Leaving Chiang Mai

Ron is finishing up his work in Chiang Mai.    The training of the house parents has been completed to the best of his ability using a cellphone to translate.   They have much to learn but it will be an on-the-job learning experience.   

Ron will be leaving on Friday to go to Mukdahan to visit the safe house we built there two years ago.    

When he leaves there in early February, he will try to go to Vientiane, Laos to visit  our workers there.   It is too hard for him to attempt trips to Nepal and the Philippines.   He hopes to return home by the end of February.  

I will post more as I have details of his travels to the other locations.

Have a good week, everyone and may God bless you.

January 16, 2022

Today, we are half-way through January, 2022.   The U.S.  has a major winter storm covering a large portion of the country today.   This storm brought a lot of snow to the southern U.S.  It has been raining and snowing off and on all day today with very strong winds.    We have no accumulation of snow in Woodstock, GA but many areas have been affected with power outages.   We have trees leaning from the strong wind.  The wind is not so strong now so the trees  may stand until Ron gets back home from Thailand and can get them cut down.    

The good news is they look like they will fall between the shed and the RV and are not leaning the other direction toward our neighbor's fence.   

My motto is to look for the good in every situation.  It will cost us to have the trees cut but it could be much worse.   We have big oak trees at the back of the house near the deck and  it is always a concern that they will fall on the house.  At least the bedrooms are at the other side of the house and there are no trees that could fall on these rooms while we are sleeping.  

Good news from Thailand.    Ron, Patinya (the church of Christ minister from Bangkok) and our house father met with the Thai government to get approval for the safe house in Chiang Mei.   The operation of the safe house is approved and we can begin to bring in girls to live at the new home.    

The little girl mentioned in the last post will not be coming.   An aunt stepped in the situation and will not let her relocate to live at the house.  It happens many times that a relative who never cares for a child, decides to come forward and object.   She doesn't really care for the little girl or she would have already been helping her.   Sometimes, the people are ignorant and do not understand why anyone would help a little girl without some strings attached.   They even think people might want to sell her.  Maybe in time, she will learn about the home and let her come later.   I think they have identified five other girls who need a home  Three of them are sisters without parents.   I don't know the particulars but I will post about them when I have more information. 

More good news on this day.   Three souls were baptized and added to the church in Nepal.   I don't think they are girls we sponsor but local ministers taught and baptized two girls and a boy this Sunday.   

This looks like a man-made baptistry rather than just a stream but I'm not sure.   I do know it is cold in Nepal and this young girl must be very cold with a wet dress.   How many Americans could we convert to being baptized on a cold day, in a cold, dirty stream?   It amazes me that the faith of these people is so strong they are unconcerned about the discomfort of the season and place but are committed to putting their Lord on in baptism without hesitation.

Ronald and Gigi have cleaned up most everything at the orphanage in the Philippines since Typhoon Odette hit on December 17, one month ago.   They are now replacing the front gates, the road to the property, the wall and tent structure.    The children are all doing well and very happy.   They know they are blessed.

We are all blessed.   I hope everyone will remain in good health and miss being sick (or at least very sick) due to Omicron.   On a lighter note, here's a test for COVID that might bring a smile to your face.

God bless my faithful readers of this blog!

It is downhill now

Ron thinks his time away from home is more than half-way completed.    He is living in the house with the house parents.   Ron is in the bedroom downstairs and there are five bedrooms upstairs.   He gave the house parents money to buy food on Monday when they moved in.   He eats simple but different meals from the house parents, although the house mother has offered to prepare his meals.  The main food for any Asian is rice and Ron does not want to eat rice unless he has to as he feels it has no nutritional value but high caloric content.

Ron says the house parents have no real work experience but they are very loving and kind-hearted and eager to learn to do the work with girls.    He feels they are grasping a basic understanding very well and they will grow with the work and do well, caring for the girls.

The first girl, Mee, eleven years old, is supposed to arrive on Friday of this week.   I understand her parents are in prison and she lives with an old grandmother who is an alcoholic.   She has to sleep with an older brother so she needs a safe environment and better living conditions.  The house parents know Mee so that will give her more security coming to the safe house to live.   

Ron will review the procedure for adding new girls and show them how to complete the forms we need  to assign Mee a sponsor.   Our translator, Phet, in Vientiane, Laos knows Thai so she will help with the translating.  There is one member of the church that knows English well and the house parents can consult with her for help also.  They know only a little English.   Ron is using his phone to translate as he instructs them on how to establish house rules and operate an orderly safe house for girls.

Ron expects to be there about two more weeks.   After that, he will travel to Mukdahan, Thailand.  

He built this two-story safe house there in 2020 but we had to leave before it was totally finished.  They completed one section of it for the girls we already had but when the pandemic hit Asia, the work did not continue.   The house parents and 9 girls live there but they have not been able to add more girls.   Portions of the house are not finished.  Ron will spend a week there to determine what more needs to be done to complete the building.  

The new Omicron virus has only begun to appear in Asia.   There are a few cases in Thailand, detected as tourists have arrived from other countries.   At this time, borders between Thailand and Laos are open but that could change any day as this virus spreads.  

Ron hopes to leave Mukdahan by the end of January and travel to Vientiane, Laos to meet with workers there.    

He will begin to seek airline reservations for returning home.   If this is possible, he may be back in the U.S. before the end of February.    

The work is going extremely well.   Ron is very pleased with the new safe house and eager to visit the other locations and return home.    Well, almost eager.   He is eager to get home but does not look forward to cold weather when he arrives in February or early March.   He has soaked up the warm weather and enjoyed it very much.    

Thank you for your continued interest in our work, for your prayers and support.   Have a very blessed New Year.  

A New Year has begun

We are thankful to God for the hope a new year brings.   Without HIM, there would be hope without His providential care and we know that is great.   We are thankful for life and health and all the many blessings we have enjoyed in 2021, even though there have been some very hard times.   

The typhoon in the Philippines gave us much anxiety but with lives saved and donations coming in for the restoration process, we are overwhelmed and very thankful.

The damages to the orphanage will add up even though a lot of the restoration process is just hard work for the workers.   The front entrance gate will have to be replaced and the concrete wall that broke down rebuilt to provide security for the children.    

Front entrance gates to Casa

The road to the property is being rebuilt by workers.  The drainage ditches need work to prevent future flooding.   The orchard needs work to prop up and save some of the trees.   The garden area has to be cleaned up before vegetables can be grown again.  The work that needs to be done everywhere is extensive but I know they are up to the task.  

Ronald and Gigi are thankful for the saving of lives, the ability they have to do this work and help those in their community.   They used some of their church donations to give food to the poor village near them to teach the children that Christians must share with others in need.    That are thankful for the donations that are coming in to pay for the cost of materials to restore the gate, the tent and other structures that were damaged.

Ron will close on the house purchase in Thailand soon.   The new house parents will begin work tomorrow and start training under Ron to understand their responsibilities as they assume the oversight of girls.   A girl in their congregation is being interviewed tomorrow by Ron and the house parents will see the procedure for accepting girls into our program.   He said the girl is 11 years old but she has to sleep with a brother who is grown up so this is not a good situation.    She needs another place to live where she is safe. 

Thanks to everyone for the many concerns, love, prayers and support in 2021.   We wish everyone a very blessed and happy New Year.