We have two mission trips to Thailand planned for 2014.  The first is January/February and is a building mission at the Hmong dormitories and possibly a church build in Gee Ghun.  The boy’s dorm at Kathy’s home needs additional toilets and showers.  There will also be work at Ban Tha Wang Pha.

The second trip is planned for early June of 2014.  Thailand is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).  They have set organization standards for the English language with the goal to be met in 2015.

The high school in Pua is one to the top rated schools in Thailand and the principle of the grade school/middle school would like to meet the same standard.  Although the teachers speak English, they learned from non-English speakers.  We have been asked to gather a group of U.S. teachers to teach English to the Thai teachers specific to a discipline, i.e., math, art, science. 

We will need 10-15 teachers for this project.  A minimum of two weeks will be needed and will cost approximately $2000.  For more information, please contact me through my face book page.

Ajan Panya spent the day PaKlung for the funeral of his niece. This afternoon, he and the village pastor came to visit to give Dennis some herbal medicine and to pray for him.

Yesterday we poured cement. In Thailand that means hauling with a bucket and finishing with a hand trowel. Finished the 25 foot sink except for the tile which I will do next week after the cement has dried. We finished installing the gutters. Getting close to finishing the project(s); this has never happened before.
Dennis has been really sick since Saturday. He thought he was better on Sunday, but really didn’t start recovery until today. He was able to walk into Pua for some Quiteou.

We went to church today at Ban Tha Wang Pha with the children and the families in this area. I love to hear the voices singing in Hmong. Actually, here they blend three languages that only the people in this province can understand.

Interesting night last night. Dennis got really sick, so we called Ajan Mak who took him to the local hospital emergency room. Dennis got to experience Thai medicine first-hand. The entire ER cost was about $10. It was food poisoning, so he is OK today, but for a while, he wasn’t sure.

I am writing this at 4:00am. Still jet-lagged.

This week we finished electric and indoor plumbing. JouLee has finished the outdoor sink so Dennis and I can start the tile next week. The gutters for both dorms will be installed next week.
As slow as things seem, we have only been on-site for a week.

Trying to get ready to go from 11 students to 40 students. Need four time as many beds, chairs, dishes, everything. I hope Ajan and handle this many kids. My main concern is that they need another person to help with the spiritual needs of the students.

Been a busy few days. Last Sunday we went to church in a small Hmong village. 180 families and only five families attended. It always seems strange to sing hymns like “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “How Great Thou Art”; American melody and Hmong words.

Monday and Tuesday we worked on walls and electric in the girls dorm. Tomorrow, Jowlee (a local builder and brother in Christ) will start to work on a sink. Yes, he will build a 25ft long concrete sink. Ten girls will be able to wash at the same time.

Other than mixing and hauling a lot of concrete and mortar, Dennis and I have been working on the electricity. Tomorrow we hope to finish the most of the plumbing.

Just finished our first day. We have to build a short wall around the girls dorm to prevent erosion. This will probably take a week to finish.

With graduation, the hostel is down to 14 students, 3 girls and 11 boys. Ajan has started the selection process for next semester and will take a total of 37 students, 15 girls and 22 boys. With the help of one donor, he will probably raise this to 22 girls and boys. The will still have to turn away 10 students. This also means we will have to enlarge the kitchen/eating area.