Back to School!!!!

Hello~

The new school year for the children at Promise Home has begun. Tuesday, May 15th marked the first day back to school for the 4 children who are attending Saharsat school in Chiang Rai.  The two older boys, Tin and Teerladet are both in the 7th grade this year. We had hoped to get them in the same school as Nittaya, Palita and Nom but we were not able to do so. They will attend Saharsat until they complete the 9th grade and then we are hoping to get them in Tesaban Five for high school.

Wiwat and Nerye are the other two children attending Saharsat school this year as well. Wiwat is in the 5th grade and Nerye is in the 3rd grade. Nerye finished 3rd in her class last year and we hope that she continues with her excellent school work. Tin, Teerladet and Wiat all finished last year with B averages and we are extremely proud of them as well.

Teerladet, Wiwat, Nerye and Tin

Ahmorntep, Wandi and Yim are all returned to Tesaban Eight on Wednesday, May 16th. Ahmorntep and Wandi are both in the 4th grade and Yim is in Pre-K 2.  Ahmorntep and Wandi both finished last year with B averages as well. Again, we are very proud of them too!!!

Nom, Nittaya and Palita are all at Tesaban Five again this year. Nom is in the 9th grade this year but she has not received her grades from last year as of yet. We are anxiously waiting to get those!!!!

The two older girls, Palita and Nittaya are now high school seniors!!!! What an exciting time for them and for all who have supported and encouraged them along the way. They are both at Tesaban Five and like Nom, we don't have their grades from last year yet.

Palita will be 18 in July and she wants to study either Business or Psychology at University. She learned of a program through Tesco Lotus/7-11 where she can study business and the companies will pay part or all of the tuition based on grades for the four years of study.  Once she completes school, she will work for the company for a number of years. She seemed very keen on that when I was talking about it with her in March.

Nittaya just turned 17 and she wants to be either a Lawyer or a Teacher. If she becomes a Lawyer, she eventually wants a position similar to that of a District Attorney here in the United States.

Front Row: Ahmorntep, Wiwat and  Palita
Middle Row: Wandi, Tin, Nerye and Yim
Back Row: Nittaya, Nom and Terrladet

The focus for us this year in addition to making sure we have funds to operate the home will be to raise enough funds and/or get sponsors for the two older girls so they can attend University.  If anyone is interested in helping out by donating or sponsoring one of the girls, please let me know. Tuition is based on the program of study but a general cost for a year is between $3,000-$4,000 US. Amazing, huh?

On another note:  Care, the young lady who has been in the United States for a year attending school has done a fantastic job in her studies here. She recently was awarded the Student of the Month award for May and at the school awards ceremony she received an Academic Letter. We are all so very proud of her and the work she has put in while here in the United States. She has been able to enjoy many different experiences while here and I think she will leave with a bundle of great memories. She was also just recently accepted into the Chiang Rai International Christian School where she will being 10th grade. We are all very, very proud of all she has accomplished this year.

Her last day of school is May 24th and then she is going on a couple of trips with one of our board members. She will get to go to Moab and then to Mount Rushmore. She will be at the Pace Meal dinner in June for us to say goodbye to her and then she will be heading back to Chiang Rai on June 25th.  We will miss her a great deal.

Here are just a few photos of some of the experiences Care had while in the United States.

Care and Emily 

Feeding the giraffe at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo 

Garden of the Gods with Vannessa 

Care and a Wallaby

Echo Lake with Bryn

Corn Hole

Thanksgiving dinner with the Lee family

Getting blue highlights  

Skiing 

Sweet 16!!

At Copper Mountain with Bryn 

Snow 

Celebrating her birthday with Honey(it was Honey's birthday as well) 

Skiing 

Times Square with Super Heroes

Christmas in Wisconsin 

The North Pole with Abby 

Riding the A train to downtown Denver 

With her mom and her host parents

With Isabelle 

In Philadelphia with Mary and Judy

Till next time...

God Bless,
Heather

Fun, Fun, Fun

As my time in Chiang Rai is coming to an end, I reflect on the wonderful days I was able to spend with the children and the family at Promise Home. With the exception of a day and a half adventure to Mae Salong where my friend Ann and I visited the Lisu Hill Tribe that cared for Wiwat and Wareerat before they came to the home, I spent all of my time at Promise Home.

I would arrive in the late morning and often times we had adventures planned for the day. It was not always fun and games, I did conduct some business but for the most part, it was simply having fun and spending time with the children...

March 21st I spent the day at Promise Home, playing games and finishing up a new video for Promise Home. It will be debuted at our annual Peace Meal dinner so, if you are around plan on attending that on June 9th. More on that to come. After the dinner, the video will be put on our website.

My 61st trip around the sun started in the morning with my dear friends at Le Patta Hotel surprising me with a card, flowers and a lovely scarf for my birthday. They are such kind people and I love staying here.

After that, I went to lunch with Ann to Akha Coffee and spent some wonderful time there. The coffee is wonderful and the cook is superb. The owner, Arthur grows and roasts his own coffee and when I went to purchase two bags for myself, he sweetly asked if I minded if he gave me one for my birthday..

After Akha Coffee, Ann and I wandered around the mall until it was time to go visit my great friends at Baan Noi and celebrate with 22 (24 if you count the owner and her daughter) of my dearest friends. I was treated like a queen with a huge and beautiful birthday cake.. dear Ngow cut a huge piece for me which I did not eat most of but the cake did not go to waste. Cake is a treat for the children and they took full advantage of being able to eat as much as they wanted. After all, that is what a special occasion is for, right? Such a lovely evening.

March 23rd and 24th Ann and I traveled to Doi Mae Salong and visited the Lisu Hill Tribe where I was surprised with yet another birthday cake. Such a sweet and generous gift from many who have so little. We were able to visit for a while and then I shopped for goodies from 6 of the village women who had set up their "stores" for me.

We spent the night at Little Home with our good friends there. The bungalows are as quaint and peaceful as ever and it is simply so relaxing. Unfortunately Jermsak and his daughter Swanya were not feeling well so we did not have too many adventures the following day. It was best to get them back to Chiang Rai city and let them go home and rest. I spent that evening at Promise Home and got to meet little Porjai, the daughter of a young woman I originally met at Bethany and who is working for Youth For Christ with Palita and Nittaya.

Went to a new church on the 25th, where the guest preacher talked far too long for my liking but I was able to see some old friends who attend church there. The afternoon and evening was spent with Promise Home. I went with the children to play soccer but only four other children showed up so there was no real game. The boys had fun kicking the balls and trying to score anyway. It was a hot afternoon so perhaps that is why no one came....

March 26th we went to Huay Mae Sai waterfall- one of the favorite places for the kids. It is an easy drive and now a much easier walk for mom to get to the falls. The kids has a blast as did Big....... It is a good thing that we went when we did as it is getting to be a very popular place now that the weather is getting hotter.

March 27th we went to Mae Kok river by the  original Promise Home (which is now a restaurant by the way) and swam for a bit. It is getting hotter so swimming and waterfalls are the places to be.. Soon it will be Songkran (The Thai New Year where you celebrate by dousing people with water for 3 days) and the waterfalls and rivers will be packed. So glad we went when we did.

March 28th was a simple day of doing chores at the home. Big had to go get supplies for a church camp at Big C and Fon is helping her brother prepare for his wedding on March 31st. But the day ended with a trip to watch Chiang Rai United play football. We sat is one of the major cheering sections and Promise Home did well in cheering them on. Unfortunately, they did not win but it was a fun evening anyway.

My last full day included lunch with my friend Ann then spending the afternoon and evening with Promise Home. We just relaxed, out of the sun and played card games after all of the children and family indulged mom and got their pictures taken with her. Our last evening out was spent at Hungry Wolf's a local restaurant that serves Western food and which was the choice of the children. They ordered two of the large pizzas and Coke. After pizza, they had all made sure to save enough room for ice cream. The owners of the location are some more good friends of mine and I am glad to see their larger and much more comfortable location. They are getting ready to close for a one month holiday so once again our timing was perfect. A truly special evening with the family and friends.

After Easter, all  of the children will go home to their villages to spend time with family. Big and Fon along with their family will have a chance for a break and relax on their own.

So there you have the Reader's Digest version of my time here. It was filled with laughter, fun, hugs, kisses and most of all, love!!!!! I will give an update on each child once I return home. But suffice to say, they are happy, healthy, polite, caring, well fed and absolutely thriving. They fill my heart with tremendous joy and happiness. I am so proud of the people they are growing into and can't wait to see what the future holds for each and every one of them.

Thanks for following along.

Till next time......

God Bless,
Heather and the family at Promise Home