restoration to that dysfunction in the future.

The beauty of this worldview is the closeness of the community and the willingness to function in unity. The downfall is that dysfunctional behavior is also universally shared. Relevant voices of influence must show their commitment to unity within the community over a significant period of time without sharing in the same dysfunctions in order to effectively communicate functional life.

Experiences with the West

It is still true in the west that community and companionship are the key factors in administering life-impacting change, but the decision to include or exclude someone or something from our community is made nearly instantaneously. (The exception in this case is the influence of the core family-unit, but in my observation many people in America are even distancing themselves from those nuclear-family relationships that were once such powerful influences in the lives of an individual.)

These “instantaneous decisions” have led to the onset of the online community phenomenons of blogging, forums, and social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. We in the western world are much more comfortable extending our attention and trust to someone or something with whom we have no history. We might respond to attraction, position, interests, goals, occupation, production, association, or marketing in our decisions to join or include others in a community.

Online communities make the world smaller, and that small world allows us to communicate globally without moving geographically. Personally, I have a list of missionaries from around the world that I connect with for advice, prayer, exhortation and empathy – but I have only met a few of them face-to-face.

The blessing of this openness to immediate inclusion is that we are free to give and receive the ministry of the gospel in the brief moments of community when our lives glance off of one another in the thousands if not millions of connections we make. We can quickly form meaningful relationships that have immediate positive impact on our lives, and receive Godly encouragement from near stangers. The downfall of this worldview is that we become judgmental, quickly dismissing as irrelevant things that don’t capture our immediate attentions and passions and quickly accepting as valuable things that are at their core damaging but packaged to manipulate our passions.

Defining the Difference

Perhaps the simplest distinction between the Western world I know and the Eastern (Akha) world I have come to learn can be summed up in the following statement:

As for me and my house…

We must exist in both worlds. The world we come from and the world we have been sent to. It is important for Lori and I to continue to engage in our Western culture, even as we minister in the East. So we strive to be transparent, available, and vulnerable in our efforts to communicate via these “instant” platforms: Our blog: The Vernon Journal; Twitter (Paul); Facebook (Paul | Lori); Tumblr (Paul | Lori | Abi).

Through these mediums, we try to frequently communicate our otherwise slow ministry to those of you who cover, support and partner with us while we geographically remain in the midst of that ministry. We know that there are thousands of causes, ministries and opportunities out there to partner with, and we want you to know that we value your partnership and desire to share with you how your partnership is furthuring the gospel in us, among the Akha, and throughout the world.

How do you connect with your communities? And how can we best communicate our lives and experiences to you and your communities as we minister to the Akha?

FOOD FRIDAY: EAT LIKE AN AHKA

Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by April

As we’ve mentioned more than once, last month we went up to an Akha village for a few days to experience their culture.  Part of that was, of course, their food.  My favorite part was using chopsticks to eat it all.  Since we only ate Akha food a few times, we decided to bring in an expert to tell you all about it. Lori Vernon graciously agreed to be our guest blogger today to teach us about Akha food and even share a recipe!

Guest Blogger: Lori Vernon

Akha food is fairly simple compared to Thai fare. Most Thai dishes seek to find the perfect balance between many different flavors (sweet, sour, spicy, salty, etc) using a multitude of ingredients like coconut milk, curry paste, lemon grass, chili peppers, fish sauce, sugar and lime to name a few. Most Akha dishes, on the other hand, are savory and have very few ingredients. Akha dishes rarely use more than salt, garlic, chili pepper to flavor the main ingredient. However, this doesn’t mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that Akha food could be considered bland. Quite the opposite, Akha food is very flavorful and spicy!

Of course, rice is the main staple for the Akha people. At a meal, each person has their own bowl of rice, and the accompanying dishes are served family style. There are 5 categories of Akha food; a traditional meal would include at least one dish from each category.

1. STIR FRIED:

This category can vary greatly. Any combination of vegetables, eggs, meat or beans can be stir fried for an Akha meal. An Akha favorite is a spicy stir fried minced pork dish called sa byeh which is the exception to the “simple-ingredients-list rule” and has many herbs including a special type of tree bark. It is almost always eaten for special occasions like weddings, funerals and festivals.

2. PICKLED:

Greens can be pickled when the crops are in abundance and preserved for use at a later time. Often pickled greens are also dried and reconstituted when ready to eat, increasing their shelf life even further.

3. BOILED/SOUP:

Greens, squash or potatoes are boiled with pork and bones to create a savory broth soup. The Akha also make a thick rice porridge soup with chicken that is eaten to celebrate the birth of a child or to feed to an invalid unable to eat rice.

4. DIP:

The Akha use a mortar and pestle to create very spicy dips to be eaten with fresh vegetables, or spooned directly onto the rice. The most simple version would contain tomato, salt, chili peppers, green onions & cilantro. However, we have tasted many variations of this dish including ones that contained crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, fish, dried beef, and bamboo worms. This is a dish that is different at every house, because each family has their own secret recipe.

5. RAW:

The dip mentioned above is generally eaten with a variety of fresh greens and vegetables. Some commonly served items from this category include cabbage, green beans, sweet pea greens, cucumbers, mint, thai eggplant and other herbs. (which I don’t know how to translate into English.)

Eating Akha Style

If you’d like to taste a bit of Akha food, here’s a simple recipe you can try at home:

Spicy Akha Peanut Dip

This is normally made with a mortar and pestle, but since those tools are not commonly available in American kitchens, I’ve included instructions on how to make this using a Cuisinart (a blender may also work.)

Ingredients:

• 1 small clove of garlic (optional, depending on how much garlic breath you’re willing to tolerate)
• 3 medium plum tomatoes or one large American Tomato
• ¼ cup of roasted peanuts
• 1-5 Thai chili peppers to taste
• ½ tsp of salt (or to taste)
• green onions, chopped
• cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

1. Boil/blanch tomatoes and chili peppers for several minutes… until the tomato skin splits. Remove from water and let cool.
2. Chop peanuts roughly in a Cuisinart.
3. Peel skin off of tomatoes & add tomatoes in with the chopped peanuts.
4. Add blanched chili peppers and garlic clove. Use the pulse setting to chop/mix.
5. Add salt to taste
6. Remove from Cuisinart.
7. Stir in chopped green onions & cilantro to taste, reserving a small amount for garnish on top.
8. Serve with raw vegetables or over rice.

- Lori Vernon

Proverbs 31:10 (NASB)

Description of a Worthy Woman
¹⁰An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.

Maybe it’s the weddings I’ve been going to. Maybe spring comes early in Thailand. But I have found today, that even after 9.5 years of marriage, I am head-over-heels *in love* with Lori.

She’s seen her life get more and more difficult as pregnancy turned into an infant and now a two-year-old, and yet she continues to shine in ministry, as a mother and as a wife.

Right now she’s in the bathtub with our energetic daughter, after working most of the afternoon on her computer with Abigail nestled in-between her body and her mouse-operating right hand. We’re working on getting Abi to go to sleep with me and she’s becoming more and more independent as she grows up, but there’s no substitute for mom when things are hectic – which is more often than not in our world.

Sometimes as a father, I feel pretty helpless – I just can’t comfort Abi like Lori can – and, therefore, more often than ever I am being called off in one direction to work and to serve while Lori continues our services of ministry locally, while continuing her role as a mom.

Through it all, she’s been incredible, and is a priceless addition to my life.

Last month, when the Ruggles’ were with us, they captured some of the many roles that Lori plays in our life – and I wanted to share them with you.  (make sure you hover over the pictures for the insider descriptions of each role)

…and all of this doesn’t even cover the professor / nurse / teacher roles that fall in her actual job description.

I love you, Lori. You are simply incredible.

I have spent this week in Southern California, as a good friend of mine flew me in to join in his wedding celebration. It has been a whirlwind trip – in total I will spend 71 hours on airplanes and in transit, while only being on American soil for 120 hours. Despite the crazy schedule & quickness of the trip, I really enjoyed seeing friends that I have not seen for two years, and I have come to realize something…

I miss you. All of you. My friends & family in America. You are very important to me, and my relationship with you is a priceless gift.

After living with the Akha for the past five years, it has become easier and easier to stay in Thailand as our friendships, relationships and ministry have grown – but our relational need for you hasn’t lessened at all in that time.

Sure, we don’t talk very often anymore, or get to see your kids grow up, or visit you in the hospital, or spend holidays or weekdays together – except in the quasi-communities of the internet. But, we are still connected with you, and carry these relationships with us as we live with our friends and village in the present.

We have our feet in two worlds, the one we are called to serve in and have grown to love – and the world that was shaped by you. That prepared us for the future.

Thank you for being part of our multi-cultural, multi-lingual world. We carry you in our hearts as we look forward to 2010, and anticipate the times we will have together again as we are able to visit America in the future – tentatively from April through July of 2011.

Happy New Year!

It encompasses every aspect of their lives.  Preparing the fields, planting, harvesting.

every meal
every day
every month
every year

It’s no wonder that rice is the center of religion, culture and celebration in the Akha world. But, if there is a secondary symbol of importance in the Akha community, it is bamboo.

Bamboo provides tools and toys. Secular and sacred objects.

If rice is the focus of the Akha way of life, bamboo is the function of that life.

In our village the children learn at a very young age how to turn scraps of bamboo into functional creations. Boys of three and four years old create woven masterpieces to complete the homes and tools of their minor kingdoms. Their education in the vegetation and animalia around them is extensive, any Akha child of age can easily forage a meal while walking through the jungle.

This interaction with the world around them builds a community and identity among the Akha people, and will continue to be important to them wherever the evolution of their culture leads in the years to come.

Ingredients:
* ½ pound of ground meat (we use pork)
* 3 large-ish eggplants
* 1 small onion (I used yellow here, but we prefer purple)
* 2 Eggs
* Green Onion
* Cilantro
* 3 cloves of garlic
* Thai Chili pepper (or similar)
* Salt
* Oil

Instructions & Notes:
1. This dish is served with rice. So it’s best to start your rice first, because it will take 15-20 minutes. (In other words… DO NOT use Minute Rice! Learn how to cook rice here.)
2. Cut the eggplant into large pieces. Boil with the eggs for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. When finished, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
*Note: For some reason we like green eggplant best. Purple seems to be more watery and have less flavor, but I don’t even know if green eggplant is available in the U.S.
3. Chop the onion, green onion and cilantro. Set aside.
4. Prepare garlic & chili peppers. We use a mortar and pestle, but a garlic press or any number of kitchen gadgets would work fine, I’m sure!
*Note: Add chili peppers to suit your family’s taste. We use about 3 to achieve “medium” spicyness… but it’s all subjective, so start slow.
5. Get your wok (a.k.a. “pan”) nice and hot. Add oil, garlic, peppers, meat and onion. Stir-fry until meat is browned.
6. Usually, by this time, my boiled eggplant has cooled off enough to handle. So, remove the meat from the heat for a moment and chop the boiled eggplant.
7. Now, add your chopped eggplant to the meat mixture in the wok and stir-fry. It should get a little mushier and a little browner when it’s done. Add salt to taste (approximately ½ to 1 teaspoon should be about right.)
8. Reserve a small handful of the chopped green onions & cilantro. Add the rest of the onions & cilantro to the wok and stir-fry for another minute or so.
9.Transfer to your serving plate, and garnish with sliced boiled eggs and remaining green onions and cilantro. Serve with rice.

However, I think one of the best stories came from a moment when the kids where having a hard time understanding…

One of the teachings we did was based on the story of the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18. We talked about how important each person is to God and that God loves everyone and seeks a relationship with everyone! After the teaching, we split the kids up by age groups to do the craft and work on the memory verse for the day. I was working with the older kids (age 9-13) and we were learning a separate but related sheep verse, John 10:27, 28. After repeating the verse several times, I asked the kids if they understood what it meant. They all stared back at me blankly (not even a glimmer of understanding!)

As I struggled to find the right words to explain this metaphor to kids who had never seen sheep, one of the kids piped up and asked a village grandpa (who was there repairing our roof from the storm the previous night and seemed to be enjoying eavesdropping on our little lesson) if he could explain the verse. Sure enough, he had the perfect illustration! He explained, “You know that if a chicken wanders off, and it’s owner goes looking for it, the owner doesn’t only look with her eyes, but she calls ‘Ku Ku Ku’. And the chicken knows the sound of its owners voice and will come running when it hears its owner calling. We can know God’s voice just like that chicken!” Simultaneously, the kids all had an “Ah-Ha” moment! Three cheers for Grandpa! This is what I love about living in a village; nearly everything is done with a little help from our friends!

In the end, we did a VBS in three different villages and ministered to about 90 kids (not to mention many parents and grandparents who hung around to enjoy the fun!) This was the first year we have done this and we were really pleased with it’s success; I’m sure it will become a yearly tradition!

We are honored to work alongside the Akha through this incredible foundation. Having an Akha director guiding our decisions, influencing our worldview, and giving us clarity and insight into the Akha people and culture is a priceless resource that we daily thank God for.

Since there are so many inexpensive by-the-road style restaurants here in Thailand, we almost always eat lunch out. (Actually, let me clarify, when we’re in the city we almost always eat lunch out. However, when we’re in the village, we rarely eat out.) Anyway… where was I? Oh yes, inexpensive restaurants! A standard lunch in Thailand will cost you about 25 baht or 70 cents. The lunch pictured here, is actually a bit more expensive and runs 35 baht or 97cents. But it is so delicious that we don’t mind “splurging”!

We eat Khao Mok Gai about once a week. It is an halal dish in which the rice and the chicken are all cooked together with many spices like coriander, cinnamon, tumeric and cumin. These spices combined with the fat from the chicken make the rice so rich and tasty. The main dish of rice and chicken is usually accompanied by a cucumber, onion and chili pepper salad with a sweet vinegar sauce. Also, a broth soup is usually included. Mmmmm so good! I’m so lucky to live in Thailand and eat this great food!

We have much to be Thankful for this year – it has been a healthy year for us physically, a milestone year for us linguistically, a growing year for us in ministry and an unspeakably wonderful year for us as we have watched Abigail discover the world around her.

We are coming out of a busy season of village travel – having celebrated the rice harvest in four villages, attended a funeral and generally traveled to Akha villages throughout the region – building upon old relationships and forming new ones.

We are currently preparing for the next year, as I am sure many of you are, and trying to get our business affairs in order as we have a short break around Thanksgiving. There is so much we still want to update you all on – medical and dental clinics, ministry direction and future plans and general life happenings – but for now we want to wish you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving filled with friends and family.

Thanks for following our adventures here in Thailand!

Unfortunately, because we were so overbooked last week, we were not able to enjoy any one event in its entirety, and we did not attend the missionary retreat in Chiang Mai at all.

In the abbreviated times we had, however, we were able to connect with a number of people whose relationships we value. We saw most of the Thailand Foursquare missionaries at the Foursquare National Convention in Chiang Mai. We were also able to connect with an Akha / Foursquare pastor while at the convention who we hope to work with more in the future.

The staff retreat for AOF in Mae Chan was a great time, and we were reminded again how we are surrounded by a superstar group of young Akha leaders. It is truly a privilege to work at Akha Outreach Foundation.

Finally, the New Rice Festival in Mae Salong was wonderful, as always. Pastor Ajoe and his wife Miba and sons Mose and Chalom were up from Bangkok and we had a good time with them. Remember those names, as we have some exciting visions for the future with he and his family – we’ll be sharing those with you at Christmas!

We have a few days in the city before we are on the road again, this time working on some videos for AOF, helping out with a sponsor team that is visiting from Colorado, another trip to Chiang Mai to get Misa back into the handicapped school and welcoming Johnny Burroughs (who now goes by “John”, but old habits… ) who will be spending the rest of November with us.

We’ll try to keep in touch as best as we can during that time, keep your eye on our site!

Our week is so full because it is the last week of school break in Thailand, and everyone has decided that it is the perfect time for the annual events.

First, we are heading to Chiang Mai (today) to attend the Foursquare National Convention for Thailand. We will leave the convention early to come back to Mae Chan on Wednesday to attend the staff retreat for Akha Outreach Foundation. Then, we will skip a day of those meetings to head back to Mae Salong for our village’s New Rice Festival on Friday. After a brief stopover in Chiang Rai, we will head back to Chiang Mai on Saturday for the Foursquare Missionary Retreat.

We ask for your prayers for Energy, Safety as we Travel, enjoyment of these events, and especially that Abigail will be able to handle all of this busyness.

Thanks for praying!

The Thai government is trying to improve this situation, giving non-citizens the chance to go to clinics where they can then be referred to the government hospitals in serious cases. However, even these clinics are expensive when the daily wages of field workers are taken into account (there is also no enforced minimum wage in the rural areas of Thailand).

Beyond the issues of finance and privilege, most of the Akha do not speak much Thai, causing miscommunication and distrust between doctors and patients.

All of these issues facing the Akha have combined in the formation of the Akha Clinic. Although we have no formal medical training, we have run these clinics with Doctors and Dentists from the US and have learned much from them. We have a shop in Chiang Rai where we can purchase medicine and supplies cheaply and in bulk, and we have developed a fairly comprehensive clinic that can be packed in the back of our truck and serve in any Akha village that we are invited into.

We always have this medicine and supplies with us, and are often caring for emergency cases while in villages, but our goal is to take the Akha (mobile) Clinic on one formal village day-long trip each month, eventually incorporating community health education into the clinic days as we receive further training on the subject.

Thus far we have been unable to maintain our once-a-month goal, however, now that Abi is settling in we are refocusing our clinic ministry. Last month, inspired by Dr. Luce, who brought a dental team from Colorado to perform free dental care in an Akha village, we were able to treat nearly 100 patients from an Akha Village near Wiangpapao with medicine, care and listening ears.

Take a look below at some of the snapshots of the clinic-preparation day:

Also here is some footage from the clinic day – it’s pretty raw and not very entertaining (no music, translation or special effects), but there is a little bit of footage of Dr. Luce’s Dental team and also a shot at the very end of Abi in her Akha hat that is just priceless:

So we have been looking around for a “new” truck to fill our needs. Unfortunately, vehicles in Thailand (especially in Northern Thailand) are even more expensive than those in the US. The trucks we have looked at run around 470,000 baht. This number was incredibly discouraging to us, as we are just not comfortable spending that much money on a vehicle.

Fortunately, we have found a truck that will suit our needs that is much more reasonably priced. Our friends the Bazemore’s are moving back to the U.S. to have their baby and have agreed to sell us their 1990 Nissan 4×4 for $7,250 (after they gave us a generous deduction in the price as a donation to our ministry). Even more incredibly, we had already received $2,500 in donations to help with this purchase before we asked for any help. God really takes wonderful care of us.

We have a little bit in savings, but if you would like to partner with us by donating towards this purchase it would be very much appreciated. You can print out a copy of our Partner Coupons or send your donations to:

It would also be helpful if you could contact us to let us know about your donation. This will help us to designate the funds correctly. To contact us, please Click here and choose “Partnership Info” in the Subject box.

Thank you all for your continued support.

Up until now, I’ve avoided thinking too much about “preparing for the baby”. I’m sure, in some ways, there was an element of self-protection involved; if we had another miscarriage, I didn’t want to have too many “baby things” hanging around making the grieving process that much more difficult. However, on a lighter note, probably a larger part of my procrastination was just that - procrastination; nine months really feels like a long time and it’s easy to say to yourself,”There will be plenty of time for that later.” But like I said, with just four months to go it’s time to start getting ready for the baby!

Now, the process of “getting ready for the baby” can mean very different things depending on what culture you’re in! For instance, when an Akha baby is born, the only “supplies” needed are a few sets of clothes and some fabric for an Akha baby sling. Sometimes the Akha will make a baby hammock out of an empty rice sack strung between two bamboo poles, but other than these few simple items, the arrival of the baby doesn’t require too much preparation. In our two years living in a village, we’ve seen many children grow up happy and healthy with just these “bare necessities” to carry them through their first months of life. In America, however, “getting ready for the baby,” takes on a whole different meaning! Just look at everything included in a traditional American nursery checklist, not to mention all the fancy gadgets & accessories available to today’s parents, like baby-wipe warmers, cribside mp3 docks and even “pee pee tee pees“!

During the past few weeks, I’ve been feeling really caught between these two drastically different worlds! On one hand, there’s no denying the fact that I’m an American. When I think about preparing for a baby, my mind immediately finds itself in the land of cribs, changing tables and rocking chairs! On the other hand, we are working with the Akha and we desire to understand the Akha culture and way of life not only through observation, but through experience. So, we find ourselves in that familiar, yet tricky, situation of finding a balance.

Right now, we’re trying to narrow down all the options out there and decide what items will really be useful in simplifying our life with a baby. This is where you come in! I want to hear from all you parents out there, those of you in America as well as any missionary parents on the field…. What is your #1 “must-have” baby item?

We have been busy these last few months. Lori’s parents were here last month and we were traveling to Rice Festivals and around the North with them. This past week a team of sponsors has been in from Colorado and we have spent some time with them, including a long day yesterday helping and learning from Dr. Wesley as he diagnosed, treated and cared for 200 Akha villagers. We will try to get some pictures of that trip up in the next week or so for you to see.

While in Bangkok we should have internet access and are hoping to share with you some of our experiences, lessons and maybe even some media from the conference – so stay tuned!

Here we have some of our neighbors preparing one of the dishes for the festival meal. They do everything in community, and here they are gathered around on a salah chopping up vegetables. Look at that young boy go! He’s only about 11 years old, but he knows his way around a knife.

Enjoy!