Take Off

Ron's flight is due to take off right now as I write this.    He finally got the last COVID test, checked in successfully for the flight and he was going to the gate when I last talked with him.   He is very happy to get all of this red tape behind him and finally be on his way to Bangkok.    He will arrive in the middle of the night.   He has to spend one night in a hotel to get another COVID test.  He plans to travel on to Chiang Mei on Monday or Tuesday.   I hope he will stay one more night to be fully rested but I know he is anxious to get there and start the work.   

The time will be exactly 12 hours different with our time change tonight.    When I get up in the mornings, he will be finished for the day and when I go to bed at night, he will be starting his day.    We will chat a few minutes just to know each is doing O.K.

As soon as he begins to make progress on the work, I will post his findings and let everyone know.  He hopes to find a building he can renovate but that may take weeks just looking at available properties and making a decision. 

If you need to contact me, write me at patbrown10@gmail.com or call 678-877-6300.  

Please continue to pray for both of us.

Thank you.   May God bless you!

  

Approval received!

Ron received the Thai Embassy approval this morning so he went to get the COVID test that is needed within 72 hours of arrival in Bangkok.   The result would not be available until 3 p.m. so he could not make today's flight.    He is scheduled to leave Los Angeles tomorrow (Saturday), Nov. 6 at 12:45 p.m.   

If he makes the connection in Narita, Japan, he will arrive in Bangkok about noon on Sunday (Atlanta time). He must stay in a hotel one night and have another COVID test before traveling on the Chiang Mei.  

Please pray for Ron's safe travels and his health.    Thank you.

More Red Tape!

Ron is still in Los Angeles due to more paperwork that must be submitted to the Thai Embassy for approval before he can leave the U.S. on the flight to Bangkok.   

He worked diligently to prepare a packet of information that they listed on the website that was required.  He needs a long term VISA.  Americans have never had to have a VISA to go for 30 days but it is more difficult to leave the country and go back in now due to border closures and restrictions of other countries because of COVID.  When we were there in 2019-2020, we made side trips to our safe houses in Laos and Nepal so we went in and out of the country every 30 days.   The borders of these countries are still closed so he needs to get a 5-month VISA to avoid this problem.

I will post again when Ron is able to fly and actually arrives in Thailand.   

Please pray that these setbacks will end soon and the rest of his trip will go smoothly.

Stranded in Los Angeles tonight!

Ron should be on his way to Narita, Japan but the flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems.   He will try to reschedule his flight and be on his way tomorrow.    He will be at least one day behind if he can leave Los Angeles tomorrow.   I will post short posts until he arrives safely.

Ron is on his way to Thailand

Ron left Dallas about 8:15 a.m. on his way to Los Angeles, Narita, Japan and Bangkok.    If flights are on time and he makes the connections, he will arrive in Bangkok Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. in Atlanta).    He will apply for a long-term VISA and be tested for COVID.    He will spend one or two nights in Bangkok, presuming he tests negative, before flying on to Chiang Mei, Thailand.    I will post again once he's arrived and each time he has something to report about his progress.   Please keep him mentioned in your prayers.

Ranjit, one of our workers in Nepal has been in the ICU in critical condition for over a week with COVID.  Please pray for his recovery.

Thank you for your interest in our lives and in our work in Asia.   Thank you for your prayers for both Ron and me during this four-month period of time we will be apart.   

God bless you!

Ron's trip to Chiang Mei, Thailand

We have had a very busy year and the pace will continue as Ron leaves October 29th for Thailand.   We have been trying to get things in shape here since I will not be traveling with Ron this year.   I will continue to stay in Ronald and Gigi's house in North Georgia and try to keep things going well in the U.S. during Ron's absence.   

Ron will spend the next four months establishing a new safe house for girls in Chiang Mei, Thailand.    He got the booster vaccine today, hoping he will not get sick on this trip.   He is feeling exhausted tonight so the vaccine is giving him a little side-effect of fatigue.  

Ron hopes to find an existing building he can remodel and turn into an adequate home for girls.   This is an important area where there are many girls in need of hope.    Ryan and Ashley Lee, a couple from the U.S. have lived there for many years working with immigrants.   We visited in their home one weekend in February, 2020.   They will assist Ron with the work so I am pleased that he is going there.  They speak the language and know the location well.   I am sure our work can assist them as they probably need a home for many of the girls they counsel and try to help.

I will try to post weekly to this log, if not more often, to give updates on Ron and his work in Chiang Mei.   We will chat morning and night so we can be assured each of us is doing well.    His time will be 12 hours ahead of me so we will set a specific time to chat on the computer.   He wants to use some method where we can see each other.  I told him we will certainly worry when we see how bad we look at those times of day so I think I will hold him to just "chatting."     

Fall is here in North Georgia and I have been raking leaves.    We had five days of rain last week and the leaves fell along with the rain and covered the ground.   With Ron away, I will keep the front yard clean but cannot do all of the backyard.    The leaves will provide me with plenty of exercise until about the middle of December.  

Leigh Ann and Tatum will come from Florida to spend Thanksgiving weekend with me.   I look forward to their visit.

My 9-year old neighbor, Lane, will come over the day after Ron leaves for Thailand and we will bake Halloween cookies to give to her family and our next door neighbors.    It will be something fun for us to do together.    She helped me several times this summer to plant and weed my herb garden.   

A nurse friend from California has booked a trip to come visit me on Feb. 22nd for a week.   I told her the weather may not be so good in February.   She wants to rent a car and us drive to see Leigh Ann in Florida for a few days but it will all depend on our weather.    It could be nice or we could be in the middle of an ice storm.   January and February can be very cold.    She wanted to pay for both of us to fly to Key West that week but I declined as I am trying to stay away from crowds due to COVID.  

Our work continues to go well in all  locations.   At this time, no one is sick.  Some girls in Nepal (and some of our workers also) had COVID but they are well now.  Schools reopened in Nepal after being closed for many months.   The Laos border is still closed and most schools and businesses are still in lockdown.    Ron hopes to go to Laos and possibly Mukdahan, Thailand while he is abroad but it will depend on the virus and the closures.   He will probably have to quarantine as soon as he arrives in Thailand even with the vaccinations and a negative COVID test.

Please remember Ron and me in your prayers and the success of our work as we go forward the remained of this year.   

Thank you all for your interest in our work and for your love for us.   May God bless each of my blog readers.

August has been a busy month!

Is the time passing quickly because of my age?    It seems each week just flies by and I don't get as much accomplished as I planned.   Just keeping up the regular work and taking care of ourselves seems to be a full-time job at this age.   

We have stayed well except for the usual aging woes, dealing with sleep problems and aches and pains of back aches and fatigue.    My check up this week indicated that I am in "good shape for the shape I'm in"  Everything on my blood test was in the normal range.   COVID (Delta Variant) is surging in Georgia again so we have not been traveling.   We only went to visit one congregation outside of Atlanta this month.  

Our work continues to go well but not yet at a normal pace.   Several of our girls have been baptized as they continue to be taught by the ministers (who are their house parents) in each safe house.   

COVID has been bad in the Asian countries and they have been shutdown.   The borders of Laos have been closed since April, I believe.  Nepal has been shutdown twice so far this year.   The girls are struggling with the schooling but so far only two have gotten sick.    

We are still providing food for the poor Christians in these countries as they cannot work to earn enough to buy their daily food.   Several have been baptized as a result of our food program as the Christians share their food with neighbors.

The Philippines still have restrictions regarding travel off the island.    Casa has 23 children and a busy summer of activities but everyone has been in good health.   

Four of the older children were baptized two weeks ago which brings it to a total of 9 conversions so far.   

A new full-time minister has been hired so the community will be receiving the gospel when he is able to easily go about teaching.

Ron plans to return to Thailand the last of October, the Lord willing.  There will be many restrictions if he is even allowed to go to Thailand but he is preparing to have the proper paperwork to permit him to travel there.    Since the virus is still very bad in Asia, I will not go on this trip.   I have an autoimmune disease that puts me at a higher risk with COVID.    Ron will try to get a booster before he goes and we pray he will not get sick.

I will post more often to this blog when he leaves so I can provide an update about him and his trip.  We plan to chat each morning and evening to keep from worrying about each other.   There is a 12 hour difference in the time.  

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful support for our work, the many prayers that remember us and those we care for in Asia.    May God bless each of you as you continue to have interest in our work.   It is a team effort to save the lives and souls of those in need.    Thank you!