Life back in the U.S.

 Our long flights were on time and we made the connections without a problem.   After 24 hours in the air, we landed in Atlanta and our wonderful neighbors met up at the airport.    The two close neighbors had cut the grass, cleaned the house and prepared food.   We had several meals ready for us, plenty to make sandwiches and breakfast food.    We had a vase of freshly cut flowers on the table and petunias in pots on the front porch.    What a special homecoming it was because of these wonderful people who share our street.    

The next day, I began to feel sick, but jet lag is always an issue to cope with after a long international trip.  

We endured 100 - 104 degree days for two months in Thailand.    Landing in Atlanta, we faced cooler weather and dampness because it rained often.   I think my sinuses just shut down and said, "NO WAY" I can't handle this change.    Ron got a Covid test and it said "positive" but I heard the next day on the news that CVS's tests were bad and should be returned to the store.   Ron got a new test from Kroger Pharmacy and it said I was "negative."     I will never know for sure.  It felt like a very bad sinus infection.    I've had a few this severe in the past.    

After two weeks, mostly in bed and sleeping a lot, I was able to be up a little and do simple things.  But, I've been feeling very, very tired.   My strength is still not back to normal.   However, I laughed and said "I don't really know what 'normal' is now" as I will be 85 years old tomorrow.    Maybe this tiredness is the new normal for 85, but I hope not.

Ronald and Gigi arrived a few days after we got home (they run the orphanage in the Philippines).  With the food we had on hand, Ron prepared meals and breakfast and I stayed away from everyone as much as possible.    No one took my infection so perhaps it was not Covid.    I was so glad no one got sick.   Ron was able to care for me and do whatever needed to be done.    

Ronald and Gigi left after two days and began their trip to report to their sponsors/supporters.  

They will be back to see us for a short time before they return home on June 12th.    

This weekend, we will travel to Florida to see our daughter, Leigh Ann and granddaughter, Tatum. 

It has been over a year since we have seen them.   On the way, Ron will give reports to some of our supporters so the trip will be part mission work as we visit with our family.

The new safe house in Udon Thani is open but only has one girl so far.    A second girl came and stayed a few days but decided to go home.  She had never been away from home and said she missed her mother.   Both girls are teenagers but have only had a couple of years of schooling.    

Yim in her new bed at the safe house.  

It may have been a terrifying experience for the girls to think of going back to school but Yim, the girl remaining, says she is determined to stay.   

We hope TG will find more girls soon so we can utilize the nice home and help girls get an education and have a better life.

Thank you for your prayers and concerns for us while we were in Asia.    Life is certainly different but busy as we continue our work from the U.S.

Countdown to leaving Thailand

 In eight more days, we will leave Udon Thani to fly to Bangkok.   We will have one night and the next day in a hotel to rest before our long trip back to Atlanta.   From Bangkok, we fly on Qatar airlines for 7 hours and after a few hours in the Qatar DOH airport, we catch the flight to Atlanta for 15+ hours, depending on the tailwind.    If they don't bump us from the seats Ron selected, we should get extra leg room for the first flight in coach.    The 2nd flight is business class, but I don't trust them not to bump us from that if they can sell all of the seats.   When flying on air miles, they sometimes give priority to paying customers.   A young man sitting beside me from India on the way to Thailand, told me the seats with extra leg room are given to families with children even if others have paid for those seats.   

We face problems at the house when we return as a water line froze while we were away.   Ron thought he drained all of the pipes but there was some water in a line in an upstairs bedroom that burst.   We have to get some plumbing repairs done that may be expensive.    

Ronald and Gigi will arrive four days after we get home.   They will leave again in two days to start traveling to give reports to their supporters for the next 4 weeks.    We will see them again, hopefully, for a couple of days at the end of their travels just before they return to the Philippines.    Since they were coming home right after we got home, we did not make a trip to the Philippines.   We miss seeing the children and their beautiful campus.   We look forward to seeing them again after three years.

Leaving Udon Thani will be bitter-sweet.   TG has won our hearts as she has taken such good care of us.   She picked us up at the airport when we first arrived.  She has been like a constant companion ever since.   I will write her a thank you message for being so very patient, loving and kind to us old folks.  

She tackled the remodeling of the house, finding workers, supervising the work, buying supplies, and working herself right along with workers.   She even got on the scaffolding to finish painting one side of the house on the 2nd floor, so they could finish and return the rented scaffolding one day early.    She is at this very moment, using a drill to hang a mirror so girls can see themselves before they walk out the door to go to school.  She's moved the fridge and tables in the kitchen to have a complete laundry room area where she has installed hooks on the wall for the girls to hang their towels.    

Although we have grown close to her and almost feel like she's our daughter, we need to go home as our work is complete here.   TG knows what to do and she will be a good house mother.   If she gets good girls, she will have no problems.    If the girls truly want an education and a better life and cooperate with the rules, it will be a very rewarding job for TG.   Like with parents, she will experience heartache if she has trouble with a girl.   We will pray that things will go smoothly for the safe house group in this location.    

We are confident that we are leaving things with the best possible house mother.    Not only is she skilled in doing nearly everything, but she is also compassionate and very tender-hearted, caring for people at church and always ready to give anyone a helping hand.    

It is a very nice house after remodeling.   We have lived in the house mother's bedroom since January 1st.    Much work has been completed since that time.  We have lived in the midst of it while it has been a work in progress.    Many of you have lived in a house while remodeling a section of it, so you know the feeling.   

Yesterday morning, Ron discovered we had no water.   This is common in Asian countries.   When we visited the safe houses in Laos, they had a large container of water in each restroom with a big dipper. In case of water shutdown, they had a supply of water to flush toilets.    In the afternoon, TG started checking about the water and discovered that neighbors had water.   She investigated the property and found a coconut from the tree had fallen on the plastic water line and crushed it.   The water line is along the block wall.  Today, TG said she thinks the line should be put under ground.   It definitely should, but it is often done this way in Asia to save money.   There has been no rain recently, so the ground soaked up the water and there was no obvious puddling for us to notice it.  She shut the water off and went and bought more piping and connections and repaired the damage herself.  She also got containers and filled them up for each bathroom to have surplus for water outages.   The more expensive homes have large, galvanized water tanks in their yards to store water, but they are also unsightly and probably very expensive.

Ron saw a snake as he watered the garden a few days ago.   It quickly hid behind the shed.   The next day, TG killed a snake, but it was a different kind and smaller.    She said she might be afraid of a big snake, but the small ones do not bother her.   Today, she was watering the garden and killed a big centipede as large as your hand.   After all of these critters have started appearing, looking for water, I think it is time to go home! 

The heat is another reason to leave.   For more than two months, it has been over 100 every afternoon. The nightly low is about 80 but it is 90 when we go to sleep and by noon each day it is about 99 degrees.   I am so thankful Ron added a small air conditioner in the housemother's room and a larger unit upstairs for the girls.    I don't know how anyone can sleep with the room at 90 degrees.   The fans just push the hot air around.   The air conditioners are making it comfortable to about 80 degrees.   The kitchen is at least 100 degrees when I prepare lunch each day.   We have a table in the living room where we bring our plates to eat lunch.   Ron and I snack on leftovers for dinner, so I only cook one meal a day.   Ron prepares breakfast.   The bathrooms are also shut off and feel like a sauna when we take showers.

Ron bought a new computer for me so we can leave my old, and very cheap laptop here for the girls to learn to type and use a computer.   I struggle with new electronics. I like my ruts where I am not challenged to learn new and more modern ways to do things.   I could not find the blog, but Ron got it pinned for me.  Just another challenge for me to figure out on a new laptop.       

We have stressed that in this order, the girls must be taught 1) the Bible, 2) English, 3) computer skills and 4) complete a public high school education.     If we could succeed in all four ways with each girl, they will have a stable, good future and, hopefully, if they are receptive, a home in heaven.   These are our goals as we say we are saving lives and souls.

We road with TG to about five villages within about a 30-mile distance of the safe house today.   Each village has a village leader (a voted resident that accepts the position to get to know the residents and be available to help them with their needs).  This person is paid a small salary by the government.  TG met with each village leader and explained what we are doing to help very poor girls who are not able to go to school.   She left a packet of information about our safe houses in all other Asia cities.  We hope they will call TG when they review their families and find girls who might want SAS's support.

Thank you for following the progress of our work for the past six months.    I will post an update as soon as I can after we return home.   God bless you all!

 

Visits to safehouses last week

A week ago, we went to Vientiane, Laos and spent several days and nights with Phet and the girls who live with her and go to school.   The first day we arrived, we had Phet stop to buy the girls an ice cream cake.   With 100+ degrees, we know they enjoyed it.

Our room was on the 3rd floor but we left our heavy bag with clothing on the lst floor and one of the girls took my small make-up bag to our room.  It was very hot for the entire week, but we did have a small air conditioner in our room.   We slept well.     

This is Phet, our wonderful housemother (beautiful and sweet) in this locaton:    

Phet got us tickets before we arrived so we could take a train to Luang Prabang one day.     

In Luang Prabang, all the way down small alleyways, old houses have been turned into guest house hotels.    The houses are beautiful with original wood doors and floors.  In our room, an old picture of a family hung on the wall.   I think it was the family who owned and lived in this house as much as 100 years ago.    It is awesome to think of what life would have been like there at that time.    Our room had a balcony the entire width of the house overlooking the alley.    They grow many beautiful plants and there are flowering trees and potted plants everywhere along the sidewalks.

We were close to my favorite restaurant JoMa's which is much like Panera Bread, having a dessert cabinet displaying wonderful desserts.   They have wonderful salads, sandwiches, wraps, breakfast, all kinds of delicious drinks, including smoothies.    The green tea smoothie is absolutely delicious.   We had breakfast there two mornings and lunch there two days.   

After school, we took a tuk tuk to Chansouk's house and visited with them and the girls.    

Chansouk, his wife and baby girl are such a delightful family.   

After a short visit, we went back to our guest room and later met them and one of their students at another restaurant in the night market area.    We had delicious food and a wonderful visit together.    

The student that came with them speaks almost perfect English.    She is now working at a restaurant as as waitress and taking an English class, preparing herself to either go to Bangkok to a Bible school or to Singapore to attend Four Seas Bible School.  She is very smart and happy.     

The next day, Ron stayed in the room all morning to catch up his email, but Phet and I ventured out to sightsee in the city.    We went to the King's palace.  Many centuries ago, Luang Prabang was the capital city of Laos but it changed to Vientiane in more recent years.   Buddhism is strong is this city and many beautiful temples are open for tourists.  I tried to read up about the history of this city, but it is very complicated as it has been under several different country's rule and changed kings and leaders for centuries.    We were not allowed to take pictures of the palace and we had to rent the typical Lao skirt to wrap around us for proper dress to go through the palace.   Pure gold was in display all through the building in display cases of swords, vessels, clothing and many types of articles used during these periods of time by the royal families.

We walked through one Buddhist temple and along the shopping displays on the sidewalks.   The day was very hot.   A pure coconut shake was well worth waiting for as a girl made them just for us.

Later that evening, we went back to Chansouk's house and spent about two more hours with the girls.

It was so good to meet all of them and learn a little about their lives.   Most of the girls are from the Mekong River villages.   Boats go up and down the river all day and it is the only transportation to their homes.

Here are the type of villages they come from....

No electricity, running water or toilets, etc.

The girls are not unhappy to live in houses that you would consider unsuitable because it is far better than what they had at home.   In the safe house they have friends, they can go to school and have no worries about having enough to eat.  It is a good life and they are very pleased and appreciative of their sponsors' support.     

We took the train back to Vientiane and as soon as we arrived and headed to Phet's home, we were treated to a late lunch at a very good restaurant close to Phet's house.   Seems as if we are always eating but restaurants are just a good place to get everyone quiet long enough to look at the camera.

I've posted pictures of Kham before.   She is the girl who was born blind and had surgery about four years ago.    She is being trained by Phet's sister to shampoo, cut and blow dry women's hair and cut men's hair.   She gave me the best shampoo I've ever had, massaging my head and neck.   I showed her a picture of a short bob haircut and she trimmed my hair before styling it with the dryer.  

I did not know how to pay her and didn't want to make a show of it in front of the other girls.   I asked Phet to give her a proper amount of money for me.  Phet told me later she gave her 60,000 kips, but she would normally get about 20,000 kips.    60,000 kips is about $3.50 U.S. and 20,000 is about $1.16.   I don't know how anyone can live on the wages their receive.    I hope she will be able to set up her own shop in Luang Prabang and be successful in the future. 

We visited two other safehouses in Vientiane on our last day in Laos, but girls were at school.   We met with the house parents and discussed the work they do.   We did see the girls in January when we visited with our friends who came from Houston, Texas.

Ron waiting at immigration, getting ready to return to Udon Thani...

This week, we have worked to get the yard and the house in Udon Thani ready to show to potential girls and their relatives.    A vanload came today and the three girls said they were excited to come live here.  Two are 14 and in the lst grade.   The third girl is 16 and in the 6th grade.   Unfortunately, the girls have not been able to go to school because of severe poverty.    

TG took pictures today so I will post them later after she sends them to me.    

These girls will come May 1st and have two weeks to buy school uniforms, book bags and school supplies before the new term begins May 15th.    They will register as new students in the school about 3 or 4 blocks from the safe house.   It is a very short 10-minute walk to school each day.   The girls know each other so it will not be as big an adjustment as it would if they were strangers to each other.  It is a good start to have a few girls as they can share with other potential girls how nice it is to live here.  We hope we can find enough poor girls to fill the house eventually.   

We have a little over two weeks to spend with TG answering her questions and preparing to return to the U.S.

Thank you so much for following our journeys in Asia.   

More Visits to Schools/Government Offices

This past week, Ron and TG made more visits to surrounding schools and local government offices.

TG is presenting them with a booklet explaining how SAS sets up safe houses in Asian countries to provide homes for poor girls.    

While we may not find girls through these sources, sometimes we have referrals from teachers or social work personnel.  In any event, it is good to have a good relationship with them in order for us to operate officially with their goodwill.

They plan to make a second visit soon to the Udon Thani Home for Girls.    When we left Udon Thani to drive to Mukdahan a few weeks ago, I saw a large two-story building on our right and at the top in large English letters it said Udon Thani Home for Girls.    It was not very far from here.   TG knew nothing about it.   I did computer research and found this U.S. Christian based foundation.  It does not not state a specific religious affiliation.    They have homes for girls, boys and orphans in Thailand and Laos.  It is a very large organization.    Ron and TG stopped by, but the director was not there   They only talked with a receptionist.   

They learned that there are 200 girls in this home, ranging in age from babies to high school.  Ron and TG plan to make another visit to meet the director.   It is entirely possible that they will cooperate with us as to how they find girls or where to go to get more referrals.  They may even have to turn girls away for lack of space and be willing to give us some leads.   This is what we are hoping.  Ron said there were other buildings on their campus, possibly housing boys or other groups of children.   We will find out soon if they will be helpful or a real competitor.

TG visited the home of a poor family and talked with the girl's grandmother about her coming to live at the safe house.   The girl was interested and willing to come.   

Here is some information about her living conditions and pictures.  We hope she will be the first girl to come to the Udon Thani safe house.    

Her grandmother wants her to come for a better life, but her grandfather is against it.    They are members of another church of Christ further from here.   Hopefully, her grandfather can be assured of our work and the many advantages his granddaughter will have here.   Maybe he will finally agree to let her come.   

She sleeps on the floor at the foot of her grandmother's bed.   

Here is where she lives. 

Just from looking at the pictures, you can see that she needs to come. 

What a difference it would make in her life!

TG has learned the office procedures for completing the Evaluation form for a new girl and submitting it to Ron for approval.   She knows to send me the New Student Information Sheet, once a girl has arrived so we can add her to our computer system and assign her a sponsor.   TG will prepare the quarterly reports about each girl for the sponsors.

Ron has spent a lot of time with TG teaching her how to keep receipts and report them on her petty cash report.   She has a lot of items to break down into various categories, including the mileage on her car that pertains to the SAS work.    Keeping good records for the petty cash report that is submitted monthly, is probably the hardest part of the job for a new house parent.  From the beginning of the remodeling work, she has assisted Ron in translating receipts and maintain proper accounting records.    She is very smart and understanding the procedures have not seemed difficult for her.  

I prepared a typical chore chart for her to use to train the girls in the work around the house.   TG should not have to do it all herself with a houseful of girls.   They will rotate doing the chores so each girl will learn to do the necessary things to keep a home clean and operating smoothly.  The older girls will help and teach the younger girls.   

I also prepared a proposed list of rules for the girls to follow.   In order to maintain disciple over the girls, it is much easier if they learn from the beginning what is expected of them.   We will review this list with TG and have a full discussion about problems we have encountered in other safe houses so she can decide what she will do to prevent problems and how to deal with them when they happen.  

TG worked in the garden all day on Friday.   Friday is not a good day to make visits; too many officials take off work early on Fridays and do not want to meet with visitors.

TG has many vegetables coming up.  It was a hot day but she prepared containers to begin hydroponic growing of plants.  

I don't know yet what vegetables she will grow hydroponically.  She is excited to try this new gardening method.     She has containers of leaf lettuce coming up and the tiny plants are so cute!

TG loves vegetables and she is trying to cut down on just eating white rice, as is the custom of most Asians.  She loves meat but she will add many fresh vegetables to her stir fry dishes.    

The mango trees have a good quantity of half-mature fruit in spite of many small ones falling to the ground.   I look forward to trying the first ripe mango in a few weeks.

The girls in this safe house will learn how to grow a garden and prepare dishes using the various vegetables.  They will eat healthy and never go hungry.

 

In Loving Memory of Wang Zhen Zhen

Ron was visiting a hospital in China in 2002, looking for a hospital capable of handling an open-heart team of doctors, nurses and medical personnel from the U.S.    The director of the hospital said they were not large enough or had the equipment that would be needed for such a mission.   But, he said he had a little girl there with a heart problem that they were unable to correct.   He asked Ron if he want to see her. She was in a little bed near the nurses' station, and they were looking after her.   Her mother brought her into the hospital by taxi and then fled as soon as she checked her daughter into the hospital.  They tried to find the mother and at one time thought they had, but the woman denied that she was the child's mother.

Ron took the little girl into his lap, and she wet all over him.   He has always remembered that first meeting with her!   The hospital released her into Ron's custody.   He had her taken to a large hospital in Wuhan.    The picture below with Ron and Luke, the director of the North Canton Christian Care Center was taken in 2005.  

They did some testing and said they could not repair her heart problem.    When the team of doctors from the U.S. arrived for the medical mission, John Morgan, the children's cardiologist from Chattanooga, TN, evaluated her condition and said it was impossible to correct.   Some congenital heart problems are inoperable, and sadly, he said hers was.  

 The first time I saw Wang Zhen Zhen, she was one of the first five children that came to our first orphanage in China, the North Canton Christian Care Center, in Longhui, China.   She was four at that time.   She is in the pink shirt in the next two pictures. We were in Longhui for a general medical mission.  This was my first visit to China.  I was excited to see our first children at this care center that was just opening.    

During the years this orphanage was under China Mission's control, King was brought to this care center by his uncle.   King came to the U.S. and lived with us for about 19 months to have skin grafts due to a house fire.   Many of my followers know King.    King finish high school there and later became the director of the Neil Taylor Christian Care Center in Rongshui, China for a few years.   He took care of Wang Zhen Zhen while he was the director.  (We continue to be in touch with King regularly).  

The NCCC orphanage closed about 10 years after we opened it.   The buildings were originally a school.   It had been abandoned and not in use at the time we renovated them for our first orphanage.   Over the years the cost to keep it livable became too expensive.   Many of the kids were then in High School and had to live at the school which was too far away to travel to every day.   The decision was made to close it.   The government through intense negotiations with Ron, refunded China Mission $60,000 U.S. dollars, which were the funds that started the orphanage in Tanjay, Negroes Oriental, known now as Philippine Mission.  

Wang Zhen Zhen was moved to another orphanage, but later she requested to go to the Neil Taylor Christian Care Center in Rongshui (where King was also living).    She continued to live there until her death two days ago.   At some point in time, whether before Ron met her or afterwards, she had a stroke that affected her left arm.   She could not use the arm; it hung limp at her side.    I think it also affected her mind, but the school allowed her to attend classes for several years.    She rode to school on the back of a student's motorbike.  A few years ago, a stint was put in that gave her a little more time.   

When we visited, and other visitors as well, she wanted all of the attention.   

She would push children away from us if they were trying to wedge in to get a hug.   She had blue fingers and blue lips, which are sure indications of heart problems with a lack of blood flowing to other parts of her body.  

Here are pictures of her with sponsors/supporters Sam (American Airlines pilot), Dave Halligan, and Ronald and Gigi Brown.

Everyone felt sorry for her.   No one knew how long she would live.  She soon realized that she was the center of everyone's attention.   Later on, I think everyone quit spoiling her, but she was well cared for all of her life.   Her life was not easy, and it was often sad for everyone who knew her, because we knew the time would come when her heart could no longer hold on.    

We loved visiting the happy children but Wang Zhen Zhen was alway right beside us in every picture.   She is at the top center of this photo, probably our last visit the Neil Taylor Christian Care Center.

From time to time, she would have heart pain and the workers would take her to the hospital.   Not much could be done for her but maybe they gave her pain medication that made her more comfortable.

Here is the report we received this morning about her death.  

I am sorry to have to inform you that Wang Zhen Zhen passed away at midnight after a 13 hour and 40 minute surgery (cost for us was over $20,000). Sister Song (NTCC care center director) said the surgery started at 7:50 am on the 14th and they finished up at about 8:23 pm and Sister Song was sent back to her hotel because the doctors thought the surgery was successful. After she returned to her hotel at about 9:30 pm, the hospital called and told her Zhen Zhen’s situation had changed.  One person from the Guangzho church came and met her at the hospital. The doctors said Zhen Zhen’s blood pressure suddenly dropped and they could try to save her, but it might be of little use. One of the doctors said Zhen Zhen might not survive the night even if they tried to intubate her. That was at around 11 PM. Zhen Zhen stopped breathing right around midnight. The plan is to have her cremated in Guangzho and wait for the issue of her death certificate. They may have a memorial service for Zhen Zhen at the funeral home if there is a room available.

Here is her picture made in January, 2023. She must be about 22 years old.  This is about the longest a congenital child can live with a severe congenital heart condition.   While we were over the China Mission work, I think we saved about 500 children who were born with various types of heart problems.    The foundation that took over China Mission, continues to perform some heart surgeries in China.  

Some pictures received right before her surgery:  

I hope to see her in heaven and give her another hug.   

She will have a perfect body and life for eternity!

Process to find girls underway!

Today, Ron and TG visited the elementary school (very near) and the high school (about 1 mile away).  They also visited some government offices to establish contact and let them know about the safe house. They said they got a very warm reception at all offices they visited today. 

TG prepared a booklet to give to each of these offices about the work of Save Asian Souls.   She had a cover letter of introduction and pictures of our safe houses in other locations with group pictures of girls in each home.   

TG had a sign made for the front wall to identify the house as a safe house for girls under SAS.   She spent one afternoon sawing wood and built the frame for the sign herself.   She also installed it on the wall by herself.   She is a very talented girl.    Some days I call her our engineer; other days she is the carpenter or master gardener.  She is excellent with electronics and her English has improved considerably since she has to talk to us every day. She can teach the girls computers and English!

She wears many hats and does each job super well.  We are so blessed to find her and persuade her to work with us.   She is even natured, friendly and very tender-hearted in addition to being so talented in many ways.   We don't even know of any limitations she has yet.  

TG has also prepared a PowerPoint presentation to use when they visit potential girls to explain our program and what benefit it will be to girls who want to come live here.    

Front of house and side along the carport to the back.   Yard is clean.  Along the right side, TG plans to add more trees, perhaps some of the beautiful flowering trees we see with yellow, pink and red flowers.  On the left side of the house, she plans to have grass. 

Carport entrance to house mother's room.

Beds are ready for 24 girls upstairs.   

A small air conditioner was installed in the housemother's room downstairs and a large unit was installed in the foyer upstairs.    There are plenty of fans which they prefer unless the temperature reaches 100 degrees.   They can cool the rooms down and then turn the air conditioners off to suit their comfort.   

The house is certainly a comfortable and lovely place for the girls to live.   If we can bring in girls who are too poor to go to school, we can give them an education so they will be able to find jobs when they are older and have a good life.   We hope many will take advantage of learning the computer and develop great English skills.    The most important thing of all is to teach them the Bible and hope they will become Christians and spend eternity with us in heaven,    

Pray for the success of this work in Udon Thani, Thailand.

Ron and I will go to our safe houses in Laos the last week of March and return to the U.S. April 30, the Lord willing.