The painting of the house will be completed this week. The outside was finished at the end of last week and the work inside continues. There are many windows in the house.
This is great for wind flow to keep it cool but time-consuming to paint the windows and the trim, in addition to the metal ironwork. It is beautiful so we have left it on all the windows even though it is not really needed for security.
The electrician says the rewiring will be completed by the end of December That will almost complete the work inside the house. There is still much to be done outside with the drainage ditches, yard and garden work.
Yesterday, we went to the VISA office to extend our VISAs for another 45 days. After January 15th, we have to leave Thailand and return to start another tenure here. Ron's passport is out of pages, so he had to send it to the U.S. Embassy today in Bangkok with an application to request a new passport. The embassies used to add pages, but they said they will not do that any longer but promise to issue a new passport within 30 days. We are surely hoping that is true and Ron will receive his back before January 15th.
The VISA offices are racking up a lot of money as they renew passports for the "grandfathers." That is what we call the old men who come here and take up with Thai women. They are like a swinging door going in and out of the VISA offices to renew their VISAs for another 45 days. We call them grandfathers as they are usually twice as old as the women. This is almost as bad as trafficking even though these women willingly accept the offer to take care of an old man in desperation for a better life. I think they are expecting these men to die soon and leave them a fortune, but I seriously doubt that will ever happen. They are using the women as slaves/prostitutes.
Ron and TG bought a lot of things for the house today Ron said it bothers him that people may consider him one of the "grandfathers" on these buying sprees. They probably think he is building a house just for TG. She is 36 and about the age an old man of 85 would choose for his companion. The problem for me to go with them is the long hours of waiting and walking in the stores without anywhere to sit. After about 4-6 hours of trailing along behind them as they purchase things, my back is killing me.
They have purchased bunk beds and the mattress pads for the beds (not really mattresses as we know them), lockers for them to use for their clothing and personal items for privacy. The girls will have a plastic bin underneath their bed to store their underclothes and t-shirts. Today, Ron purchased a washing machine. Girls will still handwash their underclothing and small items, but they will use the washer for heavy clothing, sheets, towels, and blankets.
Speaking of blankets, yes, they are needed before morning at this season of the year. It is winter here! It was 68 this morning and the next week's forecast had one morning in the 50's. The afternoon temperatures are in the 80's. I'm not sure how long this cooler weather will last. The Thai people wear jackets and sweaters but many of them ride motorbikes and it is chilly weather to them.
Some friends are coming in on Friday from Ft. Smith, AR, traveling with some of their friends. They have done mission work at this small church for more than 20 years. They have a revival scheduled this weekend. The meeting will start Friday night, continue all day on Saturday and end on Sunday.
TG told us the minister from Bangkok is bringing some from his Bible school students to do the cooking. This small church is in the middle of a rice field and very primitive, so they have no kitchen. They have a shed where they wash the dishes after a fellowship. I imagine they will bring grilles to do the cooking. TG said they will serve breakfast about 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. She said they will prepare non-spicy food for the American visitors. I am more concerned about the food not being refrigerated during the day on Saturday. Ron and I may take our own lunch since we don't want to end up with an upset stomach.
The building has only wooden seats so we will have to take our pillows as our old backs can't take the hard seats for hours at a time. It will be a long day to sit on hard benches when you don't understand anything being said. Speakers will be Thai-speaking except for the time when Jerry Canfield from Ft Smith speaks. Ron and I may have to take Uber back to the condo before the activities for the day are finished.
I will take pictures of this revival and post next week. Thanks for following our progress.
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