January 24 2011
ma turtleGeneral
Continuing to blend with the village yet trying to make a difference – and without an instruction manual. We attend village meetings to learn more about the inner circles of the village processes. This makes it easier to understand them and know better where we can make lasting differences. Teaching English to adults and children benifits us with joyous greetings everywhere we walk. I delivered a small devotion before the sermon this Sunday…knew I should have been paying better attention in speech class! God and my interpreter, the ever willing Lechet, got me through it. Our travels and walks have exposed us to creatures besides bugs. From the elephant that pulled out the window to the baby monkey I petted, and to the 6 foot cobra in the road on one of the motorcycle adventures. We only ride in a truck when we hitch a ride to the small town 2 hours away. The motorbike is our means of travel to the “near by” villages. The last one we visited was 2 hours on paths so bumpy I could hardly walk when getting off – the back of the truck may be better than the back of the bike. The village is getting ready for a gathering of an expected 700 children put on by Compassion International. Kevin has been managing the solar/electric set up for the 14 stations. I finally was able to learn to do the teak leaf weaving for the huts. Hope the visitors don’t inspect because they would be able to detect those done by the forong. Supose I could now make it through an episode of survivor. They would keep me just long enough to make the hut. We continue to be amazed by the kindness of these people.
January 16 2011
ma turtleGeneral
That’s how they say good morning in Karen…how they spell it is a different story. Ma turtle here and I have been here in the hills for a week now. a very busy week at that. Greeting old friends and it doesn’t seem like I was gone that long. There is an ongoing improvement in hygiene and health. I am so glad they have grasped these things. My mission this trip appears to be more spiritual than medical. I like having an image of more than “the nurse”. We traveled to the area meeting of churches Wednesday and Thursday.
Excerpt from Journal 1/12/11.
Left the village in the afternoon when everyone that was going was done with tasks. The path - can’t call all of it a road- was in poor condition about as bad as the first year we came. Deep ruts and slippery mud – it had rained yesterday. I bumped along in the back and it was my corner that swung out over the edge – seemed like mid air flight. I had to work hard at not bouncing out. These people travel like this all the time. They attend meetings on a regular basis and travel to help others. How far would you go to do the same in the name of our Lord? Could you pack the simplest of food and an insufficient bed roll, travel about 50 Kilometers in 4+ hours on roads barely passable to attend meetings, and sleep on the ground . And another requirement would be to do so with smiles and laughter. We find it a task to travel across town to attend church and “give up” 1 hour of “our” day. Their whole Sunday is dedicated to God and one another. Where has our sense of fellowship and family gone?Villages more poor than ours are in attendance 18 villages and >100 people by truck, motorcycle and foot. so many people that not all can fit into the church. So here we stand outside the church with our friends looking up at the most amazing stars and hearing these mountain people raise the roof with singing praises. It will be cold tonight but I won’t sleep with a heavy heart.
I rode home in the cab the next day. We came across elephants… presumably the one that pulled the window and wall out of nearby pastors house trying to get rice…needless to say pictures taken at a distance. Many other adventures and experiences – just sharing a few
Kevin has corrected me to say it’s wol a gay
January 7 2011
pa turtleGeneral
I’ve taught English to the 5-6th grade classes. Also the adults at night. I’ve traveled to many villages & shared Christmas with them. Been helping complete the Women’s Handicraft building & the Village rice milling building.
I helped with a survey of the Huaipha river. It was done to see if a Hydro Electric project would be an option.
Christmas & New years here in Huaipha are something you have to experience firsthand. What a blessing in being able to share it with them. A lot of the people get together. They divide into 3 groups & go to all of the homes in the village.They sing & bless the families & home. This is done on Christmas eve & New years eve. They don’t finish until well after midnight.
I delivered 400 small handmade elephants to the Mercure Hotel in Chiangmai. They were made by the women’s group. The Hotel has ordered 4000 for the year. The women make them in 4 different colors.
When the rice milling operation gets up & running the Hotel will buy rice from the village to use in their restaurant.
We will be hosting a camp in Huaipha at the end of Jan. Now we are busy building a camp to house up to 700 people. Sharon arrives on 01/09. She will help in the medical clinic . I will be working at keeping the camp lit & the water flowing.
December 15 2010
pa turtleGeneral
There are many projects going on here at the same time. The Women’s group from the church will have a new handcraft center to display & sell the products they make. The village is also going to have a new rice milling shop. They will be selling rice to the Mercure Hotel in Chiangmai. The hotel will be serving it in their restaurants. The church is in the process of building a new office,kitchen & Sunday school building. God has surely blessed the village.
November 21 2010
pa turtleGeneral
I arrived in Huaipha on Friday evening & received a wonderful greeting from the kids & staff of the Light Center. We celebrated with cookies & sweet potatoes. What a fun time!
Saturday morning I walked up to the village. I was greeted with many welcoming handshakes & thanks. The people of Huaipha give thanks every day for all of the people who help them. Groups like FCC Visalia for helping with the meeting hall & Solar Project. The ACCOR Corp. A Tree for a Child Foundation. For building the new school. A Handcraft Center in the village & A kitchen, Bathing area & New Toilets at the Light Center.
They are thankful for Handclasp & Compassion International who get sponsors for the kids for school.
They are thankful for all of the families & Individuals that have helped them in so many ways.
Sharon & I give our thanks to you also!
October 31 2010
pa turtleGeneral
I will be leaving on 11/16 for Thailand. Sharon will be going in January. Time has passed very quickly. I’ve been home for almost 7 mo. The big project this year is to get the church & meeting hall running on solar elect. Please follow the progress of the solar project & the continuing adventures here. We look forward to sharing these with you. Please feel free to comment. You can see a detailed picture of Huaipha on Google Earth. The coordinates are : 18 Deg 51’ 52” N 98 Deg 13’ 14” E . Talk with you soon!!!
April 5 2010
pa turtleGeneral
Time is quickly running down on my stay here in Huaipha. It seems like I arrived a couple of days ago. It’s been almost 1 mo. There have been so many new adventures this trip. Even though I will be coming home in a few days I still have many things to share. I will continue to write about them so keep checking back from time to time.
April 4 2010
pa turtleGeneral
Happy Easter to all from Huaipha. What a great day. The day started at 5:00am with a small service celebrating Jesus overcoming death. Then the regular service started at 10:30am with many praise songs!!! (They sing so beautiful) After the service was over we went outside & took many group pictures. We went to the big hall behind the church & fellowshipped & ate lunch. They surprised me with beef & potatoes for lunch. We still had rice too. For dessert thy brought out a lot of very sweet watermelon. What a wonderful day. The people of Huaipha will tell you God has blessed Huaipha very much. I think so too!
April 1 2010
pa turtleGeneral
We have just spent the last 3 days installing a new waterline from the new water tank & tying into the existing line that runs down to the center 1-1/2km from the village. We started with a 4” line from the bottom of the tank. Went down to a 2” line for about 100m. Then down to 1” for 400m. Everything is down by gravity & pressure from the big tank. The waterline runs across the main road & through a few different properties. It winds along the hillside till it met up with the existing line. At the center it fills 3 cement tanks that are about 9’ tall. It also fills a couple tanks across the road at the Karen Church owned farm. When we started there were 4 of us putting down the pipe. By the time we finished over 30 people had pitched in to complete the task of digging a small (very small) trench to lay the pipe in. A lot of the pipe just runs through the jungle hillside. I’m so thankful that everything seems to be working fairly well. There were a few set backs when a couple of the people said to run the pipe one way. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t work properly. After rerouting the line the water started flowing much better. I felt bad because they worked very hard to do one way. When it didn’t work they made the changes. (No problem ) they tell you. A big (Dubluto ma) Thank you very much to all for the help.
March 29 2010
pa turtleGeneral
Late Saturday afternoon I went by motorcycle to the village of Mae-Ot with my new friend Tiew. It is about 1 hr from Huaipha by motorcycle. 1-1/2 – 2 hr by 4×4. The road is very narrow & rough. 
It was my 1st visit there. Tiew just finished his 1st year of teaching English to the kids at Huaipha school. This young man put himself through college. He worked as a waiter at night. He comes from a large family. He is #5 of 7 kids. 4 of his siblings are married & have kids of their own. His parents couldn’t afford to send him to college. I met 1 of his elementary school teachers while I was there. He told me that Tiew wanted to be a teacher from an early age. Tiew gave me the grand tour of his village & told me that there are 3 Mae-Ots. North, Middle & South. Middle Mae-Ot is the largest of them. There are about 60 families there. The other 2 have 20 & 40 families. Middle Mae-Ot has a school & a church. It reminds me of Huaipha the 1st time Sharon & I were there. Tiew took me to his church to meet the pastor & his wife. When the pastor found out we would be staying the night there he asked me to speak to the church at the 6:30am service.
I thank God for putting the words into my mouth! He knew what I was to say. I sure didn’t.
After the service was over we were invited to have coffee with some people. When we went to the home of the school teacher I found out that his son in-law had arrived during the night. When saw him I recognized him. Our paths had crossed many times. His name is Boonchu & he works for TKBC (Thai Karen Baptist Convention). His job takes him all over the hills of Thailand. To more than 700 Christian Karen villages. I asked him how many Karen villages are in Thailand. He told me there are over 4000. I said it seems like the majority of Karen people aren’t Christian. He asked me if I would be willing do some traveling in the hills with him. I said I would when I come back for my next stay.
The doors just keep opening.
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