Doon-Ian village, Laos

These are pictures taken at the Doon-Lan safe house in the village outside of Vientiane, Laos.  The small church building is where we met but on Sunday, the benches are set up for class and worship services.   It is a small building but adequate for this small community.   It is very clean and neat.  It may be used for other activities such as classes.  There is just a walkway between the church and the house where the minister and his wife live with the 22 girls in their care.   He shared with us yesterday that he has had no problem with the government.  He is well-known and respected.    Front wood carved doors are beautiful.

The girls were back from school so they were all working because it was getting late in the afternoon and dinner needed to be prepared.   Below are pictures of the girls washing dishes, chopping wood, watering the mint and greens they grow, and cooking inside the shed which is their outside kitchen.   Other girls were mopping the floor of the room where they do the embroidery and sweeping around the building.    With so much dust in the road and in the yard, they do a remarkable job, keeping it all clean. 

With girls sick in their beds, I did not take any pictures of their rooms this trip.

  Cooking shed (outside kitchen)

   Girls chopping wood.

Washing dishes.

Below is the large room used for the embroidery.  It was also used as the dining room before they built the outside kitchen area under the shed and set up an area with tables and chairs outside..

This large room has recently been added as the guest room but it is not quite completed.  It is the office and used for storage at this time.  

Visits to village safe houses (Doon-Lan and Ket's House)

Early evening on Thursday, December 26th, we arrived at the rural home of Ket and his wife to visit with our four girls that live in this home.   Phet, our translator, is also the daughter of this minister and his wife.  

The girls were shy but very sweet.   Each could introduce themselves by name to us in a sentence.  Phet has been teaching them some English when she visits,  but she has a full-time job as a translator and does not live there.   

Ron showed the video about our work and explained what we do to help girls in Laos, Thailand, Nepal and soon the Philippines.    They were all smiling and very happy that we came to see them.   The girls are small and young-looking for their ages.   

They showed us their room and it was very neat and clean.   For dinner, we had sticky rice, a spicy mixture of finely chopped meat mixed with cilantro and some other finely chopped vegetable and some fried or roasted pieces of meat  We had a cabbage soup that was very good. The Lao people get a handful of sticky rice from their own container of rice at the table (the girls shared a large container).   With the other hand, they pinch off a piece, roll it up into a ball, about the size of a marble, and use it to pick up something else on the plate and then pop it into their mouths.   Ron and I were given rice on our place with a fork (for which we were grateful).  They had a platter of shredded papaya (I think) which is not ripe.   We didn't eat any of it but have eaten it in the past.   It is almost like a shredded raw potato, as best I can describe it.  It is sometimes seasoned with vinegar and called a papaya salad.   

Early in the afternoon of December 26, Ket drove us to the other village to see our 22 girls in that location further from the city.   It is more than a hour drive from his house and most of the trip is on dirt roads that are extremely rough with potholes and ruts.  It is now the dry season so with the red dirt, dust is flying everywhere and coats every leaf on the trees and bushes.    It stirs up a dust so heavy you can hardly see other vehicles, especially motorbikes.   Houses and little stores along the road are covered with red dust.  This is a heavy pollution for the people to breathe in the air.   Late in the afternoon, some are watering the road in front of their houses with a water hose, trying to settle the dust.   Animals roam from area to area in the countryside looking for food (cows, calves, goats) and late in the afternoon, they will be coming down the road in droves, going back home.  Usually, there is no one driving them.  With everything covered in red dust, I guess they have to go far off the roadside to find green grass or leaves from bushes that they can eat.    Little children play all along the roadside, oblivious to the dust and dirt.    It is a way of life for months until there is rain again, which will likely not come sooner than May.

We were sad that about half of the girls at Doon-Lan are sick with colds.   Many were in their beds and did not come outside because they are running a fever.   Several did not go to school that day.   I didn't get to hug or spend time with the girls because I was concerned about catching the virus myself.   The travels are difficult so I can't handle a major illness and continue the traveling.

Ket's house and Hong's house (our two other homes with girls) are also on this type road.   It just does not take quite as long to get to their houses off the main highways as it does to the Doon-Lan village.   

All 36 girls in these three locations ride bikes to school on the dirt roads for 15-30 minutes each way, morning and afternoon.  The way of life for these girls is not easy but so much better than having no chance to go to school because of poverty.  It is their only hope for a better future.    It is the only way we can have an opportunity to teach them the Bible and give them an education.   It gives the girls an opportunity to learn about human trafficking so they will never be caught in the trap.

We are concerned about our girls on bike and most of our workers riding motorbikes or motorcycles.  The majority of the vehicles on the roads are this type of transportation.     We were told over 800 people are killed just in the city of Vientiane each year mostly from these bikes. Most accidents are at night because of visionary difficulties and most deaths are of men because they take more chances.    On the way to our hotel, we went around an accident where two motorcycles were strewn in the road from an accident and one person lying on the side of the road.   We saw many of these accidents in China and it is always very sad and disturbing to see this happen.

Vientiane, Laos

We arrived last night in Vientiane, Laos with a few interesting travel incidents as we left Mukdahan, Thailand.    After a few setbacks we got to the airport in Savannahket, Laos and enjoyed a break in the lounge where Ron had a cup of green tea.

I remember last year when we arrived in Thailand, a man told us we could stay 90 days in Thailand since we are Americans and each time we left the country and returned, we had another 90 days.    When we arrived this year, Ron told them at immigration that we would stay 60 days on this trip.    We had a departure slip in our passport but we did not look at it again.   We took a bus from Mukdahan to Savannahket and when we got to Thailand immigration departure station, they sent us to an office where they said we had overstayed our VISA and owed 8,000 baht which is $268.45 U.S.    Ron argued with the lady that he asked for a 60 VISA when we came into Thailand.  She said, "No, you can only get a 30-day VISA so you have to pay the fine for 7 days over stay."    I guess immigration laws changed or they did not understand when we arrived to make it for 60 days.   The lady would not take U.S. dollars and we did not have enough baht to pay it so she said we had to go back to a shopping center to find n ATM and get baht.
That would have taken at least an hour so we walked into another office at immigration and asked where we could find an ATM and they pointed to an orange-colored roof down the street.   We walked and found it in a small strip mall of shops and restaurants.   We went back and paid the fee but Ron kidded with the lady that she made him walk in the hot sun at 82 years old to pay a fine that he should not have had to pay.   She laughed.   It was not her "monkey and not her zoo" so she did not care.   After the paperwork was processed, which took about half an hour, they wanted to take pictures with us.   Ron tried to put horns over the lady's head with his fingers which sent them into a roar of laughter, of course.   We are not allowed to take pictures in these places but they can take ours!!  I was thinking the headlines in the paper the next day with our picture beside the immigration lady would read "Old American couple tries to flee Thailand on an expired VISA".  

Our bus to go across the Friendship Bridge had left an hour before so we waited for two more buses before we could finally get a seat and cross over to Lao Immigration.     Ron realized when we got there that we did not have another small photo for me for my temporary VISA to come into Laos.   I leave absolutely everything to Ron to handle because it is usually easier that way than asking questions and having to figure things out.   He thought they would send us away to find a place to have a picture taken but there was actually no where to go.   We had left Thailand and were just arriving in Laos so we could not go back and we had to try to find a solution at this point.   I kidded Ron that he could just leave me there and get rid of an old wife.   We completed the paperwork and submitted it to a very nice young man at the window.  He just told me to look into the camera and he took a picture of me.    Then we had to figure out what money to pay them for the $70 VISA (both of us).  They did not want the U.S. money but only because it was not new.   No where in Asia will they take used bills or even a crisp bill if there is a tiny tear.   We scraped up enough baht to pay the fee since we had not had a place to exchange any money into kips (Laos).

Our plane was an hour late leaving Savvanahket but it was only an hour flight and we got in about dark.    We exchanged one $20 U.S. bill at the airport (the only one nice enough for them to take) so we'd have cab fare to the hotel.    We walked out to get a taxi and found a city bus so Ron showed him the name of our hotel.   He put it into his phone (GPS, I guess) and said "Yes", and motioned for us to get on the bus.   He helped with our luggage and when we were seated, he gave us a map.   It may be in Lao but at least we have a map.   The fee for each of us to ride the bus is 15,000...a lot of money?    No, not really.    Divide 8,865 into 15,000 and it comes up to $1.69 each.

Our minister in Bangkok is supposed to wire us $5,000 by Western Union today.   We transfer funds from the U.S. bank account to his bank account in Bangkok to distribute for the work in Laos.   We will use some of those funds for our travel expenses but also to help flood victims when we get to Luang Prabang.

The hotel is on a side street but the bus driver stopped at that street and pointed down the street where we were to go.   We walked for a few short blocks and found it without a problem and checked in.

The room is small but clean and neat.   We have a small fridge, good beds and air conditioner.  The bath has a wall to divide off the shower which many do not have in Asia.   It is all we need for a week's stay and it cost about $29 per night.    The breakfast had about six selections, not great but adequate:   eggs cooked anyway, toast, fried rice, fruit and coffee.   Years ago, it was difficult to find coffee in Asia.  In China, we had to ask for it and it usually cost extra.  I was always so happy to find it on the breakfast buffets in some hotels even though it was very strong.   Now they have instant coffee and creamer in the hotel rooms and many coffee shops are everywhere.   It is also an offered beverage in most hotels for any meal you order.

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We took a walk after breakfast.   We are in an area where there are many small hotels and restaurants.   Streets are dirty and smelly and sidewalks are used for parking motorbikes, cars and tuk tuk (the open simple taxis with a motorcycle and back area for passengers.

There are many Buddhist temples, elaborately constructed and sometimes they take up an entire block.   Monks walk the streets in their bright colored robes/wraps and flipflops.   It is very unusual to have one speak to you but as we were waiting for the bus at the immigration cross point in Mukdahan yesterday, a young monk was also waiting.   He asked us in perfect English where we were from and where we were going.   Then he asked what we were doing here.  I told him we help provide education for poor girls in Asian

countries.  The bus arrived and we did not talk more but this was a very unusual situation and my first time to talk with a Buddhist monk.

Al Capone's restaurant is right across the street from our hotel.   It has pasta, pizza and other stuff.   A billboard out front offers Buy 3 pizza and get 2 Liters of coke free.  Wonder what size pizza I have to buy?

We will have dinner at the home of our 10 girls here in Vientiane on Tuesday night.   I will be posting pictures and giving an update after our visit to see them.   This will be our very special Christmas eve.

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Upcoming Travel Plans

We are about to end this week with everything running smoothly.   Ron feels the workers on the construction know what they are supposed to do although he got there this morning and they were not compacting the soil around the foundation properly.   He stopped them and made them do it right and they said they understand.   So many shortcuts are done in Asian countries and it results in poor quality of construction every time.    He told them they are about 100 years behind in the way they do things.    He said they are making very good concrete blocks on the job site now.    It will take a lot for this large building so it will be an on-going process for some time.  

Christmas Day is not a holiday here so workers will close the job down on December 30 and return on January 5 (taking a New Year holiday instead).    We are going to leave on Sunday to visit our girls in Laos.    We will take a bus from Mukdahan to Savannakhet where we cross over into Laos, go through immigration and get a taxi to the airport.    We have a short flight to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.   Hong, his wife and three children host 8 young girls in their home as a safe house for vulnerable girls that need a home and an education.      Hong oversees two move girls in foster care, four girls in a minister's home, and 22 girls in a rural village about 35 minutes from Vientiane (Doon-Ian).    We will be in this area about a week to spend some time with Hong, the house parents and girls in each location.   From there, we will go to North Laos to Luang Prabang where two ministers each have three girls living in their houses.   Ron will also go to the villages along the Mekong River to help the Christians that suffered from monsoon floods this year that destroyed crops, cattle or houses.

If you have time and interest, there are some travel videos on YouTube that depict life in these cities.   You can see how travel is done (taxi, motorbikes, vans, buses), street markets and interesting sights for tourists.    There are two travel videos for Luang Prabang that will be of great interest to you.   It is a tourist city and a very delightful place to visit.   It has an European influence due to the fact it was under France at one time in history.    Vientiane is much larger and typical of a big city in Asia.

When you have an hour and want some really good entertainment, go to YouTube and watch the National Geographic documentary on Wildlife in Thailand.     It is very beautiful and interesting.   We have not seen any of these places because it is in North Thailand where there are mountains, rain forests and uninhabited areas where the animals, birds and other creatures live.    It is a wonderful video so enjoy watching this film sometime.    

Ronald and Gigi will spend their holidays in the Ingleside/Corpus Christi area of TX, provided they can get something else repaired on the RV this week to be able to travel from Alvin on to Ingleside.    They are having the same "luck" we have with something going wrong on the RV at every stop along the way.   I think the fuel filters has to be replaced last week. This time it is a back shock absorber broken and leaking.   Getting someone to do repairs and finding parts is often a challenge when something goes wrong.

Leigh Ann will travel back to Atlanta for the Christmas holiday and our granddaughter's birthday.  She has friends she will stay with next week.

We wish our family (and YOURS) safe travels and a very Happy holiday with rich blessing expected for all in the year 2020.    Our prayers are with those who have lost loved ones this year (some only recently) and the difference it will make in the joy of the holidays this year.   Their loved ones are safe and in a better world on the other side, but for those who are left behind in this old world, it is a tough time.   God bless you all.

With love.....Ron and Pat

Our family

Our daughter, Leigh Ann Dotson, bought a condo and moved to Clearwater, FL at the end of October.  Tatum, our granddaughter is moving to FL at the end of this month.    They are both excited to be out of the Atlanta traffic and winter weather, especially January and February in North Georgia. They have lived in our son's house for several years so the house is going to be vacant for a while.

We will move our stored furniture that is still in Albany, GA to this house in early summer and we will be there part-time, but probably not very much.    Ronald and Gigi will come in from the Philippines a couple of times per year and we will share the house and RV with them.    We will take a short time off and live in the house while they are traveling in the RV.   They will have the master bedroom set up for their use whenever they are able to spend a little time at the house in Woodstock.   We will somehow figure out how to share the expenses of the house.    Ronald insisted on this arrangement partly because he thinks we need (and I do to) a place where we can rest, recuperate if we need to, and eventually have a place to live when we are too old for the RV traveling.    Ron does not want to face those times that will come upon us before too many years but we all know it will happen.     We realize that each year gets a little harder to keep the same pace.    We will park the RV in the driveway/yard and still travel to churches as much as we can in the years ahead.   We will continue doing what we are doing as long as our ability to do so permits.

Ronald and Gigi are in Texas now using our RV for the first time.    We gave Ronald and Gigi a 2-day course on RVing before we left for Thailand.     They are getting a feel for how our lives have been the past 10 years living in an RV and traveling most of the time, reporting to churches about our mission work.    They are finding out how to deal with maintenance issues and cold weather.    I'm almost afraid to ask for a review of their feelings about it but at the end of their travels in January as they return to the Philippines, I will get their input.   They will spend Christmas in the Corpus Christi area so they will have warm weather to enjoy soon and that will make RVing much more enjoyable.

Keep our family in your prayers for safe travels as well as our workers and mission work in the field.  Thank you again for following my blog, having interest in our work and for our family.   God bless!

It Isn't looking a lot like Christmas here!

It has been a productive week on the construction jobsite.   Ron has been too busy to write up the information but he says it is going well.   They moved a concrete block machine (owned by the construction superintendent) to the job site but they had to buy a transformer to boost the electrical power for the machine to operate.    They are ready to begin pouring concrete for the foundation. Ron has been busy getting funds into Thailand to pay the workers, buy the supplies and  now have funds to pay for the concrete.    We are limited on how much money we can bring into the country every two weeks but the job is progressing faster than incoming funds are arriving.    Ron is charging some materials, using an ATM and transferring funds through our minister in Bangkok.    Working in a foreign country brings many unusual challenges that would not be a problem if you were building a house in the U.S.

On a personal note, I have a bad cold or sinus infection.   Yesterday, a sore throat began and today my nose is a dripping faucet.   I have not been out of the room in four days or around anyone except Ron and he's not sick.    I have not been sick since last February but this one is trying to give me a rough time.  

In regard to the holidays, I know the countdown is in each home in the U.S. and the enjoyment and stress of the season are both there.    We see some decorated trees, wreaths and hear Christmas music in the malls as we walk through but it is not very overwhelming.   I don't think it is a very highly celebrated holiday.    I doubt anything is closed here on Christmas day.   I don't even think we are on Santa's route this year so I won't put out cookies or stay awake to see how he comes in our locked door.   There are no chimneys here in Thailand with it being a warm climate all year.  We've had some cool nights but the weather has been most pleasant.

I wish everyone a very happy and enjoyable holiday season.    It is a wonderful time for families to get together, exchange gifts, enjoy good food and time together.   I hope you are making memories and stay in good health.    May the New Year bring many blessings to everyone.

We are very blessed to have many wonderful friends who continue to contribute generously to help our work in Asia.   Even though we are not on the travel circuit raising funds, loyal contributors are keeping our bank account sufficient to carry on the work.   We are so grateful for each loving and generous person helping with our work.   Thank you!!!

Construction update

Our internet is very weak
at night but that's the only time Ron has to post an update about the progress of the work at the jobsite.   Maybe he can do that this weekend.  He can describe in detail the events of the week and where they are along in the construction schedule.   A lot of the terminology means nothing to me so I cannot adequately write about it.  

We are having nights in the 50's so it is chilly when he leaves for work.  He is leaving the room about 6:45 a.m. each morning and returning to our rented room about 5 p.m.   It is a long and hard day for him but he seems to be really enjoying it.  He says he has a good superintendent and excellent workers, both men and women laborers who do this kind of work all the time.   There is one couple who lives in tents and moves from job to job making about $25 per day for both of them working 9 hours each.  Can you figure out their hourly wage for this hard work?   It is about $1.30 per hour.    It is the going rate for the type job they do.     Workers take an hour for lunch and rest each day, just lying down on the ground to sleep and rest.   I pack Ron a sandwich, snacks and plenty of water and he has a chair to sit in when he is not helping.    Yesterday, he helped a woman with the rebar, a very heavy and hard job.  Ron is dirty and tired each night but he thinks he can continue to be on the jobsite until they get further along and he can be sure they are doing things the right way.    He does not want the building foundation to be inadequate as is found in many areas of Asia.    

Weekend in Mukdahan

Mukdahan, Thailand has approximately 67 million people.    This country borders Laos and the Mekong River runs through Mukdahan, a city of 40,800.   Thailand has a king but he is not a ruling authority and serves the people much as the Queen of England oversee Britain.   The country’s main religion or philosophy of life is Buddhism but it is not a religion that changes people’s lives in a significant way.   Neither is it a conflict with the Christian beliefs of others.   Although we do not see Catholic or denominational church buildings, we see many Buddhist temples.    Early in the morning (although we have not seen it in Mukdahan) monks are out walking in the streets begging for alms from the people.   They are given food and money and often sell the food and then buy whatever they wish.   They travel free of cost so many are on buses and in airports, going wherever they choose.    Shrines are often seen along the streets and in yards and plates of food are put out for the gods.    

The lifestyle in Mukdahan, a small city, is easy-going.   The people are not unkind or threatening to foreigners.   They practically ignore strangers but a few peasants stare at us, maybe never having seen an American before.

Yesterday, we went to Robinson, the largest mall here.    After enjoying pizza and ice cream, we went to buy a few things in the mall grocery.  

This is the mall where we saw the mini-zoo last week.    We heard Christmas music (in English) played throughout the mall and Christmas decorations, including large decorated trees were everywhere. 

Never, in America or any other country, have we seen such a beautiful display of food in this upscale market.   Many types of whole fresh fish, including sushi and tuna trays were on ice displayed in a very appealing way.     Fresh cuts of meat are also unwrapped and on beds of ice to put in bags with tongs yourself to be weighed and priced.   Fruits and vegetables were as beautiful as pictures…trimmed, washed and beautifully displayed.    The bakery would be my favorite place to work as every kind of bread and delectable treats are fresh daily.     The aisles are marked with both Thai and English and things are nearly on shelves.   There are so many brands of everything, it is very difficult to choose when you cannot read the labels.  

The best part of not begin able to read labels is not to know the calories or fat content.   We did get “low fat” milk and yogurt but other products are a mystery as to the ingredients and nutritional values.

We took a taxi back to our rented room.   Ron took a picture of the water control plant which is at the corner of our street so taxi drivers know to go there and then we can direct them to our apartment house down the street.

Ron needed a hard hat and some rubber boots for the job site’s work on Monday as they start digging the trenches for the house footings and foundation.     This morning, we walked to a store called Global, about a mile from our room, across a busy street.   The traffic is divided so we can go half-way across and wait in a wide media until the traffic in the other direction is clear so it was not hard to get across.

Global is a large building supply such as Lowe’s or Home Depot.   There are numerous young workers, including girls all through the store ready to help you.    There are building materials and supplies but also everything needed for a home, constructing, remodeling or updating.  There are household appliances of all types, dishes, towels, and supplies. Including furniture.    The store was extremely clean, well- stocked and attractively arranged.    

Ron is amazed that everyone wants to help us.   I reminded him that we are old and foreigners.   They know we need help!    Ron used his phone to say what he needed and the voice and written translation comes back clearly.    There was one item none of the clerks knew so they took us to the front desk and one of the ladies, perhaps a supervisor, took over and found a picture of the item on her phone but they don’t stock that construction item.    It is a cone to measure the concrete somehow so it’s probably not even used here at all.   This young lady spoke good English.   She had Ron complete an application for a card so he can get discounts on future purchases.    She walked us out of the store as a checker at the door checked the invoice against the items in the bag, but more thoroughly than you see a Walmart greeter.

We stopped on our way back at a small store along the street and bought a green tea, Pepsi and ice cream bars.   

Things are cheap here and the cost of living is also.    We pay $6 a day for our room but our landlady just brought us our utility bill for 13 days and it totaled a little over $4 per day, making our room total about $10 per day.    Most of the rooms in our building must be rented during the week by people who work here and return home to the countryside on weekends.    The parking lot is practically deserted on weekends.

In the Philippines, you can see older American men with a young Filipino wife and young children.    Ronald and Gigi have a joke about this saying, “How nice for the grandfather to take his grandchild to the mall.”    We saw several grandfathers at the mall yesterday with their Thai “grandchildren.”     These are retired men who have ditch a first older wife and married a young Thai wife for a laid-back inexpensive second life. 

We usually don’t check the weather because it is the same every day.  This is what they refer to as winter but it feels like summer to us.   It is in the 60’s at night and 80 to low 90’s during the day.  I did check it today and we have several cooler days next week.    We have not had any rain as the monsoon season has ended.

King will join us tomorrow in our room for the Sunday worship service.  Last week we attended the service at the safe house but we didn’t understand a word.   Two hours is a long wait when all we could do was read our Bibles.   King does not yet know enough Thai to understand the services so we will meet with him for the next three months and help uplift him spiritually.    He was not able to worship while in China so this time spent with Ron may be very good for King.  

At the safe house, everyone stays for lunch after the services.  I will have sandwiches, salad and fruit for us here in the room.    It may not be as good to King but he’ll survive sharing a simple meal with us.

Ronald and Gigi will attend services at Brown Street church of Christ in Waxahachie this Sunday.   Leigh Ann will continue to visit churches in the Clearwater, FL area to decide where she wants to place full-time membership.    We are so blessed to know our children are faithful and in services on Sunday.  

Wishing everyone a blessed weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is Thanksgiving eve in the U.S.A. but here in Mukdahan, Thailand the holiday is another day like any other.     

My day started with the rooster crowing and turning on the bedroom light, it revealed thousands of tiny black ants all over the fridge, floor, in the shelf where we have staple food and on literally everything in that corner of the room.    After an hour’s work, taking wet paper towels and destroying most of them, I was already exhausted.    It was 6 a.m.   


With the dawn of Thanksgiving Day, there are no complaints because we are truly thankful for the many blessings we experience each and every day.    The necessities of life have always been there for us, the love of family and friends and the beauty of life and things that surround us.    Who could not look at the beautiful world, avoid the evil that exists, and not see the hand of God?    How could the world sustain itself except that it has a maker who still rules the laws of nature?    When the sun rises here in Thailand, I know the dusk of evening is beginning in the U.S.A.   


I have no computer work today so I am listening to soft music on YouTube by Tim Janis and relaxing.  I’ve washed some clothes, checked to see if more ants have decided to come visit us and done a few other chores.   A one-room living quarters doesn’t take much upkeep.


Ron is on the jobsite from early morning until late afternoon each day to see that the workers are doing what they are supposed to do.   Yesterday, they completed the clearing of the site and piled the topsoil in a corner where they will eventually have a garden.  The soil is not good quality for growing things but they are burning the small trees and debris to add to the topsoil.  They are now compacting the soil and checking it for the future foundation of the building.  It is progressing quite well in spite of workers not knowing a great deal about good construction.   Ron uses his phone to translate and communicate with workers so that has to be a slow and often inadequate method of getting instructions understood.    


Ron said there is a small house on the property next to the acre we have to build on and he suspects the people living in the house are squatters.    He went over to ask if we could tie into the electrical for temporary power on the job site.   The man gave permission but said he would charge 1,000 bahts which is only about $33.00.   I’m not sure how long a time that fee covers.   Ron suspects, however, that they are illegally tied into the power system and do not pay anything themselves.


Ron is very tired at night.   He comes in dirty from head to toe.  After a shower and some dinner, he is ready to rest.     He has not had many emails or things to handle so he is resting a few hours with soft music before sleeping.


We wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.    Count your blessings at this holiday and every day.

Please continue to pray for us, the work in Asia and the girls we care for, as well as our family back home.

Good Monday morning from Thailand!

  Sunrise from our front door!

Street scene from our front door.

Good morning from Thailand!   We have sunrise about 5 a.m.  It is 5 p.m. in central U.S.A.  (Sunday night).    When our granddaughter, Tatum Dotson was about 5 years old and Ron was on a trip to China, she would see the sunset and say, "Pooh (Ron's grandfather's name) is waking up in China.   I think of that every morning and evening as I think of family and friends on a 12-hour different time schedule.

Ron is heading to the jobsite this morning because the clearing of the property is supposed to begin today.  I have packed him a lunch (ham and cheese sandwich, roasted sesame covered peanuts, brownie, banana and protein bar)...with a big bottle of frozen water!

Our nights and mornings are very cool.  (66 - 90) is the basic temperature at this time of the year.  We open the door to the balcony and sleep with cool air instead of using the air conditioner at night.  It stays cool until about 2 or 3 p.m. each day.    I've been told this is winter and the temperatures will not rise more until about February.    They have just completed the monsoon season but it already seems very dry.

An interesting weekend

There are many interesting things to see when you visit another country.    In Thailand, the driving is on the left but the driver's seat is on the right.   There are few traffic lights or stop signs but the courtesy is amazing.  Cars and motorcycles are merging in and out all the time.  You do not hear horns blowing or see anyone being rude.   People are patient and accommodating.   Here, the speed is not high around town but in Bangkok, they drive faster and yet, there never seem to be any rude drivers or horn blowing.   It is not scary.  In China, horns are blowing all the time and mean nothing because it is all around you and you have no idea why they are holding down on their horns.   Our room is on a side street and we thought it would be quiet but it connects to two main streets and there is a lot of traffic.   It is noisy at night with loud motorcycles.

There is a large number of dogs running loose.   I don't know if they are wild or owned by people and just roaming around.    We have packs of dogs fighting and barking loudly at night especially.   Controlling the dog population and having them contained in fences or on leases is really needed.

We went to a large mall on Saturday.   King went with us.   I asked him how he came up with the English name of "King."    He said he had an English teacher that told students to pick a letter of the alphabet and he would be assigned an English name.    He said he picked "K" and the teacher immediately said "King."    I told him I had hoped he picked it because of Elvis Presley, king of rock and roll.   He smiled and said that was another good reason.

We ate lunch at the mall's food court, but, unfortunately, nothing was in English so we had to point at pictures.   We didn't get what we wanted or expected but we made up for it by going to Swenson's (Ice Cream) where you sit down and receive a menu of their delicious treats.

A large crowd gathered in the center of the first floor of the mall where they had a mini-zoo set up with many exotic birds, fish and animals.     Baby bottles with food was sold to people wanting to feed the little pigs and even a pond of goldfish accepted food from the bottles.   There were huge owls and many exotic birds sitting around outside of cages.  There is no zoo here so the kids were really enjoying themselves.     See the huge snake around the man's neck.   Others had snakes too and you could pay to have your picture made with them.  There were so many people around, I could not get good pictures.

We bought post cards at a post office in the mall.   I will mail a few to people back home to see how long it takes for a post card to reach the U.S.

Today, we worshiped with our safe house girls.  There were about 20 in attendance.   They took notes during the sermon and after the service ended, Chern asked questions and the girls replied.   They were all focused and listening.

We stayed for lunch and tried to get to know the girls better.   It is so hard when no communication is possible.  They know how to introduce themselves in English now but understand very little English.  King is teaching English one hour every night and two hours on Saturday but it will take a while for the girls to become fluent in English.   King can communicate a little with Chern, the minister (houseparent) who was born here but his nationality is Chinese.   He knows a little mandarin. It is so hard when all we can do is smile and give some hugs.   I always thank them for the food and everything they do but I doubt they understand.

It is amazing to see King have so much self-confidence with so little knowledge of Thai.    He knows where everything is and led us to the supermarket where he shops for food.   The name is Makro and it is similar to Costco or Sam's.   They have membership cards for discounts but you don't have to buy one to shop there.    It is a very large, warehouse type building and the volume of products is huge.  There is one entire long aisle of coffee and coffeemate products.   We looked at laundry detergents and there are literally hundreds of brands, kinds and sizes of packages.   While it is interesting to shop, it is also difficult.

We took a taxi back to the room since we had so much stuff and they don't supply sacks/bags.    King had to walk from our place back to his room near the safe house.   I told him it was a good walk.   He said, "It's a piece of cake."    It is amazing that his English is so good and he knows expressions such as that.   We taught him English the 19 months he lived with us in the U.S.     I asked him if he thought Ron was a hard English teacher.   He smiled and said yes, but he was glad because he learned it so well.    He said he would never have dreamed that he would work in Thailand and become an English teacher.   Once he can communicate with the girls, he can also teach Bible lessons.   He completed two years at Four Seas Bible School in Singapore under English teachers and has a degree in Bible.    He said the prayers at the meals and the opening prayer in worship this morning.  His prayers are thoughtful and meaningful.    We are very proud of him.

Progress!

This was our first week in Mukdahan, arriving early Monday morning from Bangkok.    Ron has since hired a construction superintendent named Somnukbe, a member of the church of Christ who lives about a 3-hour drive away.   He will begin December 1st.  He will find a place to live and work during the week at the jobsite and go back home on weekends.   His son has just graduated from college with a degree in civil engineering.  He will assume the job of construction foreman.   Arrangements were made for temporary water and electrical service to the site.   They are taking bids on the site work to clear the land,   Everything Ron planned for this week was accomplished.  

Don't Mess with Texas!

The unusual popped right up again with Ron spotting this sign on the front end of a partial vehicle on the sidewalk of an auto parts store.   Wonder how that got here?  

We walked about a hour today to go to the Big C and Lotus shopping centers.    We didn't find the mall where we had pizza last year but Ron says we will take King with us and find it tomorrow.  The food court had traditional spicy meats and toppings for rice or noodles so we went to the famous KFC instead.    I had a fried chicken sandwich and fries and Ron had chicken nuggets and ice cream.

Ron is always happy to get ice cream!

We looked through the grocery section and saw many strange things but wonderful fruits and vegetables.    It is a store you would spend hours in just trying to figure out what everything is.  We then took a pedicab back to the room as we were getting pretty tired by that time.   

Temporary home away from home in Mukdahan, Thailand

We rented a room in this building for the next couple of months.    It is very plain but adequate.   We bought a microwave for $50 and put it on top of the fridge.   We will give the microwave to King when we leave.  We still have half of our stuff in suitcases on the floor but we will manage.   King-size bed with sheets and pillows; small wicker table and two chairs (where I am doing my computer work), a wardrobe and fridge.    The bath is O.K. but shower in one corner which is typical of baths in Asia with it all together in one room.

The side street is noisy during the day but it is relatively quiet at night.  I think these are all rooms and not apartments except for the lady and her husband who run the facility (and may own it).   She is 71 years old and speaks excellent English so that was a plus for us.   There is a TV but only one channel in Thai which is of no use to us.   The internet is included but it is weak and takes time to download.  The cost is about $6 per day so we could never beat this price.    It is as good as a hotel room without the frills and maid service.  There are many motorcycles here at night that indicates young men have rooms here and work during the day.    It appears to be very safe.

Dinner at safe house in Mukdahan, Thailand

Last evening, we had dinner at the safe house with the house parents and our girls in Mukdahan, Thailand.    King said the prayer of thanksgiving and thanked God for our safe arrival and asked for our success with the continued work in this city.

 These are some of the sweetest girls you can imagine.   They are polite, loving, and well-disciplined.  We enjoyed a delicious meal and watched King teach his evening English lesson.   I will post a few

pictures here because there are many others posted to my Facebook page.    Go to my home page on Facebook and view the photos.

Today, Ron continues to meet with contractors to find the best one to clear the site for construction.

Pictures of the girls in Mukdahan

Our girls in Mukdahan are living in a rented house with the minister and his wife but when the new facility is finished, they will be the first to have rooms there.  

The second picture is of King teaching English with a power point lesson.   Chern, our houseparent and minister of the church of Christ is on the right.   He is also learning English from King's lessons to the girls.

King is also mentioned in my Summer Travels blog in 2014.   Scroll down to the section telling about him going to Four Seas' Bible College in Singapore.   He graduated two years later.

Recovered from the travels and back to work!

We finally reached Mukdahan, Thailand yesterday but it was not easy.    We attended the services at the church in Bangkok on Sunday and left on a 9:00 p.m. overnight bus for Mukdahan.  There is no airport in this smaller town and no easy way to get here.   Last year, we flew to Vientiane, Laos and then took another flight to Savannakhet.   Having to go through customs and immigration in Laos, we had to go back into Thailand and go through customs and immigration again.  We took a bus for a shorter trip to Mukdahan.    We decided to try the alternative way to get here this year.   The overnight bus from Bangkok was a 24 seater with reclining seats...well, slightly reclining and the trip was a total of 9-l/2 hours. I did not have enough leg room and felt like a week old pretzel by the time we arrived.   Roads were so rough every few minutes we would hit a pothole that would loudly shake the bus.    It was another trip that never seemed to end.  

Chern (our minister and house parent) and King were an hour late picking us up at the bus stop after we arrived.   We first went to a small hotel recommended but it was very noisy on a main street.  They would not cut the price for a monthly rate so Ron decided to look elsewhere.     We went first to an apartment building and Chern and King went to check on an efficiency apartment or room.    Americans will be given a higher rate for everything.   They found a room but felt it was not the best we could do, so we went to a small apartment building and found the room we have rented.     I don't know if all in this building are rented rooms or if there are some apartments.   We are on the 2nd floor on the end next to a small side street.    It was very quiet overnight.

The room is basic...tile floor, king-size bed with sheets and pillows, wardrobe, small wicker table and two chairs and a small fridge.   The bath has the shower over in the corner but in the same room as the toilet and sink which is typical of bathrooms in Asia.   At least we have a commode and not a floor toilet as we did in most places in China.  We have TV but one channel in Thai.   We also have internet but it is slow.  Ron bought a $50 microwave that we will give to King when we leave.    We can eat out sometimes but find enough simple food at the market to manage for a couple of months.  The room has no frills but it is clean and adequate and the rate is $6 per day.  

We were exhausted from the bus trip so after we settled into the room and unpacked some of our things, we rested.   We were awake from 3 a.m. so maybe we will get our days and nights back straight tonight.   Today is the first day we have actually felt well and have a full day of work.

I am trying to catch up with my computer work again.  Ron is looking for a translator and a clearing contractor to clear the land where the next safe house will be constructed.   Once that is achieved, the wall around the property will begin to be constructed to secure the site for building materials.  When things are moving along, we will make trips to our two safe houses in Vientiane, Laos and Luang Prabang, Laos.     Ron is anxious to make the trip to Luang Prabang to distribute funds to flood victims.

Some of my readers do not know King.    He has recently come to work for SAS from being a director of an orphanage in China.    King lived with us in Georgia for two years and had skin grafts for burns (2005-2007).   He returned to China and became the director of the orphanage where he lived while he completed his high school education.   He accepted the director's job after completing two years of schooling at Four Seas' Bible School in Singapore.    Last year, King came to meet us in Bangkok and expressed his interest in leaving China.    The crackdown on religion is serious and Christians are fearful to meet and worship.    King is learning Thai with an instructor but serving as an English teacher for our girls at this location in Mukdahan.    He said he has a one-hour class each evening and a two-hour class on Saturday for the girls.    King has a loving heart and he will do a wonderful job being the English and Bible instructor after he learns Thai.  

As the week progressed, I will post more updates.

Arrived Safely!

It is Friday night in the U.S. but almost 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning in Bangkok, Thailand.   We are in the church's guest room until Monday.     We left Houston about 6 a.m. Wednesday morning for a short flight to Dallas.   At 10:30 a.m. we boarded our flight for Hong Kong.  

Good things:   the flight was on time and arrived on time - 16 hours 50 minutes.    It was the smoothest flight I can ever remember.    I am sure I could have slept if we had been blessed with seats in business class.   But it was a day when coach seats were not all sold out so with our buddy passes, we got the exit row seats.   This gave us extra leg room but our belongings had to be stored overhead.

Bad things:   other than the long time, we were near the toilet so people were constantly standing right near our feet waiting their turns.   It was also a gathering place for people to stand and talk, not to mention a location to do squats, leg bends, walk in place and Tai chi exercises.    We were also across from the serving area so there was a lot of activity and noise as the flight attendants served snacks, drinks and food.    We were on American Airlines and the food in coach was not good.

About half-way through the flight a lady sat down in the floor between our feet and the toilet and put a scarf over her head.   It was about 30 minutes before the head flight attendant came by and jerked her scarf off her head and told her to get up.   The lady said she was sick.   The flight attendant told her she had to go back to her seat; she could not sit in the floor.   The lady went berserk and started yelling that she was dying and no one would help her.  The flight attendant told her to get up and go back to her seat and they would get her something to drink and wet cloths for her face.   The lady still argued and sat there.   The flight attendant told her she would get the captain to make her get up.  After piddling around in her bag to stall for time, she finally got up and was guided back to her seat.
She walked back into the area a couple more times before the flight was over but never did cause any other problems.

We got to our hotel in Hong Kong after what seemed forever after landing.   I literally fell in bed and was asleep in 5 minutes.   Ron stayed up about an hour checking emails and making reservations for our flight on to Bangkok.  The next morning we got showers and had the best buffet breakfast I've ever had at the hotel before heading to the airport.    We arrived in Bangkok about mid-afternoon.

It is hot and humid.   I did not sleep well last night but we will adjust to the temperature and time soon and establish a normal routine.    We plan to rest through the weekend so we will be ready to start our work when we arrive in Mukdahan next week.  

We are thankful for a safe trip and for our health remaining stable.  Ron has a heel bothering him but he is using ice packs and hoping it is a temporary problem.

As our work begins in Mukdahan, I will give more details concerning our accommodations there and keep you updated on our schedule.    We are looking forward to seeing our girls there and King.

Have a blessed weekend.