Fall is in the air but no hurricanes in Florida (so far).

We had a very hot summer in Florida but our nights are cool now and the days struggle to reach 90 by late afternoon.   We watch weather news and have been blessed with hurricanes turning before they get to Florida and heading back into the open ocean waters.    They form off the coast of south Africa and develop as they come across to the Caribbean islands.    We are not out of danger yet as the season continues through October and even into November but as the ocean waters begin to cool, fewer storms become hurricanes.

We reopened a safe house in Vientiane, Laos.   Hong and his wife, Amphone, took a two year break from keeping girls but have returned as house parents.   The teenager is an adopted daughter and the two younger children are their biological children.   

They have added 11 new girls to their household now with some as young as the first grade.   When they found families who really needed our help, they decided to take the older girl but also bring her young sister too.   It has worked well in the past as the older girls help take care of their younger sisters.    

The group picture below shows some of their new girls in their school uniforms, ready to go to school.  Some of the older girls ride bicycles to school.   They live on a dirt road (red clay) and when it rains it is really messy.  

 Those pretty shoes and uniforms won't stay pretty on rainy days.  

They live in a nice house built by Save Asian Souls many years ago.   This home is like a mansion to these girls who came from homes without electricity or running water.  Most are from the northern town of Luang Prabang where we also have two safe house (the newest one to open soon).

Hong and Amphone are very kind and loving people.   These little girls come from homes where they have been abused by alcoholic fathers or simply neglected due to parents having to work just to have enough food.   They have primarily had only rice to eat.  

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Coming to this modern house and having good food, a comfortable bed, showers and toilets is almost shocking to some of these girls. 

 We are thankful for Hong and Amphone and their willingness to love, care for and teach these precious girls.     Amphone teaches the girls how to do macrame.    

I hope to have pictures of girls and the new safe house SAS built in Luagh Prabang, Laos soon.   It is about ready to open as they are searching for house parents and girls at this time.

Other safe houses operate as before without problems.  We are blessed to have sponsors continuing the support for these precious girls.   Some are graduating from high school after being in our care since 2017.  What a bright future they have now!    Even if they do not find jobs, they are mature and able to take care of themselves, become better wives and know about Christ.     We cannot win them all to Christ but we are given the responsibility to TEACH and many are accepting the Word and becoming Christians.   

On a personal note, both Ronald and Leigh Ann had birthdays this month.   Ronald and Gigi celebrated their anniversary.   We are blessed with stable health, wonderful blessings from God and a close loving family. 

Thank you to our supporters, sponsors and friends who encourage us and pray for this work.    God bless you all.

Good news, Bad news!

 I wish every day the news would be good but that is not possible in life.   While most of our girls are doing well, have goals to pursue in hopes of having a better life, it doesn't automatically happen.   One of our girls in Nepal graduated from high school and left the safe house.  She studied the Bible while in our safe house but did not become a Christian.   She got married instead of pursuing a job.   We don't know anything about the person she married or her circumstances but it must have had a turn for the worst or she became very unhappy with her life for some reason.  She may have married an abusive person or her expectations for a better life were shattered.   She committed suicide over the weekend.  

I don't even want to post her picture, give her name or notify her sponsor.  We did the best we could to teach her and provide the opportunity for her to have a good future.   It was our responsibility to do so and even though things did not go well for her, we did what we could to help her as God would have wanted us to do.

In the Bible, the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers is found in Luke 17:11-19. Jesus encounters ten lepers who call out to him for mercy, and he instructs them to show themselves to the priests; as they go, they are healed, but only one returns to thank him.

The good news is about Sompong.    She was our first girl to arrive at Hong's safe house in Vientiane, Laos in 2017 at 10 years old.   A minister and his wife in Tennessee have supported Sompong all these years and will continue to be her sponsor.  

She graduated from high school this past school year and was preparing to go to university. 

She heard of an opportunity to attend a Bible school in Bangkok, overseen by the church of Christ.   Many of their students are from Laos.  The school provides a two-year study to train young men to be preachers of the gospel but females are also permitted to attend classes.    It is good to teach women as they will, hopefully, become wives of preachers, deacons and, some day the wives of elders.   

Sompong secured all of her school paperwork and applied at the Bible school and has been accepted.   She has received approval for her VISA to Thailand and will begin school there by October 1st.   Sompong has been a faithful Christian for several years and she wants to learn enough to be able to evangelize herself and teach others.    She will, possibly, take additional college classes to prepare herself to enable herself to hold a job and support herself.   If it is God's will, perhaps she will marry one of the young men she meets at the Bible school.  Her future looks bright because she is smart, pretty and wise.   

Sompong is like the one leper who came back to thank Jesus.   Pray for Sompong's success! 

While at Hong's house, she has helped the house mother with cooking and caring for their own children as well as the younger girls who live at the safe house.   She is standing on the left in this photo.   Hong, his wife, Amphone, and their three children are also in this picture.

Special Day!

Today is Ronald's birthday.   It does not seem 61 years to Ron and me as we can remember that day as if it was yesterday.   Today, Ronald has received a special tribute on Facebook from his kids in the Philippines as many others are also wishing him a special day.   He and Gigi are in Tennessee, traveling to give reports about the work in Asia.   They will return to the Philippine the first week of November to prepare gifts and activities for the Christmas holidays.   

But, today is a special day for us and we hope Ronald  will enjoy a beautiful day and a good lunch.

We could not be more blessed as our health seems to be stable and we count our many blessings each and every day.   Our work in going well in all locations.   New girls are being added to our safe houses in many locations.   Six girls just graduated from their studies in Nepal and will begin a new chapter in their lives.  

Our goals in Save Asian Souls is to help each girl get the best education she can and be ready to work to support herself and her family.   As they mature and receive many valuable lessons while under their caretaker, they go to school, study the Bible and grow up to be stable adults.   

Without the support of our sponsors and the loving care from the Christians in Asia who help them along the way, they have little hope for a better life.   While we cannot know if they would be tricked into false jobs abroad, we can be assured they are safe now, and are being taught well to prepare to face the future and eternity with a greater hope.  

Sagar, Our main worker in Nepal is the director of the Himalayan Bible School.   He not only oversees our work and is over the 20+ safe houses we have there, but he is involved in training preachers for the Lord's church.   They are conduct gospel meetings and this weekend in one meeting, they baptized 19 people.   

While the world is in turmoil, many people are turning to Christ and holding on as faithful Christians.    Whenever we get the least bit despaired with the world's evils, killings, war and corruption, we have to remember that God is still over all and in control and those who follow him will have a winning hand.

Ronald and Gigi are blessed with nearly a full house of children.   They will add three more girls soon and all beds will be filled.   They have a new building almost complete that will provide small apartments for some workers who live too far away to go home every night.   They will have at least one apartment available for visitors who need a place to stay for a short time.    In the future, plans are to construct a boy's home to house the older boys and make the present boy's home available for more younger boys.   There is always a need and they are doing a wonderful job with these precious children from poor and broken homes.

Our weather is changing as fall approaches.    The days are not quite as hot in Florida.  My patio is in the shade by noon each day and although we've had plenty of rain, no hurricanes have brushed Florida.  We have one disturbance they are watching now but no one seems worried at this point.   The last of September and October will be our risky weeks but we will be prepared and have no worries as we are in safe locations.

Ron and I are blessed to have a nice condo pool that is like our own private pool early in the mornings.  If the water is warm enough, I get in to get exercise and Ron swims laps for 30 minutes.    I have some arthritis in my hands and warm water and exercise is supposed to be beneficial.   It keeps us more flexible and refreshes our early morning before we start our work.   We enjoy our daughter, Leigh Ann, each weekend when we get to spend time with her.   Tatum, our granddaughter, lives in Tampa and visits sometimes.   We are so glad she is not far away as we always love seeing her.    She helps prepare our favorite Chinese food on Friday night following Thanksgiving each year so we are looking forward to that annual event again.    

There are plenty of parks and beaches but since Ron's walking ability is more limited, we have begun to spend our leisure time working puzzles, playing scrabble and listening to music.   I think most people in our condo building do nothing but watch TV and go out to eat most of the time.   They stay up late, sitting on their patios or watching TV and sleep late.   No one is stirring when we go to the pool at 7:30 each morning.   Such is the life of the retired, elderly and wealthy.   We don't fit all categories but we are definitely elderly and blessed to have everything we need with a simply lifestyle.

Thanks to our many friends and supporters who care for us and our work.   May God bless each of you. 

 

Baptisms in the Philippines

 What a blessing it it to get an email on Monday and see the photos of Nathalie and Marjorie in the Philippines at their baptisms.    

These young girls are being taught the Bible regularly and decided to follow Christ.   It will make a huge difference in their attitude toward life.    Having a hope of heaven gives us a totally different perspective about everything.    

They learned more during the recent VBS but the minister continues to teach these young people and those who guide the children in their daily lives, teach them honesty, fairness and love for others.   As they learn the biblical principles of life and know they are safe in God's grace, they will become even stronger as they deal with life's situations and problems.

The children at this facility have already had hard times such as severe poverty, family issues and emotional problems with uncertainty about the future.  But, now with life at this center, they have everything they need and a hope of heaven.   We rejoice as we see this hope in the eyes of these children.   

I am sending the July reports about these children to their sponsors and reading the progress they make from quarter to quarter is amazing.   As they see the behavior of other children changing, they too will begin to improve and strive for success.   The Bible warns of evil companions creating problems for good people.   We hope the influences they face at school with children and teachers who do not follow Christ, will not overcome the teaching they are receiving at their group home at CEA.      We are thankful for the sponsors who care for these children and help us continue our work to teach and convert young people in Asia.

May God bless each of my blog followers.   

VBS at Casa Esperanza of Angels

The nine-member group from Texas completed four full days of VBS for the children.   I am sure they feel tired but contented that they brought so much joy to a large group of under privileged children.  Neighborhood children attended in addition to the 34 children who reside at CEA.   They had rotation of teachers for classes, and activities such as crafts, quizzes, games.   It takes a lot of work to conduct things for four full days.    

The children received certificates at the closing of the ceremonies.    Thanks were extended to everyone for their hard work.    

On Friday, they will all go to a nearby resort for a day of fun at a recreational park.    This will be another day of adventure the children have probably never had before.    They averaged 55 children each day which is an excellent turnout from children in the community.   Hopefully, it will result in some families from the community attending the worship services in the future.   

Then on Saturday, the Texas group will leave for Cebu and the long trip back home to Greenville, TX (west of Dallas).   It was a lot of sacrifice for these people to go and do this for the children and we are grateful for their loving support.   There is not much jet lag going but they will have to spend a week getting over it when they get home.

Ronald and Gigi will be tired from overseeing the entire week, making sure they have transportation to and from the hotel, meals and things needed for the day-to-day operation.   It may be a let-down to the children next week without things going on each day, but I'm sure they need rest also.

Thank you to the sponsors who support these children and make it possible for this home to exist.

Ron and I are doing well as we continue to work from home to oversee the Save Asian Souls' work.   It is expanding with an increase of girls added to our safe houses in Nepal.   We have two more safe houses opening up in Laos so we'll have an increase of girls in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Laos soon.   As my workload increases, so does our age, but we are blessed to still be able to manage the work.

Wishing all of you a good summer with God's great blessings.  

Home again!

Ronald and Gigi have returned to the Casa Esperanza of Angels orphanage in Tanjay, Negros Oriental, Philippines after a two-month long fundraising and reporting trip to supporters in the U.S.

It is a very long trip from Cartersville, GA.   They left one night at 6:30 from the Atlanta airport to fly to Dallas.  At midnight, the flight left for Hong Kong.   It is a 16 hour flight.   If you can imagine spending two full work days in a tight seat without sleep, that is just the beginning of the experience.   After arriving and going through customs, they had 3 more hours to wait for the flight to Cebu, the island near Negros.   

There is a 12 hour time change to keep in mind.  They had been awake all day before they left Atlanta.  Add up the hours and you will come to between 30 to 40 hours before they get to bed.  Gigi can probably sleep some on the flights but Ronald, with his long legs, never gets comfortable but he never complains.   I've made many of these long international trips so I know for sure what I am saying. 

They got an early check in at the hotel in Cebu as they arrived about noontime.  Gigi said they slept 7 hours; Ronald went to a mall close to the hotel to get them some food and they went back to sleep for the night.   The day they left Cebu for their flight home, they had to check out of the hotel at 11 a.m. but their flight was delayed and they did not get to leave until 8 p.m.   It resulted in another full day of waiting in an airport for a two hour flight home.  

There is just no feeling close to the exhaustion you feel after one of these trips.  The body goes through the time changes and without sleep, it is very hard.   I am always so relieved when I get a message they are in the hotel and ready to get some rest.

I know why we don't have more foreign missionaries.  Raising funds for the work, the travels in the U.S. and back and forth to both countries in addition to the work when they are home is unimaginable for most people.    The quality of keeping things clean and in good order goes downhill while they are away and then they work very hard to get things back in shape.

About 4 more children were added this month so they have about 34 (?) kids now.   It is hard to keep up with the exact number.   There is a lot of responsibility on their shoulders as they train these children in all aspects of life as if they were raising their own kids.   It is especially hard as the children come from troublesome pasts and unraveling bad things they have already learned makes it twice as hard to deal with the problems.

Creekside church of Christ in Greenville, TX will send a group over in June to conduct a vacation Bible School.   There will be a lot of preparation getting everything in good shape for their visit.    They are looking forward to the visit and the children will surely benefit from the wonderful work they will do.

There are groups visiting all the time, donating supplies, bringing the children meals, snacks and gifts.

Here is a picture of students from their local college Stillman University (Business and Ethics Class) visiting CEA.   They brought many supplies and gifts they donated to this work.  

Pray for this work in the Philippines.   It is an excellent home for children as Ronald and Gigi do such a wonderful job.   Thank you to all who support this good work too!

Wonderful family weekend

Ronald and Gigi arrived about noon on Saturday.   We had a good lunch with them, Leigh Ann and Tatum.   It has been almost a year since we've all been together so it was a joyful occasion.   Ronald gave a report on Sunday morning to the congregation at River Road in New Port Richey.   Ron preached the sermon.   We had a wonderful potluck lunch after services.   After lunch on Monday, Ronald and Gigi left to drive north toward their condo in Carterville, GA.   They stopped along the way at Crystal River, FL last night.   They will be reporting to a congregation in Macon, GA Wednesday night.  They will rest a little and leave for the Philippines on May 6.   It has been a very busy two months for them.  

The children in the Philippines are already out of school so they need to return.   They have a group from Greenville, TX going to prepare Vacation Bible School for the children in early June.   The children will return to school by the end of June for another year.   The school system changed the times of school terms this year.   Many activities are planned for the children during their summer vacation so Ronald and Gigi will be very busy for the next two months.

We have some visitors planning to come see us in June and July but we are not planning any trips away ourselves.   We have settled in to home here with a routine that works well with us.   

I hope everyone stays well and enjoys a good summer.    Thanks again to our friends and family for the encouragement and prayers you continue to provide us.