Simple Joy

In today's world of hateful politics, racial tensions, angry words, and so little care and concern for others I find I need a time and place to go to restore my belief that there is still joy to be found in this world.

I find that joy every time I come to Thailand to spend time with the children and family at Promise Home. Although we cannot talk to each other for long, we know and are blessed with the language of love. Their unconditional love for me is everywhere and I hope they feel my love for them.

One of my favorite things is to treat the children and family to things they rarely if ever get to experience in every day life. Things such as ice cream, movies and going out to dinner is considered a luxury for them so they don't ever go out. Each time I come we go to somewhere special. Most times I leave the choice to them and tonight was no different.

Our special treat this evening was KFC. Not many would consider KFC as a place for a special treat but the children loved it. What a joy it was to see them eat as much chicken, french fries and drink as much Pepsi as they wanted.

Their joy in this simple meal and the simplicity of their lives, without complaint refreshes and inspires my soul. It is my wish that everyone could experience this love and joy and I hope that I have been able to share just a small bit of it with you.

Till next time...

God Bless,
Heather

Arrived at Promise Home

Hello~

Made it safely to Chiang Rai on Saturday, September 17th and was greeted by my lovely family at the airport. I received hugs and kisses along with two beautiful flower arrangements. I am truly blessed.

After checking in at my hotel, I went to Promise Home for one of my favorite meals, a Korean BBQ. We enjoyed chicken, pork, vegetables, noodles, crab, hot dogs and broth. This is the time to eat until you are completely stuffed. The children make sure that mom does not go hungry....

After dinner we celebrated the most recent and upcoming birthdays of some of the children. Sandi's birthday was in July, Yim's was the first part of this month, Ahmorntep's was on the 19th of this month and Teerladet's is in October. It is always good to have cake.

The children have a collection of beetles that they keep for about two months. This beetle is the mascot of the Chiang Rai futbol team, Chiang Rai United and they will fight each other. They live on pieces of bamboo and that is also what they eat. Big and the children give them new stalks of bamboo once they have chewed through the old ones.

The children are still in school and it is exam time. The oldest girls, Palita and Nittaya will be out of school for about a month beginning tomorrow and the others will follow shortly. This is the time for their winter break. All of the children go to different schools so they are all on different schedules. It is a lot to keep track of.

I keep myself busy during the day and will be heading to Mae Salong in the morning. There I will meet with the Lisa hill tribe teacher to talk about a couple of children they would like us to eventually take in.

Enjoy the photos of Saturday night.

Until next time....

God Bless,

Heather

Hello

Wow! I just looked at the blog and realized that the last time I posted something on here was February. Man, how time flies.

I am sitting in my hotel room in Bangkok writing this just passing the time until I leave to head up to Chiang Rai. I will be here for two weeks visiting friends, checking on the children and the home and just enjoying time with everyone. Be sure to watch for updates and pictures.

Charities Within Reach is working on a project to bring the oldest daughter of our dear friends Jermsak and Da to the United States for a year of school. Her name is Care and she will be staying with a host home in Niwot and attending Niwot High School. Our goal is to raise funds to get her here along with her parents and have some "extra" for her to spend while she is here. This is an exciting time and we hope that this is just the beginning of bringing our children over to spend time in the United States. Care's goal is to learn more about education in the US and to improve her English. She is quite the accomplished young lady already in terms of language skills; she speaks Thai, English and Chinese. Impressive, right?

I am really looking forward to spending time with the children and am excited to share my visit with everyone. I look at them today and am amazed at how they have grown since I first met them three years ago this month and marvel at how they have changed. They are no longer small and frail looking. They looked well cared for, happy, content and most importantly of all, loved. It is truly gratifying to see these changes and to know that we helped make this happen. Thank you for always following along on this journey and giving your love and support in many different ways. You have made a tremendous difference in their lives.

Till next time....

God Bless,

Heather