Wonderful time with visitors from Houston, TX

I don't know where to start to write about last week's adventures.   On Monday, Ron and I flew to Bangkok and took another flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand.   Kasem and his wife met us at the airport, and we spent the rest of the day with them.   

Chad and Carlyn Jackson and their children from Alpharetta, Georgia are living in Chiang Mai for a year.   They came to the safe house to have dinner with us.   We have seen Chad a few times in the past years, but it was probably in 2009 when they traveled with us in China.  The Jackson Foundation built two of our orphanages in China.   It was great to be with them again.   

We had a good night's sleep at the safe house.   I made it up to the top bunk to sleep.   We were tired so we slept all night even with about a thousand frogs crocking in a nearby rice paddy.   We had a good breakfast, and the girls went to school.   Ron had a 10:30 appointment at the U.S. Embassy to request a temporary passport.   Ron used all of the pages in his passport and the new one he requested did not come before we left the states in late October.    They said it would be ready at 2:00 so we went to the airport to meet our visitors from Houston, TX.   Their flight from Bangkok was an hour late.   

After we met them, we drove to the Central Mall and had a good lunch at Sizzler's Steakhouse.   We went back to the U.S. Embassy to get Ron's passport and then to the safe house.   Our Houston visitors had time to tour the house, but we had to go back to the airport for our flight to Udon Thani.   One girl was home sick, but the others were in school, so they did not get to see them.     

Tuesday night, when we arrived at the Udon Thani airport, TG met us to take us to a restaurant.  With five guests and bags, she got an Uber driver to follow us to the hotel for them to check in and then transport us to the restaurant.   After a very delicious dinner, the visitors went to the hotel.  Ron and I returned to the Udon Thani safe house where we are living now.   

On Wednesday morning, TG came with the van driver to bring our guests to the Udon Thani safe house at 10 a.m.   They toured the house and then Ron showed them a power point presentation about our work.    We went to Central Mall and had lunch at the good restaurant that Ron and I like so much.   After lunch, TG had the van driver take us to some gardens with fields and fields of flowers grown for fresh flower markets.   

Thursday morning, the van picked Ron and me up first and then the guests for the trip to the Laos border.    It was about an hour's drive.    

It would take a whole segment to write about our experience crossing the border at immigration.  I'll just skip the details.  I think the process took close to an hour.  The Laos immigration workers seemed flustered to have to process seven Americans and I was handed a paper that belonged to one of our guests.    They failed to stamp when one of our guests arrived, so she had trouble at immigration the next day as they left for Bangkok.   

Phet, our housemother at one of the safe houses met us and secured a taxi to follow up with some of our group and their luggage.    We went to Ket's house first.    This is Phet's parents' home, and they keep about six girls in their home.  Girls were in school, but we got to see where they live.    

We drove to Hong's house and were blessed to see about half of his girls.  The others were taking exams at school.    Our visitors had a chance to ask Hong and the girls a lot of questions and it was a very good visit.    Hong and his wife, Amphone, care for 18 girls in their small home.    

Phet and Ket drove us all to JoMa's Restaurant, my favorite place to eat in Vientiane, Laos.  They have burgers, sandwiches and salads along with a lot of delicious desserts.    It is smaller but similar to Panera Bread.  Our housefather, Hong, was manager over two of these restaurants in Vientiane and one in Luang Prabang, Laos when we recruited him for our work. 

When we arrived at Phet's house, all of her girls were home and eagerly awaiting our arrival.   It was a great time for them and the visitors as they sat around the table and talked.   The girls enjoyed answering their questions and there were big smiles on everyone's faces.   

After an hour or so, we went to check our guests into the Lao Orchid Hotel.   We walked to a restaurant that had western and Laos food and it was very good.    

We parted company with our guests after dinner.  They were going to the night market before going to bed for their morning trip back to Bangkok the next morning.   Ron and I went home with Phet and spent our two nights in her guest room.   She provided everything we needed, and the bed was such a welcome sight to very tired old people.   Each morning, we had a wonderful table spread with yoghurt, bread, cake, fruit, cheese, and hot drinks.     

We stayed to spend time with Ket, Phet and Hong on Friday.    Ron changed some of their responsibilities for the future management of the work.  Ron had meetings with each to discuss what they need, how we and help them more and what he wants them to do in the future.   We met with Phet and Hong until noon.   We had time to see more of Hong's girls who were home from school that day.  These are the girls we've seen on previous visits so all of us were happy for the reunion.  

Phet's mother prepared a delicious lunch for us on Friday.   We had chicken soup and stir-fried rice with vegetables.   We toured the farm with Ket and he discussed how he wanted to raise pigs and fish.

Hong and his family came to Phet's on Friday night to take us to have dinner with his family.   Their very smart son, Nathan is 7, their daughter is 3 and they have an adopted daughter about 15.   We went to the Pizza Company.  This is about my favorite restaurant because they have the best pizza I've ever eaten.  The children really enjoyed it.  They were well-behaved.   It was good to spend a little more time with Hong and Amphone.   We bought a large ice cream cake that they packed securely at the next-door ice cream restaurant named Swenson's.   They took the ice cream cake to their girls at home.   We told Phet we would include funds in her next transfer for her to buy an ice cream cake for her girls and tell them it is a gift from us.    

Saturday morning, Ket and Phet drove us all the way back to the safe house in Udon Thani.   He crossed the border frequently, so he knew how to process the passports without it taking too long.

After touring our next house in Udon Thani, they returned home to Vientiane, Laos.   Ron and I unpacked, prepared a little lunch and began to check our emails after being away most of the week.

It was a great week for us.   We enjoyed our visitors very much and it was good to get to know them. We needed time with our workers.  

Phet's girls at our arrival at their house: 

Goodbyes are very hard for us as we realize this may be our last trip to see the girls and our workers.  The girls realize this too due to our age and limited abilities.    It was almost a fight with the girls to get to help hold our arms as we climbed the stairs to our room on the 3rd floor.    On the first floor, there is the large dining room where they spend much of their time around the long table, having Bible classes, studying and eating.   The kitchen is small and outside but Ron is going to renovate it to put a roof over it before the monsoon season arrives and provide them with painted walls, a fridge and washing machine (none of which they have now).   The second floor is occupied by Phet, her sister and her family (maybe one little boy) and two rooms for girls.  Phet's sister teaches the beauty course and helps with the cooking and marketing.   When Phet is away, she is always there to stay with the girls.   Phet also has another place where she teaches sewing to some of the girls.

The third floor has two rooms for girls, the guest room and two baths.  There are two baths on each floor.    This house is owned by Phet's father.   At the entrance (you may can see it on the above picture where the girls are waiting for us) there is their small beauty shop where girls are learning to do hair and makeup.   (Kham, the girl that was blind, is taking this course so she can go back to her village and have a shop).  You will see Kham's picture below in a yellow shirt.

It was wonderful hugging and spending time with these sweet girls.  They love us for providing them with a home where they can go to school and learn the Bible.   All of our workers are very dedicated Christians, and they spend as much time as they can to teach the girls.   They meet in different homes on Sundays and do some Bible classes by zoom because Laos is a Communist country.  They must be cautious.

This is a group of very happy girls and it bring joy to our hearts to know they are safe and doing so well.

Kham is the girl that Ron found blind about 5 years ago while touring the villages in Luang Prabang, Laos.  She was brought to a hospital in Bangkok and her eyesight was restored.    Dr. Tom Pryor, a physician who has helped with our work in the medical field paid for her surgery and she is forever grateful to all of us for her sight.

Unfortunately, one of the ladies did not have her passport when she arrived in Bangkok.   She filed a police report that it was stolen but they would only let her report that it was lost.   I guess she didn't have anything else missing.    This was the same lady who had trouble because the Laos Immigration did not stamp the date she went into Laos.    The men returned home to Houston, but the two ladies are still in Bangkok.   

With it being a weekend and Monday a holiday for Martin Luther King Day, they cannot get to the U.S. Embassy until Tuesday morning to get an authorization needed for the airlines to allow her to return home.    We are hoping that process goes smoothly tomorrow morning and the booking for their return flight will go well.    I hope this incident does not ruin their memories of this trip to visit us and our safe houses.

God continues to bless our work tremendously.   Ron and I are also very blessed to be able to make this trip and to do all the work we must do for this ministry.   We appreciate your prayers on our behalf.   

I will have many additional pictures in a few days from everyone's cameras.   If you read this now, check back in a few days and scroll through the pictures.  I wanted to write about the trip early in case some of you are checking to see if I've posted again.   

If anyone has any questions, please write to me at patbrown10@ gmail.com.

May God bless you for having an interest in our work and for the encouragement you provide to Ron and me.  

Progress update at the close of 2022

On the last day of 2022, we will have a high of 81 degrees.   Skies are bright blue, and the air is fresh.  Tonight, the low will be 55.   We sleep under a comforter or blankets every night during Thailand's winter season.   

The members of the church are camping out in the rice fields surrounding the church building.   They will be sleeping in small tents and cooking outside and enjoying the fellowship together today and tonight, New Year's Eve.  Remember, it will be 55 degrees tonight. 

TG asked if we wanted to join them.  Ron's quick reply was "We are already camping."    She smiled at me and told Ron that she promised the church people that he would be there.  He said she could tell them he is too old to sleep in a tent on the ground as he would never be able to get up Sunday morning.  Of course, she was kidding as she had no expectations of us going.   

I took progress pictures of the house today.  You will know what most are but if you want any additional information write to me at patbrown10@gmail.com.

Here are things we hope to have completed on the inside by the time supporters from Houston, TX arrive to see the house on January 11th.

1.   Touch up painting on walls as the electrician made many changes and additions (plugs, switches, wiring, etc.)   Some walls are rough, and Ron asked them to sand and repaint.   

2.   Bunk beds set up in the girls' quarters upstairs.

There are beds for 24 girls.   Space is tight but it is like a dorm room and girls will not mind if they like each other and get along well.  They can switch beds until roommates are compatible.   Curtains will be added as this room is exposed to the street and other houses.  A large fan will be mounted in each area but there will be a good cross breeze with so many windows.  Windows will have screens to prevent mosquitoes.   Each will have a small locker space for personal stuff to be under lock and key.  Clothes will be stored in bins for each girl.    

3.   Tables and chairs will be set up in the dining area.   The second picture below is in the carport now for workers, but this is the kind of table and chairs that will be in the dining room.  They are practical and economical for a large group of girls as we have used in other Thailand safe houses.  Chairs can be easily moved from the dining room to the living room if all girls are there for TV or Bible classes.   

4.   Kitchen needs shelving underneath in the cabinets and either more cabinets overhead or shelves for dishes, sauces and supplies.  Doors to the right end of the kitchen lead to a space under the roof where they could set up a couple of tables and eat outside.   It is a great sitting area with a cup of coffee and a book!

Another cleaning will be done when these things are completed.

OUTSIDE or ADDITIONAL things to be done:

1.   There is space to add another bath (at least a toilet and shower) next to the existing bath to the left of where the washing machine is located (where supplies are stored as you see in the second picture).  

I tried out the washing machine this morning.   There is a second tub to the right side that has a fast spin cycle to get clothes practically dry.   I stretched out a line out the back door and put things on hangers and they dried very quickly.  The washer will be a blessing to these girls.   

This is at the left end of the kitchen.   This entire area is the width of the house downstairs (plus the small patio area I mentioned above).  

2.   Second coat of paint needed in under the roof at the carport and down the side of the house under the eve in some places.

3.   Section of metal roof is rusting and needs work.

4.   Screens to be purchased and installed on all of the upstairs' rooms for the girls (to prevent mosquitoes)

5.   Curtain rods to be purchased and installed upstairs.  Curtains to be purchased for girls' rooms.    

6.   Some screens need hooks installed.

7.   The electrician has about a day's work to correct some plugs and problems.

8.   Fence painting to be completed.

9    Landscaping around house to be done.

10.  Garden to be prepared and ready for planting vegetables.

Drains around house are completed.   This was done on both sides of the house and at the back behind the house so flooding should not be a problem now.   

   

The concrete block wall around the property is being painted a dark gray.   It was a horrible dirty white without this fresh paint. 

  

As you can see, great progress has been made in two months, but the remaining items listed will take time.   There are many things that have been done that the pictures or my writing to do reflect.  Workers have diligently put in some very hard work.  There is at least another month of work remaining.    

We have been living in the house mother's room for a few days.  She has a nice bedroom, office and bath.  

I'm not wild about bathrooms in Asia as the shower is mounted on the wall.   With the shower not separated, the entire floor of the bathroom gets wet.   

I am having trouble sleeping due to the noise.  Ron can sleep on his worst ear and hear nothing going on.   Roosters crow all night, loud music comes from some houses or places of business behind us, the main highway is not far, and traffic is loud at night.   We are about half an hour's drive to markets, restaurants, the mall or to the condo where we were living.  We are outside the Udon Thani city limits so getting Uber this far is an extra cost.

We will have to depend on TG for shopping.  I will keep an on-going list of things needed and she can pick them up at her convenience.   She took us shopping the day after we moved to the house.  Macro is about 2-3 times the size of our Sam's club at home.   Some signs are in English, but many items have no English on them.   There is a large selection of different brands and kinds of most everything, so selection of the right item is sometimes a challenge.   At this store, as at Sam's, many things in the fresh food section were in too large quantities for us.   The other grocery that is extensive is Lotus and they have most everything we need but not in large size packaging.

I know I could do a better job arranging pictures and giving a better explanation about various aspects of the progress, but I think you can get a good idea of this project from my posts.    The house is not the most beautiful, but it is practical.  And it is one we can afford with the generous donation from Bands Ministries in Dallas, TX.    It is not easy to find an ideal house to accommodate 24 girls and have so much nice living space with a large living room, dining and kitchen area.   The property is safe and ideal for a nice garden.   Living conditions for the girls should be very good and they will have good teenage years if they will study hard and get along with each other.   This is an opportunity of a lifetime for poor girls to live free and get an education because loving Christians want to help them.  It prevents the chance of a recruiter coming along and promising them a good job, only intending to sell them for prostitution.   

More importantly, they will learn the Bible and about Jesus Christ.   It is their choice whether they believe and accept Him and His Word.   They will be taught well.  Christian teachers and workers will be diligent to teach the truth of the Bible without manmade opinions and creeds.   Sometimes, this is why we lose the girls...because of our determination to provide spiritual education along with secular education.  They agree to study the Bible just as they would any subject in school but when they reach the point of believing, parents may object to them becoming Christians.  Buddhism is the official belief in Thailand.  It only teaches a thought process to obtain happiness at some spiritual level, but it will not provide anyone with salvation in eternity.  

Once the house renovation is complete, we will start working with TG to locate girls who want to come to the safe house to live and attend school.    We will teach TG what duties and responsibilities will fall on her shoulders as the housemother.   If we can spend a month with her, she will know what to expect. She is very smart and quick to learn so we have no doubt but that she will do a great job.  She has watched Ron purchase things and she knows how to be a wise shopper.

Healthwise, Ron and I are doing well.   We both have back problems but now that we are at the house, we have comfortable places to sit and work and the bed is very good.   Ron continues to have allergy problems and his dry eyes are bothersome and he can't tolerate air conditioning or fans.   

I will post about our travels with the Houston supporters as we visit the safe houses in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Vientiane, Laos during the second week of January.

Let me know if you have questions about us or the work.   I would love to hear from you.

We wish everyone a Happy New Year.   May God bless each of you with good health as you find peace and joy throughout the year as you count your many blessings.

A New Year is coming!

We are hoping that everyone had a wonderful Christmas day, that you worshiped the Lord on His Day and enjoyed family and good food.   Christmas is another day to reflect on health and blessings from above.  For many of you, the cold weather made it a challenge to enjoy the day as you usually do on this holiday.  We hope everyone survived by staying warm enough and not having frozen pipes.    From my friends' pages on Facebook, it looks as everyone had a great time.    With no traditions for this holiday in Thailand, we only saw decorations at the mall.   

We took TG with us to a grille restaurant in the mall for all of our holiday treat.   She took pictures that I will post later but here are some that I took with my camera.   

We had a delicious meal with TG.   We enjoyed spending time with TG that was not working time.   She has worked tirelessly for two months to help renovate the safe house and see to our every need.  She deserved the lunch treat and much more.

This is the picture of the small church here. 

It was taken on Sunday, the last day of the gospel meeting.   They estimated that there were about 100 present but many had left to return home to remote areas of Thailand and Laos to be home for worship on that day.    

We did not attend this day as the service was entirely in Thai.    We worship at the condo on-line with our sponsoring congregation.

We plan to move to the new safe house this week and avoid paying for another month's condo rent.  It has been cheap at about $250 U.S. per month (and that includes utilities) but for the next several months while we are here, we can save about $1,000 in rent by living at the safe house.   They are placing furniture in the house now, setting up the bunk beds and the house mother's room.   Since all of the girls' rooms are upstairs, we will have to occupy the house mother's room the rest of our time here.  The stairs are straight up and we can't risk a fall.    

I will post pictures once we move in so you can really see the change in the house.   It is going to be very nice.

Wishing all of my readers a very blessed NEW YEAR!

New pictures to show progress at the Udon Safe House

The renovation of the house for girls began a little over a month ago.  What a difference we see from the hard work of the workers.  They have worked seven days a week since they began.  Cleaning began first to prepare the outside carport and walls for painting.  Then a primer coat was put on after repairs were made to any rotten wood.    A second coat of paint gave a wonderful fresh look to the house. 

Then work began inside with a primer coat downstairs and then a 2nd coat and trim work 

Although the pictures make walls appear to be pink, it is the lighting that changed the actual beige color to look pink.  The floor tile in the house mother's bedroom is a rose color and in the living room, it is more of a brown and beige design. 

  

This is the detail trim work being completed in the living room.

The wrought iron bars were left off of these windows in the upstairs foyer to serve as an alternate fire escape in the event the stairway is blocked.    The tin roof across this area is over the kitchen and not very steep, nor it is far from the ground at one side.     Girls could easily climb out the windows and get to the backyard.   TG will put a fire escape ladder on that side if the tin roof is hot from a fire in the kitchen.  Smoke alarms will be installed and there will be fire drills to train the girls what to do in case of a fire.  They will be taught how to use fire extinguishers too.  Most fires begin in the kitchen so I'm sure there will be fire extinguishers there. 

Now the upstairs bedrooms for girls have had the 2nd coat applied.    

Tiles floors will be thoroughly cleaned soon  

A sink has to be added to the house mother's bathroom.  There is a faucet but there is no sink. 

The drain for the sink will have to be connected to the shower drain which is nearby.   

 The drainage ditch has been dug and concrete poured in the bottom of this french drain.  The grille work is being placed now.  Ron is pleased that they got the pitch close to being perfect and it is coming along so well.  

It was very hard work to dig this by hand, but we have a very hard-working man that can do almost any kind of work.   He completed all of the outside painting, installed the drop ceiling in the kitchen and did many other repairs.  

Another worker has removed the drainage pipe on the other side of the house which was broken in places and completely stopped up.  It was not put in at an angle for water to drain properly so it had to be removed and replaced.  There is a drain at the end of the wall near the street for both sides to drain into.  This system should eliminate the risk of the house flooding when the rainy season arrives. It will take a couple more weeks to complete the drains.  

Today, the electrician began rewiring the house   The government still has not run the 3-phase line to this area, but the electrician thinks it will be done soon and then he can tie the new wiring into the system.  He predicts his work will take two weeks.  

By early January, the furnishings for the entire house will be purchased and delivered.  When everything is in place, we will leave the condo and move to the house.  

The inside of the house should be in very good shape by the end of January.   

The concrete block wall around the property is black streaked from weathering.    I think they plan to paint the wall grey.  Most walls around property are white, but they begin to look dirty and streaked in a very short time.  I would probably paint it black to match the trim on the house if it was my choice.    

Work will still need to be done on the lawn to prepare for landscaping and gardens.   Ron plans to have raised beds for various sections of vegetables to be grown in the back yard.  The land is rough with many holes in the backyard so it will need to be cleaned, leveled and topsoil brought in.   This work will probably take a month to complete.   

As progress continues, I will keep my readers well-informed about what is happening in Udon Thani, Thailand and the new girls' safe house.   The other houses on this street have not been maintained very well.  This safe house is going to be very clean and neat.  It will be a wonderful home for some very poor girls who have never had the luxury of living in a nice house.  I hope they will be welcomed by the neighbors and our work will be respected in this city.   

TG has put her heart into the renovation of this house and taking care of Ron and me.  We are so very thankful for her kind heart and ability to take charge of this house as if it was her own property.   If she accepts the job of the house mother, I think she will enjoy living here with pride in the way the property is turning out to be so lovely.   

Winter clothing and gospel meeting in Rajiaya, Nepal

Recently, a donation was received from the Westbury church of Christ in Houston, TX to purchase clothing for the girls in Nepal.    Each year, Carole Booker, teacher from Westbury Christian has spearheaded this project to give winter clothing to our girls.   Many received sweaters and long-sleeved sweatshirts.  

Blankets were also distributed.    These gifts brought much joy to our girls.   It was a lot of work purchasing the many things and delivering them to the various 13 safe houses where we care for girls.  

A gospel meeting was held in one region this weekend and it was reported that 285 were in attendance.  I could not find this exact region to check the temperatures but nights in Katmandu are in the 40's now.  More mountainous areas will be much colder.    

How many of you reading this blog would attend a gospel meeting and sit on the ground or on the floor as these people are doing?   Speakers don't just speak for a little while but for hours at a time; perhaps days passed before this meeting ended with people coming from many other cities or villages to attend.  Where has our zeal gone when our members in the U.S. will not attend their own congregation's gospel meetings for one hour at a time in a heated building on padded seats and then go home to the comfort of their beautiful homes until the next evening?  Perhaps, you only attend one time and don't feel it is important to attend lectures that don't really add much to your busy life?  Many of these people were too far from home to go back after one session and they were eager to hear all of the gospel speakers and messages.  They didn't have ballgames to watch on TV or to attend.

Where did these people sleep?   I imagine many are used to sleeping on the ground with just a blanket to cover and this occasion was no different than being at home.  

How were they all fed?    These pictures made me think of the crowds following Christ and having no food.  Jesus was not here physically to provide loafs and fishes to feed the people.   Instead, they had to roast a pig and cut it up for people to have food.    

Most churches in Thailand have plain, wooden benches and no one brings a pillow (except Ron and me for our old backs).   Churches in the villages along the Mekong River in Laos sit on the floor.   Even in some villages where they live in shacks that look as if they fall down with a whiff of wind, they will have tile floor (or mats) in one room to be used for people to sit on the floor to worship God.   

Most of us old people say to ourselves before we sit on the floor, "How am I going to get up?" or "What else can I do while I am down here?"   When Ron has been in these situations, they give him a small stool to sit on and he says it is not any easier to get up from it sitting there.

Our worker in Nepal told me last week that our safe house girls attending this meeting have been preparing for a Bible quiz contest.  I don't have any information on how well they did but I do have these pictures of two girls being baptized at this meeting.    Can you imagine being baptized when it is about like ice water?   That alone would keep most American from accepting the invitation to come to Christ.   

Ron taught a friend of ours when she was a very young woman and when they got to the church building for her baptism, the heater in the baptistry was not working.    No heat was in the building, and it was in February.   Ruth chose to be baptized rather than wait for a "more convenient time as a certain ruler in the Bible" said he would do when he heard the good news of Christ.  Ruth always reminds Ron of how cold that water was when she was baptized.  That cold water surely made that event more memorable.    Maybe this cold water in Nepal will have the same impact on these two young girls.         

I don't think many people know much about Nepal.   You may have heard of Katmandu and Mt. Everest, but nothing else may stick out in your mind when you think of Nepal.    For those of you who have been supporting one or more of our girls in Nepal, I am sure you have learned a lot about this beautiful country.  I enjoy watching YouTube videos about Nepal to see how the people live and their cooking style in the mountainous regions.  I thought we could find anything on Google, but the name of this city/region did not come up with my search.    I think our safe houses are primarily in the center of Nepal.   I am sure many people do not know that Nepal borders China on the side of Mt. Everest and India on the opposite border.   A map is below and some facts about Nepal.   

Capital: Kathmandu.
Area: 56,956 sq mi (147,516 sq km).
Population: ~ 28,100,000.
Largest Cities: Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lalitpur, Bharatpur, Birgunj, Biratnagar, Janakpur, Ghorahi, Hetauda, Dhangadhi, Tulsipur, Itahari, Nepalgunj, Butwal, Dharan, Kalaiya, Jitpursimara, Mechinagar, Budhanilkantha, Gokarneshwar.
Official language: Nepali     Religion:    Hindu 

Currency: Nepalese rupee (Rs, रू) (NPR).