The Christians in Chiang Mai

Mali Apple's trip to Thailand in 2013

2019-04-11T18:24:00.000+07:00

The following is a recap of Mali's last trip to Thailand, five years ago. These are posts that were made in October and November of 2013. Her family requested me to condense them into one post, so here you go, Henschels. Mali came back again last month and we searched for her mom's side of the family and made a bit of progress, but still have a ways to go. The most encouraging info was that someone had seen her at a random bus stop five years ago- so we have hope that she is still living. Stay tuned as I hope to eventually share an update of the newest discoveries on the search for her mom who has no last name, is stateless, and difficult to find. We are thankful that God knows where she is and that someday Mali may still get to find her birth mother.

Dianne and Mali

This mother-daughter combo are some very special friends of ours that you are going to be hearing more about. Mali is Thai and about 15 years ago left the government orphanage here to live with her new family in America. Her mom, Dianne has been our guest this week as Mike and I have been on a wild goose chase with them trying to find her blood relatives. We were actually quite successful and the story is amazing- that I'll be sharing later. The background in this picture is the village where we found the majority of her dad's family and met many relatives. It has been a lot like putting a puzzle together.

Here we are at one of the first stops, putting the frame around the puzzle by getting a lot of information from people who worked at a broom factory and passed her around in a cardboard box because she had no father and mother.

It's been a long time dream for Pete, Dianne, and Mali to find out more about her birth relatives. This is one of Mali's great aunts who cared for her a lot and once we found her in the village cried throughout our whole visit with tears of thankfulness to know that Mali is OK.

Apple (her Thai name) with her Grandpa and great aunt. The birth family and adoptive family shared stories of longing to meet each other.

It's been a week of finding out more information step by step. The two aunts on the left led us to more of the family. I really hope to help Mali and her family get the whole complicated story down on paper, but we need time to process all the information and still figure out the details. It is a true story of redemption all throughout her young years. She has truly been blessed all through her life and especially by her wonderful adoptive parents who have helped her come back here again.

We said good-bye to Dianne tonight and she will return home to the USA. Mali will stay here and live with us this month, as she has a compassionate heart and wants to volunteer and give back to her country of birth. It is going to be a fun month for us having a teenager in the house again, and we can't think of any other teenager that we'd like it to be. She's a special girl to us as I actually picked her out at the orphanage for her parents. Welcome back to Thailand Mali! Your adventures will continue all month long and we are excited and privileged to live them together with you.

Mali and the Broom Factory- Part 1

We have had a special guest living with us for the past month. Mali was an 'at risk' young child here in Thailand, cared for by many different people who then handed her over to an orphanage and then she was finally adopted by our American friends Pete and Diane at the age of 5.

It has been her dream after graduating from high school to come back and visit Thailand and search for her birth family. That is what we did together for the past month. It has been complicated, we've had to talk to a lot of different people and the stories did not always match up- but we have found out so much about her past that Mali had never known. Because there are so many parts to her story of being rescued, I want to divide it into segments of the whole story, although they are all intertwined.

Mali is a very classic example of an 'at risk' child who most likely would have been exploited. Everything in her background should have led her to a place of oppression and being taken advantage of. In God's grace we have seen how He has had His hand on her and rescued her time and time again from what could have been a whole different story. If you're not sure what I am referring to- please read these statistics of how many children in Thailand are exploited and used for human trafficking. The most 'at risk' people are an exact description of her parents. They were migrants, ethnic minorities and stateless people. I believe that God spared her life for a reason and it's been a privilege to be a part of her life, thus far.

The search for her background story started in January 2011, when her parents went to the orphanage that she came from and found in the records the name of the woman who had dropped her off. They went on a search of that woman and found her near Chiang Mai, and started to hear how this woman had cared for her.

In January 2012, we went with her parents to find this woman again and found her at a broom factory and she shared more of the story of how she had rescued Mali. I blogged here about finding her back then.

This October and November of 2013, we have made 4 trips back to the broom factory as we continued to gather more information about her past. This is Mike spending a long time with some of the relatives as they tried to explain the family relationships. The longer they explained it to us, the more confusing it got, it seemed. He was a huge help in the translation process.

This woman, Mala, has been the most important character in rescuing and saving Mali from a life that could have been so different from what she has. Every time we came to visit her, she smiled non stop and looked at Mali with a look that felt like to me she was so relieved, and proud of Mali and happy to see what a healthy and caring young adult she had become. For the past 15 years, Mala had never heard and never knew what happened to Apple (her Thai name).

A lot of brooms to be made on one of our visits to the broom factory.

Apple's parents worked in a broom factory that Mala manages. The employees are migrant workers, and Apple (Mali) lived there from the time that she was a few months old, off and on until she was 3 years old. She was transferred around from worker to worker at the broom factory and taken back and forth to rural villages a few times.

To show how special Apple was to them, they immediately pulled out a small photo album from the top drawer in their office desk (they knew exactly where it was) that they had saved with photos of her. This one shows that she was a pretty spunky and well loved little girl to all of them.

Mike and I had been to the broom factory a few times to get information, but the first time we took Mali there was a buzz of chatter moving throughout the factory that the little Apple had come back. All the workers that had been there for 15 years or more remembered her and were shocked to see her again. These are some of the people who had cared for her. They even told us stories of transferring her from person to person in the evenings in a cardboard box. The two on her right are a distant aunt and uncle.

As we'd walk around the factory, people would acknowledge her and say if they remembered Apple. She had reddish brown hair, which is unusual for Thai children, so they called her 'Apple with the red hair'.

Each time we've gone out, it has been interesting to watch the process of broom making. Here the grass is being dried in the sun.

They are paid by the piece and consequently work so fast.

Almost finished products and ready to be shipped abroad.

At one point (around the age of 18 months) Mala went to check on her in a remote village along with Mr Phan and they found her in very bad living conditions. Mala told us "Apple was filthy dirty in a grass roof house with mud walls. Her face was black from dirt. When I saw Apple, I decided to take her because I was afraid she would not live long in those conditions. I took her, bathed her, washed her hair, bought her new clothes, and she started talking again." Mala also told us that Apple called her 'mother' because she really had no mom to care for her. Her mom had left her.

Mala cared for her and actually wanted to adopt her herself, but was not able to because she was single and the government would not allow that. Several people have told Mali that if she wants to know what her birth mother looks like to just look in the mirror. We were told numerous times that all the workers at the broom factory loved Mali and took such good care of her.

Mr. Phan who owned the broom factory loved her also and looked after her. When she was later transferred to the orphanage, he'd still go visit her. He passed away this year, but they brought out his picture to show Mali.

They told Mali that this was the truck that she rode around in with Mr. Phan as a little toddler.

Mali had a lot to take in from her visits. This is her auntie that told her that Mali Apple would play in this area by her when she worked. Mali enjoyed just sitting by her and watching her work one day.

Yesterday, before leaving Thailand- Mali wanted to visit Mala one last time. She wrote her a thank-you note and took a special gift to her, realizing that it was such a very small gesture in comparison to how much Mala saved her from in her first 3 years of life. Mint, one of our staff and a special friend of mine came along to help us try to clarify some remaining confusing parts of Mali's story.

-There are an estimated 5 million children between ages 5-14 in Thailand working, who do not go to school.
-40% of prostitutes in Thailand are children.
-Globally, 12.3 million people are trapped in forced labour.
-Mali had everything in her life set up to go that way- and yet her story of redemption gives her much to be grateful for. She has been sought out and cared for by many people throughout her life, mainly her loving caring Christian parents and family in the USA who have raised her. This is just chapter one- believe it or not, there's a lot more to the story. Mali, you are one loved girl with a story to share of redemption.

Mali Meets Her Family - Part 2

Mali's story of finding her family is an emotional one. To relate, it'd help for you to think of your niece or grandchild right now and what it would be like to have them disappear out of your life when they were 18 months old and then never know anything about their location or their health or even existence. Next you'd need to fast forward to 17 years later, when you get a phone-call and find out that this child that you love is alive and coming to visit you. That sums up this past month for Mali of getting to reunite with her family in a rural village.

One of Mali's goals in returning to Thailand this past month, was to find her relatives. When we went to the broom factory that I wrote about a few days ago, we got the name of just one aunt in a rural village. Mike called her and made arrangements for us to drive three hours to the province of Chiang Rai to try and meet her. After several phone calls, we planned to meet them at a Mister Donut at their local Lotus store. As we sat near the door waiting and watching people with anticipation, a Muslim family walked in and looked at us. Dianne, (Mali's mom) looked at me and said "I think that's them". I said quite confidently "no, it's not", and before we knew it the Imam (Islamic leader) for their village walked up to Mike put out his hand to shake and said, "Hello, are you Mike?" It took me awhile to get over the shock of her family being Muslim, but then we sat and talked and shared stories.

Her dad was the oldest of 5 children. These two ladies are her dad's sisters. The one is red is her Aunt Isha and the one in black is her Aunt Nana. Nana is married to Hasan in the picture. They have 6 children which are Mali's first cousins and Mali got to meet most of them. They answered many of Mali's and our initial questions. Mali found out that she was the only child from her parents. She was especially curious to know if she had siblings, so that answered that question.

After learning about her family and relatives and father, before long they said that her grandfather was in the village waiting and very anxious to meet Mali. We followed them over some very rough roads into a more remote village another 45 minutes away.

The scenery was beautiful and we felt like we were going to the ends of Thailand.

We pulled up to the village mosque, Mali got out of the truck and an older man and woman walked up to her and immediately grabbed on to her and starting crying loudly. I really feel like I should say wailing. They knew instantly who she was and could not hold back their emotions of knowing she had been found and was okay.

They started telling her right away over and over that they were so glad that she was alive and well and that they have never known what had happened to her. She couldn't understand but just stood there and listened.

Her grandpa kept crying so hard and literally cried the whole time she was there.

Before we knew it, her relatives were talking Mali off to one of their homes and we followed.

Once we got in their home, a lot of relatives gathered around and started telling us more about Mali's past. Most of the talk was about her father that they wanted her to know. They wanted her to know that he wanted to care for her but was very sick and could not.

Her grandpa here was the one who cared for Atcha, her father. He is the village mountain doctor who gave him shots. They also told us that he helped him to smoke morphine/heroin to help the pain.

Grandpa continued on to just cry and cry and let them tell the stories. Her dad had died 13 years ago, when he was 32 and is buried 12 kilometers from this village.

At one point, her Aunt Miipha who was also very emotional because she had cared for her a lot, took Mali's thumb and put in next to hers, to show that they were family.

After an hour of talking and story telling, they decided it was time for some family photos. Mali is here with her grandpa and aunties.

Aunti Miipha kept repeating that the last time she saw Mali was when she was a baby and she has always wondered what happened to her.

Mali with Auntie Nana and Auntie Isha.

Mali with Grandpa Poo

Mali's Uncle Hasan left to teach the children. They told us her Uncle Sit (in Bangkok) is Buddhist, her three aunts are Muslim, and her father was a Christian.

The children sang an Islamic song for us.

Grandpa is a goats herdsmen but just as we were getting ready to leave, he decided to stop crying, put on a clean shirt, and smile for a picture with Mali. Her Grandpa was her favorite and he asked her to return the next day so that she could meet Grandma who was travelling up from the south to meet her.

We said our good-byes, with hearts full and expectant to meet more relatives tomorrow. It was a lot to take in for one day, realizing that Mali once again has so much to be thankful for. These people all loved her so much and were so happy to see her. Many orphans do not get the privilege to find their birth families, and God had given her that gift of getting some closure and knowing a bit about her birth family.

More of God's Hand on Mali- Part 3

After our visit to find Mali's birth family (that I documented about in my last post) they asked us to return the next day to meet her grandma who was travelling up from the south. The views on this windy, bumpy road to the remote village made the trip even more worth it to go back again.

This is the village that her relatives lived in now that we were visiting. You can see the mosque in the middle of the village that her uncle is the Imam at.

Arriving at the home was almost an exact repeat of the day before but with Grandma meeting Mali this time instead of Grandpa. Grandma's name is Ahmeeah.

Grandma recognized her immediately, grabbed her, and started crying and sobbing with expressions of relief.

She too repeated over and over, "We haven't know where you were. I am so happy to know you are ok I'm so happy to see you." She told us later that she thought all this time that she was with her mother and had no idea that she went to America.

Auntie Miipah was still emotional on even the second day of seeing Mali and joined in with grandma with the hugs and crying again.

They certainly had no reservations in expressing their love for Mali and relief that she has such a good life now. It was almost as if she was that little 18 month old again from when they had last seen her and they expressed their love to her as if she was a little toddler. It reminded me again of how it would be if one of my grandchildren disappeared and then me seeing them for the first time after 17 years. You bet without a doubt, I'd be hugging them and crying (maybe even wailing, too) and squeezing them and sniffing them as the Thai people do.

Just like the day before had gone, once Grandma got over the shock and calmed down, we all sat together and she wanted to share her memories of Mali. Mike translated for Mali and Dianne, while the relatives all stayed nearby and listened. A lot of people gathered around and wanted to hear more of her story. They told us again that up until a week ago, no one in the village knew anything about what had happened to Mali

Grandma and the long-lost Mali wanted their pictures together, too. I see the resemblance in this picture, but oh how all the family wished that her father was still alive to meet Mali too.

Malis' first picture ever with her paternal grandpa and grandma!

Aunt Nana then wanted to give a little speech to us and share on behalf of the family. It was very moving and she was full of emotion as she told us that they are so so happy for this chance to meet Mali and know about her life. She said that Grandma still thinks about her a lot with wonder about her life. She wanted Mali to know that her mother had a very difficult and hard life because she had to work so much for a living and could not care for Mali. They were all very concerned about how Mali would grow up and they could see that she had been given a very good life. She wanted us to know that they were so thankful and happy to know that Mali had been given much more than what she had.

This first family picture that Mali got to be a part of included grandpa, grandma, and her dad's three sisters.

Everyone wanted their picture with Apple.

She was definitely the village celebrity.

Without a doubt, Grandpa and Mali had a special bond of all the people she met in her family.

The good-byes started and took a long time to complete. It's amazing without being able to understand of word from each other, how much hugs and smiles and touch communicate.

Mali shared a few words of update on her life for them and thanked them, too.

More hugs good-bye and I think there was some teasing here that they weren't going to let her leave.

The family escorting her back to our truck to leave.

Grandpa gave her one last hug, asking her to come back again. Mali would really like to bring her dad back who missed out on all the reuniting. We discovered that this village has a mosque for the Muslims, and a temple for the Buddhists and we found the church for the Christians. We would love to bring the Jesus film back to this village and work with the church there to show it to the whole village someday.

The celebrity leaving the village with a lot of new information about her past and a lot to process. When they told her they would not let her leave, she looked at us with big eyes, like "are they serious?" Another day for all of us of seeing the protective hand of God on another chapter of her life.

Was it any coincidence that our speaker at church yesterday was Daniel Walker from the www.vvader.org whose mission is to conduct investigations to combat sex trafficking. His message had me on the edge of my seat with a lump in my throat.

Because:

1- Chiang Mai is a hub for southeast Asia in sex-trafficking.

2- There is one Christian for every four prostitutes in Thailand.

3- There are more modern slaves today than at any other time in history.

4- Les than .5% of victims ever get to go to court or tell their story.

5- Children are between the ages as young as 5-12 that are being sold.

6- Good news is that Jesus came to set the captive free, and they are seeing progress.

7- This topic was so relevant, because of what we have learned about Mali and how God has rescued and redeemed her.

** I've had to break up this story into parts because it so so long. The final post will be about her time at the orphanage where she stayed until she was adopted to the USA

Mali at the orphange- Part 4

After sharing the stories about Mali's time as a baby and toddler at the broom factory, and meeting her family, and her time in the remote villages I now get to tell the happy ending to her young years here in Thailand.

After she had been passed around in the cardboard box between the factory workers and taken back and forth to the village, her primary caregivers felt it was best for her to be dropped off at an orphanage. This was very hard for Mr Phan and Malaa to do, because they loved her very much and were her primary caregivers. . Malaa actually wanted to adopt her, but since she was not married the social system would not allow that. They only took her there because they knew it would be a better life for her. Many orphans are given up as a sacrifice from the people who love them most and want to keep them, but know that they deserve a better life. She was taken to the Northern Thailand government orphanage called Vieng Ping on October 12, 1998 when she was 4 years and 2 months old. That had been four years of her being passed around and cared for by a lot of people. However, each place that she lived, she was loved, sought out, and looked after. Literally every person that was involved in her story has told us that she was a very special little girl that EVERYONE loved.

In the meantime, her parents Pete and Dianne who lived in the Minneapolis area already had 3 children but had a desire to give a good home to another child. They had been to Thailand on mission trips with Cru, worked with us and actually lived in our home while we were in the USA on a furlough. They had big aching hearts to adopt a needy child from Thailand, had filed the mountains of paperwork for adoption on their own, and prepared all the documents required by the Thailand government.

This is where I enter the picture more specifically. I love this part of the story. Dianne and I had been communicating for months as she prepared the paper work and when she got to the point of being assigned a child, she asked me to visit the orphanage for her.

I went into the orphanage office and told them that Pete and Dianne's paper work was ready and asked if they could suggest a child for them. (The system is entirely different now and much more complicated). There in the office hanging out with the social workers and secretaries was this adorable little girl that was (as they said) "their favorite" at the time. They pointed to this precious needy girl and said, "How about this girl, Apple?". They proceeded to tell me how cute and fun and lovable she was. Because she was older, she was considered "special needs". Most people want to adopt an infant. I talked with her a little bit, trying to observe her for their family and went home SO EXCITED! That night I sent an e-mail to them with the subject line: "Her name is Apple." This started a dialogue between us and them about her and I was able to visit her from time to time and take her on outings to prepare her for the 'white family.'

You can see why her nickname was "Apple with the red hair", because it's unusual for a Thai to have these natural light streaks.

This is a picnic spot that we took Apple to the day that we told her about the family that loved her very much and would be coming to get her to take her to America. Last month we revisited it with her.

On July 29, 1999 the day before her 5th birthday Pete and Dianne came to meet Apple, finished the legal papers, and took their little Mali to her new home in the USA.

This picture was taken just days before she was adopted to the USA. Some of the children at Vieng Ping were performing in a Thai show for visitors at the orphanage. Apple is the one in green.

Last month, (14 years later from when she left) Mali got to spend some time at that same orphanage visiting and volunteering. When we went out to visit, a buzz of announcing traveled around the orphanage (just like at the broom factory) with workers telling each other "Apple is back". Any of the workers that had been there 14 years or longer remembered her and were so happy to see her again.

There are government orphanges all over the country of Thailand and around 300 children at this one for Chiang Mai province. We spent most of our visits in the baby room and toddler rooms.

Marisa, Hayley, and Nathan came with us one day. The first visit is usually a bit shocking and emotional to see so many babies lined up in cribs side by side without a family to love them. I have a lot of respect for these ladies, some who have worked there for over 15 years. They love the babies so well and take such good care of them. They are bathed every morning, afternoon and evening and fed well. The one thing that they need most is human arms to hold them, touch them and look into their eyes.

The mission of this home is: "to protect, and care for abandoned and orphaned children, defending their right, guarding their health, and teaching them to be generous, healthy and successful." I think they do a good job of that considering the numbers of children that are dropped off there.

This is Mali (in red with overalls) and Nee, one of her teacher's when she was a young child at Vieng Ping.

Nee still works there and is one of the director's in the office now. She was one of the most enthused workers to see Apple again after all these years.

Once again, through this visit to the orphanage, Mali was able to see how God's protective hand was on her life, giving her favor in the worker's eyes by her being well cared for up until the day she left Thailand. Her story of an "at risk" child being protected, loved and redeemed is a story that she has much to be grateful for.

Elephants and Monkeys

Every visitor to Thailand must visit an elephant farm! It's a highlight for most people. Mali loves animals. Sam, our dog, loved all the attention that she gave to him. A visit to the elephants was a high priority one of her last days here.

First on the schedule is to watch them get their baths in the river before the show.

A whole river full of bathing elephants!

Mali was in her glory, watching so many elephants at once.

It's a little startling when you get ready for a photo and they decide to wrap their trunk around you!

Or put a hat on your head!

Then on to the show, where they do all kinds of performing, along with painting and artwork!

The back side!

More hugs....

...and kisses!

We decided to walk back on a narrow path to visit the elephant nursery, sharing the trail with working elephants.

This little guy (forgot his name) was the newest baby, just 5 months old.

He was confused...kept trying to suck on his mama's ear.

Then we went down the road a bit to the monkey show.

They did all kinds of tricks for us and amazed us with their cleverness.

More snuggles for Mali. She certainly got her animal fix for that day! We miss you Mal's. Come back soon!

Taking the kids home to Phayam Island

2018-09-19T23:07:00.001+07:00

Last weekend while we were in southern Thailand, one of our stops was to Phayam Island to visit some of the families of the children in the Ranong Kids Home. As I was looking through the photos tonight- I decided it was time for another blog post. Even though, I can't keep up with posting about our life anymore- I feel like it's a good way to share just how different life over here is for some of the people that we work with.

You may notice that we go to Elephant Island to visit those families a lot more often, mainly because it is so much closer. This island (Phayam) usually takes three hours on the long tail boat (6 hours for a one day trip)- but this time we took the speed boat and got there in 30 minutes. I am spoiled for life now. The islanders were very happy to see their kids.

This is Sarena with her mother. They were so sweet to watch together.

I love this mother-daughter photo of them.

Her little brothers were happy to see her too.

Their interaction with each other was precious to watch and as we left, as all good Thai children do, she stuck a little cash in her mama's hand to help her with finances.

Their simple village kitchen.

We took six of the children from the home with us and at each home after the visit, they all prayed for that family.

Sarena was fervent in her prayers for her parents.

Our next stop was to the home of Chalay and Phet but his father was out to sea and they were not able to see him. Their mother died many years ago and the father is rarely home.

They usually find an empty house when they come home to visit.

We visited the parents of Ariya (Pop) and her home. Her father used to be the village chief.

The kids and dorm parents prayed for their family.

The children in the home are really like one big family and care for each other.

Thong Dii does not have a mom, but this is his grandma.

Later on, his father came by- but is not very involved in his life.

Kew, is a very diligent guy.. The love between him and his family is obvious, and they are so proud of him for getting an education.

Praying for Kew's family.

Some swings and climbing tires have been added to the village with some help from a foreigner. The children love it and were constantly on the swings.

Most of the women are always working on the nets, getting them ready for the men to take back out on their boats.

And when the nets don't work for fishing anymore- they can be recycled into a chair, I guess.

This village has two communities, so we took the path over to the other group of huts.

This guy makes it hard for us not to have favorites. Gang is one of the kindest and most helpful kids in the home. I learned more about his background on this trip. He has no father and does not know where his mother is. This is his grandma.

She has many health issues and is blind. Gang is so tender with her, it's the only family he has. When I asked him which home he lived in before he came to the Kids Home, he answered, "none, I lived on a boat with my mom." So now he literally has no home, other than the kids home.

When his grandpa heard that Gang was back to visit, he came over right away.

His grandpa carves boats and sells them in town, but he wanted us to know this one was not finished yet.

Gang praying for his grandparents.

The kids praying team, walking back through the village.

Phillip, who lives in the village has started a chicken project that has been very successful in providing eggs for them.

Before we left, we gathered the villagers together in the church to have a time of encouragement with them and prayed for them all together.

Life is hard in the village and yet in some other ways, it is so simple. It's honestly such a whole different world. It's a life that sometimes, I think is appealing but usually it makes me so thankful for how much I have been given.

The dorm parents, kids, and us- all rented little motorbikes to get back and forth across the island. Some bikes held 3, the rest of us- just 2. It was a great visit with some of the families that we had not seen in a long time. The children feel privileged to get an education and be in the Ranong Kids Home and we feel privileged to be a part and help them on days like this to visit and pray for their families.

Farewell to 21 great years of memories in this home!

2018-08-18T22:43:00.001+07:00

Sometimes, I wish that I was not so sentimental. Two weeks ago tomorrow, we handed over the keys to our home for the past 21 years. It was the culmination of several months of hard work, sorting, tossing, reliving memories, negotiations, and ending a chapter in our lives.

Even the decision to buy this house was a huge deal in our marriage. For 20 years, we'd been paying rent to Buddhist and Muslim landlords. Mike felt "why not invest that rent money in our own place, that can be our home?" That decision is not always as easy for foreigners in Thailand, because logistically and legally, it was challenging at times to buy and sell a home. But it was a good decision because we were able to make the home "ours" and fix it up the way we wanted and to make it "our own" place of refuge.

This was the day we got the keys to the home in 1997.

When we got the home it was one of those repossessed by the bank, so considering the size- it was a good price and just down the street from the girls little NTM school. They were ages Marisa-16. Lori-14, Bethany-12 and Jenny-9 when we moved in. It will always be remembered as their last childhood home. The last day in the home, we had Jon and Marisa and family there for one last meal of GaiYang and KhaoNeeyao. We all shared favorite memories of the house. There are too many to ever count, but here are a few that are more for me and the family than anyone else.

All four girls graduated from high school in this house and the memories of all those senior year shenanigans.
We planned all four girls wedding in this house with countless trips to markets and local handicraft factories to buy wedding paraphernalia. .
Youth group parties, sport team parties, girlfriend sleepovers.
A controlling Thai policeman neighbor who called the squad cars on us with lights flashing several times for loud parties.
A giant ice cream sundae for 50+ kids on our patio, served in a PVC pipe that Mike cut in half. Trying to serve it and eat it before it melted in the tropical heat was the big challenge.
Labrador pets; Toby, Annie, Samson. More bunnies that I can count, hamsters, etc.
Thai CCC staff meetings, parties, women seminars, and the big annual Christmas party.
The girls asking Mike to add "just one more string" of icicle lights each Christmas to the outside of the house until it glowed from far away, and the neighbors on 3 sides joining us to make our neighborhood amazing in a country that does not celebrate Christmas.
Sadness every single morning as our neighborhood monk from the temple in his orange robe stopped at the homes chanting and blessing them for his daily alms.
8 green mango trees, 3 macam trees, and 'picking the fruit' parties with our Thai staff each summer.
Mike's work room, crammed with so many tools and his escape from female conversations of 5 women as he built, made, and fixed things for friends.
The girls first dates, prom pictures, and co-ed parties.
Planning and anticipating the girls "coming home" from college in the USA, for holiday visits.
Womens' Bible Studies, neighborhood prayer times, and English classes around the dining room table.
Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter holiday meals when we usually invited singles who were away from their families.
Laying on the trampoline to watch movies shown on the side of the house.
Fostering babies from the Agape Home orphanage.
Our own homemade slip 'n slide on the tiled patio.
STINT (short term international) Team's from Bangkok and Chiang Mai parties and retreats at the house
Firework shows (put on by Mike) on the back street for holidays.
A large kitchen to cook 3 meals/day- 7 days/week for a family of 6.
My cave (tiny office) in recent years where I spent most of my time because it was the only room with AC during the day.
Our guesthouse outside that hosted friends and strangers from all around the world for short and long stays is one of the biggest features we loved about the house.
Badminton, basketball, and 4-square tournaments in the driveway.
Pretty sure that I killed at least 10 snakes in the house and yard over the years.
Painting, decorating, and redecorating every room at least twice.

We are so thankful for these 21 years of wonderful memories. Here's a few photos of the home from this past year. I'd really love to reminisce the ones from years past- but there's no time now to look through those.

Although it was a Thai home, we westernized it quite a bit.

The front patio, where lots of parties were held.

It had a great yard for swings and lots of outside play.

The guest room outside, that hosted so many friends.

Backside of the house, where the girls bedrooms were.

Kitchen's are always the best gathering place, creating memories that last forever.

So now what? Many have asked what is next for us. Mike calculated that the new house that we are renting is about 1/6th the size. We went from around 3600 sq ft. to about 665 sq. ft. It has been huge to get rid of that much stuff. And we did it without having a garage sale. YAY!!! We sold the big stuff on line and gave the small stuff away. That is one great thing about living here... there's always villagers who can use our old stuff.

Our new neighborhood are all Thai's and we look forward to getting to know them and building new friendships. The location is good- 15 minutes to our TCCC offices and 15 minutes the other direction to our grand-kids (and their parents).

The more we packed and tossed and purged and simplified, we realized that it is all just stuff. The house and building is just the shell where the memories were made and life took place. We look forward to using this next house, however God leads us.

Thanks for letting this sentimental lady, go down memory lane with our family. Here's to creating new memories at our new home, and cherishing a great house that God gave us to enjoy for 21 years. Pictures will be shared of our new tiny home someday, when the boxes are unpacked.

JBF to Thailand "Work-Hard,Play-Hard"

2018-06-25T16:00:00.000+07:00

Mike and I believe in a "work-hard, play-hard" philosophy when teams come over. There is so much to learn from the Thai people and culture and we aim to expose as much as we can to them.

Breakfasts were either at the hotel or at a quick 7-11 stop, lunches were at the work-site, and then after stopping work for the day we'd go out for dinner. Of course that was after showers at the hotel because- believe me- you did not want a whiff of 12 sweaty bodies after working in the heat all day. They were very adventuresome when it came to trying new Thai dishes (most of the time).

After work the last day, we visited a Thai museum and enjoyed this 360 look out tower all around the area of Songkhla, which is a big fishing area of Thailand.

Chloe and Hannah were two of the sweetest, hard working, lovers of Jesus, high-schooler's I've ever met. They both came with their dad's who were also on the team. I love these father/daughter bonding mission trips.

We took them to the Songkhla Mermaid, which is the symbol of Songkhla. The girls got a short horseback ride on the beach.

And I was thrilled to see this beautiful rainbow on the beach.

We made one last stop to look for the monkeys near the temple.

We didn't have to look very hard, as once we stopped the van and they saw Mike buy some food- they quickly found their way to us.

Some of the monkeys were quite aggressive, which was not a fun time for some of us.

We've heard that the team is back to Jesup enjoying their own beds again- but changed for the better as a result of spending their vacation time here. Thanks again JBF! We are so thankful for each of you and your continued prayers for Thailand. We miss you already!

JBF to Thailand- Pope's Finished House!!!!

2018-06-23T21:48:00.000+07:00

This was the view that we woke up to most mornings. The hotel that we stayed at was near the city of Songkhla right on the beach facing the Gulf of Thailand. Some of the team got up early and enjoyed walks on the beach while others of us, hardly set foot on the sand.

Starting each day, Joe would give us the broad strokes of what the plan for the day was. He was a great leader. directing the team from the time this vision started up until it was over. We teased that Mike was the general contractor and Joe, the head foreman. They were a good team.

After getting the primer on all of the outside and inside, we had the joy of seeing the paint really change the appearance of the home.

Kate went with Pope to the hardware store to help her choose the colors.

They ended up with a beige on all of the walls and brown paint for the floor.

Here are a few pictures after all the painting was done. This will be her front living room.

Her small bedroom.

This is looking from the kitchen toward the front door; the area that she wants to use to teach children and the Bible to people who God brings into her life.

This is the kitchen. So far, for furniture, Pope only has this sink and a small refrigerator. She is trusting God to eventually get more furniture.

There is an empty field out her back window. I love the view of these palm trees.

Pope shared with the team her testimony of becoming a Christian through the ministry of Thailand Campus Crusade for Christ on her university in Chiang Mai, back in 1994 and her vision to reach out to the Muslims in her neighborhood and her family and for them to follow Jesus also.

She needs to be very sensitive and cautious in her area and yet she prays consistently that God will use her there.

Pope has been through a lot of medical challenges but trusts God and has so much faith in Him that He will use her in spite of all her struggles.

It was encouraging for all of us to hear her share her heart and know how to pray for her.

This was our last day of work as the house was almost finished. Here stands one proud team of hard working Iowan's!

Caleb doing some final wiring.

Chad showing us the kitchen sink with running water.

Here's the team with Pope and her sister, Nung, at the house before we said our goodbyes. She'll be moving in soon and I just wish we would have taken a photo of the team handing her the keys.

One final celebratory photo! Yay!!! The house is done! You were a beautiful testimony of working together cheerfully in spite of the extreme heat, unusual foods, 12 sweaty bodies riding around in a bumpy hot van, and daily changes that kept you flexible. Good job JBF! God was glorified through you!

JBF to Thailand- Working on Pope's house

2018-06-22T18:16:00.001+07:00

The main goal of this team was to finish a building project that was started last year. Our team that has come and built homes for several years came last year and laid the foundation on a home for Pope. You can read about it here. The JBF team raised enough money to finish the home, so that Pope can move in and start using. it. The goal was to wire the electricity, the plumbing, and paint.

It was so exciting to watch the house get finished up in four days of solid work by this team of 10. The first day, they got primer on all the cement walls. Looks like Chloe had a bit of fun with this job.

They divided the team up into teams of focused work. Caleb was our chief electrician, with Dan as his assistant.

Marc was the chief of painting with 3 very hard working girls.

Chad was the experienced plumber, with some painting also as everyone filled in where needed.

The painting was really one of the most time consuming jobs.

Erik did a little bit of everything, wherever the demand was greatest.

Same for Darin- he did a bit of everything- but painting was his forte. This team was one of the best we've ever had. They always had servant hearts and great attitudes. We'd love them to come back anytime they want.

Lunch was always Thai food at the work sight. This was a favorite when the grilled chicken, sticky rice, papaya salad motorcycle vendor came right to us. Stay tuned for photos of the finished project.

JBF to Thailand- Day #3- Ranong Kids Home

2018-06-21T17:27:00.000+07:00

The early risers said their goodbyes and traveled back from the island to the mainland by boats on Saturday morning.

This little guy had made a handmade boat out of styrofoam that he found around the island. (who needs Lego's?)

Life is so simple on the island. Some just stared and watched the farangs out the window of their hut without much expression, while others engaged as best they could and waved good-bye thanking us for our visit.

It pretty much rained the whole week that the team has been here, but we were thankful it let up during our boat trip back.

Good-bye Koh Chang till next time!

Uan, (the dorm mom) and the older girls cooked a delicious dinner for us Saturday night at the kids home.

We divided the team up to sit with the children and practice their English together.

The kitchen crew joyfully washed our dishes for us.

The team planned a fun program with the children. We weren't sure how well "heads up-seven up" would go- but it was a great success and fun was had by all. Especially when the winners of the games were rewarded with new hats and t-shirts. Prizes tend to make the games more competitive. (thanks again for those donations)

Here's some happy kids with their new shirts. Do you recognize any of those t-shirts and hats with Iowa logo's on them? Go Hawks!

After some singing, (if you see them, ask the JBF team to sing the Thai song that they learned) and testimonies from both the kids and the team, we treated the kids to ice cream sundaes. They only get ice cream when we treat them to it- so it was pretty special along with the American candy they enjoyed also.

Once again, I'm not sure who was blessed more- the children who enjoyed the games and gifts or the American's who were touched by their lives, songs, and testimonies.

JBF to Thailand - Day#2- To Koh Chang

2018-06-20T12:20:00.000+07:00

After some more travel on day #2 via taxi, plane, songtao, ocean ferry, and Moken sea gypsies boat, we arrived at Koh Chang for two days of ministry to the village we work on. It's been encouraging all week to hear from a different team member as they have shared a morning devotional. Some days, we've grabbed any corner that we can find to get away from the crowds and hear each other speak.

On the Sea Gypsy boat from the ferry to the village.

It was low tide when we arrived so we had to walk through some pretty mucky stuff to get to the pier.

When we walked into the village, our children from the Ranong Kids Home were leading the village kids in some songs and games. The team just observed for a bit, as it's a whole different world when you first arrive and there is a lot to take in.

It's so fun to watch these little ones singing Christian songs.

We then gathered in the village community center to divide up into groups and pair up with some of the kids from the orphanage to walk around and visit the village huts and pray for the families in each home.

I went with Caleb and Kate for awhile. This lady was cooking dinner and proud to show us her mealtime preparations.

You may remember, that I always like to ask for the newest babies in the village since our last visit. This baby in her hammock is just one month old.

Kate and I both got to hold her and love on a newborn.

Meanwhile, when we arrived back at the pier, Hannah and Chloe were passing out bracelets and the kids were coming in from all corners of the village.

And the guys were observing what the Mokens were fishing for and found some cool creatures.

The team prepared a program of games, songs, and gifts for the villagers. This is Chloe sharing a message on prayer for them in English. Mike translated it from English into Thai, and then Maway translated it from Mike's Thai into Moken so that they could learn from her in their local language.

The JBF team did a great job with their program and the villagers loved the special attention from the "farangs".

Everyone in the village received a baseball cap or t-shirt. A big thanks to those people who donated them.

The villagers on Koh Chang proudly wearing their new t-shirts.

We all spent the night in the village sleeping under mosquito nets on the church floor. Comparing stories in the morning, it seems the heat and no fans, dog fight in the middle of the night, boat engines starting up at odd hours,gave us all some memories that won't be forgotten from life in the village.

JBF To Thailand -Day #1-Bangkok

2018-06-19T11:11:00.000+07:00

I know that there are a lot of eager family members in Iowa wanting to hear updates on the team they sent to us and it seems this is the best place to share some photos and stories. I started this soon after they arrived but there has not been much breaking- so here's some delayed updates.

The team arrived at an untimely hour for international travel - about 5:30 am. That's always a difficult arrival time, because with the 12 hour time change- their bodies are telling them that it is about time to go to sleep for a good nights sleep after a long trip across the ocean. But if we let them do that, then their bodies will get their nights and days mixed up and its a vicious cycle of wanting to sleep during the day and being wide awake at night.

So our goal for the day was to show them around Bangkok, be in the sunshine, and keep them awake.

After checking into their KT guesthouse, showering, some orientation to Thai culture, and some of the best 'khao pot gai' for breakfast, we did a 'planes, trains, and automobiles' kind of day. Their transpo the first 24 hours was a plane, taxi, tuktuk, subway, skytrain, riverferry, and lots of walking. 7 modes of getting them around did a good job of keeping them awake.

Hannah and Chloe on the riverboat.

Kate and Caleb exploring Bangkok.

Our river boat stopped at Wat Arun. (one of the most famous temples.)

The spire is over 70 meters high and is decorated with tiny pieces of colored glass and porcelain placed delicately into intricate patterns.

It is also known as "Temple of the Dawn"- a place where Thai's go to make merit.

Later afternoon, we took them to the tallest building in Bangkok for a 360 view of the city.

It never ceases to amaze me that you can see tall buildings as far as the eye can see in every direction across Bangkok.

It is usually a great place to watch the sunset over Bangkok.

We were so proud of the team and the way they stayed awake and enjoyed the day. We ended up with a little souvenir shopping and dinner. As they were waiting for their orders, one by one, they started resting their heads on the table and it turned into this. Hmmm- do you suppose we may have pushed too hard? It definitely led to some good laughs for all of us.

41st in PAI

2018-05-23T19:30:00.000+07:00

I'm really not one to do resort reviews, but last weekend we discovered a hidden treasure that I think I need to let friends in northern Thailand know about. I feel this is one of the best kept secrets, and I am surprised that the place did not have more traffic.

It was the weekend of our 41st wedding anniversary, and if possible, we like to get out of town to celebrate which only happens occasionally. We enjoy exploring new areas of Thailand, and did not feel like travelling far. It had been a long time since we'd been to Pai, so we decided to give it a try again. Around once every 10 years is about right for us. Mainly because of the notorious road to get there, with 762 curves. Neither of us are prone to motion sickness- but that road gives us a challenge in not getting queasy. They sell souvenir t-shirts that say 762 curves.

We'd never seen a sign like this, but it was strategically placed in an area with a lot of curves.

We're talking ... more hairpin curves than I can count.

But once we arrive and our stomachs are settled, it's worth the trip. Pai is quieter, mountainous and just a nice change of pace. This was the view out our front window/balcony.

Before going, I was checking out hotels, looking mainly for one that was out of the area where most of the tourists stay. Pai is known for it's backpackers population. Our generation might call them hippies. You know, dreads, tatoos, barefoot, lots of meditation centers. They add to the culture of the city. I had found photos on the internet of this one that looked like it might be what we were looking for.

Bingo! It was so perfect. The name of it is Chang Pai. It is quiet, secluded, beautiful views, and just what we were looking for. We sat on our deck a lot and the only sound that we could hear was birds and very occasional voices off in the distance.

The views were outstanding. If you go ask for room H7. They call it panoramic view room.

The sunset was right out our front door, as we faced the west.

They have a nice pool also.

The best part of all was the price. This beautiful room was only 1000 baht (or around $32) per night during low season. We even had points with Agoda which we use for our hotel bookings, which made it $25/night. High season (Oct.-Feb.), it jumps up to 1800 baht ($60). They told us that it gets very cold (down to 9C.) and there was a heater in our room. The owners/managers, Jee and O were very helpful, kind, and made us feel very comfortable.

Not all people might enjoy it as much as we did. It is not a Sheraton, Hilton, Mariott (you get the idea) - but that is not what we wanted. The quaint private types are what we prefer.

They have a good system for their breakfast. They give you a menu with about 15 breakfast items and you just check all the ones you want and they bring it to your room for 200 baht ($6). You can request it to be brought at whatever time you want.

It was a very delicious breakfast catered just the way I wanted it.

The town of Pai is pretty small but has changed a lot since we were there last, just like all of Thailand. Their night market, which is a tourist walking street, is quite small and quiet. It's nice that there are not big crowds.

One afternoon, we rented a motorbike to go exploring out of the city and check out places to eat.

This restaurant 'I Love U Pai Cafe' had a pretty view with fun chairs and good drinks.

The Yum Lai viewpoint was another beautiful stop over looking the countryside and villages.

We passed through a Chinese and Lisu village to get there. At the top, you could buy tassels to hang on a tree. (some sort of merit making, I assume).

Wish we would have been there when they were using their handmade Ferris wheel with the kids.

I thought we should take the obligatory 'selfie' overlooking the view like all the other tourists were doing. You can tell that I'm just using my phone camera when riding off the beaten path.

We did make a mistake that we'd do different next time and advise you to do, also. In town we saw a lot of bike rentals with some decent choices. We decided at the last minute to rent one from our hotel and they delivered it to us. (200 baht- $6- for 24 hours) without us choosing. It would have been better to select it ourselves in town as the one we had was NOT a comfortable ride for two old people through the mountains. It may have been ok in our younger days, but these bodies need better shocks and bigger seats now.

My anniversary gift to Mike was a photo book that I made documenting the building of our new cabin last year in Iowa.

There were lots of pictures taken day by day during the build that's really fun for us to look back on.

Happy 41st, Mike! It was a great weekend to get away by ourselves and now I'm ready for another year of memories.

And if you ever go to Pai as a couple- we recommend Chang Pai - room H7!

The Star Clipper

2018-05-17T21:53:00.000+07:00

It happened a year ago this month, but still feels like a dream to us. We were gifted our first ever cruise. It was aboard the Star Clipper, a four mast sailing ship.

Winshape Marriage is an organisation whose goal is to guide couples in all stages of marriage through preparing, strengthening, and saving those marriages. They are an amazing ministry impacting families all over the world, and this week was a gift from them.

Each night around sunset, we would have a time to gather with other couples and be encouraged on a topic to strengthen our marriage.

Our 7 day routing was Phuket, Ko Similan, Ao PhangNga, Ko Hoong, Ko Adang (all in Thailand) and then on to Penang, Malacca and we ended in Singapore.

After living in Thailand for over 30 years, we saw more of it's beauty exploring some of the unspoiled islands dotting the Andaman Sea. Look at that crystal clear water. (so different from the islands where we work)

Our ship would stay nearby while a tender took us in to the island beaches.

So beautiful!

We sailed a total of 804 nautical miles or 149 kilometers. Because of the size of the ship, it was fun to get to know some of the 72 staff on board.

A lot of our crewmen were from the Philippines, which was fun for us to speak Tagalog with them.

Our ship was 360 feet long and had just 170 guests on board. We are wondering if we'd like one of those huge cruisers after experiencing the size of this one.

It had 4 masts with 16 sails. In the evening when they turned the lights on, it was so beautiful.

One afternoon, Mike and I got to climb up to the crow's nest.

It was a little scary for me- but so worth it. That's us waving!

The 360 view and seeing no land on either side was spectacular.

Bird's eye view looking down at the ship.

Our room was small, but we were so impressed at how they utilized every little space with drawers and closets. We were also so thankful to get a window to peek out each day.

The food was delectable and we spent a lot of time at mealtimes getting to know some of our new friends.

We spent one afternoon on this netting over the ocean listening to the swishing of the sea underneath us as we sailed a long.

In the afternoons, we had optional classes like towel design folding, fruit carving, tour of the engine room, etc.

We both totally recommend the Star Clippers, unique sailing adventures. It was a week that we will never ever ever forget and we are so thankful for Winshape Marriages and their gift to us. It was good timing on the month of our 40th anniversary, and here we are a year later approaching our 41st anniversary this weekend.

I'm back to the land of bloggers!!!!!!

2018-05-11T21:41:00.001+07:00

I have been on the longest hiatus from blogging ever. Notice the date on my last post- May 11, 2017. That is one year ago today. A lot has happened in our family during this year of bloglessness. The last family wedding, two new grand-babies, an amazing gifted cruise retreat, building our first home in the USA, holidays, trips back and forth across the ocean, exciting ministry opportunities in Thailand and more. Where do I start in catching up? And why did I ever stop anyway? Life just got too busy and so out of routine. Too much travelling and on and on.

I wasn't sure if I really wanted to start back up again. Sometimes my bloglife- is a family joke! I know SO MANY people that started blogs and then quit. You know them, too. Maybe you are one. It seems the only people that really still keep up with their blogs are the professionals that do it for money. I'm definitely not in that category. It's just a hobby that I enjoy, and I've missed certain aspects of this hobby- so here I am again. I'm still trying to find an easy company to make hard-copies of just certain posts. (The ones I've found are too complicated) But anyway- I'm not sure if I'll really be able to stick with it this time- but oh well. Here I am today! We've got a lot of catching up to do, so here goes.............................

Photos tell a thousand words and here's a few favorites from this past year that will not deserve a post of their own.

The girls all got together last spring and surprised me with this adorable photo of our grand-kids on Mothers Day-2017. Since then 2 more have joined us (they deserve a post of their own) and all the kids look a year older- but I will always treasure this photo and the surprise it was.

Our bi-annual all staff conference in Colorado is always a highlight for me. This year was a bit different, as Austin and Lori's wedding was the day after Cru17 ended. Since all four girls are on staff with Cru, it was still so fun to get time with them here and there. This was a rare session that everyone was at (except the four little ones) and we even sat together. Already looking forward to the next one, where I can soak it in.

Stay on the edge of your seats now- cuz I have a lot more to share and I know the suspense is going to kill you.

TCCC Staff Conference 2017

2017-05-11T01:21:00.001+07:00

Last week was the Staff Conference for our TCCC staff throughout the country and it was held at our center in Chiang Mai. One of our staff made this recap of the week. I absolutely love it and have watched it over and over. When we first moved to Thailand, there were just two full time staff and it has been our privilege to watch the ministry grow to this group of staff. What a joy it is for us to work with these brothers and sisters who are so passionate, fun, lovable, and most of all seekers of all that God wants them to be. Enjoy!

Visit to Elephant Island

2017-04-28T23:03:00.000+07:00

Mike and I have been preparing for a time in the USA that will be a little longer than our usual quick trips. It has been some work to make arrangements to be gone from our responsibilities here, but we are reaching the home stretch. Yesterday, we took a trip out to the Moken village that we work in on Koh Chang. (Elephant Island) While Mike met with the elders in the village to discuss the future of the church and their spiritual growth, I wandered around with my camera to get some snapshots of the people and village life there.

This month, we received some sad news to us, that one of our teenage girls in the dorm, decided that she wanted to stop her studies and move back to the village and marry a man she had met. This is Milaa and she is only 15 years old. We had hoped that she would continue her education, but the cultural pull of the village life was stronger. The village had a party for her. She was very happy to see us and seems very happy with her new life. In their culture as soon as a woman is able to have babies, they move in that direction and the older villagers encourage them to do that.

This little guy was very happy about his fruit treat.

Down on the pier, they were cleaning out their nets from the night before and getting them ready to go out again.

Then they cleaned up the small dead fish off the pier from the nets. Notice she is using a branch as a broom. It actually works great.

The men are getting their boats ready to go back out and net-fish again.

She is making new nets, all by hand.

The children are so entertained with the simplest things. Here is a game they play (something like like Mancala) by digging holes in the dirt and transferring marbles. I rarely see store bought toys.

Here is that view from the church looking down over the village, that NEVER gets old.

Cooling off....

one of the women's jobs.....

One of the little village stores is looking real good.

The Burmese influence of Thanaka in the village.

bath time at the community well...

Pin is unable to speak, but the gals were excited that she smiled so big for me.

happy, fun, smiling girls having an afternoon drink (can't we just take them home?)

Bye bye till next time and remember, that time has no concept to them.

The church on the hill is being overgrown with trees, but still a lighthouse on a hill.

Lets end with one of my favorite photos of the day. There was more than one new litter of puppies in the village, and they were so tolerant of lots of handling by the children. It just doesn't get much cuter than little boys giggling with new born puppies.

Good wholesome play..... no screens, no digital devices....just animals, shells, sticks, and whatever happens to be laying around. And lots of smiles galore!

still remembering..............

2017-04-27T20:23:00.000+07:00

Rushing back to Iowa when my brother Dean died was one of those"bitter-sweet" times in life. Nothing brings together family more than 'weddings and funerals'. In all our busyness, this past month, I forgot to share some special photos from the family gathering.

There were a lot of sweet reunions at the viewing. Here are two generations of aunties and nieces.

Dean chose his Rousselow cousins as his pallbearers and some of his closest friends. Judy got them all a John Deere hat to wear. He had worked there for 28 years.

His casket was made out of refurbished barn wood. It was beautiful.

We all know that Dean was a HUGE 'Iowa Hawkeyes" fan. He rarely missed a game. Judy told his friends that the Hawkeyes lost a big fan and she did a great job in leading everyone (with her phone as back up music) to sing the Iowa Fight song one last time for Dean. It was a fun time in the midst of sadness for his friends.

Dean is buried just a a few feet from dad and mom, as you can see their tombstone here. He was also buried on the same day that dad died, March 17, 2009.

I grew up with 16 cousins on my mom's side. There were four daughters and they each had 2 girls and 2 boys, and each one was a different order. We were the boy,girl,girl,boy family. We all have such great memories of getting together for holidays and Sunday lunches. Here is a photo of 14 of us together one Christmas.

We have not been all together for so long, but 10 of us were able to get together at the funeral. Dean was the second of all of us to die and 4 could not make it. Here are the Kepple, Grady, Saunders, and Rousselow cousins.

The Saunders got the only 100% attendance award. It was so fun to see the four of them together.

Paula, Mark, Lou Ann, and Mike

Here they are joined by their wives, Roberta and Rhonda but the girls hubbies didn't make it.

We tried to squeeze as much as we could into our time together. Here is one more gathering at Barn Happy in Cedar Falls with the aunts. The girls love that place. Most everything in the store is made in Iowa.

Last night was another night of remembering. We attended a memorial service for our former director, Yuttasak.

It has already been one year since he died, and one of our hardest years ever. You can read about his life here and here.

We miss both Dean and Nok, but continue to believe that God is in control and all our days are in is hands. Teach us to number our days, (Psalm 90:12) and make every day count for eternity.

Great Commission Church Camp

2017-04-13T18:41:00.001+07:00

Mike and I had the privilege of being part of a church camp in southern Thailand, this month. We had just gotten back from the USA 2 days earlier, but it was worth the travel involved.

The church meets on Sunday nights in Hat Yai and is made up mostly of college students. 40 attended the camp. 5 of those who came were non- Christians, but seeking for truth. There were several times for small discussion groups.

The majority of students who came were new Christians in the past year. At least 20 of them were new believers.

I always find their honesty so refreshing. One guy who attended has been going to church for 5 months and meets one of our staff to study the Bible as he investigate the claims of Christ. They often tell what percent they have come to in their belief. He was at about 50%- but so engaged in every meeting and activity and still seeking.

Mike was the main teacher and spoke 4 different times, teaching through the book of Ephesians. He did a great job, especially since it was all in Thai including the scriptural texts.

I shared with them on the topic, "What is a Christian Family". This is something that they are very interested in and know very little about. I asked them at the beginning to raise their hand if their parents were Christians. Only 1 out of 40 raised their hand. They have no idea what a Christian family looks like. They will be first generation Christians, and I could feel so much potential in this time together.

The afternoon on Saturday was filled with a lot of team games and competitions.

A highlight of the camp for us was seeing 6 new believers get baptized in the gulf of Thailand. Two of them were from Muslim backgrounds. The others were from Buddhist families.

We began early Sunday morning at sunrise with a time of worship near the ocean before the baptisms.

Thai's are so sincere in their prayer and worship times. It was a beautiful start to our day.

Scriptures about baptism were shared with them before we walked down to the ocean.

After the baptisms, we gathered around each of them one by one and prayed for them. This is Jaed.

This is Soam, who was an ex-Muslim.

This is Mon.

Bee here is standing by another Bee, one of our staff, who disciples her.

This is Maengmai. She is struggling now that she is back in university as her family is not Christian and are not happy with her.

This is Gaewtaa.

Mike prayed for all of them as they would be returning to their families and campus, that they would continue to follow God, even when the pressures were great.

We felt so honored to be a part of this church camp. Mike and I especially enjoyed spending time with out TCCC staff team and watching them interact with their students. The staff team has 7 on it, with one intern. They spend most of their time at the "Prince of Songkhla University of Hat Yai", but also travel to three other campuses for a catalytic ministry in the south.

Another highlight was that we found out that of the 5 non- Christians who came, that 2 of them prayed to receive Christ and trust him with their lives during the camp. Another student who had been a Christian but had wandered away from God, decided to come back and follow His ways again. It was so encouraging for us to witness what God is doing through our campus ministry in southern Thailand.

Dean Rousselow 1949-2017

2017-04-11T18:46:00.001+07:00

One month ago today we rushed home to Iowa to be with my brother and he passed away the following day. It's hard to believe that it has been a month already. He only found out in December 2016 that he had cancer. He fought hard with chemo, but his lungs had a chemical toxicity from the chemo and his battle was a short three months. We are so thankful that we were able to go be with him, that he was not in pain, and that we were able to say goodbye to him. It was a very sweet time for all of our family to gather around his hospital bed and be with him. He was very tired of the medical fight and so ready to go, by the time that we got there.

Today is "National Siblings Day" and it is so sad to think we won't be together on this earth anymore. This picture was taken of us together just 5 months before he died. I am so thankful for this photo of us together. We are in order from the left - youngest to oldest- Dan, Judy, Sarah, Dean.

How do I sum up my brother's life of 67 years? He was a great older brother to me. He was always so kind to everyone and had a gentle spirit about him. He reminded me a lot of my dad and his laid back and tender heart. In fact, one of the hardest realizations for me is that Dean will not be at family gatherings anymore. He has been our family patriarch ever since our parents passed away.

I loved our upbringing on the farm. I'll share a few of my favorite photos:

This was before Dan was born and those toy guns must have been pretty cool to us!

This was the house on my Grandpa Rousselow's farm that I grew up in until 8th grade. Sooooo many wonderful farm memories here.

Mom always dressed us up so much for Sunday's. I think this was Easter Sunday.

Another "before Dan" photo! Sorry Dan!

1960

Dean and Judy came to visit us in 1989 when we lived in Bangkok. It was a very special time for all of us.

Dean and Judy (I remind her that I was the original Judy Rousselow) had been married for 33 years. It is a big loss for her and I am so thankful that 3 of our 4 girls got to come be with the family during this time of grieving. Our family will never be the same again, but I know that Dean is so much better off- free of cancer and suffering. I am thankful for the hope we have in Jesus and all eternity with Him.

LORI IS ENGAGED!

2017-04-06T21:07:00.001+07:00

This picture has been on our wall for a long time, and will soon get a new photo in the bottom slot. It is a high priority on the list for the photographer to capture. Don't let me forget, ok?

This past month has been 'out of control' busy for us, but we are finally at home again and it feels so good. We have some catching up to do here. The really BIG news first.......

Feb. 11, 2017- Austin Taylor asked Lori to marry her and she said "of course".

Austin is also on staff with Cru at the University of Central Arkansas. Lori and Austin have known each other for several years thru working with Cru, but started dating last August. They have very similar passions and visions in discipling college students. Lori will transfer to Austin's campus after they are married and join that Cru campus team.

The wedding is July 24 in Estes Park Colorado. Our biennial conference with Cru is in Ft. Collins, July 16-23 . Since it is pretty rare to get our family together from 3 states and 2 countries and we will all be in Colorado that week, it seemed like a great place for a destination wedding. Lori (being an MK) does not really know where home is sometimes. As they say "home is where the family is"- so Colorado - 'here we come'!

I had forgotten how 'all consuming' planning a wedding can be. Since they are having a short engagement (5 months), and with Lori in Texas, me in Thailand/Iowa, and the wedding in Colorado- it is taking a lot of long distance planning. It's not like I have not done this 3 times before- and yet it seems to be constantly on my mind.

Lori, Mike and I were able to stop through Estes Park for just a few days to confirm the location and a few other decisions for the wedding last month. This is the venue we chose, with a picturesque view of the Rocky Mountain National Park's Longs Peak, the Continental Divide and Lumpy Ridge.

We are thrilled for Lori. We LOVE Austin. We have seen God bless her for waiting for his very best until she was 34. We are so excited for July 24 as they begin their new life together.

Intimacy with the Almighty

2017-03-07T19:44:00.001+07:00

A friend (whom I learn a lot from) gave me this book and said it was one of the best she had read. Since it's short, I decided to give it a try. She was right! Mike and I have both read it over and over and have been passing it out to our kids and others. I encourage you to give it a try.

"Noise and words and frenzied, hectic schedules dull our senses, closing our ears to His still, small voice and making us numb to His touch."

It's focus on four decisions and challenges, help us to cultivate more intimacy with God. They are: Simplicty, Silence, Solitude, and Surrender.

Read it- I think you'll like it, too. I'm continually reminding myself that "Nothing under His control can ever be out of control"

The 'day off' for Iowa builder's

2017-02-28T18:59:00.001+07:00

After we got the first pouring of fresh cement done, we needed to give it a day to dry and felt like it would be good for the guys to have a chance to see some of the Thai culture. For two of them, it was their first time to Thailand.

One of the best ways to see Thai culture and to see one of the the reasons that we live and work in Thailand, is to take guests to a Buddhist temple. We went to this one, because they had a cable car ride that overlooked the city, but it was not working that day.

Each temple is a little unique, in the ways that they allow people to make merit. This one had a thing with elephants.

You could buy them in all sizes to make an offering at the temple. These two were $250 and $280.

There were all sizes, shapes, and colors of elephants around the temple.

Temples are often built on the top of a hill, making a nice lookout over the area.

More elephants....

As we walked around the grounds, we saw many visitors coming there to make merit by burning essence, lighting candles, and praying to the images around the temple.

Going to temples for us is a good reminder to see that the Buddhist depends on himself alone for salvation. Each person must reap the consequences of his own 'karma'. Our prayer is that every Thai will realize the hopelessness of trying to save himself. and realize that Jesus has done for him what he cannot do for himself. Please pray that the Lord of the harvest will open up hearts to cause light to shine in the darkness.

Daddy Daughter Dance #4- 2017

2017-02-27T15:04:00.002+07:00

The Chiang Mai Daddy Daughter Dance was a huge success again this year. I've heard so many mom's say that their girls ask about it all year long and can't wait for the day to come.

This is a fun community event that Jon and Marisa started four years ago. Last year- 2016 had more of formal theme, but this year- they mixed it up a bit with a 'Barn Dance" theme.

Since Marisa had just decorated for our Stint Conference dinner with an "American BBQ' theme, she was able to use a lot of the same decor for this event.

As each girl arrived she received a rose from her daddy.

Mother-Daughter registration team.

'Dukes' catered the meal this year.

There were questions on the table for dad's and daughters to ask each other. I loved watching the girls beam as their daddy's spent focused time with them.

There was a fun photo booth with some really crazy props that they really enjoyed. I can't wait to see some of the those pictures.

The dancing always turns out to be the highlight of the evening. Along with the musical chairs for 'dads only'.

I absolutely LOVE watching these daddies and daughters have so much fun together. The night gets a bit crazy with a lot of different styles of dance, but it is so evident that the girls of all ages are enjoying the time with their dads so much. I only wish there would have been these parties for my dad and I when I was growing up- and even for my own daughters. It makes such special memories that they will keep reliving until it's time for another one next year.

Iowans building the foundation

2017-02-23T09:06:00.000+07:00

This year the Iowa builders started a home in Songkhla province, in the very southern tip of Thailand. In 2015 they were in the northeast part of Thailand. Prior to that, they have done most of the building on Koh Chang. A favorite year was 2010 when they built 5 homes in 5 days and dedicated them and the families on the last day. They are a great crew. and it is so encouraging to see them come back year after year. 2012 was the year that they had to work in the water around the tide. While they were here last week, they reminisced the uniqueness of each year, so it was interesting for me to go back through these posts from other years and recall some of the photos of them.

This year, Mike had hoped for the project to be further along than it was when they arrived. This is the view from the first day. The land had been cleared of trees, filled in with dirt, and they began by putting in the re-bar for the cement foundation. He had hoped the foundation would already be done when we got there, so that they could lay the bricks.

It was a hot long first day as they tied the little wires around the re-bar by hand to hold it together. It didn't help to hear one of the guys say he had a re-bar tying tool back in his garage in the USA that would have done the job done a lot faster. If only they would have known before coming.

When they realized that they were going to need more re-bar, Mike and "Teep" took his side car to the closest hardware for some more. Teep and his wife are the construction foreman team that will finish the job, now that we are gone.

This team has slept in the church on the island in years past, where life was very primitive. No running water, or electricity at night, etc. This year they had it a lot nicer by staying in a resort that was near the work-site and right on the Gulf of Thailand. On the second morning, I woke up early enough to watch the sunrise and saw this couple fishing with their nets right on our beach.

The second day, they built the wooden forms (all by hand again) to pour the cement into for the foundation.

This is where the walls of her small and simple home will be.

Mark is working with an ax here to cut the steaks to go into the hard ground.

These guys work together so well and have so much fun in the process, demonstrating such great teamwork.

The third morning, they were finally ready to start pouring the cement.

But first the cement had to be mixed by hand. They mixed; sand, gravel, water and cement powder in these big tubs and did a lot of stirring before it was ready.

This is where the true teamwork came in as we made an assembly line and passed the buckets full of cement from the mixing tub to the forms and then passed the empty buckets back for more. The guys even sang some 'working on the railway' songs as they worked.

Seeing the freshly laid cement was a beautiful sight, so much- that I carved our initials in the wet cement.

As we left Pope at the end of the 3rd day, she was so happy and excited to see this dream of getting a home starting to become a true reality.

We took Sunday off and did some sightseeing while the cement dried, and came back on Monday to start laying more forms to lay more cement.

These will be the walls to divide the rooms.

Tying up the re-bar for the floors was not their favorite job.

They brought in a tractor to fill in the land some more over the foundation.

Still sweatin' and smilin' in the heat of the day.

We prayed together for Pope and the ones finishing the home as we left on the last day. She kept asking us to stay just a little longer.

Pope (gray shirt) is living here with her sister "Nung" (light blue shirt) next door while the house is being built. She is excited to use her new home as she reaches out to the Muslim's in this village and plans to teach the Bible in her new home. Teep and his wife are new Christian's and will be the ones to finish the house for her. Although the team would have liked to get more of it done for Pope, they got the foundation done which we all know is the most important part. They also left money for them to continue on. She is sending us daily pictures of the progress as the house goes up. Some day, I plan to tell you more about Pope, how we know her and her dreams. We also look forward to sharing a photo of her finished home being used to build God's Kingdom.

Thanks for coming again this year, guys! You have blessed Pope and her family more than you will ever know and as always were a huge encouragement to Mike and I. Not too many men want to use their vacation time to come labor in the hot sun for a week. Now go and take a REAL vacation!

Iowa builders visit Koh Chang/Ranong

2017-02-19T21:57:00.002+07:00

Those Iowa builders have come and gone already and we are so thankful for what they accomplished again this year. The team had 3 Mark's... Brad, Phil, Mark, Mark, and Mark They got a good start on a home for Pope (gray shirt) who I'll share more about later. Her sister "Nung", is in blue and the two Thai builders on the far right will complete the project.

These guys have been coming here during Feb. for years to build a home wherever Mike finds a need. This year it was in a new area that they had never been. There were two newbies this year, so they wanted to make a visit to Elephant Island where they have done most of the building in past years to show them their builds and to visit the the village. We did this one of the first days.

The view up on the church steps is pretty amazing, and they spent some time looking over all the homes/huts they have built and recalling memories of years past. This is where they usually sleep.

When I walked in to the village preschool the little ones were either taking baths or playing in the water to keep cool. Probably some of both with smiles, giggles, and squeals as I watched them.

We walked around the village and the guys inspected some of their homes to see how they were holding up.

This villager has a broken arm and he made his own cast with sticks and cloth. They asked us to go to his home to pray for him. The villagers get by on so little, making us realize how much we take for granted.

When we got back to the mainland, we took the 33 children from the Ranong Kids Home out to dinner at KFC. It's their favorite treat when Mike comes to town.

We mixed up the "white guys" with the kids, so that they could practice their English while eating. I'm pretty sure there was a lot of silence because they know so little English- but Thailand will always be known as "the land of smiles".

We spent the rest of the evening at the kids home. They sang "How Great Thou Art" for us and sounded beautiful. Three of the older kids shared their testimony for us, too. They did a great job.

We are so proud of these kids. Even the guys commented on how different the children and life on the village is from these kids who live in the home and are getting a better education. We were thankful for this short visit with them before driving 8 hours the next day on to the building project for this year.

An All American BBQ-Year 3

2017-02-10T15:55:00.001+07:00

Well they did it again! The Foltz's "hit it out of the park" with the American BBQ. They had a lot to live up to after the big bash in 2014 that was amazing and then again in 2015 that got even better. You can read about the background of these dinners from past years on those posts. Last week, we just finished the mid-year stint conference.

The first time we set up for 200+, the second year it grew to 300, and this year we fed 400 people! These are people that come to our city for a conference from countries where it is much more difficult to live and work and we get to host them, treat them, and give them a fun night at the conference.

Marisa loves the planning and decorating for this. Each table was similar and yet a bit different with the American BBQ theme.

We laugh at how different it is planning events like these in Thailand. Everything is so very much cheaper, and yet sometimes you get what you pay for and cannot have high expectations. They did a beautiful job on the 40 table flower arrangements, and yet the table/chairs/tablecloth deliveries company caused a little stress in their delivery time.

Jon orders all the food from a favorite restaurant in town that makes great BBQ ribs, chicken, and lots of side dishes. They eat and eat until they are stuffed. He also arranged for 40 songtao's (red trucks) to shuttle the 400 guests from the hotel to our center and back.

Our Northern Thailand CCC facility is a great place to host events like this, and we are thankful for the space and gift it is to the ministry.

This year we set up a little photo booth and got bales from a horse barn.

Cute cowgirls!

Marisa and I did most of the set up during the hot afternoon with the scorching sun. We laughed at ourselves a lot for doing what we do and were so tired. But once the guests start arriving and it cools down, it is so worth it to see how much they enjoy the evening.

They spread out throughout the evening in the gym with basketball and volleyball and outside with Frisbee's, corn hole, and ended the evening with a traditional dance party.

Marisa decorates with a lot of American flags, because the majority of the stinters are from the USA serving in countries all around Asia and this is a taste of home for them. However there are a fair amount from other countries, too that seem to enjoy the theme along with us.

Mike ended the evening again with a fireworks display this year. It was suppose to be small, but he got a little carried away.

Jon and Marisa, you are quite the party planners. I heard several say that the BBQ night is their favorite part of the conference, which makes it worth all your work to be a blessing to so many. (Hope it doesn't grow to 500 next year)

A Visit to Gem Forest

2017-01-27T22:51:00.000+07:00

Last weekend, I got to check something off my bucket list (that has been there for a really long time) by visiting a coffee farm.

This was not just any ordinary coffee production, but a very special one started by our friend Kaleb. He went to high school with our girls here in Chiang Mai and then when he returned after college in the USA, he started this business. One joke of the weekend was that Mike loves farms but he does NOT like coffee. We did our best to convert him to the flavorsome addiction of being a coffee drinker- but we were not successful.

It was a good 7 hour trip to his place in Nan province, so we stayed for two nights. In our planning, we told him we just wanted to see how the whole process is done and drink coffee all day long. The bags of coffee around us in abundance, smelled so so so good!

The first morning we went to his roasting facility in a village down the mountain, and started tasting (or cupping) the different coffee blends that Kaleb prepared for us.

Kaleb really knows the coffee business and we were so impressed with the whole production. It was so so much fun to watch him in action.

These beans had just been roasted and were being cooled.

They smelled so good and the little girls just kept wanting to run their hands through it. (me, too!)

Kaleb's parents have been in Thailand as long as us but work with people groups in the mountains. Their home is at the roasting facility. This is the view out their back door into the mountains where some of the villages are. We have decided to move there some day soon! :) The view is gorgeous!

We then drove another hour, up to their home in the village where the coffee is grown. It felt like going to the ends of the earth, but the landscape was magnificent.

Kaleb's wife, Saa, is amazing and it was so fun to get to know her better. She cooked us some very delicious meals and makes living in a village seem so appealing with her decorating and simple life. She is very artistic.

Their home is the one with the blue water tank in front. Marisa and I kept commenting that we wanted to move here. It was so peaceful and quiet. Mike doesn't think that we would last long.

After lunch, we walked back to where the coffee is grown and processed.

I took so many photos of the coffee cherries. They were so beautiful and yummy to suck on too.

There were so many kinds of trees up in the mountains on our walk. These are macadamia's. At one point, we counted 8 different kinds of fruit trees in one area.

Kaleb does not grow all of the coffee, but has farmers in the area raise it and they bring it to him for the processing. After he does the processing and roasting, he supplies coffee shops and dealers all over Thailand. This is a sack of fresh cherries brought in by a nearby farmer.

I loved the hand drawn illustrations of the whole process on the wall.

We all learned so much about the coffee production and never realized that there were so many steps. You seriously have to be a chemist to understand it all, (which I don't). It is much more arduous than I ever imagined.

This is where the beans are soaked in water and several steps take place, that I won't try to explain.

These are beans being dried in the sun and raked and turned for several days till the moisture is out.

Lots and lots of beans being dried here, there, and everywhere.

It was so fun for Summer and Hayley to see the whole process and farm life, too. They loved it and kept asking if we could stay longer.

Time for some more coffee sampling. Kaleb has a coffee bar set up at the processing area too. Summer thought it was so cool that she got to drink coffee. Hayley didn't want any. (just like her papa)

Marisa and Syrina (Kaleb's daughter) enjoying a view of the mountain. A new kind of coffee bean is being named after this sweet girl.

Their family is into bird watching, probably because of the beautiful variety that they see overlooking the mountains. Summer really enjoyed the binoculars and this long range scope.

Walking back to the village, we passed more coffee trees and beautiful cherries.

And enjoyed more glimpses of simple village life.

This was the sunset view out of their living room window. We did not want to leave.

Thank you Kaleb and Saa and kiddos for a wonderful visit. You treated us so well and have such great hospitality. It is so inspiring to see what you are doing with your gifts. Most exciting was seeing your love for the people in your village church and how you are investing in their lives and seeing so much growth. You were such an encouragement to us and I love my new Gem Forest t-shirt.

If you would like to learn more, the Thai PBS did a special about them and you can watch it here.