A New Direction

Hello all~

The after shocks from the earthquake on May 6th seemed to have subsided as I didn't feel any yesterday during the day or last night. I am thankful for that as I was able to get a good night's sleep. Feel refreshed today. There are several districts here in the Chiang Rai province that have been declared disaster areas and the government is helping them repair buildings and roadways damaged by the quake. Seems like business as usual here in my neighborhood. The roof tiles on the house have been repaired and the children are fine. Thank you for all of your well wishes, thoughts and prayers over the past few days. We are all grateful for them.

There have been lots of changes to our operation during my furlough and since I have returned. The changes are based on a number of different factors and we believe they will be the very best for the children we are supporting here in Chiang Rai.

You may recall that when I first decided to come over here, I was planning on living here full time and spending most of my time here in Thailand. In the months since I have been here, I have changed my mind. There are a number of different reasons for this and it would take a lot of time to explain it all to you in the blog, so I will highlight just a few.

Now that I think about my decision in hindsight I am not certain why I never realized the affect this move would have on me in terms of my family. As many of you know, my family is my life blood and even though I have new members here, I simply cannot get over the ever present ache for those I left back home. I miss them all desperately. Most days when I can stay busy, the void is filled with the activities of the children and the home, but it is at night when I am alone that I feel the ache the strongest.

Even with all of my attempts to integrate into the "family" here, I am still treated as someone special. The way the Thai's are raised makes it impossible for them to treat me like one of them and they will always treat me differently. I bear no ill will towards them, it just makes it more difficult for me when they will not allow me to do things to keep me and my mind occupied. Without something to do, the ache for home rears its ugly head.

The need to have a male presence in the lives of the two young boys became more and more evident with each day. They need to have a male role model around to help them learn the proper way to behave and become productive men in Thai society. The girls need to become productive young ladies in the Thai society as well. After having conversations with our friends here in Chiang Rai who are Thai and who run a very successful home, I learned we needed to have someone with the children to help teach them the way a good Thai citizen should be. We needed a couple to raise the children so they could have both a male and female influence on them and not just the female. While we all loved Maurethai and are forever grateful for her hard work while she was with us, she could not fill the void in the boys lives.

While I was on furlough we had many discussions about the path forward for our children's home and after much thought we decided to hire a couple and move the children to a different house to live with the couple.

During the time I was back in the United States, our friend searched for a house and found one right before I returned. So the day after I got back, I headed out with him to look at the house and I loved it. It is off the busy street, has three bedrooms, one for the girls, one for the boys and one for the house parents and their two girls. It has a gated front yard with a covered drive and lots of windows with screens on them. The screens are so important because they can open the windows and not let the bugs in. It is so much cooler inside the new home than it is here at the old place. It has a balcony on the lower level leading to the yard and one off of the Master bedroom. There is an indoor and outdoor kitchen and lots of storage space in the indoor kitchen. There are two bathrooms. One upstairs and one down. There is even a bathtub in the one upstairs. The three best features of the home are: The yard where the kids can play. The quiet street around the house where they can finally get bicycles and ride around and last but not least, the community swimming pool.

Moving In

Upstairs Balcony

Indoor Kitchen 

Master Bedroom 

Cleaning the chairs in the living room

The house parents we have hired are a lovely family of four. They all use nicknames so they are Big, Fon, Nom and Yim. Big is the father and he speaks fairly good English so he and I can communicate pretty well. When I have trouble understanding I just look at him and he asks if I understand and when I say "No" he tries again. It may take two or three tries but eventually we get it communicated. Fon is his wife who speaks very little English but she is trying to learn from me. Nom is their 10 year old daughter and she is a sweetheart. She speaks a little English as well. Yim is the baby. She is 7 months old and she is adorable. All of the children seem to love her as the girls take turns helping care for her and the boys will make faces and play with her when she is sitting on the floor with mom.  Big is a kind and gentle man, who already appears to have a calming and wonderful affect on the boys. This past Sunday we went to church and he had the two boys sitting with him and they sat there during the entire service which is a miracle. In the past when I have gone to church with the kids, the boys have been allowed to run around after Sunday school and create mischief. I was amazed at seeing them sitting there with him. Fon is a hard worker and she gets along well with the girls. All of them keep the house very clean and they take care of things. I am positive that we made the right choice in selecting Big and Fon as the parents. They are kind and gentle souls and I love to see how quickly the children have taken to them.

Big cutting Ahmorntep's hair 

Cutting Tin's hair

All of us- Nom is sitting to the right of Vannessa, Big is next to Nom, Fon and Yim are behind Nom 

Palita and Yim 

After moving them into the house, we went to get a new pick-up truck for them. We found a Mazda Freedom Cab that will work perfect for them. Big can take the kids to school and use the truck for shopping and other chores. A Freedom Cab has the two cab doors that open to the seats directly behind the driver. The kids can climb in there or ride in the back. The next project will be to get a cover for the back so the kids can ride back there in the rain and not get wet. We have a few weeks to to that.

Palita and Big in the new pick up

So….. what is happening to me? I am currently in the old apartment and will stay here during the summer when I will have many visitors and volunteers coming to help out. June 2, 2014 two of my nieces arrive for a visit and while they are here, two young college aged girls will arrive. The two college girls will be staying with me until August 1, 2014 and doing lots of volunteer work. One is using this experience as an internship for her school. They have lots of fun activities planned and we will certainly put them to work on helping us make improvements to the house. It is dingy inside so we are going to add a fresh coat of paint to brighten it up. One of the girls said she loved to paint which is good since I am not so fond of it.  The girls and I will stay here at the apartment during the day when the kids are in school except when we are doing work at the house and then go over every evening for dinner and spend time with the kids. They all start back to school on May 15th and will go until October. We will spend most of the time on the weekends at the house doing activities and fun things with the kids. Perhaps soon you will see a picture of me riding bicycles with them……

I have decided not to stay here full time so after the girls leave in August, I will be going back to the United States. My plan is to work part-time, go to school for non-profit management, fund raise for the project, and then travel back to Thailand three to four times a year to check in and visit with the family here. I need to take on more of a directors role and let Big and Fon be the parents and that is what I will be doing. I will have regular communication with Big and get regular updates which I will share with you. After much thought and consideration, I know this is the best for everyone. The children are Thai and they need to be raised as such. The most important thing for the group is to be there to support them financially and emotionally. We have provided them with a house, good daily food, the ability to go to school and a sense of security. That is what we need to continue for them. I ask that you all continue to support this project even when I am back in the United States because the children will still need us. It is our hope to eventually add more children to the home and at that time, the need for support will be greater than ever.

Yesterday was Nittaya's 13th birthday and we had a wonderful celebration for her. Big went out of his way to make it a special day. More on that tomorrow.

Until next time…….

God Bless,
Heather

Earthquake

This isn't the first blog that I wanted to publish but it is the biggest story of my time here so far.

Yesterday evening, May 5, 2014 at 6:00 GMT +7 there was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was located in the Phan district which is approximately 16 miles south of Chiang Rai where I am. It was a shallow quake, about 7.4 kilometers from the surface.

I was at the movies with a friend on the fourth floor of a shopping mall when everything started violently shaking and swaying back and forth. We exited the theater and there was a wonderful young man who was also at the movie who took it upon himself to ensure that we got out ok. He went as far as to take my hand and lead my friend and I to the exit and make sure we were fine and on our way out before he left go. When we got outside, we were able to find him again and thanked him profusely for taking such good care of us. There was no panic, no pushing and shoving. Just an orderly exit out the door and down several flights of stairs.

I contacted the kids at home and learned they were all ok and there was only minor damage to some roofing tiles that fell off. No cracks in the walls or anything broken. They were all ok. After dinner we turned in for the night but at least for me, sleep was not in the plans. I had a very restless night because of the after shocks. The news reported there were more than 100 after shocks ranging in magnitude of slightly below 3.0 to 5.2. The 5.2 shock was the morning and it shook so hard, I ran down the stairs and quickly exited the house in my pajama's. Those of us not used to events such as this were on edge for most of the day. We did not experience any additional after shocks after the large one early this morning.

I read reports this evening that one person died and more than 20 were injured because of the quake. The death and injuries occurred in the Mae Lao district which is between Chiang Rai and the Phan district. One of the major treasures here in Chiang Rai, the White Temple was damaged but the extent has not been released.

I am hoping for a quiet night so I can rest as I am exhausted after not sleeping well at all. I am grateful for God's protection over all of us here in Chiang Rai. The children and all of my friends are safe tonight because of his grace.

Until next time…..

God Bless,

Heather

Songkran- Thai New Year

I made it back to Chiang Rai just in time to take part of my first Songkran Festival….

The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water upon others. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns. In addition, many Thais will have small bowls of beige colored talc sold cheaply and mixed with water which is then smeared on the faces and bodies of random passersby as a blessing for the new year. Sometimes this talc is mixed with menthol. It is very common to have groups of Thais post themselves at the side of roads or corners of intersections with garden hoses or large new plastic trash cans filled with water (typically ice cold) that is used to drench sidewalkers and random vehicles (taxis, cars, motorcycles, tuk tuks) that come within watering range. Songkran is traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors, and monks. The songkran festival is counted as a new life festivity in which many around the world take part in, but mostly focused in the country of Thailand.

Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran as a Buddhist festival may also go to a wat (Buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddha images from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water mixed with a Thai fragrance (Thai: น้ำอบไทย) over them. It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such asChiang Mai, the Buddha images from all of the city's important monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at them, ritually 'bathing' the images, as they pass by on ornately decorated floats. In northern Thailand, people may carry handfuls of sand to their neighborhood monastery in order to recompense the dirt that they have carried away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles and decorated with colorful flags.

Some people make New Year resolutions - to refrain from bad behavior, or to do good things. Songkran is a time for cleaning and renewal. Besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais also take this opportunity to give their home a thorough cleaning.

What a fun day we had. This is the one time I allowed my self to get soaking wet while being fully clothed. For those who really know me, this is a very big deal. By the time I came in around 4:00 pm, I was soaked from head to toe. The entire family out here took part in the fun along with some friends of Maurethai. We started around 11:30 and there are still many of them outside on the street throwing water at truckloads of people and each other. It is now 4:44 pm. Today we did not worry about our water bill because the water has been running non-stop for several hours now. After spending the entire day outside in the sun, I am sure we will all sleep well tonight. Enjoy the photos.

Challenge

Friends,

My furlough is almost over and soon it will be time to head back to Chiang Rai, Promise Home and the children. I have been receiving updates while I have been back here in the United States and I am being told that they are all fine. The first week of March, they all went back to be with their families in their villages to spend time with them during their summer break from school. They will come back to Promise Home shortly after my return and we will have some free time together before they go back to school.

We are still searching for just the right house for the home. I think we may have found it based on an email I received from our friend on Monday. I am just waiting for an update. Sometimes those take a little bit because he is busy with his job. If we are fortunate enough to get it, I will post pictures as soon as I can.

This summer will be a busy one for us at Promise Home. If all goes well with securing the house, we will be moving everything and getting it all in order. A house means that once we are settled, Charities Within Reach will look to see if we can assist more children who would benefit from what we offer. Eventually, we hope to be able to help a total of 8 children. In addition to moving, there are several groups of individuals who will be coming to visit and spend time with the children. The first group will arrive April 21, 2014. My daughter Vannessa is part of that group and she will arrive April 19, 2014. June 1, 2014, two of my nieces will arrive and in addition to spending time at Promise Home, I get to show them the beauty of the countryside in Northern Thailand. Then on June 9, 2014, two college students will arrive to stay for two months. They will spend lots of time with the children teaching them games, activities, English and other things. Their goal is to be able to give back some of the wonderful things they have learned over the years. I am excited for all of the different experiences and adventures the children will have.

THE CHALLENGE

Between December 1, 2013 and March 10, 2014 three 7th grade girls who are members of the National Junior Honor Society at Altona Middle School in Longmont sold fundraising sheets in order to raise money for a computer at Promise Home. The computer will help with children with their homework and will also give me and the volunteers an opportunity to teach different skills to the children. Since computers are used in almost every business around the world, giving the children an opportunity to learn computer skills is a part of our goals to help give them a better chance in life. A computer is something most of us take for granted…. Many of us have several of them ranging from desktops to laptops to iPads. We think nothing of carrying them around all of the time. So………..

The young ladies were able to raise $414.00 dollars for Promise Home during their fund raiser. This is amazing and we are so grateful for their efforts and support. Now, I am challenging all of you to help us raise the rest of the money so we can purchase the computer for the children. There are many of you on my distribution list so the amounts do not have to be be large. We can do this if everyone gives a little. My hope is to raise $500.00 more for the computer. I know we can get a good one for $850 to $900 dollars. If you are moved to help us with the project,  please go to www.charitieswithinreach.org and donate whatever you can.
_____________________________________________________

I guess I should enjoy this colder, snowy weather today since I have heard that there are tropical storms and heat waves in Northern Thailand. According to the Weather Channel, the daytime highs in Chiang Rai are in the upper 90's. Will be going from a wintery blast to the heat of summer very quickly. I will have to remember the colder weather when I am baking in Chiang Rai.

Till next time……

God Bless,

Heather

Furlough

Saw this term used by other missionaries here in Chiang Rai to describe their time away from their various work assignments and I thought it was very appropriate. I will be taking a furlough of two months from Promise Home beginning Friday, January 31, 2014. I have some family business matters to attend to and then of course I have that little tax obligation to deal with before April 15th. I had originally thought I could do most of the work via the internet, however with my retiring from work and receiving retirement funds, I think it is best if I can oversee all the details personally and then be able to talk with my tax preparer one on one if necessary. I am looking forward to arriving in Colorado on February 1, 2014 just in time to watch my beloved Broncos in the Super Bowl the next day. Go Denver Broncos!

So before I go, I would like to share an update on Promise Home-

• During the month of January we have been looking for a house with a yard or compound that we can move the home to at the end of April when our lease expires on the current location. We are looking for a larger property so we can increase the number of children we assist and where they will have a place to run around in and play. Our current location is right on a very busy street and there is no yard to speak of so the children are confined to staying inside most of the time. That is a little tough on the two boys. They cannot go out and run around to release their energy and play without hurting anything in the home. We found a place that meets all of our needs and are just waiting to hear back from the owner to see if they will allow us to rent the home from them. I hope to hear something before I leave at the end of next week. 
• The children are in their last two months of school. They will go to school until the first part of March and then they all return to their villages to help with the planting and other activities there. They will have March and April off. They will return at the end of April when a group of 9 ladies from the United States comes for a visit.  
• April ladies visit- this group will be arriving on the 21st of April and it is our wish that we have the house by then and we can finish moving everything into it. We also hope to be able to plant some flowers and perhaps some vegetables so there will always be a garden that can be used at the home. In addition to working on the home, this group will be doing some tours and some outings with the children. We don't have the outings planned yet, but I am sure they will be great fun. 
• The children- they are all thriving and doing very well. We have experienced some unusually cold weather here in Chiang Rai but we have managed to stay warm enough. During the first cold spell which was around Christmas time, I was able to find fleece pajama tops and bottoms, gloves, hats, and socks for everyone so when it gets too cold in the home, they all go bundle up in them. With the nights being colder than normal, the days don't get as warm but I am not complaining. I love the mid to upper 70's that we have been having during the day. Quite comfortable. According to the weather channel, it is supposed to get even warmer during the day approaching the upper 80's and then the nights are in the high 50's. More like normal winter weather here in Chiang Rai.
• The two girls continue to help around the house with daily chores and one takes excellent care of her two brothers. I think she has had far too much responsibility placed on her shoulders for a girl her age but she takes this responsibility very seriously. The other always helps out in the kitchen at meal times and often prepares several dishes all by herself. Both of the girls have chores around the house and they immediately take care of them after arriving home from school. They also do their laundry and other tasks. Both seem to being doing well in school. The language barrier makes it hard for me to communicate with them but when I ask if school is good, they both say yes or OK. 
• The two boys are just like any other four and nine year old boys. They play with each other, wrestle around and are stuck together like glue. Where ever the oldest is, you will be sure to find the youngest. He is the oldest boy's constant shadow. They don't have many assigned chores but will help clear the table after meals and when I ask them to do something, they will do it. Sometimes they don't even need to be asked. Today I was taking the clothes hanger from my room down so we could dry all of the sheets for their beds and they saw me carrying it down the stairs. They immediately dropped their toys and each one grabbed an end and took it to the front door for me. The girls don't ask them to do things very often as that is not how they were raised but I try to get the boys involved in chores so the girls aren't the only ones doing anything. 
• We have fallen into a predicatble, regular routine. One that many of you with children will recognize. The children go to school during the day, come home, do their chores and homework and then watch some television before bed. The next day, they do it all over again. They will take care of other chores such as laundry and cleaning on the weekends. We have not had any major excursions lately because of the difficulty fitting everyone into the smaller car and the fact our friend who can speak both English and Thai has been so busy. Our lives here have been very uneventful. 

I will start the blog up once I have returned from furlough. I look forward to seeing many of you while I am home. To those I won't get to see, thank you for your support and following along. I hope to share more new adventures when I return. 

Until next time…….. 

God Bless

Heather 

Chiang Rai Flower Festival

Every December Chiang Rai hosts a flower festival- they have a large area over by the airport and a smaller one at a park in town. There are beds and beds of flowers along with displays made of flowers.

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words so I will let them do the talking. Enjoy!

2014

Hello~

Just realized it had been a while since I published an update. Got a little bit busy with the holidays and the kids being gone.

We celebrated Christmas here on December 24th with lots of presents and a wonderful dinner with guests. There was a family from Oregon here for the holidays and they came to visit with us and joined me for dinner. They were a lovely family and I do hope they will return one day and come to visit with us again. As always, after dinner we sing and enjoy some time with the children.

The room decorated 

Everyone and there presents 

Chiang Rai experienced a severe cold snap beginning the week before Christmas and it continued through the holiday. While it is known to get cool here at night, it is not known for it being downright cold. There was two weeks when we barely hit 70 degrees during the day and then it went into the low 40's at night. Now I know that doesn't sound cold for many of you who suffered below 0 temperatures in December and who are now experiencing the same now, but for here, that is miserably cold. The biggest reason is that no one, and I mean no one has heat in their house. Our home is cinder block construction with metal rolling doors for the entrance. During the day we would leave them open to help heat the house however, with it not being very warm outside, it didn't heat the house very well. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would wear a long sleeved shirt, a fleece pullover with a scarf inside the house. When we went outside, I had to add a coat and gloves. Fuzzy, warm socks were essential. I had two blankets and a quilt on my bed so I would be warm enough. Imagine how cold a tile floor is when you wake in the morning….. Fortunately, my room faces the west so I got the afternoon sun and was very thankful for that. I would go up there to warm up or would just stay in my room most of the day as the main part of the house was just too cold.

I am happy to say that the temperatures have returned to normal now and the weather is brilliantly pleasant. Mid 80's during the day, hit 50's at night and little to no humidity. I like it like this. I was reminded by several people to remember the cold snap and be thankful for it when the hot season begins in March. I will try but I was most uncomfortable.

The children left for the respective villages for over a week during their Christmas break on the 25th and they all returned on January 5th. School started again on Monday, January 6th. They are now back into the swing of things for the last two months of school. During the time they were gone, I stayed with a friend that I had met on a previous visit to Chiang Rai. She moved from her old house on New Years Eve day and her new house did not have Internet so I was not able to communicate much with folks. Part of the reason it has been a while since I have written. We moved her into her new house and since both of us were sick, we were overly tired so our New Year's Eve was very uneventful. Went to bed early only to begin coughing around midnight and then heard the barrage of fireworks that were going off. One year I will stay up and will go downtown to see them. New Year's is the big holiday around here and many people from the south travel to the north to holiday. The town and roads were overcrowded with them and other visitors and it can be quite the mess to be in. I am not all that fond of being shoved around and bearded around in a mass of people so I try to avoid the huge crowd. But one day, I will see the fireworks.

I hope that 2014 has started out well for all.

Until next time…..

God Bless,
Heather