All set - Go!

The title is a little misleading.   We are getting ready to go to Thailand on November 1, 2020.  But, we have a lot to do in the short time left.   

Ron is busy getting the maintenance done on our Tiffin RV to try to get it to a lot for sale before we leave.  RV service places are totally busy and its hard to get any help to do the repairs.   He has a man coming here on Saturday to try to find the electrical problems not working.   He has a man here today washing it and getting part of it ready to paint.   He will have to get someone to help him with the canvas awning that needs some work.   

I have a dental appointment in two weeks to get some small cavities filled.   I had a tooth pulled about a month ago that had an infection under a crown for a very long time.  I thought I just had some gum problems but it was actually a bad abscess under the tooth.

We will try to clean up the back yard before we leave.  There are many limbs fallen from the trees but there is a burn ban on now.   In October, we can break up the limbs and burn them in a burn barrel.  We want to get the yard in a good shape before we leave because it will have to be left until we return in the spring.   We will try to get the young neighbor next door to rake leaves in the front yard but the back yard is just natural and we will just let them accumulate there.   

We will fly from Atlanta on November 1st.   Originally, Ron planned to leave on Nov. 11th but he changed the reservations so we can leave before election day.  We will vote by absentee ballot as soon as it arrives in the mail.   We plan to leave early just in case there are uprisings or riots due to the election.   We don't know what will happen if President Trump is reelected and we believe he will be.   The Democrats and organized movements such as BLM and Antifa may try to destroy our cities.  Highways, airports and such like could be shut down to prevent us from even getting to the airport.    

We will have a short flight to Dallas and then from Dallas to Hong Kong.   We will have one night in the hotel at the airport and the next day fly to either Chiang Mei or Lampang.   I'm not sure if flights are available to Lampang but that is where we will end up and stay for almost four months.    Chiang Mei, in northern Thailand, is a tourist area where many expats go to retire.   There are beautiful communities there where rent is very reasonable for extremely nice houses.   Lampang is about l hour's drive from Chiang Mei.   I saw a couple of YOU TUBE videos about this place but it is small and I don't think there's much to see or do there.   They have beautiful temples in Thailand but they are not of much interest to us.   I do enjoy the food so I hope restaurants are open and the markets will be good.

I hope we will be in the hotel in Hong Kong on election night so we can watch the outcome on TV.

The virus was very light in Thailand and we are safe there but may have to quarantine 14 days upon arrival in a hotel.    Thailand will start issuing 90 day VISAs in order to get tourist back so we will apply for the VISA so we will not have to leave the country every 30 days, as before.   This 90-day VISA allows us to renew it again twice (1 month each time) which will allow us all the time we need.  Ron hopes to complete the house construction early in March so we can return to the U.S. 

Due to the Coronavirus restrictions, we may not be able to visit any other country on this trip.   There is still a shutdown in Nepal to some degree and the border between Laos and Thailand is still closed.

Cooler weather came to North Georgia this past week.    We had 50 degrees this morning.   We are not far from the North Georgia Appalachian Mountains.  This is probably a temporary cool spell and there will be warmer days in October.

We will miss Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays again.   I loved these celebrations every year with family and friends but since we went into the mission work, it has not been the priority of our lives.  As our children went their separate way, it was not the same if we had to spend the holidays at home alone.  We remember Tatum's birthday on December 22nd (our granddaughter) each year as she was the best Christmas present we ever received.   

September is a bittersweet month but mostly sweet.    Both Leigh Ann and Ronald had birthdays in September.   They are both such a blessing to our family.  Their births are vividly remembered each year and each day of their lives is a blessing to us.    I honestly do not know what I would do without them.  I thank God for giving us these precious offspring.

Ronald and Gigi are celebrating a 9th wedding anniversary tomorrow and through the weekend for a short getaway to a resort in the Philippines where they got a 50% off rate.   We could not ask for a sweeter daughter-in-law.   Gigi is precious to Ronald and to us.  I told them this week that I think God gave each of them to the other as a special gift from Him.  The chance of their meeting just had to be made in heaven.  

My mother died in September and after 37 years, I can vividly picture that time with her and her funeral as if it was yesterday.   We never forget our mothers.   I am always thankful for the life she gave me, the love and protection she extended to me and the teaching she gave me.   The loving care of a Christian mother is priceless.   There was never a time, not even for a minute, that I did not know that she loved me and thought I was one of the best things that ever happened in her life.    My Dad died when I was 3-l/2 and she always told me God sent me to keep her from being so lonely in life.    I miss her and cherish my heritage.

Keep us in your prayers as we continue our daily work with Save Asian Souls and Philippine Mission and prepare for the long trip to Asia again.    I will post another segment as things progress and I have more information to share.  God bless you all with good health and many continued blessings.

God is good and life is enjoyable!

Ron and I are doing well and isolating ourselves as much as possible due to an upsurge in the coronavirus in Georgia the past few months.   Since moving into Ronald and Gigi's house in Woodstock, GA, we have been very busy getting straightened out, doing minor repairs to the house, working in the yard and keeping up with our computer work for Save Asian Souls.

Our daughter, Leigh Ann, came up to visit from Florida over a long weekend toward the middle of August.   She went through some things she left here when she moved to Clearwater, FL last October.   We got to keep and use some of her things, she took a carload back with her and stored other things in the basement to get later.   We have a very nice, livable place to enjoy with a wonderful bird sanctuary in the backyard.    A snake appeared in a brush pile last week and we think it got our favorite little chip monk.   The birds and chip monks put on a show for us right outside our breakfast room window as they fight for positions on the bird feeders and bird bath.   They really enjoy the free food and water.  I will research to see if I can leave a suet ball for them to enjoy this winter when we are gone.    

We have enjoyed a rather nice summer and have not used any air conditioning.    This past week, we have slept under a light blanket at night.    We are enjoying 80's during the day and 60's or low 70's at night.   Fall is in the air but no leaves are falling yet.   

Ron has made reservations to return to Thailand on November 11th.   If we are able to get back into Thailand as the virus is still an unknown at this time, we will return to Mukdahan for a short time for Ron to get someone to complete the construction work left undone on the house we built there this past year.   

The house is more complete now and they have nice gardens producing vegetables on the sides of the house.   The girls are learning to garden and grow much of their own food.  

From there, we will then go to Northern Thailand where Ron will build a smaller house on church property.  It will house about 24 girls.   We anticipate taking a side trip to Laos to meet with our workers and renew our VISA to get back into Thailand for the last month.    We hope to return to the U.S. the second week of March, 2021, God willing.

We do not think we will have sufficient time to go to Nepal or the Philippines this year.   The house our son (Ronald Brown) has constructed for us on the campus of Casa Esperanza of Angels in Tanjay, Negros Oriental, Philippines is almost ready for occupancy.   They are finishing up the final touches and building the bunk beds for the girls.    

A Christian couple working part-time at Casa to relieve the house parents, have agreed to be over the SAS house of girls.   He is on the left in the white shirt and his wife is in black in the center of the back row.   Our son, Ronald, is on the right.

The new house parents have two teenage daughters.   One is a Christian and both girls will be great examples for the girls we support.   

Casa took two older girls in about two months ago when a Catholic girls' home closed.   These girls (top right on the back row) will move over to the SAS house and be our first two supported girls. 

In the Philippines, they also have a large garden underway and the older children learn all the aspects of gardening.    They are being taught many practical things that will help them when they are adults and must take care of themselves.  They are all receiving schooling and attend classes every day at the orphanage during the coronavirus shutdown of schools.    

Surplus vegetables (more than the children and workers of Casa can consume) will be given to the community that surrounds the orphanage.   

As soon as the virus ends and the church can open up to community services again, it will be helpful to have established a good relationship with everyone due to the good food program.   Christians are generous to help others and it is a valuable lesson to teach others and our children growing up in our care.