It is the afternoon of January 29th here in Mukdahan, Thailand. We will leave the room at 6:30 tomorrow morning by taxi to a hotel where we catch a bus to an airport. It should be about two hours to the airport. Our flight will take us to Bangkok where we will stay overnight in the guest room at the Bible school behind the church of Christ building. The next morning we will fly to Katmandu and hope to make the connection to a small plane that will take us to our base location in Narayangarh, Nepal. We are traveling light with only a carry-on bag in hopes to make the close connecting flight. Chances are planes will not be on time either coming in or going out so we will see how it goes. It would be great if the skies are clear and we can get a good view of Mt. Everest but it is usually covered in clouds. The mountains are really awesome as we fly over the rough terrain of Nepal.
We will only stay in Nepal about a week to visit with our workers and a few of the girls. We have 13 safe houses in Nepal, scattered over a very long distance. Travel to each is impossible in a short time with locations as far away as an 8-hour drive. We will meet with our workers to encourage them and go over things concerning the work in Nepal.
Ron feels that he must return to Mukdahan to oversee the construction of the building that is going up now with columns to support the second floor. The work is going well but there are always questions and they sometimes need his help.
It is supposed to be the dry season with rain coming again in May. It has been very dusty We have been here for a little over two months with every day the same - clear blue skies. Early morning temperatures are about 70 and the afternoons are in the 90's. We have been blessed with cooler weather this week. There have been quick hard showers at night for three nights. I did not hear the rain until last night and it was so loud it woke me up. There's a floor above us so it was not like hearing rain on a rooftop. This morning, the skies were dark but by 10 a.m. they were clear again. We've enjoyed cooler nights around 60 and days in the 80's this week. Construction workers have been very happy with the cooler days.
A number of the workers are from a town three hours' drive north of here. They are camping out on the jobsite with tents and lean-tos. They have a make-shift area where they cook, wash dishes and bath. There's no need for security guards or dogs with these workers there to secure suppliers and building materials They brought in a large concrete block machine and are now stacking up their own handmade blocks for the time when the walls will go up.
I think there are one or two women laborers and they work just as hard as the men, I mentioned in a previous blog that the average wage for this work is only about $2.30 per hour. The workers cover themselves from head to toe with a face mask, hats or scarves and nothing shows but their eyes. Apparently, this covering keeps them cooler and protects them from dust and other particles that could cause damage to their skin.
I will post pictures and an update about our visit to Nepal in about a week. Thanks for following our adventures in Asia.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Our noisy neighborhood
The only drawback to our room is the noise. The small side street is used all the day and night, which we did not expect. The traffic is worse at night with many motor scooters, motorcycles, cars and trucks. At night, they like to rev their engines as they go on the straight stretch of road by the building. Dogs run wild and packs roam and fight all night. There's never a dead dog on the streets. Loud music is always from somewhere around us. Sometimes, it is in our building but a group of young people in a building across the street stay outside with karaoke performances some nights until after midnight. The picture above is the rooming house where they live. I think they need to stay in school or keep their day jobs. They are poor singers!
Last but not least, we have identified a very loud noise as frogs from the pond, across the street. The pond is on the left in the picture. It is a holding pond of some kind for the Water Works Department that is up the street. It has only been a nuisance for about a week so I have decided there are at least 1 million frogs that have just hatched out in this pond. You cannot imagine how loud the noise is. Does anyone know how to go frog gigging? I don't know how we sleep but I get about 8 hours every night. Ron sleeps much less but he has always had a sleep problem. The very loud noises all night do not help whether you sleep well ordinarily or not. Ron tries to get a little rest at other times because he knows the place comes alive after 8 p.m. each night. One might think we lived in a night club district to hear the things going on all night. It gets quiet about the time to get up each morning and there is less traffic on the street all day. I have a quiet place to work each day.
Construction Update
Ron is going to the construction job site almost every day. Some days, he get back to the room by noon but sometimes he has to stay all day to be sure things are going well. Workers are very diligent but they have never cured concrete the way we do in the U.S. Ron is determined to have the best foundation possible for the building before we leave Mukdahan toward the end of March. He says it is going very well.
The building will have two floors and be in a U shape. Forms have been completed to pour the columns to support the second floor. They will begin pouring concrete, handling it by bucket, to make the columns on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 21-22. When completed, the entire second floor will house about 60 girls (8 per room). There is a guest room and bath and a house parent's room and bath. The first floor has the kitchen and classrooms. There will be a courtyard in the center of the U for them to meet for worship services until the front building can be constructed. It will be for the church and classrooms. The top soil has been placed in one area for a garden. Most days, there are 10 workers, several of them women. Wages are low for these hard-working people. I wonder what our politicians would say about a person working in the hot sun doing hard labor for about $2.30 per hour?
Monday, January 13, 2020
Hot Pot Luncheon
We had a wonderful time with TingNong Kronwika and her husband. They are such a nice couple and even though we communicated with phone translation, it was a great time.
He is our construction superintendent. NongTing keeps the records, receipts, handles the payroll and distributes the funds to pay for the building materials.
They both are diligent Christians and working hard to do a good job.
Ron wanted to show them his appreciation by treating them to lunch on Sunday.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Back to Thailand - another thing checked off our bucket list!
On New Year's day, we went to the airport and were able to change our tickets and fly back to Vientiane that day. We went back to the same guest house hotel we had before and rested on Thursday. Friday morning we caught a bus back to Mudkahan, Thailand. The experience on the local bus was so bad, Ron said I probably should not post about it. I told him I made up a list of my blessings as we rode the bus and I would definitely post them. When you think things can't get worse, remember that it definitely can. I thought the two days going to the villages was hard but if you want something a little worse, take a local bus for 9-l/2 hours. O.K. here goes my experience and list of blessings that I made while riding the bus:
The boy at the hotel desk arranged a taxi for us at 6:30 a.m. to go to the bus station 30 minutes away and not have to take a pedicab. Those guys charge more than taxis because they can without meters and you have to deal with the air blowing your hair and endure a much bumpier ride. We woke up at 4:00 and couldn't go back to sleep so we finished packing and went down to see if we could get an earlier taxi and catch the first bus out. They had arranged an "Uber" type taxi so the lady did not answer her phone and we still did not get to leave until 6:30. We were in the lobby from 5 a.m. to 6:30. But, it was a very nice car and we had a nice ride to the bus terminal. I should say bus station because I really don't like to think of it as a terminal. This one could have fit that description, however!
At the bus station, there was no bus with the name "King" that Ron had booked on-line and no one could read English on his computer confirmation. He has now gotten a refund for that bus that we did not take.
We got the last two seats on a bus to Savannahket (across the river from Mukdahan. I was beside a lady who took up part of my seat and baggage under my seat from the person behind gave my feet very little room. The bus stopped often and picked up more and more passengers so they put plastic stools in the aisle and then we were like sardines packed in this old bus.
In the bus terminal, I heard roosters crowing and then saw men walking through with boxes with holes in the sides that had roosters inside. I guess they were going to a fight somewhere and I crossed my fingers that they would not be on our bus.
As I sat in this cramped seat for 9-l/2 hours, I began to count my blessings. No matter how bad things are, it could be worse. This is the best way to accept circumstances that you have no control over but try to learn from your experiences. I learned that I will not take a local bus again unless its only a 30 minute ride. This has been checked off my bucket list.
Here is my "Thankful List for the bus back to Thailand"?
1. Had to wait for the taxi but it was a very nice car and my hair didn't get blown by riding in a Tuk Tuk (motorcycle taxi)
2. Got the last seats on the bus but didn't have to sit on a stool in the aisle for 9-l/2 hours.
3. Old bus did not wreck or break down. It blew the horn all the way just like they do in China as they pass people, cars and motorcycles..
4. Didn't have to go to the bathroom since the bus just stopped along the roadside and people went into the woods.
5. Didn't get sick from any disease and no one was rude to us.
6. Roosters did not make it on our bus (no ducks, chickens or other animals)
7. Small children were on the bus but none cried.
8. Lots of bags, boxes and other cargo loaded in baggage section (also two motorcyles) and on top of the bus but our bags did not get lost. We were the last off the bus and our bags were still there.
9. Bus arrived in Savannahket but everyone had gotten off at other stops along the way so they made us get out about 1/2 mile from the bus terminal because they had to go unload cargo from the top of the bus. We pulled our bags to the bus terminal after sitting for 9-l/2 hours and our legs still worked.
10. Had to wait one hour for the next bus to Mukdahan but they never took money from us for the trip.
11. Toilets at this bus station had commodes even though there was no tissue or paper towels.
12. No problems at the borders - departing Laos and entering Thailand - took time but no questions or problems.
13. Bus driver changed bags when the bus changed to another bus while we were still inside immigration so our bags made it again.
14. Arrived at the bus terminal in Mukdahan 12 hours after leaving the bus terminal in Vientiane but still able to walk.
15. Pulled our bags l/2 mile to Makro (the super market closest to our room because we had no food). The lady at the desk checked our bags while we bought the essentials for a few days. She called a taxi for us. The guards helped load the bags and groceries in the taxi.
16. We arrived at our room 17 hours after waking up in Vientiane. The day was as tiring and bad as the trip from the U.S.A. to Asia but it felt like home and we were safe. .
17. We could still walk and were alert enough to shop for a little food..
18. Had a clean, nice room to come back to and could go to sleep immediately without difficulty.
So, there were many positives and another thing checked off our bucket list. None of these things were actually on my bucket list, but I know how they are going to be something I want to do again. In fact, we've checked off quite a few things on our trip to Asia this year.
New Year's Eve 2019
We finished our last trip to the villages and found enough energy to walk back to our guest house, a few blocks away. Dirty and tired but safe. Ron said he would take Phet and me to a nice restaurant for dinner. We had eaten junk for days and almost nothing for two days on the trips to the villages. I thought I was too tired to go but I could not let Phet down so I got a hot shower and dressed in the last of my clean clothes. We began walking around to find a restaurant and I kept thinking we needed to find one while I could still walk. I have never felt so tired in my life. We walked to the corner near the market where a large set up was underway for New Year's Eve. Round tables were covered with white clothes, flowers were on each table and the tables were preset with some food and stacks of beer. We knew that was going to be the big bash of the evening so we kept walking down the street.
Soon we came to the White Elephant Hotel which we passed many times last year when we were in Luang Prabang. It is probably a 5 star hotel and they had tables set up on the lawn. It was a preset menu for the evening but not expensive considering the situation and our tiredness. I began to relax and feel less tired as we sat a few minutes.
We had dinner in courses and it was good except for Phet's steak that was tough. I gave her most of mine since we had plenty of everything.
There was live music and Lao dancers came out and performed some very smoothing and gentle dance routines. The weather was a little cool and they brought us blankets to put around us. It was a two-hour, very pleasant evening. Phet said she enjoyed it very much and so did we after two very difficult days. We walked back to our guest house and were sound asleep long before the new year arrived.
We had dinner in courses and it was good except for Phet's steak that was tough. I gave her most of mine since we had plenty of everything.
Our last village
By the time we got to the last village, my feet were dragging. I was actually looking forward to sitting in the speedboat for an hour. Yes, going down stream to Luang Prabang, it only took one hour but the ride was not smooth at all. We hit currents in the river,
wake from other boats and probably more speed to finish the trip so it was not easy sitting in the bottom of the boat with only a small cushion.
The last village was poor and we met with the minister and members upstairs in the room where they worship on Sunday. The climb up the hand cut steps was not easy...and I began to think going back down might be worse. The steps were almost pieces of wood and not even or smooth. At first only a few men came in the room. In a few minutes women started drifting in and sitting on the floor. Children started looking in the door and in a short while the room was packed. One mother nursed her baby right beside me and it was very natural for her to do so.
This was the only village where we saw a mentally-ill child. There was a girl, ten years old, sitting in the dirt at the foot of the steps. She was trying to talk but they said she cannot speak and she is blind. She was born with club feet so she was sitting with her legs and feet behind her. It was pitiful but there is nothing that can be done for her since she is mentally ill.
There were a good many who needed help and since this was our last village, we had held back enough funds to help most of them with what they requested. The need is so great and the number of people who need help is enormous when you add it up for all of the seven villages. And yet, no one got very much. When you have nothing and no hope until the next crop can come in, it is a lot to these people.
A widow's house ....
We left this village and made the hour trip back to the bank of the river in Luang Prabang very tired but thankful for a safe trip. Our task in this area was completed with this last leg of the trip to the last village.
We gave funds to help 56 families in need.
We ended up with enough for a bus ride back to Thailand but not much more.
wake from other boats and probably more speed to finish the trip so it was not easy sitting in the bottom of the boat with only a small cushion.
The last village was poor and we met with the minister and members upstairs in the room where they worship on Sunday. The climb up the hand cut steps was not easy...and I began to think going back down might be worse. The steps were almost pieces of wood and not even or smooth. At first only a few men came in the room. In a few minutes women started drifting in and sitting on the floor. Children started looking in the door and in a short while the room was packed. One mother nursed her baby right beside me and it was very natural for her to do so.
This was the only village where we saw a mentally-ill child. There was a girl, ten years old, sitting in the dirt at the foot of the steps. She was trying to talk but they said she cannot speak and she is blind. She was born with club feet so she was sitting with her legs and feet behind her. It was pitiful but there is nothing that can be done for her since she is mentally ill.
There were a good many who needed help and since this was our last village, we had held back enough funds to help most of them with what they requested. The need is so great and the number of people who need help is enormous when you add it up for all of the seven villages. And yet, no one got very much. When you have nothing and no hope until the next crop can come in, it is a lot to these people.
A widow's house ....
We left this village and made the hour trip back to the bank of the river in Luang Prabang very tired but thankful for a safe trip. Our task in this area was completed with this last leg of the trip to the last village.
We gave funds to help 56 families in need.
We ended up with enough for a bus ride back to Thailand but not much more.
Tik's village was our next stop
The boat ride was not very long until we reached the next village where Tik is from. She saw her uncle and brother. Her mother works in Vientiane, Laos and was not there. Tik lives with Chansouk and his wife and goes to school in Luang Prabang. She does not get home often with it being so far away so I know she was happy she could go with us. Tik is the second girl from the right. 
Last year this village requested help to build a toilet for the community. Below is the two seater they have constructed. They needed a few hundred dollars to complete it but that is all the assistance we gave this village this year. Tik's family are the only Christians (5 in number) and the village leader is from a denomination. The toilet is nice and will be of great help but the village is still poor just like all the rest. The houses and living conditions are the same.
Visit to Kham's village
As the boat slowed down and began coasting into the edge of the bank, I knew getting out of the boat like a lady would be impossible. It was up a sandy bank about 4 feet high so our workers got out and pushed the sand down with their feet to make a flat area to step out on but then it was a climb up the embankment in the loose sand. With help, I made it to the flat area.
What I didn't know was that there were a flight of steps ahead that looked like the great wall in China. Everyone but me, climbed the steps like a professional climber but I had to rest several times along the way. It was straight up with narrow steps and my stamina didn't hold out very well. One of the men came back down part way and held my hand for the rest of the way up. Half-way up, I took a picture looking back down so you can see that I'm not stretching the truth very much.
Her father is the minister of the church of this village. Ron saw Kham on his visit last year and was told that she was blind from birth. It bothered him so much because he thought her eyes looked like cataracts and he hoped it could be corrected. It took months for them to get her a VISA to leave Laos to go to Bangkok, Thailand to see about surgery. I think it was July when she had her surgery and it was successful. She is wearing large glasses and we don't know why but for whatever reason, she can see after the cataracts were removed. We have learned since that, although unusual, babies can be born with cataracts. Kham is going to the village school to learn to read and write. She can't go to school in Luang Prabang until the 5th grade so she will need to study hard and catch up to enter school there. I think she is about 14 but it does not bother her to be in the first grade.
They served us lunch but I was too tired by this time to eat much. They had sticky rice, stewed chicken and steamed bok choy. We saw many of their members and helped quite a few. Their village is just the same type buildings, without power. They are poor but happy to be Christians. They know there's a better life waiting for them someday.
Funds were given to those who needed help and we trust this minister to let us know if more is needed.
Our speedboat ride up the Mekong River
On Tuesday, December 31, we left early again to go to the villages upriver. We learned that it would be a five-hour ride on a typical boat. We secured a speedboat and driver for the day for the six of us at a cost of about $225 U.S. dollars. There was no way we could visit four villages if a boat took five hours each way.
We were a little skeptical about taking a speedboat for 1-l/2 hours vs 5 hours but everyone was willing to go. Everyone had jackets, scarves and blankets because the ride was cold...very windy and spray from the river keeping us cool. It was 57 degrees when we left and he sun was not out until we reached the first village. The river was rough through the busy area with the wake of boats stirring up the water and we were going up river against the current. Once we got away from the river traffic there were some areas of smoother riding but when we got to rocky areas there were currents and the riding got rougher.
We were a little skeptical about taking a speedboat for 1-l/2 hours vs 5 hours but everyone was willing to go. Everyone had jackets, scarves and blankets because the ride was cold...very windy and spray from the river keeping us cool. It was 57 degrees when we left and he sun was not out until we reached the first village. The river was rough through the busy area with the wake of boats stirring up the water and we were going up river against the current. Once we got away from the river traffic there were some areas of smoother riding but when we got to rocky areas there were currents and the riding got rougher.
I mentioned in a previous post that one of our girls from Chansouk's house went with us to her village. Tik is pictured below with Phet (our translator) before we left our guest house that morning. She had never been on a speedboat and Phet said she was scared when the riding was so rough. She and Phet sat on the front seat, Ron and I on the second and the two workers, Chansouk and Khumsing on the row behind us. It was definitely an exciting ride up the Mekong River. I was saying my prayer for a safe trip and wondering at the same time, "Are we taking this trip because of faith, doing the Lord's work, or because of stupidity?" I turned my concern over to God and tried to enjoy the views along the river. There are many interesting rock formations along the side and sometimes even in the center where we had to go around into the narrow passages where boats could travel. There were small villages and houses along the river bank and sometimes we saw water buffalo in the edges of the water. I kept thinking how different those houses look along the river in comparison to houses in the U.S. along the banks of rivers and lakes.
The fourth and final village on our first day
We continued to climb the steep mountain roads. I began to wonder how long it would take us to get all the way back to the river boat. The fourth and final village of the day had more Christians in need. See the beautiful tile floor in the room where they have worship services? These people are loving, dedicated Christians and they do not fear having services in their villages even though Lao is a communist country. They make every effort for the place of worship to be kept clean and ready for services.
Again, funds were given to a number of families to help them with their purchase of food. The old lady in the green shirt in the front of this picture is very old and her 12 year old niece takes care of her. Their house is the last one in this post. The front is woven bamboo pieces and the roof is straw. Ron had a picture of the inside of her house in his power point last year but we did not go inside on this trip.
Taking a boat back across the Mekong River to Luang Prabang after a very long and tiring day. I think the picture shows we were both having a bad hair day from the wind from our motorcycle taxi called a Tuk Tuk. But, we are still smiling, safe and wealthy after seeing how the people live that we have just visited. We were thankful for another safe day and happy, knowing the people had a brighter day because of the loving donations from Christians in the USA. Everyone was told to thank God and their fellow Christians for the help. They definitely were thankful. The third village on our first day
The third village seemed to be in less need than the first two but it is sometimes hard to tell because only a few people showed up to talk to us. The minister's home was nicer. Ron sat on the stack of comforters that they use for their bedding. The minister said their crops failed because of the drought but he had many bags of rice stacked up beside the fridge that he bought. We assume he had electrical power with the fridge sitting there. Many clothes were hung on the line at the back of the room as you can see in the picture. In fact, I don't think any of these villagers need clothing. They had many clothes on lines drying and in the houses such as you see here.
A couple of men and a few women came in but we did not see a crowd of people or a large village as in other locations. We gave some money to a couple of the people but did not give much assistance to this group.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
More villages to visit further up the mountains
As my readers can tell, I am not a professional blogger. I'm still learning how to insert pictures in the right places, make it appealing with spacing and information, but sometimes I have trouble. Please forgive me for anything that does not fall into spaces in the right way.
We continued our travels up and around mountainous roads after we left the first village on December 30. Every village was just a repeat of the first. Some were larger and had more people but the situation and stories were much the same. I think it was the second village where we found many people with medical needs. Most did not ask for help with food as much as they needed money to see a doctor. There were illnesses such as kidney stones, growth in a young man's throat, female problems and many other situations that needed medical attention. The hospital in Luang Prabang can't be very good and we doubted some of the diagnoses but traveling to Vientiane would be a major task for these people. It would require a long bus ride, overnight stays and more money to see a doctor and a large amount needed for surgery. Almost everyone had been told by a doctor in Luang Prabang that they needed surgery. We have also found that many times poor people are exploited by the medical system and recommended treatments and surgeries would not be recommended by reputable doctors. Several of the people said they had to go to the hospital every week for a shot or some kind of medical treatment. This is probably no more than putting a band aide on a medical issue and not solving their illness.
The more we saw, the
more depressing it got because we realized that thousands (even millions) that live this way in Laos and other Asian countries where there is severe poverty.
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