Another change in our lives

We keep in touch with our new safe house mother in Udon Thani, Thailand.  She and Yim, her only girl so far, are growing many good vegetables in their garden.   The most unique of which, is oyster mushrooms.   

Since none of you have seen them growing, you will enjoy the pictures.   

I have not seen oyster mushrooms in the U.S. but I loved them when we tried them in Udon.   They are fried in a small amount of oil until they become crunchy around the edges.   They can be used in stir fried dishes and in soup.   

As the last phase of our lives has arrived, we are moving again.  Thankfully, not to a nursing home!

About 23 years ago, Ellen Mao, came into our lives as a young graduate nurse from Harding University.  We met her at Hillsboro church of Christ.   She was very interested in our work in China as her family is Chinese.   They immigrated to the U.S. when Ellen was a child, and they still live in California.   Ellen began working with us in the office, went on medical missions to China and more recently went to all of our Save Asian Souls' safe houses and taught home health and good hygiene practices to the girls and house mothers.  She and Leigh Ann (our daughter) went together to visit children at one of the orphanages that we established in China more than 10 years ago.   Ellen visits Leigh Ann in Clearwater, FL.

From 2010 to 2019, we lived in an RV and traveled extensively across the south to give reports on our work to raise funds.   When we went to Asia in 2019, we did not know that would be the end of our travels in a motor home.  Covid hit the world and when we returned to the U.S. in June, 2020, we moved into Ronald and Gigi's house in Woodstock, GA (north of Atlanta).   Leigh Ann and Tatum (our granddaughter) lived here for more than five years but had relocated to Tampa and Clearwater, FL at the end of 2019.   

Ron decided a year ago that we would move to FL before the next winter.   Ron had a man in FL to take the RV on a lease/purchase plan two years ago but while we were in Thailand last year, he quit making payments and Ron repossessed the RV.    Rather than live in an apartment, we decided we would live in the RV full-time and had selected an RV park in San Mateo, FL.   

When Ellen heard this, she began pushing for us to relocate close to Leigh Ann in Clearwater.   She began searching for condos and agreed to be co-owner with us if we would consider it.    After two weeks of reviewing available condos, we have reached an agreement to purchase a condo with Ellen, located at 1020 De Leon Drive, Unit #103 in Dunedin, FL.   It is a 10-minute drive north of Leigh Ann.  The closing is set for August 31, and we hope to be ready to drive there after Ron's next appointments at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville on October 6th.

After we get moved and settled, I will post pictures!

I have begun the packing and disposing of things we cannot use any longer.   It is a difficult job but with breaks to do some of my computer work, I am sure I can get it done by the end of September.  Unpacking in a new place is the easy part.   I think we have moved 20 times in 68 years.  I could be a professional packer if not so old!

Ronald and Gigi will return home and begin doing things to the house to get it ready to sell.   They cannot return to the U.S. permanently and he does not want to rent it again.   He went to China in 2009 and the two renters prior to Leigh Ann living here did not take good care of the house.   Since he cannot oversee it from the Philippines, he will sell it and try to buy something smaller for their home in the U.S.   Leigh Ann and Ellen want them to buy a condo down there close to us, of course.   

My workload has been very heavy since we returned from Thailand.   I will have to take breaks from the packing at my age so I will do my computer work on my breaks.  I will do my best to keep things fairly current until we can get settled in Florida.  

We have wonderful neighbors here in Woodstock.   I have become close friends with them and with the two young girls at one of my neighbors.    These young teenagers want to come down to visit us next summer and that will be special for them and for us.   I am going to miss them but hope we can make some friends in the 55+ condo building and at church.   There is a small but sound congregation at Port Harbor, five miles north of Dunedin.  

We regret that we cannot travel to congregations as we have done for the past 20 years.   The long-distant driving will become harder for us.   We will miss many friendships and visits being further away and we regret this.   We will keep in touch with our modern technology and continue our work as usual.  

We believe this change is the best for us at our age.   With our daughter and granddaughter nearby, they will surely help us, but we will try to be independent as long as we can.   We are about a 4-hour drive from the Mayo Clinic.  They have all of Ron's medical records, but we can use local doctors for minor illnesses.  I hope Leigh Ann can take a day off and go with us to the Mayo Clinic when Ron needs another visit there.   After the October 6th appointments, he may be dismissed until next year's checkups.  

We will continue our work with SAS as long as we possibly can.   Maybe God will continue to bless us, and we will have a few more years to be active in the work.   

We appreciate your prayers for us.    

Baptisms and other things during July

As the month of July comes to a close, we do not know how the time went so fast.    We took another trip to the Mayo Clinic for Ron to have more testing done.  There was no change in his brain scan on the MRI from last year.    His blood work report was very good except for cholesterol.   He is starting a new prescription for that problem.    Ron eats very healthy so diet alone will not keep his cholesterol low enough.   Several diseases such as diabetes, thyroid, autoimmune and Parkinson's were ruled out.   The neurologist plans to have a few more tests scheduled.  We will have to go back when we find out the date for other appointments.   He has one knee that causes pain, and his leg muscles are weak.   This week, he started physical therapy to try to strengthen his leg muscles.   Keep Ron in your prayers as we continue the therapy and watching after his health.   For all of you who know Ron, you know he intends to continue doing this work as long as he is able.  We hope that will be a few more years with a good diet, exercise and adequate medical care.   

There have been several girls baptized in Nepal this month.   

The local ministers teach the girls regularly in each of their village safe houses.   We are pleased that so many girls with a Hindu background are being taught the gospel and accepting Christ as their savior.     Continue to pray for the other girls who are in the process of learning.    We have over 200 girls in Nepal safe houses now.  Some graduate each year, a few get married and leave but there are more coming all the time that need our help.

We lost one safe house in Laos as Hong resigned the work in Vientiane, Laos.  

He took in 19 girls in a small house, but it proved to be too much for him and his family.    Hong's health is not good right now and he felt he needed a break from the work that is never-ending with such a big family of girls.   Some of the girls are in college or vocational schools and have found dorm rooms where they can continue their studies.   A few girls relocated to Phet's house in Vientiane.   Four girls decided to return home to their homes in Northern Laos as they think their parents are now in a better position to afford to pay for their schooling. 

Hong says he would like to do this work again in the future when he feels he is more able to handle the responsibilities.  He is a very good man.  He and his wife have done a wonderful job teaching girls as they were our first house parents in Laos many years ago.   

Carole Booker, a teacher at Westbury Christian in Houston, went to Laos in July to teach the girls at Phet's house.  

Some of the girls from Hong's house and from the safe house in Luang Prabang came down to attend her classes.    From all reports, they had a wonderful time.  Carole always treats the entire group on a fun trip.  This year, they traveled to another city and visited caves, an amusement park and continued some more classes there.    It was the first time for many girls to travel, stay in a motel, eat at restaurants, and have such fun experiences.   I know they are grateful for the great memories they made this summer with Carole. 

Each summer, Carole has visited one of our locations.  I do not know how many years she has made this long trip, but she began during the time we had orphanages in China.   We are so grateful for her loving service to teach and encourage our precious girls.   I hope she can go again next summer to Udon Thani, Thailand or to the Philippines.

Thanks to all of our friends, family and supporters for encouraging us in this good work.   May God continue to bless each of you.   

Incredibly busy summer schedule

Each week, I think I will post a new blog, but my workload has been very heavy.    If you have checked and not found anything new, I'm sorry.   Feel free to email me at patbrown10@gmail.com or Ron at ronbrown20@gmail.com.

We made a trip to Florida to see Leigh Ann the last week of May.   After we left Clearwater, FL, we went to Jacksonville to the Mayo Clinic and Ron had some of his health evaluations completed.   We have not been able to see one of his doctors in a couple of years.   The last time we were there, the hurricane that hit Ft. Myers was already beginning to affect the weather in Jacksonville.    We were not able to see Dr. Lin that day and due to the weather, we could not stay.   We drove back to Woodstock, GA to be ahead of the storm.   Ron will have a MRI tomorrow evening and a blood test Wednesday morning with an appointment to see the doctor in the afternoon.    We will spend two nights in Jacksonville.

Friday morning, we will drive to Central Florida Christian Camp at Eustis, FL where our RV is parked.  It is a 2-1/2 hour drive southwest of Jacksonville into Central Florida near Mt. Dora.  Two years ago, a man in West Palm Beach took the RV on a lease/purchase plan but he discontinued his payments.  The RV was repossessed while we were in Thailand.    The director of the Christian camp went to West Palm Beach and drove the RV to the camp.    

We will clean it up inside and stay there through the weekend.   We need to explore dealers in the area to see if we can put it up for sale with anyone.    I have packed odds and ends of household items from the kitchen, linens for the bed and bath so the basics will be there for our trip.   These things can go with the RV when it is sold.  If we cannot sell it right away, we might go back and spend some time there this winter.  Ron does not feel he can do the maintenance work or drive it now at 86 years of age.    

Ron wants to permanently move to Florida, but we have not made any arrangements yet.   Our friend from California met us in Clearwater in May.  She was hoping to buy a condo and get us to rent it as she does not plan to move there for a few more years.   She did not work out a deal to buy one so that option seems to have ended.

We have a trip planned for the last weekend in August to Florence, AL.   We have two congregations we need to meet with on Sunday, August 27.   Ron hopes we can drive on to Memphis, TN to meet with Jackie, our co-worker.   A deacon in TX is interested in working with SAS when he retires.  We would like for him to meet us there to discuss the work.

The work is continuing just as before, except we closed one safe house in Vientiane, Laos.   Hong, a very excellent worker along with his wife, decided to stop keeping girls for a while.   They have some problems in their family with an adopted teenage daughter and with some other situations, it seemed best for them to take a break from the work.  Hong says he hopes they can do this again in the future.  It was the end of the school year, so some girls went back home to stay.   About four girls will move over to another safe house in Vientiane.  The older girls in college will live in the dorms or find available rooms near their schools.  Some of them are working part-time and also have relatives that can help them financially now.  These changes have kept me busy sending final reports for the girls we will not continue to support.

We are thankful for each of our supporters, whether you sponsor a girl, many girls, or just help with the overall expense of the work.   We are a team with a large number of supporters now and we appreciate each of you.   

As Ron and I are beginning to really feel our age, we will not be able to travel and report to each congregation as often as we have done in the past.   Ron will continue to send news of our work by email, and he will be available to talk by phone (678-877-6300) if anyone has a question.  Ron's hearing is not good at this time, but we hope after more treatment, hearing will return in the ear that is the worst. We will continue to be as active as we can for as long as we are able.  Our office work is full-time so travel makes it much harder for us to keep up with everything.  

God has surely blessed us and our work.  We could not do it without the will of God to move the work forward.   May HE bless each of our workers, our supporters and the precious girls who receive our help.

Until next time!

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.