Pictures taken by TG of the progress of the painting

 Here are additional pictures of before and after of the house   There is a significant difference!

Progress on the work at the safe house

 We went to the safe house Saturday morning to check on the progress and to pay the workers for the week.   The painting continues outside and inside.    We had thunderstorms two afternoons which caused some delay in getting the outside painting done.   The man who is also the carpenter, is painting the outside while his wife and daughter are painting the inside.    He is now working from a scaffold on the second floor on the left side of the house.    He expects to get the painting done within another week.

This is a very hard-working man.   He can do many things from carpentry, painting to drainage work.  Although he is not a professional at these jobs, he knows how to do many kinds of work and he is very diligent to do the best he can.  The quality of work in Asia is not like in the U.S., but it is acceptable here and especially for a 40-year-old house that has been neglected for many years.   

When the electrician wires the house, some lines will have to be put in conduit along the walls, but they can be painted when he completes his work    He has not even started as there are no 3-phase lines run outside in this area.   The house is outside the city limits of Udon Thani, but the electrician is working with officials to get the lines installed to this area.   When that is done, he will begin wiring the house. He said it would take about two weeks.  The electrical will cost almost $3,000.   The cost of paint has been high also as the old wood is soaking up paint.  

More purchasing of supplies, equipment and furnishings were done this past week. 

A fridge and bunk beds were purchased, and pricing was checked at different stores for other items to be bought soon.    

When the painter is finished outside, he will begin work on the drain.  Large drainage pipes were delivered for the French drain that will be done on two sides of the house to prevent flooding.  

The drop ceiling in the kitchen is complete but lighting still has to be installed when the electrician begins his work.  

The inside painting is really brightening up the rooms.   

Ceiling of living room being painted.

The iron work on the windows is being painted black with a small brush so it is tedious and time-consuming work.   

The ironwork on the upstairs windows has been removed for safety purposes.  The girls could go out the windows and onto the roof that is not too high for them to escape a fire.  

The full weeks' work for these three people was about 29,000 baht equals about $800 U.S.  This did not include TG's salary and mileage on her car.  The total weeks' salaries for four workers were about $1,000 U.S.  They worked very hard, but these are good wages for them, and they are grateful for the work   TG keeps track of everyone's time and figures the wages of each job at the normal rate of pay.    

Thanksgiving In Thailand

When we were working in St. Bart, French West Indies (island in the Caribbean) there was one French restaurant that prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal for tourists.   I think it was good but still no family means a less happy occasion.   

This year, we decided to go to the Central Plaza mall here in Udon Thani, Thailand and find a good restaurant for lunch.   The last time we were at the mall, we saw this restaurant that looked really good, so we decided to try it.   

They had a place to check a person for fever at the door, the first I have seen since we arrived.  Ron said every business had them operating in Chiang Mai, Thailand last year.   We see everyone wearing masks, but I think most cases are in other cities, such as Bangkok.   

I asked the waitress to take our picture, so this was made while we were waiting for our food.   

Ron ordered salmon in garlic sauce since salmon is his very favorite.    We also got fried shrimp with coconut flakes.   These were pieces as long as your hand and not at all like our shrimp (but I see regular shrimp here in the markets too).  

The fried rice and mixed platter of vegetables were delicious.    We had hot green tea to drink.   It was very delicious.

Our food was brought out from the kitchen by a robot and when it stopped at our table, the waitress appeared to put the food on the table.   It said something, but of course, we didn't understand it.   

After lunch, Ron had an ice cream sundae at Dairy Queen which was right outside the restaurant in the mall area.   

The mall is decorated for Christmas but not nearly as much as we find in the U.S.    Thailand is primarily Buddhist, so Christmas is not celebrated here to any large degree.   

A storm came up before we left, and it had gotten darker, so the lights came on the large Christmas at the main entrance to the mall.    

We shopped at TOPS market, which is in all Thailand malls.    It has many specialty items and everything in made to look so appealing.   It is expensive so we shop for items we cannot get elsewhere.

We had trouble getting Uber to pick us up to take us back to the condo as they claimed they could not find out application.   An Uber taxi took us to the mall a few hours earlier, but the lady said we had to file the application for an account again.   In the meantime, TG called to see if we were back at the condo.  When I told her we had trouble with Uber, she said she'd come get us.   I told her she was our #1 Uber driver anyway.   Before we came to Thailand and she began working with us, that is what she did for her living.   She said her worst time of driving was from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. because she had to take a lot of people home that were drunk.  She said being registered with an Uber company made it a little safer since they can trace people easily from where they are picked up. 

Anyway, Thanksgiving was good even without turkey.   We just missed our family very much.

Arrived three weeks ago today!

Can't believe it has only been three weeks since we got here.   We have gotten so much done in this short period of time.  And, it already feels like home since we know how to get to the mall, the open market and grocery near us.   When driving to the safe house and back to the condo, I recognize the route.  These photos of Ron and me at the safe house were actually taken the 2nd day we arrived.    TG took us to see the house the first thing the next morning.   We are smiling so we don't look nearly as tired as we felt.   

On Sunday, we went to the church with TG.   It is a small group of Christians, about 15 in number.  Before services started, a rice harvesting machine was cutting the rice in the field very close to the church building.  By the time services started, it had moved to another section of the field so we could hear.  But, hearing, we could not understand the services or the people.  Everyone wanted to communicate with us so much, but we could only smile and speak.   A few hugged us and we felt very welcomed.   After the service, there was a fellowship at the back of the building.   The pews are wooden without cushions, so we had a little trouble with our bad backs on the hard seats.   

The girl in the middle with the white shirt is TG (our translator and worker to renovate the house).  

Pat with a sweet sister after church.

Two more sisters at church.

The past two Sundays, we have stayed in the condo and watched services on-line.    Each Sunday, we sign it to hear sermons at Willow Avenue church of Christ in Cookeville, TN, Red Boiling Springs church of Christ in Red Boiling Springs, TN (our sponsoring congregation) or Brown Street church of Christ in Waxahachie, TX (a supporter of our work).

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.   In spite of the liberals who hate this holiday, I hope millions will enjoy this special turkey feast and thank God for all of the many blessings we enjoy each and every day.

It will not be a holiday in Thailand, but we are thankful for many things.   Our family is well in three different locations.   Even with inflation and troubles of the world, we have everything we need and more blessings than we can count.

May God bless you all with many blessings and good food on this yearly feast to celebrate family and blessings from God.  

Progress continues on house renovation

Today, we went to DOHOME, the home supply place that is 3 times the size of a Home Depot.   After picking up supplies, we went to the safe house under renovation.   The carpenter who is also doing the painting is making good progress with his wife putting on the primer coat of paint on the lower part of the house.    

The painter was on the 2nd floor preparing any rotten wood and sanding areas that need to be cleaned before the upstairs section can be painted.  He will need scaffolding to paint the left side of the house.    Painting the second floor is not easy with the metal roof around the front, one side and rear of the house.   The painter was watching where he stepped today to be sure he was walking on the beams.  Painting around the numerous windows will be tedious work.

He has installed the grid for the drop ceiling in the kitchen and has that job about completed.    I noticed that there are two different kinds of tiles in the kitchen and dining areas.   

Ron and TG are getting the exterminator to come tomorrow to get rid of termites.   

The electrician says we have to upgrade to a 3-phase electrical system as the old wiring is inadequate for the house now.  He will begin work soon as they have to get the meter installed and the electrical supplies purchased. This will a major expense. as he has to rewire the entire house. 

Unfortunately, the lines will have to put in a conduit installed on the wall as he cannot rewire the house with lines in the framework as done originally.   The conduit is painted along with the walls.  

This is commonly done in Asia.

Ron explained to the translator what has to be done to the drainage around the house to prevent flooding.  

The thin concrete walkway along the back and side of the house will be broken up, a ditch dug and a French drain system installed to take the water that falls from the roof to the drainage area at the street.  This will take time and skill as more concrete will be poured on an angle and drainage ditches slanted for maximum drainage purposes.  There is a drainage pipe on the left side of the house near the wall.  It is apparently stopped up with debris so it will need to be opened and cleaned out.   

The flooding and electrical problems are the really major things that need to be done.   The house outside will be painted, and two coats of paint will be put on the inside walls after the electrician finishes rewiring the house. 

Some more pictures of the housemother's room, office area, bath and door to carport view.  

We discussed removing the wrought iron window guard from the backside windows upstairs in case the girls need another way out of the house in case of fire.   It the stairwell is filled with smoke, and they cannot get downstairs, they will go out the upstairs windows and go down the metal roof.   TG showed me a ladder they can install on top of the roof from the windows on one side.  The girls can go down it and drop off the roof which is not too high on the back.   Thanks to our son, Ronald, who mentioned having bars on the upstairs windows could be a fire hazard for the girls to escape.    

We came back to the condo for Ron and TG to go over materials needed and things they must do next.  I prepared lunch for us and began on my own computer work and the day is almost over.

Wishing all of our family and friends a HAPPY THANKSGIVING on Thursday.

Additional information and pictures of the new safe house

 

Here are more pictures of the safe house in Udon.  I forgot to mention that a suspended ceiling will be installed in the kitchen where only the tin roof and beams are now exposed.   They will install good lighting as the kitchen is now very dark and dreary.   The large dining room area is part of this large kitchen space so the girls will have plenty of room to prepare food and eat in this nice area of the house.

There are at least three banana bunches growing but still green.   I hope some of the workers will not cut and take home a bunch so they will be ripe by the time we get girls living in the house.   There is one coconut tree that is a problem because it is too tall to harvest the coconuts and they could fall on someone’s head.   When they were clearing off the area, many old coconut shells from this tree had to be put in garbage sacks to haul off.   There are five mango trees that are not in season to produce fruit at this time, but they will provide delicious fruit for the girls.   Ron intends for them to plant papaya trees as they will produce in a few years and are very delicious and nutritious.  

There is a lot of garden space.  At the safe houses where they grow vegetables and have fruit, our cost is much less.   The girls also eat better having more variety in their diet.   It is good to teach girls how to plant and take care of plants in a garden for their own future use.    No one has to be hungry when times are bad if there is land to grow food.   In past years as we traveled in China, we saw that they planted vegetables all along the banks of the highways.   No land went to waste that could be used to grow food.

This is the left side of the house.   The girls' rooms are all upstairs and the house mother's room is downstairs at the end of the carport.  The house will be painted white inside and outside.   It will give a fresh new look to the house.   The block wall around the property will be painted, if we do not run out of money on this project.   That will be the last thing to do.   It would also freshen up the entire property. 

The gate will be locked at night for security.  Here is the narrow street in front of the house.   The school and shopping areas are only a few blocks away from the house.  

When we finish the house and have it ready for girls, the house mother will need to be trained on how to find and interview girls for acceptance.   She will need to k now how to care for them, establishing rules and a regular routine.  We are preparing the job description now in order to help her provide a good home and a great opportunity for the girls who will come to live here.  She will need to know how to send reports to us for the sponsors, how to maintain a budget and provide a balanced petty cash report each month.

I really hope TG will accept the job.   She is learning now how to secure the best prices for items needed to remodel and furnish the house.   She is maintaining a computer itemization of things purchased and the cost, so she is learning the business side of running a home now.   

She is very skilled in technology so she can teach the girls how to use the cell phone to their advantage as well as computers.   The future depends on everyone having good skills in technology and these poor girls would never have an opportunity to learn these things without the advantage of an education.

One of the church leaders is a very good Bible teacher.   He and his wife would be considered for the houseparents’ job if TG does not accept it    Within the past year, this brother fell from the roof of either the church building or his house.  He is now paralyzed.   He in a wheelchair but continues to lead in teaching classes and preaching.    He would be limited as a housefather and most of the work would fall on his wife’s shoulders.   She would really have to depend on the older girls helping with the housework and garden work.  In any event, he will be good to teach the Bible to the girls.

There is no need for heat or air conditioning.   Some nights are cool, but a comforter is enough to sleep warmly.   The windows all have screens so they can sleep with windows open and not worry about mosquitoes.   There is a rainy season in our early spring in the U.S.   When we were in Mukdahan, Thailand three years ago, I think they told us they had rain in April and May.    

People dress modestly here even in 90-degree weather.   Many ride motorbikes so they wear jackets or long-sleeved t-shirts.   Everyone is clean and dressed nicely.   We mostly see young people.  I guess old people mostly stay at home.   We do not see anyone out that is close to our age.   Everyone has a cell phone and those with cars have the latest models.   People do not appear to be suffering economically here, but yet there must be poor people as in every country.   We mostly see the people going to jobs and shopping.   

There are few taxis and not many of the local type of motorcycle with seats' taxis.    Uber is the way to go.  It is easy by downloading it on your phone to call them.   Ron set up an account and they charge our credit card for each trip.  He does have to have the right change to pay drivers.   He types in where we want to go, and they can tell from the call where we are located.   He gets a message back saying how long the wait will be and the type of car and tag number.   I saw a message on his phone saying if the wait was more than 10 minutes, a free coupon would be given.  When we get in the car, the driver already has his cell phone GPS set for our destination.   It is very inexpensive and quick.   Most speak a little English or use the translator on their phone to ask a question.    Modern technology has certainly made trips to foreign countries much easier for us.   

I will keep posting blogs about interesting things about Thailand.   If you are only interested in the progress on the house, you can simply look at the pictures I post.

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.    I will surely miss this holiday but hope you have a great one.   May God bless all of you.

 

New safe house under renovation for girls in Udon

Yesterday, I went to the house to take pictures.    Our translator TG (Tao Gieo), took pictures and sent them to Ron's phone.  Ron will never find time to download them and forward them to my email, so I decided to take my own for the blog.  It was in the 90's yesterday (as it is every day).  There is one plastic lawn chair there so Ron and I took turns sharing it when we got tired of standing or walking around.   

I will describe the house first and then add the best pictures.  The house is 40 years old.   It has a metal (tin) roof, and it is in excellent condition with a leak in one area.   The neighbor says the house floods during the rainy season as it is low and flat.   With a concrete block wall all around, there is nowhere for the water to drain.   The neighbor has a tractor and other equipment, and he will work with Ron to create a drainage ditch around the property so they can direct the water from the house to a drainage area.   Ron sees some termite damage and it will be treated by a termite specialist.  The electrical system is very old and perhaps needs more voltage.   An electrician will be working to restore it to a safe condition.  

The house has tile floors in the entire main level.   It is not the color or the tile I would have chosen, but it is in good condition.   The wood stairwell and floors on the 2nd floor which will be bedrooms for the girls, are wooden and lacquered and in good condition.   The walls are concrete.   The windows have screens and wrought iron safety guards on all of the windows (even on some upstairs 2nd floor windows).

Under the eve of the house, the wood has rotted on the backside of the house.   It is being replaced and all of the exposed wood around the roof edge and the beans underneath the carport area will be painted.

The carpenter is already working on these things and some women are cleaning windows and areas that will be painted.  The entire house will be painted on the outside and inside.   

The kitchen needs shelving or cabinets above the sink and countertop to hold dishes and staple foods.

Some doors need to be replaced and one door facing in the kitchen has rotted and has to be rebuilt.    

Ron and TG have priced the various materials at home supply stores and compared for the best savings.  They are picking up supplies for the workers.   Large things will be delivered.  They have priced and will choose furniture for the living room, dining room, housemother's room and bunk beds for the girls' rooms.  A fridge, cooking burners, and many kitchen items will need to be purchased along with bedding and towels. There is a lot of expense in just the furnishing of a house that will be comfortable for 20 girls and a housemother.

TG is 36-years old, single and a strong Christian girl.    She knows our workers in Laos and the minister in Bangkok.   She has been working as an UBER driver, but she's devoted all of her time now to helping Ron with this house renovation.   She is an excellent driver.  Driving is on the left side here, but everyone drives slowly and courteously.  There are many motorbikes, but they don't even lock them when parking.  TG is very smart, and her English is better than average.  She and Ron use their phones with the translation app, and they do very well together.  She does not know construction materials and that takes time for Ron to explain what they need to price and purchase.  It is rather complicated to someone who has never dealt with these items.  She helps him with the banking and currency, setting up accounts at the stores to get discounts, etc.  Since we have not heard much English spoken here, certainly much less than in the other cities of Thailand, TG is greatly needed and appreciated.

I am not concerned about Ron with TG helping as she is very caring and takes good care of him.  She knows what to do.  She is communicating well with Ron to carry out the duties of supervising the work. She has expressed some interest in becoming the housemother for the girls and we are in favor of that.  With this possibility in mind, I think she is paying a lot of attention to the work and knows exactly what is needed in the house.   I believe she does an excellent job of whatever she chooses to do.

If anyone has questions, please send me an email to patbrown10@gmail.com.

Here are the main photos.   I will post more in upcoming blog posts.   It will be interesting to see how this house looks when completed.    I should have posted in reverse order as the front of the house is the last phone.    I think you can see what a spacious and good house this will be when painted and cleaned.

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