SfK decided to hold its first BAM Field Trip. A total of six people signed up for a 10-day trip to three countries: Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. They were Rev. Jae Chul Chung, Sungsoo Kim, Baek Jae Kim, Caleb Yoo, Fernando Choi, and myself.
The first country to visit was Laos, and the focus was on Boaz' Lunch started by Caleb Kim who attended BCT in Chiang Mai and BMT in 2020, and Post BMT in 2021. After 2 and a half years of preparation, he and his wife opened this restaurant in August 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boaz Lunch is a restaurant established in a single-family residence, targeting expatriates. The facility looked quite attractive and was located on a street where many expatriates pass by.
Caleb gave us a presentation that showed the history of preparation and the progress he has made over the past 12 months. With an amount less than $40,000, he has achieved a lot. Although the business is still losing money, it was apparent that he and his team have made significant progress.
Boaz Lunch is operating with Caleb and his wife, assisted by four staff.
Before we went to the restaurant, we joined Caleb who went to visit the market to buy fresh groceries. The market was quite big and the vegetables looked fresh.
The team was careful in their logistics because I was still positive for COVID-19 and Caleb caught the virus before we arrived although he was negative when we visited.
Whenever possible, I asked to be left out for their safety.
We visited a special museum that exhibited the cruel reality of the scattered bombs that the U.S. used in raiding the border area in Laos during the Vietnamese War. War is cruel in any form or shape.
We went to a Laos restaurant to eat the famous Laos rice noodle soup. It was not as good as expected, but my expectation may have been greater than the reality.
A 2-night visit was too short, but we had to move on to spend more time in Cambodia. After all, SfK decided to increase its investment in Boaz's Lunch. - Jeffrey
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