House of Blessing

We always love our visits to House of Blessing and today was no exception. Gene and Sherrie had decided that since my dad had loved the children at the orphanage so much, that they wanted to give their memorial money in honor of him to the children out there. We loaded up the truck with snacks and treats for the children and took it out to them this morning. We also had some friends ask us to deliver some money to them that they use to sponsor children and help with their education tuition.
Eve, the 11 year old on the right is the little girl that my dad connected with. They both loved each other and I can still remember her little hands on him as she prayed for him on his birthday with tears streaming down his face. Today, as Mike explained to her about his death and why we brought out these special gifts, the tears streamed down my cheeks. We had asked Kat and Aoum what would be best to get her and they suggested a new back pack as school is starting up again this month. We filled it up with some cool pink school supplies, and asked her to share them with her sister, Ice. They were so thrilled. They had good news concerning Eve and Ice. Their mom had a 40 year prison sentence, but she had three chances for appeal. The sentence has been cut down to 20 years, and she has one more chance to appeal again. They asked us if we would like to go with the girls the next time they visit their mom in prison, since she has become a Christian.

This is Eve and Ice's room that they share with 6 girls. It is a very small room as you can see.

This is where most of the girls stay. Each room is just rows of bunk beds and each child gets a small box or closet for their possessions. House of Blessing is really in need of a new facility. They actually have the land, but are having some logistical problems in getting the funds to start building.

Eve walked around with us to visit with the staff. She didn't take off her backpack the whole time. I'm wondering if she slept with it on. This is a big pot of curry cooking for lunch. Wondering how long this supply of rice will last. Feeding 120 mouths/ day and they eat rice 3 meals a day... maybe not too long.

Mike and Gene passing out the treats. Each child got a carton of milk, small bag of chips, and 2 candies. What a treat!

This is JoJo that our friends Rick and Maggie in Waterloo sponsor. Maggie, I just want you to know that he looks great and remembers you. He's adorable and loved his treats.

Eve and JoJo together as we left. I am so blessed every time we go to the House of Blessing and thank God for the opportunity to be a blessing to them, once again.

In-Laws

The in-laws are here and we're loving it. Well actually it is our daughter Marisa's, in-laws. Gene and Sherrie Foltz (Jon's parents) were missionaries here with New Tribes Missions for over 20 years. During that time, we created alot of memories together. We were next door neighbors, our kids all went to the same school and eventually we monitored our daughter and son falling in love during those high school years. They have come back to visit for 2 weeks. Gene is actually the founder of Grace International School, where our daughters graduated from. This week is the 10 year anniversary of GIS and they have come back to join in a big celebration. They are staying in our guest room and we are having lots of fun together again just like old times. Here's a few photos from their first 24 hours here: This one if for you ,Summer. Both Grandma's know that you love everything pink, so when we saw this window full of pink things we thought of you. You'd love it, our little princess.
Getting together with some of Sherrie's old friends today for a Thai pedicure.
Eating a northern Thai specialty dish at "Just Khao Soy". Our friends Tom and Janet joined us. They have formed a foundation that will be a support in many ways to the missionary school, GIS. The noodles often splash curry on your clothes, so they gave us bibs to wear.
Khao Soi with all the condiments.
Dinner in our home tonight was another favorite Thai meal. 5 star chicken, sticky rice, somtam, and mango cheesecake.


Tonight was an very encouraging Praise and Worship service at GIS. During the evening we all reflected back on the past 10 years since the school was founded. More on that later, but this is Gene sharing with the group.

12-12-12

Yesterday our friends Ted and Kaylin from Khon Kaen came to visit us for 12 hours. They took an overnight 12 hour bus trip to spend 12 hours with us and then took the return overnight 12 hour bus trip home again. They are missionaries with our home denomination GBIM but work closely with our TCCC team. They are in fact a huge help to that team and have big hearts to help them and work together in ministry. They just needed someone like us to talk with and plan how to use their time most effectively. We had offered to drive halfway to meet them, but they wanted to come to Chiang Mai. Our city has more choices of restaurants and shopping, so we made the most of their day. Besides lots of talking and strategizing, we ate at two favorite restaurants, shopped, watched a movie, and just enjoyed each others company.

I just texted them to be sure they were safely home, and they texted back to say they are still on the road, but everything was OK. I was tired when they left last night-- can't imagine how they feel.

Sam's New Hang-Out

This post is for Collin! I just to want to show you, my little buddy, that Sam has a new favorite place. It is right under your fort that Papa made you. He has always been a dog that likes to be around people, so now he likes to be near the construction workers next door. I think he likes the sounds of their power tools humming all day long. If you were here, you could keep him company when you are up in your house. I guess for now, he'll just have to lay there and wait for your return someday.

A Homebody at Heart

I was a bit sad to see this week come to and end. I was home alone all week and loved it. Mike spent the week with our teams in the south checking on the building projects and we decided it was best for me to stay in Chiang Mai. I was reminded once again how I am a "homebody at heart". For 25 years of my life, my ministry was based out of our home and therefore I think I will always be most " at home" there. Since we have been away for so much of the last several months and will be in and out in the coming months, I knew that this week was a golden week to get caught up on things around the house. Even though the temps were in the high 90's and low 100's all week, I was workin' like crazy. It has felt so good to clean, sort, paint, garden, rearrange, etc. The only sad part is that I still don't feel caught up. I had a dream of feeling caught up on paper work and correspondence stuff, too. I'm not sure if that feeling of "caught up" could ever happen to me. Here's just a few photos of the week:

A little proof of the high temperatures. It always helps me mentally to see the thermometer for some reason. I guess it gives me a reason to know why I feel so drained and low on energy.

I know this could be a bit gross to some of you, but I wanted to show you what we found yesterday. Mike and I were changing a light fixture and when he pulled it off the wall, it sounded like lots of little pieces of a light bulb falling to the floor. When I turned my head to look, Mike informed me it was just lizard eggs. That was a lot of baby lizards that were hatched in that room; but don't worry, they are all good. They eat the insects for us, and don't bother us at all.

On Wednesday, I wanted to bake for my Alumni Bible Study and had been planning to bake for some new neighbors and other people too. I got a little carried away and ended up making four batches. I also gave the neighbors some tracks, and DVD's about the life of Jesus with the cookies. I told them that our family is Christian and pray that a little seed has been planted for future conversations.

This week, I've spent quite a bit of time, doing a "Flip that Room" long needed project for our guestroom. We are very excited for our first guests to arrive in two days. As soon as the room is done-- I'll show you the difference.

Smell the Freshness

One thing that I miss while in the USA is drying our clothes outside on a clothesline. The sheets and towels especially have a fresh smell to them that a dryer just can't match. When I was young on the farm, we always dried our clothes outside, but I rarely see it in the USA anymore. Someone told me it has something to do with neighborhood laws, because it doesn't make the neighborhood look as nice. Phooey on that, I say. Our first years in Asia, we washed our clothes by hand. I can still remember getting our first washing machine and loving the sound of the motor humming and the clothes slopping around. I enjoyed working in the laundry area, just to hear the sound that reminded me of the USA. Then a few years ago, we finally got our first dryer. (a really old one- but hey, it's quite the luxury here just to have one) It comes in great in rainy season, when the clothes can't get dry and start to smell sour. That fragrance/deodorizer "Fresh Linens" tries to duplicate the fresh laundry, but nothing compares to the real thing.

Jet Lag

People often ask us how we do with jet lag since we've been back and forth more often lately. I think they expect us to have the whole jet lag thing figured out with a solution. I'm sorry to say that is not true, after trying lots of remedies. Our bodies still take awhile to catch up to the 12 hour time change. When it is day time here- they're telling us it is still night time in the USA and when it is night time here, they tell us it's daytime there. The worst time is late afternoon- when every cell in the brain tells you to just take a short nap and you'll feel better. (Experience tells us that is the worse thing to do) The other symptom of jet lag is waking up through out the night and especially happens around 4 to 5 am, when the body is wide awake and ready for a new day. We actually sort of like this part, because we get to have long extended Quiet Times and reading, while everything is still quiet.

It usually takes our bodies about one week, to adapt back to the new time and gets a little better each day. One week ago today we arrived back in our home, and last night was my first good normal sleep again.

Verse for today:

Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.

Lori in the jungle

It's been a month since we told Lori good-bye for the second time. Dad's funeral was a month ago yesterday. Lots of emotions in this past month. In some senses a month can seem so short. Seems like just yesterday we were enjoying Dad's company and laughs and fun nature. Then why does a month seem so long to not hear anything concerning Lori. If I only could know....
-is she covered in mosquito bites head to toe again?
-have they encountered any snakes or other poisonous creatures?
-is she finding palatable food to eat?
-did she have another round of stomach/diarrhea problems?
-who was her partner this time and are they enjoying each others company?
-is it still fun and an adventure to her or is the newness wearing off?
-are they bonding and building relationships with the people they went to work with and able to teach them more about the Bible and God?
-what kind of interesting experiences is she having beyond our imaginations?
-most important-- how are her times with God each day and what is he teaching her?

I can't tell you how often people tell me that Lori and I look so much alike. I just don't see it!

Reading in the Psalm this morning I found some very encouraging verses.....

Psalm 61--"From the ends of the earth (Thailand?), I call to you.......For you have heard my vows, O God, You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name" (still thinking on the heritage left me by my parents) ....Then will I ever sing praise to your name and fulfill my vows day after day."

Buoy

It is summertime in Thailand. Temperatures are soaring. Schools have been out for the hot season break and each of our university ministries has taken a trip to a rural area for their own summer project. Our Stint team (Short-term internationals) of Americans that have been working in Chiang Rai will be doing an English camp for the orphans at Asia Hope orphanage. All of the orphanages that we know around here- would love to have us come do camps for the kids. It gives them a fun week to look forward to camp type activities and also helps them with their English. May 11 to 160- Vinnie, David and Emily will have about 80 school age kids at the camp from their orphanage. There are also 40 more preschool children that they would like us to plan some activities for.
I want to introduce you to just one of the orphans at Asia Hope. His name is Buoy. Both times that we visited there last month, he followed us back to our truck as we were leaving and wanted to talk with us, even literally as we were driving away. When I asked about his background, the staff told me that his mother had put him in a garbage can as a newborn and he was found by an older hill tribe woman who raised him. When this orphanage was started, 8 years ago, he was one of the first children to come to the home. Buoy is now getting a lot of love and is known to be one of the most helpful boys at the home. His story is just one from the 120 children. I pray that we can just love on these kids and help them to know God's love for them through our time with them in a few more weeks.

Here we are with the directors of the home after our planning time together.

Price Comparison

While we were in the states last December, the furnace in the house that we stayed in stopped working. Mike worked on it and is a great "fix-it" man, but living in the tropics has not given him much experience with furnaces. Since the girls and I were all freezing, we finally had to break down and call a repair man, which is something we very rarely do. After 1 hour of trying to figure it out, the repairman went just one step further than Mike had gone and fixed it. He then handed him a bill of $160, for just 1 hour of labor. It was a huge shock and disappointment to us.

In comparison, yesterday I had four workers spend the entire day at my house. They started at 9am and left at 5pm. We had agreed on 5000 baht for the day. During that time, this is what they did:

• painted our guest room and ceiling, which included preparing the room and stripping off a wallpaper boarder. In this job, they also had to take off closet doors and paint them, and the wood borders around the windows.
• climbed up on our roof to find and then fix a hole in our roofing.
• an earthquake last year had caused a pretty big crack in the ceiling of this room, plus water damage from the roof leak, so they had to re-plaster/repair the ceiling before painting it.
• re- cemented under some marble tiles that had come loose on a step going into the room.
• in the tropics, paint peels off fast from the intense sun and rain. The two cement posts at the front of our gate had some peeling paint, so they sanded them down and repainted them.
• We had put in a new light fixture last year in our dining area and there was still a hole that needed covered, so they plastered and painted that sore spot.

So how much is this 5000 baht in dollars? The entire job, including all the paint and materials and all day labor for 4 guys cost us..... $143. This is just one more thing that we love about life in Thailand.

Petrified Frog

Can someone explain this to me? We found this little critter by our shoe rack when we got back home yesterday. He is what I call a flying frog. This species has the ability to jump clear across the room which looks like flying to me. When I saw this guy sitting on a table I called upstairs to Mike to come down quickly and help me. I DO NOT like trying to catch them on my own and DO NOT like them inside my house. He asked what I needed and when I asked him to help me catch a frog, he said "It's petrified". He had already found it and set it on the table. I'm still wondering why a frog would die in this position? Doesn't it seem like he would get low on strength and roll over on his back to die? Why is he sitting in this crouching position ( ready to jump) as he takes his last breath?

Suvarnabhumi

After our 40 hours of travel between Cedar Rapids and Chiang Mai, it was so good to walk into our home yesterday. Stepping off the plane in Bangkok at midnight, with the heat and humidity, if felt like stepping into a sauna (especially in comparison to what we had left in Iowa). It felt so good to be home, that the heat did not bother us. Yesterday while waiting for our next flight out of Bangkok, I took these pictures of the new Suvarnabhumi airport.

The flights always arrive at midnight so we have to spend the night in Bangkok before catching a flight the next morning to Chiang Mai. This is the view while waiting at our gate for our last flight home.

The little guesthouse (near our office) that we usually stay at was near the area of demonstrations and protests and we had heard that the roads were blocked so we tried out a new place near the airport this time. We were very happy with it. It was complete with hotel transfers, breakfast, cable TV, Internet, hot showers, and lots of lace and artificial flower decorations in our room :) -- all for just $23/night.

Songkran, the water throwing festival to celebrate the Thai New Year, is going strong. When the girls were here, we joined in the water wars whole heartily, but this year will just watch and hope to stay dry. The temp forecast was for 102 F. today, but it looks like we'll be staying in the high 90's most of the week. Throwing water is actually a a good way to keep cool- if you're out and about. Happy Thai New Year to everyone!

Baby Katy

In 1998, we fostered an adorable little Thai baby in our home for 9 months. Our girls were ages 17, 15, 13, and 10 at that time- so she had four live-in doting babysitters. When the nine months came to and end and we knew it was time to "deliver" her, it was a sad good-bye for all of us and yet we knew that she was going to a home that had been waiting for her to love and nurture her as we had. The best part of the whole story is that she was adopted by our good friends Ken and Amy in Waterloo, so we have been able to stay involved in her life and had the joy of watching her grow up. Not all foster stories have such a sweet ending. Each time we get back to Waterloo, we make it a high priority to visit our "other daughter", catch up with her, and exchange hugs. Here we are last week with our sweet little Kathryn Christian. She's not so little though anymore and is growing into a beautiful young lady at age 11.

We know some very talented Thai artists and had the pencil portrait done of her while she still lived with us. Last week, Katy brought me the picture and hat that she had on in the picture to show me. What a gorgeous little girl and my how she's grown. We love you, our little Katy-bug, Lady-bug!

Reflections on Good Friday

• Living in a Buddhist country, Easter is a holiday that can easily slip by and be forgotten. In the USA there have been reminders for me this week which I've enjoyed. This morning, Mike and I reflected on death once again, at his Aunt Elvera's funeral. It was so comforting to be reminded that because of Jesus' death on the cross on that Good Friday-- the death of our family members does not have to be final. Thank you Jesus, for dying on the cross for us.
• I was also reminded of our years in the Philippines where Good Friday was one of their biggest holidays. They would reenact the crucifixion and self- flagellation in belief that it would atone for their sins. Thank you Jesus, that you paid the price once and for all.
• Almost any member of our organization, has had the opportunity to watch the "Jesus" film over and over as, it has been one of our best resources to help people understand the life of Jesus. Our own Jenny watched it as a child and when she saw the reality of Jesus suffering through this most feared and torturous execution by the Romans, she was moved to tears. At that time, she decided that since he had done that for her, that she wanted to receive his gift of salvation personally. Thank you Jesus, that your salvation is free to all who receive it.

We're down to our last two days, as we leave for Thailand on a flight early Monday morning. It's been a difficult 3 weeks here dealing with our last parent's death and all the closure- but we are thankful for His grace in our lives. We've accomplished alot, and feel almost ready to return to our "other home" in Thailand on Monday.

Cloud of Witnesses

I really enjoyed the message that I heard last Sunday morning at church. It was from Hebrews 12:1-3. I was thinking about the "Cloud of Witnesses" that surround me and cheer me on. Some of these people are ones who have been with us for a long time and are still cheering us on. I think of:

1. My Dad and Mom. No doubt they are my biggest cheerleaders in heaven right now.
2. Our support team and home churches - they are like the Pep Club who keep us going, that I remember from my high school.
3. Bible heroes that I've been reading about and other spiritual giants.
4. Our American and Thai CCC staff that we labor together with, who weekly encourage each other in the ministry.

I have been wanting to get a huge bulletin board in our home and post pictures of our "cloud of witnesses" for the longest time, and really hope to do that when I get back to Thailand. I may be writing some of you to send me a photo of you for our board if I don't have one. I love the way the Bible says that we are "surrounded" by them- which means to me whichever direction I move that these witnesses are all around me, surrounding me and moving me on. I think of an athletic team in the huddle. My goal now is in the rest of the verse, "to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus".

Family Photo

Just before we left Thailand a few weeks ago to come back for Dad's funeral, I had mailed an updated family photo to many of you. It seems the mail was a little slow across the ocean- because right now (20 days later) most of you are receiving it. No, we are not back in Thailand yet- to settle some confusion. If you did not receive our card and updated picture-- let me know, as we still have some more to mail out.

It's snowing again!

Last week, when we took Jenny back down to Branson, I was absolutley thrilled to see beautiful tulips all over their campus. We have such a variety of tropical flowers in Thailand- but no tulips. It seems, I hadn't seen a tulip in years and they are one of my favorite flowers. I was so excited about spring, which is a season we also do not have in Thailand. However, it's snowing again. What is it with me and snow? It just seems it's been following me each place I go for the past few months. We enjoyed the first snowfall that we saw when we came back to move dad in December last year. Then when we came back up to Iowa for his auction in January, the temp never got above 20 degrees for that whole weekend and it snowed most of our time there. Returning to Arkansas we got to experience thier record breaking Worst Ice Storm ever. Last week, when we drove Marisa back down to Arkansas, it snowed one day and people were talking about how unusual it was to get get snow there in late March. Which brings us to today - walking out of church to this snowfall. I was looking forward to the wonders of an Iowa spring when people plant gardens-- I must be too early in my thinking. Actually, I'm use to living in flip-flops- so I'm glad I put on some real shoes today.

We have now moved into my Dad's apt. this last week, to finish sorting through his stuff and cleaning out the place. It was another emotional reminder to walk up the pathway in the picture above. Dad was a neat-freak and farmer at heart and loved shovelling snow and keeping walkways clean. Each time we came to visit him, he'd be out sweeping this sidewalk for me. Today- I made the first foot prints on the sidewalk.

Driving home from church, it was coming down in big flakes and still is. It is so pretty and one good thing about this time of year-- we all know that spring IS just around the corner.

LIT'L SISTERS

Marisa is loving having two girls now and she's told me that one thing she is most excited about is being able to dress them in matching clothes. Some friends already got them matching Easter dresses- but she told me she just could hardly wait to start dressing them alike. Bethany and Jenny asked her what they could get Summer for her 3rd birthday. Her first response was matching outfits. I think the shopping was just as fun for all of us as seeing them in them. It reminds me of some other little girls who were dressed in matching outfits pretty often, too. Here they are in their little Thai hill tribe dresses.

Marisa and I just happened to post on the same subject today. Have a look at her perspective on their blog.

Outpouring of love and support

Mike and I have been so blessed by all the love and support shown to us through Dad's death. So many people have expressed their love to us in different ways. This beautiful flower arrangement just arrived a few days ago to join an array of other arrangements. Every time I walk into our little home, the aroma reminds me of Dad and and the way people loved him so much. The house we have been staying in is another blessing. Our home church had an empty parsonage that they prepared with everything we needed including a stocked frig. It was so wonderful for the 5 days before and after the funeral for our immediate family to live together and support each other through all our grieving emotions. Just being with my girls was a big comfort to me as they too loved their Grandpa so much. It also did this mother's heart good to see our four girls together enjoying each other, and comforting each other. It is a rare occasion to have Mike and I together alone with our four girls, just like it used to be 10 years ago when they started leaving the nest in Thailand.

Honestly, I didn't expect Dad's death to be so hard on me. I think it's a combination of his heart-attack being so unexpected and we thought we had many more years of enjoying his pleasant personality and possibly the finality of him being the last of Mike's and my four parents. We have no more parents anymore. There are constant reminders of Dad everywhere we go. He is a huge part of our visits to Waterloo and we keep thinking we want to just hang out with him or take him somewhere. Today was a day of sorting through stacks of photo albums that mom was so good to put together through the years. Such fun memories of our childhood and life on the farm are the best inheritance and legacy I could ever ask for.

Two Month Baby Hayley

Sweet baby Hayley is now two months old. Oh, how I loved every minute with her this past week. Marisa and Hayley had just gotten a one way ticket to my Dad's funeral, so Mike and I drove her and Jenny back down to Arkansas and spent a few days with them. I just can't describe how warm and cuddly Hayley feels in my arms each time I hold her.Making her smile is so much fun too. She's at the age of cooing and talking back to us and breaks out in a smile so easily now.
Could those eyes get any bigger?

Aunt Bethany enjoyed meeting her for the first time on this trip, too. She was held almost constantly by one of us. Poor Marisa is going to have an adjustment when she tries to get back to a normal life and routine.


The last time we took the trip down to Jenny's school was with my dad. There were constant reminders of him these past few days. Mike and I continue to comment on how he made life so fun for all of us and we feel such a void in not having him here. We just got back into Iowa tonight and feel a bit travel weary. After taking Bethany to the airport tomorrow , we will be empty-nesters once again. We have so enjoyed this past week together with our girls, an unexpected blessing to have time with them- even though it was a time of grieving for all of us.