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.

.
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.

1. 
   

.

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.