Terry and Dave's blog

Painting Crew....

2012-01-21T01:08:00.001-08:00

Okay, Mom is the only painter as she loves to paint.

our bedroom...

girls room....

Naomi's room on left...

living room on right... the main floor is all the same color.

Our Cleaning Crew....

2012-01-21T00:58:00.000-08:00

Before moving in...............

Jessica......

Esther.....

Hannah......

Our New Home

2012-01-21T00:42:00.000-08:00

In August 2011 we moved into a new, to us, home. This home had not been lived in for 10 years so it was in need of cleaning, painting and repairs. The owners told us that it would only take their one cleaning lady one day to clean the house…. This is how we found it. (we did not want to take our shoes off at the door but did out of respect) We were also told that it didn't need painting as it was beautiful paint, but we could paint if we really wanted to. Since, the owner has been to visit and loved the work we have done on it.

Beautiful Naomi

2012-01-21T00:33:00.000-08:00

July 2011

Naomi is in her final year of high school. Each of the kids participates in one way or another during sports day at their school. Naomi was wearing traditional Thai dress.

A Day With Rachel

2011-06-30T02:11:00.000-07:00

We headed to Pattaya and had to stop and have breakfast in one of dad's and my favorite spots. We both had the same meal but Rachel had to eat all the toast as I can't. (isn't she beautiful - no more braces! It only took 7+ years but her teeth look good.)

Then we headed just south of Pattaya to the floating market. Now, many of you have likely been here before but not me and I have lived here for 5 years. (it is only about 40 minutes from our home) I had to pedal her around in this silly contraption. :) We had only bought fans as it was a hot day.

Then, of course, we had to finish with a relaxing foot massage. Somehow, in the heat it just isn't the same as in an air conditioned room. They did a good job, don't get me wrong....

Unwanted Visitor

2011-06-30T01:55:00.001-07:00

Lil' Esther walked out our front door on Saturday afternoon and was daydreaming as usual when................. AAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! MOM!!!!!! Yah right, what is mom going to do? I won't run from a snake but I don't want them in my house. He was just over 2 feet long. These 3 brave boys looked after things; David tried to mop the snake away, Steve did sweep it off the step and then Mark flicked it with the broom handle over into the next yard. They were our hero's for the day. He was pretty though. :)

Sporting a new Apron from Jenner

2011-06-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

I was spoiled from our daughter in Canada, she knew I could always use an apron over here. The kids always ask mom if she will make pumpkin with curry...... they know it is one of my favorites. Hey, if they ask me to make it then perhaps they won't have to cook. All the older kids to do take turns cook

ing at times. Even the four little kids are getting really good at making rice. Here Ruth was helping mom cut up fruit for a fruit salad for dessert. We were having some guests over for dinner. We do have fun and just so you know, the apron is reversible..... the kids wanted me to wear it with the flowers out but I just thought it was too busy for the shirt I was wearing. Oh yah, I am just so fashionable! Love you Jenner........ Thank YOU!!! XOXOXO

Lil' Stories

2011-06-21T04:44:00.000-07:00

Peter...21 years old

He has just finished his 2nd year at Bible College. He is working part-time at 7/11 over the school break, he doesn't like it much but he is trying to stay focused. He works 6 days per week for 10 hour shifts........ long and tedious!

Steve...19 years old(20 in September)

He is in his last year of high school. He is on a work practicum right now, through his school. He loves the work but finds it very tiring. He is one of the quieter kids.

Naomi...19 years old

She is in her last year of high school. She is also working part time at 7/11 which we would like her to quit but she wants to keep working. She is hoping to go to University next year, for 4 years, I believe. We don't see her much except at around midnight every night when she gets home.... I don't know how she does it, I have a very hard time keeping awake to pick her up from work.

Mark..... 17 years old

Everyone thinks Mark is the oldest as he is definitely the tallest. He is growing in to an awesome young man, on fire for God and very involved with the Youth Ministry and the worship teams.

David....14 years old

Wanting to be grown up so badly. He is working hard at playing guitar and is doing fantastic. And David loves to cook, making different dishes too!

Hannah........ 13 years old(going on 30 sometimes)

Priceless, the other day I was taking the kids out for a swim at Pattaya Park and as we are driving she says she can't figure something out. What? Well, she says, "Mom, you only have 2 feet but you have 3 pedals to drive, don't you need another foot?" I lost it, she had been contemplating it for a while before she asked me. Too, funny - I told her that I just turn my feet sideways so I can reach all 3 pedals at once......lol

Alan..... 11 years old

He is our new bass player in the kids band. He is a fantastic help around the house. He is one of those kids that makes strange noises or loud ones just to get attention. They all have their little quirks but I how love them all.

Victor....12 years old(13 in July)

Vic is one of those kids that can take anything apart and put it back together better, faster, and greater then before.(I sure hope he never gets hold of my sewing machine!) He will never go hunger. He is one I must never forget to give him his hug - everyday or he just doesn't function properly the following day.

Ruth... 12 years old(for the 2nd year in a row - her birth certificate was wrong?!)

Ruth is a huge helper around the house. She is a real joy. She is fantastic at translating for mom too! And, what a prayer warrior she is becoming....... so grown up!

Esther...8 years old(9 next week)

Everyone loves Esther, she isn't a follower and she isn't pushy or bossy........ she is just beautiful. Here, she was not tired, she wasn't going to fall asleep. So precious!

Isaac...8 years old.

One day he came and told me he was going to fast not the next lunchtime, but the next one.(supper) Supper time came, I called him, he was playing with domino's on the floor and he said "No Mom, I am fasting - remember?!" Well, you don't play while you fast, you need to read your Bible, so off he went and read his Bible. He has fasted 2 times so far - he might not understand the whole concept but he is growing. :)

Last night, he came home from school and said "Mom, I hope it was okay, but the snack you gave me, I forgot to eat it. At the end of the day I took it out of my backpack, but I gave it all to my friend mom cuz he didn't have any food. Is that okay? Praise God, what a blessing Isaac is!

Jessica...7 years old(8 in August)

Never stops coloring 'I love you Mom' pictures... She never wants to be left out of everything but becomes a little overbearing because of it. She will learn.... she loves to help and be in the middle of everything. Or should I say, she wants all the attention from everyone.

Matthew.... 6years old

Full of life, laughter and stories. He is in grade one this year so he is now in the big kids school. He was such a softy, now he tends to fight the strong fight........ he will have to learn the middle area. Fun and games!

Our New Worship Leader

2011-04-23T04:19:00.000-07:00

Moses is gone; Rachel, Sarah, Samuel have moved out; Peter is in Bible College; John, Steve, Naomi are working and Mark is at Music Camp; all who would lead our worship, who is going to lead Worship now? David has now stepped up to the job! How neat is that! David has been learning guitar, Alan base and Victor drums, so we will continue to have a band in our home. All the kids have learned from one another and from hearing. They are all so clever! So, the other night was David's first time leading worship and he did a fantastic job. He did 3 songs and by the end of them his fingers were killing him.

As you can tell, our family seems to be shrinking. It isn't really, but with 3 kids off working and 1 in Bible College is makes few at home for our meetings. We do have 13 still at home and the others come home whenever they can make it.

All In a Days Work

2011-04-23T03:03:00.000-07:00

When the kids are on holiday for 2 1/2 months it is a very busy time for me. So much to do and just one set of hands to do it. The kids are growing up so fast and they are such an incredible help to me it definitely lightens the load. They really have grown over the past year.... the home has a real peace over it! Praise God!

We have really been sticking to a schedule for learning English. The kids are already tops in their class in speech so we are working on writing and reading.

The older kids are getting very good at pronouncing words phonetically, which will be very beneficial to them. They love to learn too, first thing out of their mouths in the morning is 'who are you teaching first Mom?' I usually teach the six older kids individually as a couple of them were just following the ones that understood, not under their own understanding. With the younger kids I am working on the alphabet and on reading. They can pick out many words on their own and are very excited to point them out. They are taught English in the school system but usually by a Thai teacher that can't even speak English themselves. My grammar isn't always the best but the books they send home in English are terrible.... I can't believe that they aren't written properly. The kids bring them home now and say the teacher would like mom to read the book and correct the mistakes.... too funny. (oh, if they only knew the difficulties I had in school.... lol)

Something new for me this year; I am working/over seeing the English Nursery in our ministry for 5 weeks. Becky and Matt were making a trip to Canada for some rest and rejuvenating and they have helped me out so many times that it was my turn to return the favour. The kids at the nursery are so precious. I also brought a couple of ours so that there would not be difficulties in the home when I was away. I only go for 1 1/2 hours in the morning and in the afternoon. Between Mark and David taking turns caring for the younger kids we were able to pull it off. This past week and next week, Mark is away at Music Camp so David is looking after things for me. They are such awesome young men.

On the left, Victor was helping out, by washing the floor when the kids were having their snacks. On the right, he was hiding from the Thai teacher so she wouldn't give him any more chores to do - ah, he is good at hiding. :) I only have one week left, which I am looking forward to. I definitely draw my strength from the Lord!

What Happened to ????

2011-04-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

Peter, our preacher son! Peter has just finished his second year at Bible College. He is doing so well, has matured in so many ways. His dream is to finish 4years to become a Pastor and to go to Canada and preach at churches there. Our family is looking forward to him being back at home for the summer months. He is hoping to find a job in order to pay for any expenses he needs during the next year of schooling. We are very proud of him!

Look at our twins, on their 1st birthday. These two beautiful girls are Sarah's (one of our oldest girls) and Fan's. (ฟาง and ฝ้าย) Fang and Fai are the girls names. They have been living down south, 18 hours drive, in Hat Yai but we are excited as they are moving back to Sriracha next month.

Naomi and Mom.... Okay, she is way cuter! Naomi and Steve both have just one year of secondary school left. Naomi is the top of her class in all subjects. This past year they awarded her with 1500 baht ($50) for being the top student. She works hard. Naomi has been working at 7/11 for the summer trying to save money for university. It would take her many, many years of work before she could afford university but we are believing for a way.

Steve has also been working at 7/11, but a different store then Naomi. 7/11's are just about on every corner in Thailand. Steve is studying computer programming in school and is hoping they will help to place him in a job when the year is done. They only place the top students and Steve works extremely hard for the marks he receives. If he doesn't get placed he is interested in going on to a higher education too but is unsure what he would take. He might even be interested in going to Bible College....... please pray for wisdom for him.

John has now worked for 1 year, after finishing grade 9. They informed us that they would pass him in grade 9 but he is not able to continue to study. John has no idea what he wants to do with his life. He is not scholastic but he is incredible with his hands. He can fix, invent, and grow any thing. He is working at Family Mart, which usually consists of sleeping as they are across from 7/11 and they have very few customers compared to 7/11. He really is just putting in time, but he is fantastic at saving money. He is only 16, so is very young and has time for decision making. Please pray for him too, for direction and wisdom.

It was Songkran this past week. The water festival, so our family dressed in our bright flowered shirts incase we got wet on the way to and from church. It really was 5 days of silliness. (it usually is the time when most people die from accidents in Thailand) We did have fun and spent one afternoon with all the other crazy people. Steve is the only one in the picture who isn't wearing the flower shirt and John, who is taking the picture; they were heading to work.

Home Sweet Home

2011-04-23T01:08:00.000-07:00

A few pictures to show you some of our house. On the left is the girls rooms, with more beds to the right of the picture. And half
of the boys room, with 5 more beds at the end of the room where I am standing.

To the left is our laundry room - it looks like this all during rainy season - the clothes hanging inside. On the right, we were blessed with these chairs at Christmas. (I need to cut the feet though as they all rock badly)

Oh, a story about the drapes on the windows. I made those just over 4 years ago. Two weeks ago, I put them in the wash. I can only wash one at a time as they are so big, totally lined. When I opened the washing machine, I was horrified - the lining was in shreds! At first I thought that something must of happened to that one curtain - nope, the next one came out the same. The sun is so intense here, it has totally disintegrated the material. I have cut off the lining and rehung the drapes. Sure doesn't keep out the sun very well. :(

Pictures of our yard. We were also blessed with a fantastic swing/playground. The kids are on it most of the time, when the sun is around the other side of the house - in the evenings.

Holiday March 2011

2011-04-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

Yeah..... Dad is home and we are on holidays. We packed up the truck and all the kids and headed north. I had spent many hours online looking for places to stay that were reasonable for 15 people... not an easy task. We decided this will likely be that last holiday as mom & dad's treat as soon dad will not be working. We also asked the kids that were working, to book time and join us.

We were heading to Chiang Mai.... the road was straight and long with many different sizes and shapes of cargo being hauled.

Our first stop, for a couple of nights, was not booked but we were really blessed with 2 awesome rooms. They were huge rooms and they offered us a fantastic deal. Most people are so awesome when they see us arriving with that many children. Dad and the kids are enjoying a show..... or they may have been watching the devastation in Japan. This was our view out the window, there are temples everywhere.

We stayed at a nice place in Chiang Mai and because there were so many of us, they offered to take us on a river cruise for free. So cool. There were many people fishing along the shores of the river and also many put together shacks.

Check out the sink drain on the right

Left: Esther and Matthew

Right: Isaac, Alan & David

Left: Ruth & Naomi

Right: Jessica & Victor

and Mark.

Missing are John, Steve, Hannah & Dad.

Kindergarten Celebration 2011

2011-04-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

So........ I was invited to hang out with our youngest, Matthew, at school for a 'Walk Rally'. No one could explain to mom what it was so away we went. Ruth came with Mom and Matthew so she could help mom in translation. Okay, there was no walking! There were many games, I think 14 all total that mom and Matthew played together against the other kindergarten children and their parents. What a riot - at first they all just stared at the white lady but then they realized I was just as silly as they are...lol Here are just a couple of pics of the fun we had, I will add that it was 32c and the sun was strong!

The kids got to sit in the cars and the parents had to push them - it was a timed race. We did good! And look who the smiley one is - he is just so sweet. Go Matthew!

We were both looking up to see just what we had to do..... okay, walking on a tight rope between two trees. A few kids would not even attempt it, but as we have said before, our kids are monkeys.

Then there was the walk / hula hoop, they had big ones for the adults and little ones for the lil kids. Ruth even got to show her talent. Matthew did not do well so we don't have a picture of him. :)

Mom stood back to take pictures while the others played a game of passing the hoola hoop around in a circle while not letting go of each others hands. It was also a timed relay.

In Thailand, graduating from Kindergarten is a huge celebration. (grade 12 is not even celebrated) Doesn't Matthew look so sweet in his gown? He now will be starting Grade 1 and is very excited about it - "I get to be with the big kids now!!"

January 2011

2011-04-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

In the new year I was able to join our Canadian kids; Jennifer & Jason and our two granddaughters. Our son-in-law Orlund was not available for the picture. (wish he was as he is the photographer in the family and this pic isn't the best) Joy and Olivia are growing up so fast.

During the picture taking our youngest, Olivia, had a seizure and was taken to Kamloops hospital by ambulance. She ended up staying in the hospital for a week on intervenes as she had a urinary infection.

This was Jenner & the girls, sleeping at the hospital........

everything is just too

giggly! They are all so cute.

Then Jay dropped in to say goodbye to us all as he headed back to work north of Edmonton.

We did manage to get down to Cranbrook to see my dad and family. However, we had to spend 9+ hours in the Rogers because of snow avalanches. We got to visit and conquer the world, which we usually do from opposite sides of the world, so it was an enjoyable time.

A couple of precious girls........ I sure miss them!

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-26T17:56:00.001-08:00

Cookies, cookies and more cookies. The kids love making cookies, so cookies we made...... hundreds of them. The kids looked after the making of them and Rachel and mom decorated them.

What did we do with ALL the cookies? Well, we packaged them up in lil' bags with red bows and delivered them to the neighbourhood. On Christmas morning all our family that could be together, 17 in all, went around our area singing Christmas carols and giving out cookies.

The singing was in Thai of course so mom mainly did filming. We are hoping to put up a short video on Facebook soon, providing we got some good footage.

The kids did awesome - it was so HOT! Many people came out to listen to us, many also wanted to pay us, but we thanked them and said no. We were Blessing them and handing out tracts to let them know that Jesus loves them.

Decorating for Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

Decorating our Christmas tree is always so fun - to watch! How the kids love the tinsel.

We also had some plastic snowflakes from Canada that we put on the doors and windows. Plus, the kids cut out snowflakes. This is the first time any of them had ever made snowflakes so there were some real interesting shapes. (hey, they never have seen snow.....lol)

We also decorated our table Christmas like. Wow, all the preparation and then poof it is all over ..............

The kids are now back in school and mom has clean up to do. We all had an incredible day and the focus was celebrating Jesus' birth.

Levelling the Back Yard

2010-12-26T07:14:00.000-08:00

A common job that many from across this world have seen or been apart of. There have been many wheelbarrow loads of sand and gravel that have been moved to our back (front) yard.

We have had to build the yard up about 1-2 feet with fill. Our kids have worked hard. They do make a game of it which makes the job more bearable. They really have been a major help with all the

moving.

We believe that the

yard is relatively level now - next job will be concrete. (Brian will you be up to concrete?)

Row # 1 - Mark and Victor.....................David

Row # 2 - Matthew & Steve....................Victor

Row # 3 - Ruth..........................................Victor

October 2010

2010-12-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad got a picture with two of our older kids. Rachel, now 23 years old, is working in Sriracha at a very fancy Hotel. She enjoys her job and is doing what she always dream of. Peter, 20 years old, is in his 2nd year Bible College, also in Sriracha. (We are so thankful that they are living in the same city as us.) Peter is doing great in school and is becoming an awesome preacher. His plans are to complete the 4 year program.

Why did I come?

2010-09-16T00:09:00.000-07:00

I was blessed by having one of the boys home with me today and being able to spend some time with him in conversation without any interruptions. It is very interesting how the story has changed on why or how he came to come home with us from up north three years ago.

October 2007

At that time, David, was 11 years old. When we were in the northern village filling out paperwork, he was very anxious to get in our van and get on with the rest of his life. At that time we were told that he, himself wanted to start a new life........ anywhere, he just wanted out from where he was.

Today he shared: "My mom and dad did not live together anymore, because they always fought. When my mom saw some 'white people' arrive to help the poor, unwanted, unfed, abused children she wanted me to go. It was so hard for her to push me to go, but I was very willing. I had spent 3 years earlier living with just my dad. I was beaten regularly with a switch. My dad had a very bad temper and he hit me all the time. Then I lived two years with my mom but I had to go spend time with my dad sometimes and was continually beaten. Just before you(Dave & I) arrived my dad had been arrested and put in jail." - (David did not want to share that information yet.) So when we arrived up north, David was packed, ready and eager to come home with us and start his life new.

David...... September 2010

What a blessing he is. He is one of the biggest helpers in the home, always willing to cook a meal, clean whatever is needed and he has a heart of gold. With all that David has been through as a child he has such compassion for everyone. He will go places and is so anxious to learn about Jesus and the English language. Praise be to God!!

A Little Story

2010-07-28T00:59:00.000-07:00

We are trying desperately to teach our kids the value of things they have been given. They are always very thankful for all they get but, like most kids, they don't look after things. . .

I bought each of our girls a beautiful t-shirt just before we went on holidays in April. One of the girls decided to wear her 'new' t-shirt while they were opening coconuts. You guessed it, the t-shirt was ruined, covered in streaks of brown yuck. We tried washing it but it did not come clean.... so, she had to give mom 100baht(just over $3.00) so that we could buy her a new one. She was very good about it as she realized she had made a mistake.

The other day, this dirty t-shirt showed up in the laundry again. It wasn't wearable the way it was, so I decided to soak it totally in bleach, nothing would be lost. And, it came totally clean, looking as if it was a new t-shirt again.

Everyday, when the clothes are dried on the line, I bring them in and hang them in the front room and when the kids get home from school they get 'their' clothes and put them away. I had attached 100 baht bill to the t-shirt with a pin, not telling her anything about it. (Here is where I needed a camera.......... wow, the power of the heart.) All the kids were looking at the money and when she saw it, she picked up the shirt and looked at it. Tears fell from her eyes, she spun around and saw me and said "Mom, is this really MINE?" Yes......... well she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug........ "Thank you Mommy". So real, so genuine, so grateful, so thankful...... what a blessing they are to us! How I love our kids!

Mom's Birthday

2010-07-18T01:21:00.000-07:00

The kids spoiled mom on her birthday.......... the gifts just kept coming. It is the first time I have been in Thailand for my birthday and what a day it was. Peter baked a cake - not that mom could eat any, but the kids wanted me to have candles to blow out. I would list all the awesome gifts I received, but I would be afraid of missing one, so I have just picked a couple of pictures to show you. It is the looks on all the kids faces that I thought were so priceless.........

...each child waiting until mom opened their gifts......... so priceless and hard to capture on camera. One of the kids was helpful taking the pictures for me.

This picture was drawn by Caleb for school and then he had it framed for mom. They all are incredible artists but they are trained from very young in the school system.

A Beautiful Bouquet

2010-07-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

A very SPECIAL bouquet for Mom...........

okay, it might not be that beautiful but it comes from the heart! Little Isaac (7) was so excited about bringing mom a bouquet, how could I not just love it?! He has such a beautiful heart! He has come such a very, very long way........... we love him.

I did receive another beautiful bouquet from some very special people in Thailand. This was for my birthday......... Thank YOU Aua, Renee, and Matt (visiting from the US) I love you all!!

Middle Ones Cooking Dinner

2010-07-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon the older kids go to 'Youth Extreme' so I am trying get the younger ones more involved in helping mom. . . . This one friday I decided we were going to make Chicken Satay (I have never made them before), and stir fried veggies. I had marinated the chicken all day and when I got the kids home, Hannah and Ruth put the chicken on the sticks. Alan got busy in the kitchen peeling and cutting all the veggies. While they did that, Victor and David started the barbecue. They first had to run to the store to by some charcoal. It took them some time to get it started but they sure got it hot.... Oh, I must not forget the other little ones...... they were the spectators.

That is Vic (11), turning the chicken with David(13) helping and Alan(10) watching. We had made 52 sticks with just chicken.

I just love seeing how they come together to help each other and mom. They are such a blessing......

Ruth(11) wanted to cook the veggies and she did a fantastic job.... added the spices she wanted. Isn't she cute?!

Then along came Hannah(12) to help Ruth or to inspect, I am not sure which. (they sure are close friends/sisters)

Our Worship Team

2010-07-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

Four of our oldest kids are now leading worship at the Thai Church. They are playing and singing very well, we are proud of their accomplishments.

Naomi loves to sing............ she usually hides in her bedroom for practicing, except during our family worship in the evenings. She sings out much stronger at home then at the church but she is getting bolder all the time.

Steve and Mark are concentrating, don't you think?Steve is getting stronger at the base, but we don't have a base at home so he usually plays guitar for practice. Mark is very strong in the lead, with guitar. How he loves playing and usually plays for our worship at home.

Caleb is our drummer and he is good. There is nothing like a long, tiring, hot day and the kids come home and Caleb starts on his drums..... whew! Good thing mom can just tune it out most days because with 14 to 17 kids running around as well, the decimal level in our home is extremely high.

We are so blessed to have such talented kids...... I love it that we have music always in our home, either in Thai or English.

Family Picture Update

2010-05-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

December 27, 2009

David...................................Alan

....................................................Isaac.......................................Rachel.............

Esther......................................Ruth........................................Mark........................

John......................................Hannah................................Caleb.....................

Matthew..................................Jessica..............................Victor.............................

Peter...........................................................................................Steve.....................

Samuel.........................................................Naomi....................................

..............................................Mom & Dad..............................................

..............................................Terry & Dave............................................

Mary..... forgot we were having a photo shoot

Sarah..... & husband, Fan, were unable to travel. They now are proud parents of twin girls!

Never lacking something to do....

2010-05-20T19:03:00.001-07:00

The day before I left for Canada, April 3rd 2010, the kids were busy in the front yard. Isaac is the one in the ground.

Camping with Mom

2010-05-20T18:49:00.001-07:00

We went camping for 10 days on Koh Chang Island. We thought we would be tenting but they didn't allow us as it was too hot and dry. So..... we stayed in 3 large, air conditioned rooms. It was fantastic as it was the hotest time of the year. We were right on the ocean, but if the tide was out it was 'way' out.

Mary & Naomi volunteered to do most of the cooking which was done on our front deck, where we also ate. Mary & I would go down the road every two days to meet up with the veggie truck as we had no where to store food. It all worked out good. (the managers of the resort said they would give me a cheap price on meals but their cheap and my cheap for 18 of us is very different) We ate well and in the end I believe the resort cooked us about 6 big meals for no cost.

We will never go hungry with our kids tho. They climbed every coconut, makam and jack fruit tree around.

We didn't have any tools for getting into the coconuts so the kids used rocks, sticks and anything else they found laying around. We have never had so much fresh fruit. It was excellent.

They also caught fish and crabs for dinner.

While at camp, when it was too hot to be out in the sun the kids all became creative. They made cards with dried flowers, twigs and leaves. Plus bead bracelets and necklaces. When it comes to making things the Thai's are excellent as they are taught at a very young age in school.

Every morning we had prayer and study time. .

In the evenings we would have Praise and Worship. We took one guitar along and Mark is becoming a fantastic player.

We had a visitor, Jonathan, from Kamloops, BC, Canada.

All the kids were climbing trees so I could take a picture for Dad in Canada. Next time we pray that dad will be with us.

When it is too hot........

2010-05-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

The kids are never lacking things to do......... and they don't need special toys either.

Victor, David, Hannah, and Ruth are all great jumpers!! If it isn't jumping, it is skipping or playing hand games, anything to stay out of the sun. (it isn't any cooler in the home)

THANK YOU!

2010-05-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

A BIG Thank You to the team that just blessed us with the new playground equipment

AND

Concrete Table and Benches.

We might not have a lot of room in our yard but every section is now being used. The kids are totally enjoying them both. What a great surprise and blessing ..... Thanks!

Christmas Carols

2010-03-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a great time to get out and meet the neighbors. Every year the Thai Church invites the congregation to join them in caroling in the streets of Sriracha. Only the older kids are asked to join, which meant that Christmas 2009 we had five kids that joined in. This is a whole night affair - they started at 6pm and ended at 3am..........

they love it and so did the rest of our family when

they came to our door. Our three boys (left to right); Caleb, Mark & John, were out in

front with both Mary and Naomi behind. After three songs, we had them in for drinks and oranges....

Family Camp 2009

2009-10-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

October is the kids 'term' break at school................ one month at home, thank goodness for Family Camp. This year we went south to Nakhom Sri Tammarat, a 13 hour drive for us, me and 15 kids.

The truck is loaded and the kids are excited to meet up with their friends again.

We left Sunday afternoon, but I found the drive long as I was not feeling well. We stopped in a little town after 6 hours of driving and found an inexpensive Motel. (A nice Thai couple that understood that we really needed a place to stay the night.) We were cozy but the kids loved it - they could watch T.V.
We were able to rent 3 rooms for all of us........ we did have favor! The kids were great and after a trip to 7/11 for treats, watching a bit of T.V. everyone was asleep early.

The next day was a long drive getting on the road at around 8:30am........... we arrived at camp at 6pm. We actually drove directly to the school where the camp was being held. A beautiful setting........... we were staying at an 'old' highschool - it is still being used but definetly not the best living quarters!!
Our rooms, classrooms, were on the 3rd floor on one building. The meeting room was 3 buildings over and the dining room 4 buildings over.

Our rooms............. no mattresses, no air con, and only 2 fans for 12 of us. Okay, maybe we are getting a little spoiled, but we like spoiled!
This is our bedroom, with two lil' ones(Jessica & Matthew) that physically fell asleep in a chair in the meeting room. This was around 7pm on the last day. Aren't they beautiful!! My bed was next to Jessica and brother Al's bed was next to Matthew - yes, we both complained(to each other) how much both of these kids move during the night. I got punched in the face, in the depths of my sleep. Al got kicked.... oh well, I guess we are even.

Next let me tell you about the bathrooms............ no sinks that worked; showers, brushing teeth and potty were all done in this very confined area................
On the right is the squatty potty, with the dipper, in the left picture. The front bucket on the left is for the shower........ and somewhere there, we brush our teeth too! This is the part that I really, really have trouble with, but we do survive.

Here is couple of pictures of one of our meetings.

Of course, the kids love to pose for pictures and take pictures........... I think there were 250 extra pictures on my camera. They are just so cute!!

Caleb & Matthew

Isaac

Esther

Hannah

Grandpa

Mom

Matthew

Jessica

Then there were the 'football' games, girls team: mothers against female teenagers and boys teams: fathers and pastors against male teenagers.

Ruth, on the left, loves playing football and she is good!! Naimo is in the yellow......... what are they looking at?? It was fun to watch.

Mary, in the striped top, was the only one that scored in the womens game................go Mary go!!!! And she usually doesn't play.

All and all we had a great time at camp. The only thing we really disliked is that we came home with 'red' eye as they call it in Thailand. I remember our cows having pink eye and dad spraying it will some purple stuff..... I don't know if they have that in Thailand or not. Anyway, I believe only 4 of the kids haven't got it, but it is NOT over yet............. Mom has it right now! URGH!!

Tea with Grandma

2009-10-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

Grandma Terry invited all her granddaughters to tea. They all arrived in their beautiful dresses, adorned in the 'party' hats Grandma had given them. The girls on the sofa our our's; front to back: Esther, Jessica, Ruth, and Hannah. Grandma had special tea, with lots of sugar and all kinds of goodies. The girls loved it.

Grandma and all her little princesses!!

Left to right: Backrow: Julia, Tammy, Grandma, Jessica, Ruth, Joy

Frontrow: Debbie, Esther, Jubilee, Hannah

THANK YOU!!!

2009-10-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

A Big THANK YOU to all that gave for John's medical bills.

John is smiling in this picture but believe me it was only for the picture. He had fallen down a flight of stairs at school and broke his leg in two place. In the Government Hospital, where John was, they do not have the nicest bedside manner. He was in so much pain and it took them 2 hours before they gave him anything to relieve the pain. They were moving him this way and that as he was screaming............ not fun!! You can likely count the stitches he had. I wish I had got a picture before he had them removed - they were like the big staples we use in Canada for barbed wire fences!! He now has a metal plate in his leg. John is doing great and on Monday, November 2nd we return for another x-ray of his leg. We are believing for total healing !

John has one of those contagious smiles.............. he is holding up a empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. (We put this on his scar for a couple of weeks, with new dressing. )

Thank you again................ what a Blessing you are!!

Kindergarten Sports Day

2009-09-24T23:24:00.001-07:00

We started at the park at 6am, getting organized for the big parade..... it was
Kindergarten Sport Day!!

Matthew is the lil' guy with the biggest smile, under the sign. He is so excited as this is his first sports day and he is on the 'red' team. Jessica is ready to go, she is the one looking straight at the camera and on the 'blue' team.

We leave the park in a parade, down the busy street, with all the kids and their parents (I wasn't told that we were to wear the same color as our child..... good thing as I wouldn't of had a 'blue/red' top)

We ended up at this big gymnasium - a concrete building - vibrating with the drums, trumphets, shouts, screams, laughing, crying sounds of 500+ kids, parents and teachers. Wow, what an awesome experience to be part of it all!

Jessica was a cheerleader, plus she ran in many races. Matthew was a bench cheerer plus also running in various races.

Yes, our kids did fantastic.......... they both came home with 3 medals and 3 gifts........ they were so excited.

I was fortunate enough to have one of our older girls, Rachel, spend the day with us too. The kids gave us a medal and gift too because we stayed and played with them. What a great day!!

Pattaya Park Silliness

2009-08-26T00:04:00.000-07:00

While Dad was in Thailand we treated the kids to a trip to Pattaya Water Park - they just love it!!

We arrived at 10am and already is was well above 30c, so at first it is time to lather on the suntan lotion. They kids have now learned that you must have it on or you will be in a lot of pain.... doesn't take us long, does it?!

The older kids spend a lot of their time under the bridge in the shade or sitting by the table. They really dislike getting darker.

The bottom 5 kids are ours... usually the guy, up top, wouldn't let them come down with more then two but it wasn't very busy in the morning so he was allowing it. The kids sure do like the slides.

Then the kids need something
different to do so they pick 'mom' to work on. They think hairdressing would be a good idea. Ouch!! Specially taking the elastics out. It wasn't bad when there was just one child but they tend to come in clumps! Oh well, all in fun - and aren't I just the cutest............ okay, the oldest! :) Esther who is the lil girl on the right in both pics looked at me very, very seriously and said "Mom, I don't like your hair........... you look like a BOY........... I don't want you to ever cut it again!!!" She was very direct and stern........... all I could do was laugh. They do know what they want or what they want you to do. We all had a fantastic day and I believe Dave & I were the only ones worse for wear - both sunburned (yes, we put lotion on a few times) and just tired! Can you imagine?!

In the end, all the kids were tucked in bed and this is what we woke up to the next morning.... by the time I got the camera most of the color had dissappeared, but it is still beautiful!

Joy arrives in Thailand - Jenner too!!

2009-08-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Our granddaughter and daughter.................from Canada

Here they come............. we have been waiting for a year

.............................. that is a long time in the eyes of a child!

Yippee, they arrive safe and sound. (sorry the pic is so dark)

We sure didn't have to worry about keeping Joy busy........ there were 16 others taking care of that .

And was she ever pooped at the end of the day... What a sweetie, eh?!?!

The baths are a little different in Thailand - we only have showers (at least in our house) so Joy was taking her baths in this tub, which she didn't particularly care for.
Oh, Jenner's hair - that was done in Canada........XO

AND......... Grandma's get to spoil them don't they?? YES!!!!!!!!!!! (specially when I don't get to see her very often.

Oh, incase you were wondering what we did while they were in Thailand - well, we put Jenner to work and work and work. Oh, that isn't all, we went to Pattaya Water Park, the Zoo, for massages, shopping, had our nails done..... and just hung out!!

Then it all has to end and off to Canada they went.................. All the kids want for Christmas now is "Baby Joy" - they want her to live here! I am sure it would be fine for the parents to come too!!!! We really loved having the two of them here, a big "Thank You" to Orlund(dad and hubby) wish you could of come too!! There is ALWAYS a next time. :)))))

What's new??

2009-07-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

I thought I better get to work and post something so you don't think we have forgotten. A rundown of what are family is doing right now.....

Sarah got married in March, 2009 living in southern with her husband(Fan) and we have just received an email from her saying they are expecting their first child. We pray that she is feeling well during her pregnancy!

Rachel has been attending University in Canada, upgrading her English. She has just written an exam to challenge the English courses in hopes of attending an acedemic program this fall. We find out the results on August 7th. She has been a fantastic help painting the house in Canada too!!

Mary is working for us in the home. She has a 'beautiful' apartment upstairs with more responsiblilities and freedom. Mary is becoming a fantastic cook, willing to try new recipes. She also does most of the laundry and cleaning in the home.

Peter has graduated from High School and is looking forward to attending Victory Bible College International here in Sriracha. We are so excited for him. In the meantime he has been helping mom build on a kitchen as well as working as the maintenance man for the Lighthouse. He is a fantastic help. We will miss him when he moves upstairs into the dorms when school starts in September........... oh well, they all do grow and move on.

Steve, now 17 years old, has started grade 10 in a Vocational School in the computer program. He has found it a huge challenge with lots of extra homework but he does believe he is doing well.

Both Caleb, 16 and Naomi, 17 are in grade 10 this year and have just changed High Schools. They thought by going to a smaller school they would do better. They are both extremely bright so we are sure they will do well wherever they go. We will see all marks in October.

John, in grade 9, is in a separate High School from the others. He is doing well, just trying to finish the year. He still has the biggest smile you can imagine! He is also working hard on growing his garden.

Mark, in grade 8, is having a difficult time just attending school. He needs prayer in this area, if he misses one more class he will be kicked out of school. He is really trying to hang in there but 4 years seems a long time to continue in school. He is very bright and perhaps finds it not challenging enough. We are believing that he can make it through and we will continue to work with him on that.

David is in grade 6, doing very well as is Hannah in grade 5. They are both very disciplined kids in their homework and duties at school.
And just a joy to have as 'our' kids.

Victor, Ruth, and Alan are all in grade 4. They are all doing well, although Victor is usually inventing something or taking something apart......... just very inquisitive and there is nothing wrong with that.

Isaac and Esther are in grade 1 and both enjoying it. Isaac has calmed down some from last year so he isn't coming home with his clothes in shreds - this was a daily occurrence last year, he still is very busy and a monkey.

Jessica and Matthew are in Kindergarten and having fun.
They charm all who come to visit us.

All the kids are growing like weeds. We sure are enjoying each and everyone of them. We are becoming so close with them all!

So, I hope that gives you a quick overview of our family. Do go to our website to see more stories: http://www.elshaddai2.com/ Our daughter Jennifer does the posting on it so I will make sure she gets it updated too.

MEET OUR KIDS!

2008-10-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

Peter.....18 years old.

Okay, he is going to ask me to remove this one picture, but it is okay for kids to be kids! He will laugh about it. Peter loves playing guitar and he is an awesome Worship leader. He graduates in 2 weeks with big plans ahead........will keep you posted. He is a real blessing to have in our family!

Ruth.....10 years old

She is a piece-maker in the home. She loves to look pretty but look out if there is a football game happening - she is there! She is very smart and is learning the English language very fast. Look at that beautiful smile!

Mary.....19 years old.

She is the oldest child in the house. She is so beautiful and a great help for mom. She is trying to figure out what she wants to do; work for mom, go get a job - but what would she like to do?? Questions, questions.

Steve.............17 years old.

He is 'hot' so the kids at school say. He is very quiet and loves to play guitar. Naomi and Steve both needed glasses to see the blackboard at school - are they not cute?! He is a good brother and gets along with everyone well.

Jessica.........4 years old. She is in Kindergarten 2

and loving school. Her teacher thinks she is so special as she can speak English so well. She did spend a long time with Mom & Dad alone, so she picked up the language very fast. She loves to dress up and be pretty or dress in someones bigger shoes. She is beautiful!

Matthew......4 years old.
The youngest in our family and as you can see a happy lil' guy. What a change we have seen in him. He is the only one at home during the day so he keeps mom entertained. He loves to go shopping(for groceries), to bake cookies, go to the park, he just likes to be busy.

Caleb...........15 years old. He must be always on the move as all the pictures I have of him are a blurrrrr. Caleb is an excellent student, we are trying to push him in a better direction as he would love just to take it easy. He loves to play sports and is on the track team at school. He is one of the first of our kids to get out front and play football(soccer).

Naomi.....16 years old
She is beautiful and is wanting to grow up faster then her years. She is the top in her class in school and works hard at it. Naomi likes to tease which does get her in trouble at times but she is a loveable huggable girl.

Victor.....10 years old.

What a joyful son. He always has a big smile, although at times it is because of his sneakiness, and he loves the hugs. He is always building something out of scraps, very creative.

David......11 years old. How he loves playing football(soccer) and he is good at it too. On the left he was really creative when we were doing some Christmas crafts. He does extremely well in school and all the kids love him.

Esther ...... 5 years old......she really is a beautiful light in our family. She is in Kindergarden 3 and is absolutely loving school. She has been blessed with the art of talking......non-stop talking or singing.(you would think she was related!) It is very, very rare to ever see Esther upset, she just loves everyone and everything.

Isaac..........6 years old.
He is our 'monkey' in all ways! He can climb anything or anybody faster than you can say his name. Oh, we had to shave his head, on the right, as one day when he was supposed to be napping -- him and Matthew thought they should cut their hair ----whew, they made a real mess and this was the only fix-it solution. Isaac needs the hugs and gives them. One eye always need to be in his direction or poof - he is gone.............busy, busy!!

John..........15 years old

John has one of the most beautiful smiles as you can see. He is a huge help around the home. John is one of those people that can do anything with his hands. In the background of the picture where he is helping do laundry is where 'his' garden is. He has two banana trees and many ground plants growing. We are hoping to get him a huge amount of dirt as he really is wanting to grow a garden, the soil is clay and rock. He is faithfully outside by 6 am every morning watering his plants.

Alan..........9 years old. Alan is our softy, such a gentle boy making it real easy for the others to tease him. At school, he is the leader of his class, always willing to help anyone with anything. His father is deceased and his mom could not care for him. It was very hard for him to leave the northern village but he now says he will never go back.

Hannah................11 years old. She is our princess - being 'all' girl.
She will play football if they really need a goalie but she would never stop the ball. She is the youngest of 10 or 12 - she isn't sure. Her mom is on her own and couldn't care for Hannah. Hannah is doing extremely well at school and is an all round peace keeper.

Mark................14 years old. Mark is our 'tall' son, being much bigger than all the other children. He is a great help, all we have to do is ask. He loves to play football (soccer), play guitar and helps to translate for mom. He is very brilliant young man, now in grade 7. He is brother to Naomi and Moses. Their dad had kicked mom and the kids out of the house and the mom could not care for the kids. They have been in the home for eight years.

Moses...............18 years old and Samuel......................19 years old have both left our home and gone out on their own. They both are working and doing their own thing.

Sarah..........21 years old. Sarah graduated this last year and had hopes of going to music college this year, but that has been postponed until next year, so at present she is working. She has connections with a college in the United States that she is hoping to attend. There is so much 'red tape' that we have to go through to get these kids to another country. We do miss Sarah in the home too as she was very helpful but we do get to see her at church services on Sunday and usually at Praise and Worship on thursday.

Rachel.........21 years old. She has the biggest smile in this picture as she is at the Bangkok airport heading to Canada. Many first's for her; on an airplane, by herself, in Canada, in university, etc, etc... Rachel is staying with dad(Dave) in Kamloops while she is studying English at Thompson Rivers University. Rachel has always been such a blessing to have in our home, helping out wherever she can, so we have given her the opportunity to study in Canada and to be totally emersed in the English language. She says that her studies are going great and she is meeting a lot of interesting people.

A Couple of short stories

2008-09-16T23:11:00.000-07:00

Esther(on left) and Jessica having a shower...............they love showers!!

All the kids are such sweeties......... the boys too, although I doubt if that is the name they would like. One of Esther's favorite sayings is: "Mom? You love me and I love you, right??" They all need confirmation regularily, I think that must come with there only being one of me and there are so many kids!

Last night at dinner, we were enjoying a soup, with small chicken legs in it, on rice. We were all enjoying our meal when Jessica dropped her chicken leg on the floor. She immediately got down from table, picked up the leg, and proceeded to wipe it on her shirt to make it clean, jump back up on her chair and finish eating it. Of course I couldn't stop laughing, but it is likely a much cleaner floor than most of them ever had. (I must say that the other kids didn't even notice except that mom was laughing - they all think I am a little crazy anyway! :) )

I am hoping to be able to update our blog with little stories regularily as a day doesn't go by when something silly or funny, etc happens. I haven't had internet service since the last blog I posted so must say that I am a little behind sending emails and answering emails but I will try to catch up soon.

I am presently taking a Hebrews class so my mornings are booked away from home and then in the afternoon I try to get caught up on the things in our home. There seems to be so much mending I need to do these days - I think the kids clothes must just be getting tired. I did manage to have 2 nights away from home and kids last week which was a very needed break. Just gave me the umpf I needed - how long it will last is unknown........... Anchalee and Kim took care of the kids which went well. The kids love having someone else in the home - the rules are usually a lot more lenient.... another story...........

One of our older girls got up last sunday and thanked the Lord for her home and family. She said that she doesn't always agree with our rules but she knows God has a plan for her life. She did thank Him for Dave and I and said that I have been very patient and good to them. So..........then a Thai mom got up and said that we (Dave & I) do not have hard rules at all. Her father locked her younger sister in her room for 1 year for lying. I think that is a bit extreme but the mom was just letting our kids know that they have it very easy. When we got home, I thought we should all get together and have a little meeting about the rules in our house. So, we sat around the table and I asked them what all the rules are that they could think of in our house and they were: Do not lie, do not steal, do not touch someone elses stuff, do not eat in the bedrooms, clean up after yourself, be nice to one another and always put the other one first. Wow, I have since decided they have it toooooo easy!!! I told them that these would be the rules in any home.........they were actually very surprised as they thought they had so many hard rules. Kinda funny when you sit down and go through things. I figure I need to get tougher.........just kidding, they all are really doing good. The one that makes me the most upset is the lying and that seems to be a norm in Thailand.

We are NOT lost!!

2008-09-02T01:50:00.001-07:00

Hello................from Thailand!!

We are not lost - okay maybe we are just a bit. It is called very busy and tired with not a lot of time to spend sitting in front of a computer.

Dave is now living in Canada, busy building a house. He has to return to work at Thompson Rivers University for a minimum of 3 years. He was hoping to start work early, however 'they' would not allow it. So he starts back on October 1st, broke and hungry!!

I am now in Thailand alone............not really, I have kids!! and more kids!! Actually, our daughter Rachel is now in Canada with Dave going to TRU. A big change for her but she is hoping to better her education in the English language, being totally submerged in it as well as attending the classes at the university. She is complaining that it is a little chilly over there, but she is really looking forward to her year.(or so) Sarah and Moses have also now left our home and are both working. Moses has fallen away and not doing well so he is in need of lots of prayer........ we do not want any children lost!! Sarah, we still see regularily but she was anxious to move out on her own and do some growing up. (not to be bugged by mom:))

So, presently I have 17 children living with me and believe me some days that is a very BIG job. I love each and every one of them, if only I had the energy they have. Needless to say there are some days I don't think that I can make it to bed time - badly beaten and bruised(just my spirits) It is hard without your partner here to help relieve the tough times. Please pray for our children............ there is a constant struggle against them when all their friends are not Christians. Our prayer times just before bed are very interesting and then can go on forever as there are so many that need prayer. We do pray for everyone that reads our blog, that supports us, our family, friends, etc.

We have meetings the rest of this week, but within a week or so, I will try to post some pictures and tell a few stories.

God Bless............we love you all
El Shaddai Family

Wow, QUILTS, Quilts!!!

2008-02-07T05:05:00.000-08:00

Thank you!!!! Each of our children received a quilt for Christmas from a group of ladies in a quilting guild in Bangkok. What a BLESSING!! The kids eyes were priceless as we handed them out and they all tried to guess which quilt was for which child. They all have their names on them and the kids guessed most of them......... What a special Christmas it was...........Thank You ladies!!!

We are a little slow at getting these pictures posted but we did want to show you a picture with each of the kids and their quilts.....

.1-David

.2-Jessica

.3-Alan

.4-Isaac

.5-Steve

.6-Esther

.7-Matthew

.8-Peter

.9-Moses

10-Mary

11-Samuel

12-Ruth

13-Rachel

14-Naomi

15-Mark

16-Hannah

17-John

18-Caleb

19-Sarah

20-Victor

Aren't they Beautiful??...........our kids too?!!!! :) These kids wrap up so tight in their quilts every night...........they Thank You from the bottom of their hearts and so do we!

Needed PRAYERS...............

2008-02-04T06:11:00.000-08:00

Well, yes, I am having a rough day over some particular issues................don't have many bad days but but every once in a while something sneaks up on us. I usually write about all the good days, the fun that we are having and all the great things that are happening over here on the mission field...............BUT, it isn't all great. (We do thank the Lord daily for all His blessings!)

Dave's Mom and Aunt Sandra have just returned to Canada after a three week visit here. What a great time we had showing them around and showing them all the wonders of life and ministry in Thailand. Their responses to each new discovery helped us see the things from a fresh perspective. Like Auntie Sandra says, "You can explain it all you want to people back home, but coming here makes it all real."

So I would like to share some real things that we haven't talked about or you didn't see on our recent El Shaddai TV episode. After seeing our big family on TV, my younger sister said, "Those kids aren't the malnourished kids that you usually see on TV." Our mandate is to take orphans and make sons and daughters of them; children who can hold their heads high and become future leaders of this nation. But each one has an amazing personal story of redemption!

Isaac. Both parents are alive, but they do not want him. He was covered with cigarette burns from his abusive mother and he suffered from serious malnutrition. Today he is happy about his newfound future.

Matthew. His parents left him with his grandmother when they divorced. We found him being dragged around by the old lady, constantly crying because of the pain of his insides being full of parasites. He was eating off the ground with the chickens. She could not look after him and if we hadn’t picked him up he would not have survived for long.

Ruth's parents didn't want her - they 'disliked' her, as if that's a choice that parents have. She was full of ulcers, at 8 years old. I cannot conceive!! She has become so peaceful and relaxed now. When she first joined our family she was very skeptical about everything but now she is such a great joy!

The list goes on, all children who simply needed to be rescued; how awesome it is to watch them discover God’s love. They all have accepted Jesus into their lives and we are teaching them daily about our awesome God and His plan is for each of them.

So we would like to share some real needs the children have. As people visit our home, each one identifies with different needs. Of course, a lot of what we need comes down to finances and prayer. The kids only get milk on Sundays and they seldom get fruit, simply because there is no budget. We do have rice for EVERY meal, along with a few veggies and chicken or pork. The veggies and meat are usually in the same dish. School books, clothes and other supplies have just gone up 30% because of the cost of fuel.

We are also in dire need of a vehicle. The truck transmission needs to be replaced, last week it was the clutch. This tired old half-ton hauls all 22 of us everywhere we go and any day it may leave us all stranded on the side of the road. A vehicle is not a luxury, we have to drive the kids to school and back every day and we are also responsible to keep them safe, and dry.

Toys are ever so scarce, we do have some books and they are re-read and re-read. We really do need some educational toys in English. The older kids are required to do their homework on a computer; in fact most of their homework needs to be researched on the net so we need computers that process in both English and Thai. With 20 children, the need for socks, or shoes or some article of clothing arises daily. With only one month left until school is out for the holidays, we will make it through, but in May we will face the big expense of tuition and supplies for the new school year. Most of us know how much it costs to raise children; can you imagine 20 children? We’re not just supplying a meal and some basic necessities for kids living in poverty; we are raising these kids as you raise yours, with a hope for a great future.

So, please, we are asking you to help us, support us with prayer and finances. We barely provide these children with the basics, yet they are so thankful. They wear big smiles on their faces because they love Jesus and they love those who are helping them find a better life!

Stories and Pictures

2007-12-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

It is very hard not to send all the pictures and tell you all the stories but I don't have that much time and nor do you. Hope you enjoy these ones and you can see how much fun we are having.

The four younger girls thought they would join Auntie Terry in bed. Uncle Dave with the four younger children came by tuk/tuk to meet up with Auntie Terry after her last day of teaching. I had the truck as I had taken all the older kids to school before teaching. That was the first trip in a tuk/tuk for Matthew, Isaac & Esther and they were all very excited.

Samuel is still busy cutting hair for most of the boys..... whatever it takes!

Naomi and Samuel practicing their songs. They play and sing regularly at the Thai Church.

Victor looks like he is up to something....with Isaac and Alan.

On my last day of teaching I wanted to get a picture with the students. In this picture are also the music students, which I did not teach.

Then along comes Christmas.............where has the time gone? Samuel and Moses started decorating with the lights, then all the younger kids pitched in, putting on the ornaments and then what excitement putting on the tinsel. Our tree looked just like tinsel for the first couple of days, but since then the fans have blown much of that off.....It is a very pretty tree!!. The excitement in the little ones eyes as they were decorating was just priceless, wish we could of captured it on camera.

Then we were blessed with a visit from Dorothy and Andrea from England. They didn't have much time but were able to join us for dinner one night. The little kids were all over Dorothy, doing her hair...........they love the white hair and it is so soft too!! It was great having them.

We are so proud of our two older girls. Here, Sarah, is posing in her new 'Lotus' outfit for work. Lotus is one of the major grocery stores that we shop at and they have opened a new express store(like 7/11) just down the street from our home. Sarah was so fortunate to get a job there when it had just opened. She is so special, how could they not hire her?! Rachel also has got a job. She started working at a hospital right across the street from the kids high school. There she is working in the office, typing, filing, etc. The pay is very good too. So, both our girls are working extremely hard, usually at least 3 hours after school everyday in hopes that they will have enough to cover the costs of university and college next year.

And then there were two birthdays in November..................

Matthew turned 3 years old and Uncle Dave, ummm, well, ummm, I am not sure?!!!!

Here Mary was showing Hannah how to play the keyboard. Mary herself is just learning, but they both were having fun.

Karate OR Ninja OR Spiderman Or whatever they might call it, they are having fun.

Left: John in the back with David...... Center: David ..............Right: Victor

Caleb and Alan are one of the dish teams and what a great job they are doing.

John made this flower/candle combo for a celebration they have in Thailand. It is called Loy Krathang, it is on the full moon in November to celebrate the end of rainy season and these floatations are put in the waterways or sea as a sacrifice to the goddess of water. It is very pretty out on the water with the lite candles.

On the left Isaac is reading to Matthew, in English. :) Ruth, Jessica and Esther always enjoy being read to.

............................................ALL S-M-I-L-E-S! ...............................

..................................Uncle Dave............................... Esther..............

......................................................Jessica.........................................

...........Isaac .......................................................Ruth .......................

The kids love to climb all over us........we are so spoiled. Just seeing their big happy smiles and bright eyes are so rewarding.

Christmas came a few days early......"Auntie" Evelyn from Bible Truth Church in Kamloops, our home church, arrived for a five day visit. What a blessing it was to have her come and join our family. The kids loved her, specially when the presents came out - oh, to be kids again. It was so great for Dave and I to have that support from our own church. We look forward to having more come....................hint.......

Our well went dry, during the dry season, so Uncle Dave and the three older boys, Samuel, Peter, and Moses had some work to do. Uncle Dave is the maintenance man for the Lighthouse building. So the boys dug a ditch from the water tanks on the ground to the city water line at the street. While the tanks on the roof were empty, it was a good time for cleaning as they were filthy. Uncle Dave didn't think he would get out, if he got in, so Peter was lowered into the tanks and he scrubbed the insides.

As you can see, they were very black. They came very clean with a lot of muscle work. Our kids are not afraid of work, they just need guidance, and what teenager doesn't?!

Friday nights are movie nights for the younger kids when the older kids are off at Thai Youth. They love cartoons and could watch the same one over and over again.

Samuel has been a great help, helping the new kids with their homework in Thai. It has been extra work for them, but they all seem to be adjusting very well.

Okay, Dave caught me in one of my daily chores when the majority of the kids have left for school. On the weekends, it is the kids chore. It is actually much easier when we only have four in the house.

Alan, 8 years old, and Victor, 9 years old are just having a good laugh. They are both such softies and both love the hugs and special attention - well, they all do!!

We are continuing to study the story of Jesus with all the kids. The older ones are translating for the younger, new kids. It has been fun and they are beginning to really understand how much Jesus loves them. It is really good for the older kids too as some of them hadn't heard it in English before. We have a fantastic praise and worship too, before our study.

I have been working with five of the older kids on how to pray and here Samuel is just asking me the translation as it is easier for them to understand if they can put it in Thai to understand the meanings. They are all doing very well.

Moses always has this look about him................it wasn't me, it was______ :) It is all in fun and he is willing to share with us whatever we are asking him about.

Caleb with his first place trophy for a sport he plays at his school. It is very similar to Bocce. He did win a sum of money which he asked me to deposit into his bank account. The following Sunday, after the Thai Church service, he came running up to me and asked if he could have some of his money back. I asked "What for?" He replied, "the first 10% isn't mine, it is God's." Wow, how awesome is that?! These kids have such loving, giving hearts!! It really makes it all worth it!

Busy, busy!!

2007-12-01T23:38:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your support in prayers and financially. We are extremely busy at the moment - Dave taught for 2 weeks and now I am teaching for 2 weeks at the Bible College. This has made things very challenging, we are out of our comfort zones, but we are moving forward! (even with the sicknesses we have been fighting) We did just want to drop you a quick note so that you are aware that we have not dropped off the face of the earth - all 22 of us. :) With teaching, plus the English and Bible Studies at home and just everyday chores and life we are constantly on the move. I have one week left of teaching and then I will get our Blog up to date........... until then, we are all doing great.

I thought I should just quickly fill you in about the children in their Christian walk as many have asked in letters. The six oldest (new children) have all accepted Jesus to their understanding. (we have been teaching them the life of Jesus, in Thai and English, one of our older kids translates for us) The Thai Church Pastor and his wife come over for a cel group once a week and with them (and us) the 6 kids all knelt down and repeated, in Thai, the salvation prayer. They are so cute, during worship, they really are worshipping the Lord. One of the kids already has some Christian foundations along with some of his extended family, we will learn more about his family as he begins to speak more English and Thai(they speak a dialect). All the other 13 kids(the older ones) already have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and all but Victor and Jessica have been water baptised. We do have Bible study with the kids everynight except when they have youth. On tuesdays we have the Thai Pastor over and we have also been having Sawang and LeeAnne(our nephew & wife) on wednesday nights for Thai Bible study. We are planning on making some changes to our week as it is extremely busy.

Our prayers go out to you all and we will be back in a week or so to update you with pictures and stories on the kids. They are all loving us as their mom and dad, what a rewarding spot we are in and we just really love on each and everyone of them. They are such a blessing in our lives!

.....and now there is 20

2007-10-23T20:05:00.001-07:00

It is now one week after the parents had taken back their little girl and boy ................they called us and said they did not want their daughter. This is far beyond our understanding. We suggested that it would be best to keep the kids together but they were determined to put their daughter on the bus, alone, and hoped we would be there to pick her up. In Thailand, you do not put your young girl of 8 years old on the bus alone.(or anywhere for that matter) No, she ended up travelling to Bangkok with an uncle and then we picked her up there. Wow, this little girl has heard her parents talk about not wanting her......how to crush a little heart. We would love to introduce you to our new daughter, she loves hugs and tickles;

Ruth (friend)...............Sa Rin Yah

Birthdate: May 27, 1999

Both parents are living, the dad is deaf and is unable to get a job and is unable to support the children. Ruth has a sister and brother. This picture was taken up north.

Ruth is on the right(in our home), trying to run out of the picture and Hannah is on the left. Ruth does have a beautiful smile and is very happy to be back with us. Praise God!

Our Growing Family

2007-10-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

Last week, Jessica, John, and Sarah, three of our kids, Becky, our neice and Dave and I headed north. We headed north for two reasons.........one, Sarah's Dad was ill and she wanted to visit him and we felt it was time for our family to grow.

We do have the capacity to have 30 children in our home and it was time for growth. We had decided to take the three kids with us; 4, 14 and 20 years old respectively so that any other children we got would have the comfort of other Thai children. Becky was great support, growing up in Thailand, and our translator. We ended up in northern Thailand, just a little south of Chang Rai but close to the eastern border. We travelled on rough roads and even got lost for a bit but saw some beautiful country.
<>We arrived in a small village where most people are living in poverty. There were many children here that the villagers wanted us to take and care for as many had lost their fathers to drugs, sicknesses, or they were in jail. Few had also lost their mothers to death or they were in jail. The numbers added quickly, getting up to about 15 children in all. In the end we ended up bringing 9 children home to Sriracha with us. Our first stop was at a Guest House to give them all showers and a clean outfit. Since then we have had many phone calls from the north, from family and friends wondering how the kids are doing. One father called and asked for his little 4 year old daughter back, he said that he would rather go without food than not have his little girl sleeping in their home. Wow, that is what we love to hear, so he came down by bus and picked her up. Yesterday, a mother came and got her daughter and son too. When we were in the village, many thought they could just give their children up for a better life but never considered how much they would miss them and want them back. We are sure that the remaining 6 will stay as they don't have parents, parents are in jail, or they have been abused. All said and done, we now have the 6 kids, 2 girls and 4 boys and we would like to introduce them to you. We, the older kids and us, have given then all English names so I will give you both names and a little of their story.
.
Meet our new children;

David(Beloved).......Ta Ree Suk
Birthdate: September 2, 1996
Parents are divorced, Dad is in jail in Chang Rai and Mom can't care for all of her four children. David is the 3rd child and we did not meet the rest of his family. David is a real polite young man and he was so, and still is so excited to be with us. He has already helped with doing dishes, sweeping and cleaning the bedroom.

Hannah(favor, grace, blessed by God).............Su Pah Pon
Birthdate: July 30, 1997
Dad died and Hannah is the oldest of 8 children and they are living in poverty and Mom cannot care for them all. Hannah is very quiet spoken but she also does not know english at all. She does try though, using 'please' and 'thank you'.

Alan(little rock, handsome, harmony).............Sue Tat
Birthdate: August 4, 1999
Dad has died and Mom is in jail in Chang Rai. A friend was caring for him but did not want him. Alan was worried at first when he was brought to us but by the time we left the village he was very excited. He can speak English very well and sure loves hugs.

Isaac(Laughter)...........Wee Chai
Birthdate: October 18, 2002
Dad left before he was born. Mom remarried and the new husband wanted nothing to do with Isaac. After taking him to the hospital for an injury we found out that his mother was using him as an ashtray to put out her cigarettes. You can't give Isaac enough hugs, he comes to us all the time and does have a huge smile but not when the camera is pointed in his direction.

Esther(morning star).........Nee Pah Pon
Birthdate: June 28, 2002
Esther, with her mother, walked many miles across fields to come to the village we were in. They heard that we were looking for children needing a loving home. The family is living in poverty and could not care for her. Esther loves to be tickled and has the cutest giggle. She is very quiet.

Matthew(Gift of God)..........Gree Dte Phong
Birthdate: November 19, 2004
Mom & Dad are divorced, both living in Bangkok and neither of them want anything to do with Matthew. Grandma had been caring for him but could not anymore. We have had him to the hospital as he has something wrong with his one leg. The doctor said that he has parasites in his foot so we are giving him medication for it. He has the biggest smile.

.

All the kids are doing fantastic and fitting in well with the older ones. We have already become one large happy family. There has only been a few tears shed. They are excited over the few outfits we have given them and their very own beds. None of them have a lack of appetite. We aren't sure if that is because they think they might not get another meal for a while or if they eat that way all the time....
Here are a few pictures since we have been home.

We always have more room if you would like to come and join us for dinner, we would love to have you!

Donations

2007-10-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

For those people interesting in sending donations to us or to the El Shaddai 2 Family, please send to:
................................A&D World Missions Canada
................................PO Box 26010
................................Lethbridge, AB T1H 6H4
................................(phone: 1-800-958-3352)

Tax receipts will be issued at the end of the year. The Payment Methods are:

1 - Pre-authorized debit from chequing/savings account(attach a void cheque and send a signed permission slip for A&D to withdraw a specified amount on the 10th of each month)

2 - Post Dated cheques, payable to A&D World Missions Canada

3 - one time donations by cheque

Please write on the memo line of the cheque that the support is for Wharf or El2. Thanking you in advance for any donation, we will advise you when we have received the money in Thailand unless you have requested us not to.

Sarah

2007-09-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

I have searched for a picture of Sarah by herself but she is always with someone.........so Sarah is on the left and Bah, from El 1 Childrens Home is on the right. (Bah is in university.)

She is one of our beautiful 20 year old girls. Sarah is in grade 12 and will be graduating in March 2008. She is an extremely bright girl with top grades. She was hoping to get a scolarship but the one she was hoping for has just been cancelled which left her a little unsure as what she would do once graduating. But, after much prayer, she has received her answer and is now planning on attending the Victory Bible Music program. It is a new program that has just been added this year and has had a very positive response in its first year. She is hoping to continue to live at home while attending the College, which we would love her to be able to do. It will save costs considerably, but there still remains the tuition fees. Sarah is working part-time whenever hours are available for the Lighthouse office. She is hoping that she will be able to cover all costs, perhaps working during the year while in college.

Sarah with Moses, Jessica, and Victor; working on the computer. Likely looking at pictures but there is also a lot of homework that is required to be done on the computer. How they love computers. We only have our lap top which doesn't help them much for school as it is not in Thai.

Sarah is always a big help in preparations for important events. Here, her and Bah, from El Shaddai 1 Children's Home, were decorating for Sawang and Lee-Anne's wedding on September 1, 2007.

Sarah and Rachel, our other beautiful 20 year old girl, are checking everyone in for dinner at the wedding reception. What great smiles!!

Sarah loves music, if she isn't singing then she has music playing on a discman. She is very good at the guitar too, although if you ask her to play she is shy. She is very involved in the Praise and Worship for the Sriracha Victory Thai Church and leads many sundays.

Whether it is cooking, cleaning, or working with the younger kids, Sarah is always a huge help. She digs in with everything before you ask, what a blessing she has been to us.

She loves to laugh...............have fun...............and generally loves life.
Both older girls are a huge help with translating to English, they are both very fluent in english and help with the other kids. During our Bible studies, Sarah is always the first to explain if one of the kids don't understand.

Back in Thailand

2007-09-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

"Blessed is the man who walks.....in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night." Psalms 1:1-2

Our family - all dressed up beautiful for Lee-Anne & Sawang's wedding, September 1, 2007

.....Lee-Anne & Sawang ....................................................Me, nephew, Christopher and Dave....

Left: the kids practicing a song at home for the wedding

Right: the kids singing a love song for Lee-Anne & Sawang

Jessica's 4th birthday party... we don't get cake very often, just 13 times a year. :)

Left: Uncle Dave bringing dishes for John to wash.

Right: Uncle Dave and Mary washing rice, getting it ready for cooking. (Jessica always in the pic)

Uncle Dave cooking breakfast above and then again on the right with the help of Mark. The kids are always willing to lend a helping hand.

A few of pictures of me, first collecting laundry with a couple of smiley guys.

...

And up early in the morning - hence the hair - scrubbing socks in our bathroom at the little washer we have. (I hope you can click on the socks on the right and just see how black they get over here - they are a part of the kids school uniform so we can't give them black ones.)

Time for boys hair cuts again and Samuel gets voted in to do the job. (saves us 40baht per child)

Auntie Terry has some help cooking supper. (the little one is always ready to pose for the camera)

Becky, our neice(along with her husband Matt), looked after the home and children while we were in Canada. They did an awesome job but were happy to return to their queit home where they was a lot of cleaning and yard work to catch up on. We were so blessed having someone to care for the kids while we were away.

...

Wow, how time flies when you are busy..........we feel like we just got here yet a month has gone by already. We have been busy just getting the kids organized and our home straightened out. We still are completing work on the Lighthouse building with a lot left to do, but we will complete it someday soon. Dave has been doing some repairs in our home area as a lot of less expensive items were used in the bathrooms, door knobs, etc when the home was being built and they have already broken. Of course it has nothing to do with 13 children in the home. It is amazing when we think of how much quicker things wear out when they have so many using them. I have been busy making curtains for the front area. I did get them partly done before we went to Canada but I have now lined them as the sun just beats in that side of the house all morning.

Dave and I at the Vancouver Airport, leaving for Thailand. Yes, we were loaded down, mainly with gifts that we had bought for the kids in our home.

We had a busy time while in Canada.............travelling all over BC and Alberta to give thanks to those of you that have graciously been supporting the children and home. It was a very tiring trip but we pray daily that the home will be continued to be supported and we can continue to follow the Lord's vision to raise up and train leaders. It was awesome meeting the people that have helped these children over the years so that we can now put faces to the names and we also have pictures to show the children. We wish we could of met others that also have been a blessing but as it was we put on 30,000 kms over the 2 1/2 months, which was a very costly adventure for us. We pray in Jesus name that all will come to a great harvest in His timing. Yes, the Lord is great and we give Him all the honor and glory!

I am going to attach a few pictures from Canada - mostly of our family there.

Left: my sister Pat with husband Rob at Turtle Lake, Sask.

Right: my sister Linda with husband Mike and their son Ken and granddaughter Paige(&me) in Vernon, BC

...

Left: my brother Rick with daughter Kelly and his wife Rhodea Fort Steele, BC

Right: my Dad, (me), and his wife Margaret in Cranbrook, BC

...

Left: our son Jason with his Dad Logan Lake, BC

Right: our family in Kamloops - Orlund & Jennifer, Jason, me and Dave - the morning we left

Left: a beautiful picture of Bambi's dad that Dave would love to hunt. :)

Right: doing a touristy picture in Sparwood, BC

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Right: a beautiful drive in the Rockies

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...

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We are hoping to do a posting on each of the children - one every 3 weeks, but this isn't a promise as time moves to quickly sometime. We will be starting with the oldest to the youngest, just to give you all a little more information about their past and future. We have been busy taking pictures to send with them.

"You are of God, little children.....He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 1John4:4

Busy, Busy!!!

2007-05-18T04:55:00.000-07:00

OUR FAMILY

in Thailand

(left to right) Peter, Caleb, John, Mark, Mary, Moses, Jessica, Sarah, Terry, Victor, Dave, Naomi, Samuel, Steve, and Rachel. All dressed up pretty/handsome for a family picture.

The light was so bright Dave couldn't stop blinking - of course I was a big help!! Here are the five older, good looking boys; Peter, Moses, Samuel, Caleb, and Steve. (Moses hadn't got his new clothes as yet)

Dave preaching at the Thai Sriracha Victory Church, with Teddy as interpreter.

Auntie Terry & Jessica and Uncle Dave & Mary at the church.

Steve, Caleb & Naomi before church and on the left; Samuel, Moses, Peter, Victor & John.

Relaxing at Grandpa Alan's Home Steve, Caleb and Jessica. Mark - what a beautiful smile, eh?!

We had a bus load from the Chaengwattana Community Church from Bangkok come and Bless us one afternoon. Including us, there were 55 of us in our new home. (no, we aren't moved in yet)

They had games and prizes all organized to play with us for the afternoon.

Here is a group picture of most of the kids and one of our two; Jessica and Rachel.

They ordered pizza's and DQ ice cream and brought fruit punch. We used plastic plates, cups and our fingers. Oh, they also brought home made(by most of the leaders of the group) brownies and cookies. As you can see, we still didn't have the kitchen sink hooked up so we were improvising where we could. (notice the two gals behind me, well, they are at the sink and they had just finished dumping punch down the sink and it ran all over the floor.....well, guess how fast ants can travel.........yikes, they were EVERYWHERE!! and NOW!!)

We had just moved the furniture from the old home into the boys room at the new home - piled everything on the bunk bed bases.

Moses and Peter were cleaning up the front room/dining room for all the guests we had coming. Wow, you should of seen the SPIDER that came along. Yes, it was wearing work boots and could he ever run in them....YIKES!!!!!!!! Dave chased, and I mean chased him with a broom - he was fast..(there was no getting him in a little kleenex - and those big beady eyes......whew!!!

Here is a couple of pictures of brother Al, working on the electrical, and sister Ter, working on painting in the Lighthouse - just a couple of the many jobs that have to be done before renters can move in. It is going great though, now we just have the fifth floor to finish. It sure is looking smart.

Some more shots of the workers on the outside. On the left, Nittaya(from El 1), Sarah and Mark are busy filling buckets with sand to be hauled to the roof for the concrete workers. On the right, we have Caleb, Moses, Peter, Mark and Steve moving dirt for our walkway to our front door of the home.

Here are the concrete workers on the roof - Peter, Samuel, and Moses were usually on concrete duty. Peter is the one working the wheelbarrow. They were awesome workers, but they are now happily back at school. Funny how school looks so good sometimes.

Our New, Extended Family

2007-05-09T01:09:00.000-07:00

The following pictures are of who we have been hanging out with lately and the different things we have been busy with. These have all been taken in the last three months. They are not in any particular order. Dave and I have also been involved in each and everyone of these activities, but someone has to be taking the pictures. We are really enjoying the kids. They are on their last week of summer holidays and then they are back to school full time - it will be a great break for us. (Well, we will still be working at the Lighthouse, but it will be different than trying to keep 13 kids busy.)

Okay, I just read our last blog and I hadn't explained that we are now in charge and caring for the El Shaddai 2 Children. The previous parents have moved on to other areas so we have taken over. There has been a great learning curve for both us and the kids, but through it all we are growing stronger, closer, and are a great loving family. The biggest challenge is with the language difference but we are all trying to be patient with one another and trying to explain things the best we can. Luckily, a few of the older kids are very strong in English. They do use the language difference to their advantage sometimes - if they don't want to understand something we are telling them to do. We are learning more and more Thai though so we will make it through. These kids are so precious, kind, loveable and really need to be shown that they are loved. They need a lot of building up their self esteem, not all of them, but some of them have had a rough time. It is so awesome just to see how much they have grown and become so happy since they have been with us.(it isn't because of us, it is because they are loved) Jessica no longer has those deep, deep, dark, sad eyes - they now sparkle with love and excitement, as so do others. So..........here are our kids!!!

I will write the kids names from left to right as they appear in the pictures.

Kids eating fruit; Moses, Peter, Naomi(in front), Mark, John(in front), Rachel, Caleb(back), and Steve

Having ice cream; Jessica, Mary and Rachel

John having ice cream. Steve, Naomi, Victor, me, Mark, Peter and Mary at the dining room table.

Peter wearing a Kamloops shirt and Samuel on guitar with friend

Dave, Terry, Peter, Moses, Naomi, Steve and Caleb. Five of our children were baptised in the ocean in February.

Caleb and Naomi watching a football(soccer) game.

Sarah and Mary watching the game too. Oh, and Rachel.

Cel Group from the Thai Church with our kids in Grandpa Alan's home. Jessica and Auntie Terry at Thai Church.

Terry, Rachel, Samuel, Sarah, and Moses at a birthday party. Sarah, Naomi, and Mary sitting on the back of our ol' truck.

Naomi, Rachel, Moses, Peter, Caleb, John, Jessica, Mary, Sarah, and Steve all taking a break from cleaning out the old rental home.

At Daniel and Abbi's wedding reception; Terry, Jessica, Dave, Naomi, Rachel(back), Mary, Sarah, Daniel & Abbi(back), Victor, cousin, John, Moses, Samuel, Steve, Caleb,and Mark. AND at the park - Jessica, John, Victor, and Mark.

Praise and Worship at the Thai Church Mary, Moses, Samuel, Chris and Teddy(friends), Peter, and Naomi

A break from the long trip south for our Bible Camp adventure; Steve, Samuel and Peter Mark, Victor, Jessica, and John

At the Bible Camp;

Victor and John on the walkway and Steve, Rachel, Sarah, Naomi, and Mary posing for a picture. (the other 3 guys in the back are friends)

Samuel and Jessica enjoying some music and Auntie Terry, Jessica and Rachel watching the Pastor's perform.

Practicing for worship; Rachel, Tuksa(El 1), Sarah, Naomi, and Peter. And playing silly games in the field.

Uncle Dave and Jessica heading for a drink and then sharing one.

Caleb alone and Peter and Moses( holding the cross) playing dress up with newspaper.

John is on the right in the newspaper. El2 just finished a skit; Rachel, Samuel, Caleb, Steve, Mary, Peter, Naomi, Moses, and Sarah.

Peter and Victor doing dishes at home. Moses and Steve playing guitar.

Working at the new home, the Lighthouse, trying to get it ready to move in. Mark on the right and John on the left.

Sarah works at the Lighthouse office for the summer school break. Doctor Alan and Terry(me-not his wife) at the Bible Colleges Graduation.

Watching the water parade; Moses, Samuel, Peter, Caleb, and Steve. Students, staff, missionaries and our family working at the Lighthouse.

Jessica and Victor playing on the swing set in the backyard of the new home. Our first meal in the new kitchen - cooked by Sarah and Mary.

North Trip

2007-02-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

Dave and I were fortunate enough to be able to travel on a missions trip with the students from the Bible College. (Dave was the mechanic onboard for any necessary work that needed to be done and the official driver for transportation for the students) It was a total of 11 days and it was a great learning experience for each and every one of us. It was both humbling and made you really look at your heart. It is a trip that tests everyones ability to change for the moment and be able to work along side any nationality or temper of others. It really teaches us all self-control; to stand strong in His grace, be submitted and obedient to those in authority. Thank you Lord!

Here we are ready to roll. Pastor Al, Amanda, Swang(both filmers for Continnuum TV), and Kim (photographer for Continnuum Magazine) were in the lil green jeep "Willy" and Dave, Terry and Pastor Joel (from Cambodia) travelled in the blue jeep "CJ" pulling the trailer. The students along with Pastor Matt and wife Becky(also filming for Continnuum TV) travelled by bus.

The driver and the co-pilot.

On the way, we took the wrong turn, so what does a person do? Well, Dave decides to go down the middle of the freeway where the highways is working. We did get some fists shaken at us but otherwise, who knows where we would of ended up. The falongs(white people) do get away with a lot over here.

Here we are at camp. Most of the students are in these two pictures. What a good looking group, eh?!

I even got to do some cooking, once in a while, on the open fire. The Thai girls kept me in check if they didn't feel I was doing things the right way. It was great, I am learning to cook Thai meals.

There seemed to be pigs everywhere when we were cooking, even at the wedding.

Oh, this is how all of us leaders were treated........nothing but the best from the students!! (this is special for my Dad...just so you know, I am taking it easy!)

Us leaders set up an obstacle course for the students to follow........this is Pastor Al (up in the tree, relaxing as he is supposed be) and Dave (standing on the ground) pulling him up.(they had a rope attached to Al's waist and over a limb and down to Dave). One team member from each of the three team had to climb the tree and retrieve a clothespin that was attached to a branch. Well.........you should of seen the native guys climb up and down this tree.........it took them under a minute!! It was amazing to watch. (the two 'old' fellows that set it up took way longer)

This is our camp that we stayed at most of the time. We did stay in some churches and homes for a few of the nights. Everyone is so hospitable. The middle picture with Pastor Al is where we kept our food - we did have a monkey visit us during the nights, but nothing was missing that we noticed. Oh, we all FROZE!! It was around 5C in the nights and we did not have the bedding for that temperature.....everyone was anxious to get up in the morning to get warmed by the fire. We were able to be treated to MILO (hot chocolate drink) everynight thanks to Al.

Of course there is always the times when the 'boys'
have to use their 'toys' (the jeep) to get a big log for
the campfire....aren't they cute?!!!! (Dave was there too, but someone had to take the picture)

Here are some pictures of the various kids we ministered to in the different villages. All we needed to do is start playing the guitar and they would come from everywhere.

We took the students to a school where we were able to play games, tell stories about Jesus, and sing songs. The children just loved it and one teacher accepted Jesus.

While we were staying in this village we were asked to set up a tent(our tent and our fellows set it all up), sing for the service(our students lead), perform the wedding(our guide did it), and Pastor Al prayed over the couple. It was really quickly done and then we all had dinner.(the plates on the blanket are all for us)

We held meetings daily in the villages we visited. We led Praise and Worship, played games with the children, and one of the students preached. We prayed for anyone who wanted or needed prayer. There were people healed, demons cast out and people that accepted Jesus. It was fantastic! Praise God!

A 10 month old baby boy whose mom has died and his father is away working so the village is looking after him. (and Will a student)

The scenery was spectacular, even with the winding roads!!

The students left by bus for their race home, to the finish line. Al, Matt, Becky, Dave and I(Terry) left with the jeeps and all the supplies. We decided to return home a different way, thinking the roads may not be as steep - guess what - they were just as bad but we did get to see some awesome countryside.

When you need something fixed, you've gotta get it fixed, wherever you may be......downtown?!

We stopped at a government roadside where we were talking with one of the government officials. He informed us that on the other side of this river was Burma, we would be able to land on the shore but if we tried climbing the hills we would be arrested - very unstable in Burma at present.

Refugee camp of over 140,000

Burma refugees.

Everyone needs to fill up with fuel every now and again.

Christmas Holidays with our kids...........

2007-01-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Not the greatest picture, it was taken at 3am, of the new airport in Bangkok. The airport is an hour closer to Sriracha so is much nicer for us picking up people in the wee morning hours. They still haven't completed the building so there are new vendors, etc everytime we go. This time we were here to pick up our own kids...........yippee!!!

We were suprised when Jason arrived - his hair was a little longer than we had ever seen it. It didn't take his cousins long to convince him to get it cut, which was his intention anyway. It was great having them come and visit.

Here are our three kids, left to right; Orlund(son-in-law), Jennifer(daughter) and Jason(son) on top of the Bible College and helping mom with the grocery shopping at the market.

Christmas dinner..........included all family and extended family of the childrens homes, bible college, and staff that were not away on holidays. The dinner was in our home, El Shaddai 1. There were 56 in all.

It was impossible to fit everyone in the picture but

these will give you a good idea. It was soooo great

having everyone here. We did miss Al and Terry

but there is always next year.

After dinner the El Shaddai 2 kids opened their

presents, what a long days wait it was for them.

Uncle Dave handed out the gifts to the kids.....it is

hard to see but in the one picture with Dave in it,

Peter (sitting on the sofa) is holding up a Bible,

thanking God. (Peter is wanting to be a pastor.)

They all received an English Bible from our

church, Bible Truth Church in Kamloops,

that Jennifer and Orlund brought over with them.

This was the action

outside of the house.

Everyone sure

has fun.

We then decided to have four days off with just our family; Jennifer and Orlund from Kamloops and Jason from Edmonton. We left Sriracha and drove for about 4.5 hours to an island called Koh Chang, meaning big elephant. We ended up staying in a remote resort with about 30 Thai people, all from one company celebrating New Years.

The pic on the left is the ferry landing on the island and the one on the right is the 'duplex' we stayed in. (we were on the right, where all the towels are hanging.)

The weirdest part of all was our sleeping quarters........either Orlund really loves his inlaws or he never wants to see us again. Yup, all in one room, with five of us on four single beds......cozy for four nights!!!!

Our beach was beautiful, with gorgeous sunsets every evening. As we were at the end of the road we didn't have all the tourists so had the beach to ourselves most of the time.

Here is what a motor cycle gang looks like in Thailand - they look a little pale, however there were a couple that looked very red after the ride. We stopped on the way to have lunch at a 7-11 and then later stopped for a swim. We rented the bikes for a full day, some of us had never driven a bike before but theowners don't seem to care when renting them. It was a great way to see the island.

The food was very good, although some was a little scarey to look at. We were treated very well by the company group, they included us with their trip to other islands for snorkeling around the coral reefs and colorful salt water fish. They are such warm, loving people here.

The boat anchored out so we had to take the long boat to and from shore. We do have pictures of the underwater world but they are not on the computer - we will show you when we return to Canada. Beautiful colors!!

Then we returned to Sriracha to pick up the four girls from El Shaddai 1 to spend a two night holiday in Kanchanaburi. We did stay at a fancy hotel here, as it had a beautiful swimming pool which we took advantage of whenever we were at the hotel. The hotel is right on the River Kwai, death railway.

We took a l-o-n-g train ride along the river in a real old creaky train on a very unstable feeling track - that I might add was hanging in mid-air sometimes. The first picture is of the girls and their cousins; Jenn, Orlund & Jason, standing on the tracks at the train station. Just to give you an idea of costs, the Thai's ticket cost 13 baht each and the Canadian's ticket cost 100 baht each. (1 dollar = 30 baht)

Along the track, we are sometimes hanging out over the river while rubbing the rocks on the other side. The train has to slow down in order not to rock into the rocks - if you've ever taken a ride on a train it sorta does that swaying back and forth, well we were too close to the rocks to do that.

Of course when you are in Thailand, you must take in an elephant ride. Ours was only 1/2 hour long but that was plenty long enough. The kids sure enjoyed it.

In the late afternoon we decided to walk across the river to Kanchanaburi to do some tourist shopping. You walk right on the railway, they do have little areas you step off on if the train comes along - luckily it didn't when we were on it.

These are the girls with Jason, waiting for the rest of us for lunch. Jennifer and Orlund are posing infront of the River Kwai Bridge.
Before the Canadian kids headed home we had to go visit the famous Sriracha Tiger Zoo. Yes, all these animals in these pictures are alive. We even got to eat alligator - didn't taste like anything really.

Well, our kids are now safely in Canada, back to their routines and we are heading on a north trip with all the students from the Victory Bible College in Sriracha. We are looking forward to the trip and are hoping to find children that are in need of love for the El Shaddai 2 home. The home is still not moved into the new facilities as the power has not been hooked up as yet, now we are looking at around the end of March.

Tis the Season to be JOLLY..........

2006-12-13T01:21:00.000-08:00

Okay........I thought I had already posted these pictures.............it is either the hot weather over here or I am getting old................... to continue....

The girls at El Shaddai 1 decorating the tree. (This is where we are living at present)

These three pictures are of the market where we buy our groceries every other day(or so). The Thai's are a big help in showing us which fruit is the best to buy, etc. They are getting used to us always being here, we do have our favorites that we go to.

In October we had a pizza party, celebrating Dave's '50th' birthday. We had both El Shaddai 1 & 2 for lunch, after church.

These are the four girls that are living at El Shaddai 1 - the ones that we have to hug lots!!

From left to right: Rachel (in grade 10), Bah (in university), Sarah (in grade 10) and Nittaya (teacher at the English Centre)

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Terry spends the mornings at El Shaddai 2. We are doing the laundry - Mee (mom of the children) is ringing out the clothes while Jessica stands by watching and playing. Jo is usually around too but he had just gone for a nap.

To the right the staff from the maintenance department are building a gate for the Lighthouse (El 2 new home), the next picture is Terry standing in the front entrance to the new El 2 home and the piles of dirt are in the front yard of the Lighthouse building.

These are pictures of the jeep Dave needs to have assembled and running, etc in time for the north trip in the middle of January ..........yes, he has his work cut out for him.

Meet El Shaddai 2 Family

2006-12-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

The following information was given to us by the parents and children of El Shaddai 2. We are hoping that it is correct in our understanding of the stories that they have shared with us. We love each one of these family members and just wanted to share with you their faces and some of their stories.

Somchai and Mee are the beautiful parents of the El Shaddai 2 Childrens Home. They both love the children and the Lord. They spend a lot of time with the children, playing, teaching and loving them. Somchai was raised in El Shaddai 1 so has been involved in a large family environment. They are looking forward to moving into their new home soon and perhaps growing in numbers of children in the near future.

Jay and Jo are the sons of Somchai and Mee. They are good friends, as you can see. Jay is 6 years old and in Kindergarten, while Jo is only 2 years old. Jay loves school and listens well. They both love to play and are two very energetic children.

Jessica is 3 years old. She came to the home when she was 2 days old. Her mother was too young to care for her. She is quiet and shy when you first meet her but she is a very busy 3 year old. Both Her and Jo are home during the day and one minute they are the best of buds and the next fighting like all youngsters.

Victor is 7 years old and in grade 1. He came to the home as a newborn. His father was returning home from being in jail and his mom had gotten pregnant with Victor while he was in jail. In order to save the child and her own life she had to give him away. He is a very bright boy and loves school. He also loves to play.

Peter is 16 years of age and in grade 10. His father died in a car accident when he was young and his mother remarried. Peter is very good in school and is very helpful around the home. He loves music and plays guitar and sings beautifully. He is involved with the youth groups at both the Thai and International Church.

Samuel is 17 years old and in grade 10. He is a brother to Rachel who is in the El Shaddai 1 Home. He is fair in school, anxious to be finished and does help around the house when needed. He loves to play guitar and is very involved in the youth Praise and Worship teams.

Mark is 12 years old and in grade 5. He is Naomi and Moses younger brother. He is good in school and completes his chores as requested. He enjoys being a boy, playing rough. He also loves playing computer games but doesn't have much of an opportunity to do so. He is a very happy boy.

Moses is 16 years old and in grade 8. He was 9 years old when he came to the home. At a very young age, his dad kicked the children and mom out of their home to fend for themselves. Moses is very good in school and loves to play guitar, base guitar and drums. He is very musical. He is also very eager to learn more about Jesus Christ.

Naomi is 14 years old and in grade 7. She is excellent in school, very quiet, and enjoys having fun. She loves reading and is very helpful around the home. Naomi does not know her dad but her mom is still living. She came to the home when she was 7 years old.

Steve is 15 years old and in grade 7. He is a brother to Mary and John. He came to the home when he was 6 years old. He is very good in school and loves drawing. He is great at helping around the home with chores. He also is very involved with the Thai and International Youth groups. He loves to sing and play guitar.

John is 12 years old and in grade 6. He is a younger brother to Mary and Steve. He came to the home when he was 5 years old. He is a very well behaved boy and is a big help around the home. He always does as he is told. He is struggling with school, but there is a lot of support for him right now, helping him with reading skills.

Mary is 17 years old and in grade 7. Mary is a very quiet girl that is extremely helpful to everyone. She loves cooking, cleaning and looking after the younger children. She does work extremely hard in school to acheive better grades. She is from Chang Rai, coming to the home when she was 9 years old, her mom is still alive but extremely poor and her dad died of a drug overdose. She is very involved with the Thai church, both with youth and being the greeter for sunday services.

Caleb is 13 years old and is in grade 7. He is a very bright boy with a lot of energy. He is excellent in school, loves to paint and draw. He does not enjoy helping around the house although he will if asked. Caleb is from Chang Rai(north) and came to the home when he was 7 years old.

Just Pictures

2006-11-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

Some of our FAMILY from El Shaddai 1 & 2

El Shaddai 2 Family

Playing a game at El 2 (in English)

Dave & I picking up the Canadian Team in the only mode of transportation we have.

View from Victory International Bible College roof

"Lighthouse"(new home for El 2 - bottom floor) with us on the roof.

Doctor Alan with interpreter

Dave (with neice Becky) giving Blessings from Bible Truth
Mary, Terry, and Niomi
Floating market in Bangkok
Travelling by train along the River Kwai
Pastor Al crossing river on elephant
Looking out our window from the 58th floor, in Bangkok. YIKES

Conference

2006-10-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

The Apostolic Momentum 2006 Conference started in Sriracha, Chonburi, Thailand October 9th at 6:30pm and went to October 12th at 9:00pm. How powerful and mighty it was! It was a celebration of Alan and Terry serving in Thailand for 25 years. It has been such a blessing to be part of that celebration.

The Asian nations came together. There were Pastors and guests from Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar(Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Canada and the US. (I apologize if I have forgotten anyone) Each Pastor was able to share their visions of what is happening in their regions and where they are planning on growing.

There were great afternoon sessions, for three days, that you could attend to in either English and Thai - it is just to bad that you couldn't go to them all. Very awesome teachings.

Pastor Al received his doctorate, presented by Dr. George Hill of Victory Churches. So, it is now Dr. Alan Purvis!

It was a fantastic conference - it gets everyone stirred up and ready to get to work, to study, to pray, to serve and to love.

The Canadian Tour

Dave and I were the Hosts of a Canadian Tour of 11 people that came for the conference and a missions tour. They arrived on Ocober 8th and left on October 21st. We were so fortunate to be able to be apart of their team, 9 from Lethbridge and 2 from Edmonton(Harland and Loretta Hendricksons - the founders of A&D World Missions). They were a team of prayer warriors, praying for the speakers, worship team, and all visitors of the conference.

After the conference we spent sometime in Sriracha with the El Shaddai 2 family, cleaning in the new building (the Lighthouse), scraping paint off the floors and washing them.
We also spent time with the students at the Bible College and doing a prayer walk in Pataya in the middle of the most depressing, demonic place in the world of prostitution. It is so very sad.

On October 16th we(Becky Watson-Al & Terrys daughter- and Dave and I) took them on tour, heading north where we had taken our team last year. Becky is the BESTEST translator and neice too! We did see some tourist things such as the Floating market in Bangkok, travel by train from Kanchanabury to Numtok and then travel (by van) on to the P. Guest House in Sangklaburi. We stayed there two nights, making sure we got in the tour on elephants and the bamboo raft trip.(the water was faster and more of it as it was the end of the rainy season)
We did some walking and praying around to the various churches and orphanages. From there we headed to Kanchanaburi - the River Kwae - and went to the 2nd World War Museum and Cemetery. Then we had dinner and a service at the Victory Church in Kanchanaburi. Spent the night there and then headed to Sampran Elephant ground and zoo where we saw an elephant show and crocodile farm. We then headed to Bangkok and stayed in the Baiyoke Sky Hotel(the tallest building in Bangkok which I don't ever want to go back to). We stayed there two nights giving everyone a chance to spend a day shopping in the night market before heading back to Canada. We also took in the Grand Palace Tour, which was very interesting. All and all we had a very busy trip but most importantly we want to thank each and everyone that was on the tour as you have blessed us in many ways. (yes, we will see you all in August at the conference in Lethbridge) we love you all!!

Back HOME

It is always great to get home and now have been home for a couple of days and have just put Al and Terry on the plane to Canada. Some pretty wet eyes this morning but they both need to get away for some rest and relaxation. We will all miss them here but we will move onward and work together and get things done.

2006-09-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

THE COUP
Everything is fine with us... we are not in any danger! The army has taken over the government buildings in Thailand and they are just telling us to all stay away from that area - although it is a peaceful coup. We went to Bangkok a couple of days ago (looking for jeep parts) and the only signs we saw were soldiers at all the toll booths on the highway. Picture this - soldiers, in full army attire and fully armed with rifles, with a yellow ribbon tied around the rifle to prove it is a peaceful coup (the yellow ribbon represents that they have full consent from the King, making it peaceful). Okay, I really don't feel that soldiers in full attire look peaceful at all but that is what they are saying.

EL SHADDAI 2 CHILDRENS HOME
The building - Lighthouse - is coming along slowly. In Thai standards, I guess it is coming along very quickly. We are waiting for the windows to be put in as every time it rains the place fills with water. Then they will be doing the final paint job on the interior. THEN, we get to get moving on filling the rooms with furniture. We haven't been having a lot of luck getting furniture at good prices. We have spent a lot of time scouting around for mattresses and bunk beds - they are just to pricey for our budget so we have been blessed in finding enough used beds and small matresses. We will be giving the medal frames a fresh paint job and planning on getting new bedding - likely making it. The closet cupboards are very pricey so now we are looking into the lumber and metal to build them - checking out supplies is so time consuming, but when you have so many to buy or build it will be worth it in the long run. We believe that most of the budget will be going into the kitchen cabinets. (these are like our ar-miores with some drawers) Then there will be curtains to make, bathrooms to supply, etc.

We have been spending more time with the kids, we give English lessons on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. We have supper with them and starting at that time we all are only allowed to speak English. The younger children have a much harder time of understanding us but they are all very willing. On Thursday, we have family night when everyone can share their concerns, needs, etc. It is also our Prayer and Worship night - the kids have really come a long way with their music since we were here in December/January. They sound fantastic. (not that they didn't before)

They are all very good at getting home, doing their chores, and homework. Here is a picture of the older kids doing homework at the dining room table. The oldest is in grade 10.

EL SHADDAI 1 CHILDRENS HOME

As we have told you, we are furtunate enough to have a place to call home - El 1, Alan and Terry's home. I just thought I would include a picture of four of the kids that are staying here at present, one was not home at the time, there is five altogether. Christopher, our nephew from Saskatoon, is heading to the Philippines at the beginning of November to work with Continuum Media.

Alan and Terry are both here right now too, Terry just arrived here yesterday. The conference is starting October 9th so things are very busy in that part of the ministry. We are also involved in that area too. Anywhere we can be a help - that is what we are here for. Praise God!

RAIN AND MORE RAIN

Thank goodness we have had a lot of rain - it has slowed the building progress some and it may slow the traffic a wee bit, but it sure has been nice. The temperature is still hot but the rain just makes you think it is cooler. The rainy season is just about over though and now we will be going into the hot season. Remember, they only have 3 seasons over here: Hot(winter), Hotter(rainy season), and Hottest(April, May). So ya, it has been real nice. Here is a picture of driving over to El2 the other day around 5pm. Daylight hours are from 6am to 6pm - really makes for short days.
ADDRESS;

We do love to hear from friends and family, our email address is;

terwharf@hotmail.com

and our mailing address is;

c/o Box 64

Sriracha, Chonburi,

Thailand. 20110

We also have a phone number here in Thailand in case anyone is headed this way;

0871313881

God Bless you all and do pray for our safety and guidance from God so that we may serve and bless people all around the world.

Arrived safe and sound in Thailand

2006-09-08T01:42:00.000-07:00

This is the first time we have posted in our own blog - so it could be really interesting in how it shows up - practice makes perfect.
Our trip over here was great - on the first plane, 747, we didn't even feel the take off or landing it was so smooth. The second, 777, did a little dance as we landed in Bangkok but I think that was the pilot/wind/? not the planes fault. Anyway, we made it and tried to sleep most the way so that we would be ready to just giver once arriving. Not likely.........jet lag has hit us pretty hard this time. It is around 33C so not much different from home, but it is very humid - we are fairly well drenched all the time right now. We also are waking up at 3am ready to go - we are planning on pushing ourselves to stay up later tonight.
Everything is in full swing around here. The construction at the 'Lighthouse' (the new childrens home) is in full swing. The college also has some construction going on as they have more students and are needing more class rooms. The boys that are attending school this term will be renting at the Lighthouse as the college has grown. The rooms are not quite ready yet and they need to be moved into them today - Dave has gone to help move beds and the wardrobe closets. The college starts this coming tuesday.
Our work week is from tuesday to saturday with monday being our day off as that is the only way the staff and missionaries could get anything done they needed to get done. Stores, banks, etc don't open up around here until 11am and only on certain days - very different.
We have made it over to the Lighthouse a few times to measure rooms, windows, etc - a little overwhelming at this point but we will get a handle on it by next tuesday I am sure.
We have been over to El Shaddai 2 a couple of times but there has been no one around. We will be heading there this afternoon as we have to get on track with the parents. We will wait until they have picked up the kids from school so we will get a chance to see them all. Tomorrow we will spend the whole day with them and on sunday morning we get to go with them to the Thai church service, should be interesting. (we will also go to the evening english one)
I will attempt to attach a couple of pictures of the new childrens home 'The Lighthouse', I do hope I do it properly. The bottom left picture is of the kitchen with a door to the outside as they cook outside, the picture on the lower right is of the boys bedroom, and the picture at the beginning is the outside of the building. All the floors are tile(of many different colors) and of course the bathrooms are all tiled too. The top 4 floors are units for rent, which include a bedroom area, a bathroom that has a toilet and wall shower(not enclosed) and a balcony that has a bathroom sink and little mirror. (not sure why the sink is outside, but that is the way they do things over here)
It all looks great as it is new. Alot of drywall, painting and tiling are still left to be done and of course the yard work. It will be a real challenge to get things organized and finished on time - the October conference. (we are hoping to have some of the rooms finished so that guests will be able to stay in them).

The last evening in Kamloops

2006-09-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

Orlund made us chicken stir fry
with noodles
AND
Jenner made us sushi for our last
dinner - it was great!

They are cute to!