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.

On our way to Asia for five months!

We are waiting for our flight to board for Hong Kong.  We leave Dallas at 10:45 a.m. this morning (Wed. 11/13).   We must be taking the scenic route!  The flight is 16 hours and 50 minutes.   Thanks to Jerry Cherry, AA pilot and minister at Red Boiling Springs church of Christ, we are flying on buddy passes.   We are listed as #16 and #17 (I think) on standby.   The lady at the AA counter said we should not have any problem getting seats.   We used to fly on employees' buddy passes to China and usually got business class seats because coach seats are sold first.   The business or first class seats costs at least $4,000 so we would never go this way without buddy passes.    We are hoping we get business class because this is a difficult trip, especially for old people.    Hopefully, we can get some rest on the flight with more leg room.

We arrive in Hong Kong at 5:44 p.m. which should be 5:44 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday morning.
We will sleep in the airport hotel and take the next flight to Bangkok, Thailand.   I don't yet know the schedule for the remainder of November.    Ron will get construction started for a safe house for girls in Mukdahan, Thailand.   With his construction background, he wants to be sure the foundation is prepared properly for this building that will house 60 girls.

Ronald and Gigi are secure in our motor home in Alvin, TX at this time.   We spent the last two days with them, teaching him how to drive a 38' motor home, hook up the car, and all the many things a person needs to know to operate this vehicle.    They are young and learned their tasks very quickly and Ronald proved to be a good driver.   Gigi was actively learning all of her responsibilities and duties and, as always, is a wonderful helper for Ronald.    They will be in TX visiting their supporters and raising funds until the end of January.

Our daughter, Leigh Ann, has moved to Clearwater, FL and is secure in her condo there.   Our granddaughter, Tatum will move to FL at the end of December.     This has been a very busy and active month with major changes in the lives of the Brown family.

I will post again when we arrive.   Please keep us in your prayers.  God bless you all.

Last leg of the journey before trip to Asia

Ron will give his last presentation for Save Asian Souls tonight at the church of Christ in La Vernia, TX.   Friday morning, we will travel to Westside church of Christ in Alvin, TX.   We will meet Ronald and Gigi Brown at the Houston airport Sunday afternoon.   They will use our car and RV for visits to their TX supporters while we are in Asia.     We will give them a crash course in RVing...but even after 10 years of full-time living and traveling in an RV, we still do not know it all.   There are always unexpected things that need repairing, travel adjustments and sometimes anxiety due to bad weather conditions.  

Ronald and Gigi had their grand opening on October 24th for Casa Esperanza of Angels, Tanjay, Negros Oriental, Philippines.   They have begun to admit children.  Their last six months has been extremely busy getting things ready for the opening of this orphanage.   They need a rest, but traveling in the U.S. and giving reports will be a change of location, but not much rest.

We will leave Houston very early on Wednesday, November 13th for Bangkok, Thailand.  

Please keep us in your prayers.    I will post as soon as possible after we arrive!