Wednesday Evening

Hello from Thailand

The computer I am working on is slow and we will see if it all works.

Our trip from Cambodia to Thailand went very well. Crossed the border around 7 am, waited for our luggage to be pushed across the border in the push carts, loaded up and off we went.

Arrived in Phuket round 7, had dinner, and then orientation with our hosts. We are staying on the church property right next door to the MMF orphanage that our 2006 team worked on. The orphanage property is totally developed, all is finished and they have 7 children from the age of 6 months to 9 years old. The fence that we paid for is up, enclosing the entire property and keep all the young ones safe and sound, and not letting the "escape".

The church property has two guest homes on it, Hilary and I and the boys are sharing one (two separate rooms), a communal home with an outdoor kitchen where we eat our meals, and the new English center. The team here worked very hard and completed the two dorm rooms down stairs where the 12 girls are housed, and an English teaching center. They just finished it Monday, the paint is just dry. We thank them for their efforts to make our stay so comfortable. The upstairs of the English center is not complete. It still needs doors, windows, electricity, plumbing, painting, etc.

The team here is beginning to practice preparing coffees and smoothies for their coffee house, English Center, once it is complete. They make us a variety of drinks once we get home, we pay a small fee, we are refreshed, they practice, and we are all happy!

Here in Thailand all the kids have just begun their two months of summer holidays. The church is running English school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, from 1 to 3:30. They have about 16 students who are coming. They started Tuesday - and we got to experience their joy at this beginning.

Four of our students stayed back from teaching at the Muslim school the past two day, and Hilary stayed here the entire first day, and this afternoon. While they are on the church property in the morning they have been helping cleaning up around it, cutting the grass, weed eating, breaking up the concrete that was spilled around the cement mixer during use, then rebuilding the wheels underneath it, and placing it in a proper spot. They shoveled the left over concrete pieces into a low spot on the property, moved lumber, and did general clean up. They have a list for us, and we are moving through it much faster than they anticipated, thanks to your fabulous, hardworking children, with Hilary's guidance, and Peter's direction. Peter is a man from Switzerland how has been volunteering here for the past year, helping with construction duties.

We went to the Muslim school yesterday and taught the grade 1, 2, and 3 classes. It was their last day of school before summer holidays. We had a great day, lots of smiles, hugs, excitement during the singing, skits, teaching activities, and crafts. The smiles are worth the work by the end of the day, and the hugs and kisses help!

Today we taught grade 4, 5, and 6, a repeat of yesterday. About 2/3 of them remembered me from 2 years ago, and the teachers who were there then too, were excited to see our team. I know that we blessed them and they have already booked us for a future trip.

Last night we went into Klok Kloy for noodle soup for supper, and tonight we had sticky rice, chicken, and green papaya salad. Amazing!

As I sit here, Hilary and 7 of our team went to Peter's home. He runs a Bible study once a week. Tonight our kids are going there to hang out with the kids, do some crafts with them, teach them English through conversing with them, and having a great time continuing to help the ministries here.

We are having devotions each night, sharing, some singing, and we now are preparing skits for school on Thursday and Friday, as well as preparing for Tuesday's evangelism day. The school we are going to tomorrow and Friday, is a Buddhist school. We are allowed to talk about God there, so we will sing a few Sunday School songs, and do three of our skits. It is a new school that this ministry has just begun working with. I am looking forwards to seeing the differences or sameness of the two schools.

We are all doing well, all healthy and happy, and dealing with the heat better each day. Yesterday we had an hour or so of rain, and today a few minutes. The humidity is high, and it is sticky outside. It is so beautiful here with the green grass, coconut trees, bushes, and flowers, paved roads, and not a lot of garbage around. Quite a difference from Cambodia.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers as we are just over half way our trip.

PS - Just to let you know that the count of homes destroyed in the rain storm in Cambodia is now 147. CHO ministry is going to try to help them buy building roofs for them, and they will be responsible for the rest. Please pray for this work.