Promise Home Christmas Party

We enjoyed a very special evening at Promise Home celebrating Christmas on December 22nd. The family spent much time decorating the house and then arranging a gift exchange for all of the children who attended. Big invited the landlord and his wife, who made this delicious fried noodle treat that was sweet and sour together. It was like caramel corn with the sweet glaze, raisins and then it had chives and mustard for the tart. It was delightful. The pastor from the Akha church that Big and Fon attended was there with his family as well. Pastor Paz and Bishop Ariel from Asian Mission Outreach and other members of their team made a surprise stop with lots and lots of ice cream.

Big, Fon and the children prepared a lovely dinner for us to share in fellowship. There was steamed rice, fired fish with spicy tomato sauce on the top, Massaman curry, pork soup and of course the treat from the landlords wife. Fon made another special treat of sticky rice which she cooked in bamboo sticks over an open fire. I have had this treat before and it is delicious!!! Then we had to have ice cream and a wonderful carrot cake that Pa Ann brought for us to share. Needless to say, Vannessa and I were completely stuffed when dinner was over.

Tin with the curry, fish and soup

The landlords wife and her noodle treat in front

Carrot cake

After dinner the children put on a short program with readings, singing and dancing. Of course it was in Thai so Vannessa and I did not understand most of it, but the heartfelt message and meaning of the day was clear. After the program was the gift exchange which is always highly anticipated and very exciting. There was trash and paper everywhere which reminded me of so many Christmases at my house growing up where the floor could not be seen because of all the paper. Vannessa and I received these beautiful warm knit hats and mine was even Broncos colors.

Christmas presents!!!

The evening ended with us sending lanterns into the night sky. This is a wonderful Thai tradition where you send your cares and worries away and ask for luck and well being for the new year. It is a special time to share with the kids who wanted to do a lantern with each and every one of us. There were several in the sky at one time and we followed them until they went out. It was the perfect ending to the perfect evening.

It is Christmas Eve morning here in Chiang Rai and we will be sharing the evening with our friends at Bethany Children Home, enjoying their Christmas program and gifts. While we miss our family and friends back in the United States this holiday season, we are enjoying the chance to spend this holiday with our Thai family.

Our family wishes you and your family a blessed holiday and a prosperous New Year. God bless all who have helped enrich the lives of the children and it is my hope that I have been able to convey the tremendous impact your gifts of giving have made on their lives. Each one of you have touched them in on way or another and it has made a world of difference to them.

Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings to all!

Till next time...

God Bless,
Heather

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted a new blog on here. Guess it is time to remedy that!

My daughter Vannessa and I arrived in Chiang Rai on Saturday, December 19th to a wonderful greeting of family and friends. It was very nice to see them all at the airport to greet us.

After getting settled in our hotel, Big picked us up and took us to their new home. It is very, very pink but it is perfect for them. We got the tour of the house and it has plenty of room. Palita and Nittaya have a larger room for themselves on the main floor. It is complete with it's own bathroom just for them. There is a living room and a storage area off of the main level and then a "guest" bathroom. Upstairs are the rooms for the three boys, Tin, Teerladet and Ahomrontep and then Wandi and Nom share a room across the hall. There is a nice balcony which they can all enjoy and the room for Big, Fon and Yim is located off of that. They have a bathroom of their own and a sink outside on the balcony.

The main floor area 

Yim

The covered patio/eating area

Palita in the kitchen

The Garden 

Promise Home 

Promise Home

There is a large yard area in front of the main entrance which leads to a covered patio/eating area which is very pleasant. Off of the eating area is a kitchen. Outside of the kitchen area is the car port and a large yard for the kids to run and play in. There is little traffic so it is quiet and the kids can ride their bicycles all over the neighborhood.

We spent most of Saturday just playing with the kids and sitting on the patio area. It is very nice. I really enjoy sitting outside, even with the bugs.

Everyone is happy, healthy and doing well. It is so rewarding to see how far the children have come in the two years we have had Promise Home open. The older girls are responsible young ladies who are looking at going on to University and the younger children are doing better and better at school. All of them have been greatly influenced by the consistent, calming love and guidance from Big and Fon.

Today is Tuesday in Chiang Rai and tonight is the Christmas celebration at Promise Home. Big has a special menu planned and it should be a wonderful time spent with family.

Till next time....

God Bless,

Heather

Promise Home

Hello~

I just finished spending a wonderful week in Chiang Rai visiting with friends at Bethany Children and Faith Home, the Asian Mission Outreach Foundation and of course, our family at Promise Home.
What a wonderful time it was.

My niece Alicia and I spent all day Saturday and Sunday with the kids at Promise Home, playing games, coloring, purchasing new bicycles for Wandi and Teerladet (they didn't have one) and simply enjoying their company. Wandi and Teerladet were a little shy at first, but they didn't take long to warm up to us. During the week while the children were at school, Alicia and I would visit different tourist locations and then spend most of the evenings with the children. It was like I had never been away. We fell right back into the old regular routine. It was very enjoyable.

The children are doing very well and every time I see them, I notice how much more confident they are and just how well they are doing with life and school. Big reports that they are all doing very well with their classes and I am so pleased. He still has their schedule of different studies after school in the evening. They are obviously thriving with this guidance. It is heartwarming to see just how well they are doing and how their situation in life has changed for the better. We all realize that Charities Within Reach would have been able to make such an impact without the financial assistance that many of you have provided. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Thank you seems insufficient for the tremendous impact your generosity has allowed us to make. My hope is that one day, many of you will have the opportunity to travel to Chiang Rai and meet these children yourselves. In the meantime, please just enjoy some of the many pictures we took while we visited them.

Yim and Tin

Alicia helping Amornthep and Wandi with homework

Nom

Teerladet and Palita 

Palita 

Tin and Teerladet 

Nittaya and Nom 

Wandi

Yim and her father, Big

Long overdue update

Hello~

I just realized today that is has been several months since I did a blog up date- Wow, how time flies when you are busy with life and all.....

In my last update, I mentioned that two new children had come to Promise Home. They have settled in nicely and have become members of the family. All of the children started back to school the first week of May and have also settled into their weekly routine. It is too soon for meetings with the teachers so we do not have any official word on how well they are doing, but Big says they are doing well. They are finishing their homework and doing what the teacher wants them to so. When we talk, they all tell me they like school and that they are doing good.

I try to talk with them on Skype once a week and while we don't have long conversations, I do get to see them and see how well they are doing. They all look happy, healthy and content. Although Wandi and Teerladet are a bit shy, they will come say hello and Wandi stands in front of the camera just looking at me. I think she is a bit curious about the technology that allows them to talk to me.

Recently Big put together a video about Promise Home. It is a wonderful video and I wish to share it with you now. I am particularly pleased that the two older girls want to finish high school and then go onto college. We will start looking at a college scholarship fund for them in the near future. Having them go off to university or a trade school is a major goal of Charities Within Reach so we want to help them reach this dream. Please enjoy the video.

Earlier today in Thailand, several members of Asian Mission Outreach Foundation (Charities Within Reach is a member of the foundation) brought together children from a Lisu Hill Tribe and Promise Home for games, singing, dancing, prayer, lessons and then food. They made a wonderful video which is also included in this blog. I hope you enjoy that one as well.

I will be traveling to Chiang Rai next month to visit with the children and the home. I am taking another one of my nieces so she can officially meet the rest of her family in Thailand. I will share our activities through the blog.

Finally, next month on July 24th- Charities Within Reach will be having a benefit concert to raise funds for the operation of the home. Acoustic guitarist, Dave Beegle and Aaron Lee will be performing and there will be drinks and food. The information is below. If you can, please make time to join us for this concert.

When: Friday, July 24th, at 7:00 p.m.

Where: Thompson River Ranch Park. Located east of I-25 between exit

255 for Highway 402 and exit 257 for Highway 34 in Loveland. Take

the frontage road to the north entrance of Thompson River Ranch

subdivision. Follow the signs for the park.

Who: Well known guitar artist, Dave Beegle, with guitarist Aaron Lee, a

member of Dave’s acoustic band.

Please RSVP to joan.lee46@me.com or (970) 231-6175 by July 20, 2015

Till next time....

God Bless,
Heather