Day two started at 7:30am, and after coffee and breakfast we were on our way to Khun Dodo's house, and the Pahk 16 AIDS ministry that she runs.
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| Natalie and I at breakfast |
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| At Pahk 16 |
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| Dodo and a few of the children |
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Singing Jesus Loves Me
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| The boys (and little girl, Poe Poe, in the green) singing for us |
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| Helping Poe Poe trace her hand |
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| Walkin to church! |
After sitting with the kids and playing/coloring/singing/talking, we headed over to the little church on the property for Sunday morning service. The pastor preached in Karen (hilltribe language), another pastor translated what he was saying into Thai, and Ora sat next to me and translated the Thai into English for me. Lots of singing, and we all went up to introduce ourselves at one point, and all the while the children sat..or ran around..or played..or danced in the aisle, haha.
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| Me and Poe Poe |
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| Our group |
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| All the children sang, |
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| Then the women sang. |
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| Lunch after church |
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| Some of the women with the rice and cooking oil we brought for them |
After lunch we said our goodbyes to Dodo and the women and children, and headed out to the Kwai River Christian Hospital. The hospital treats Karen and Burmese local residents, but not Thais (because Thais can receive free healthcare from the Thai hospitals). The hospital survives on donations and supporters such as ICB, and although their annual budget is only about 1 million baht (about $35,000), maintaining that is a struggle for them each year, and they are always in need of more doctors, especially surgeons.
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| Just..beautiful Thai countryside and mountains |
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| Made a quick stop at the Bible school |
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| Touring the hospital |
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| More of the hospital |
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| Pahk 16 Safe House |
From the hospital we went down the road to the Pahk 16 Safe House, which helps those with mental disabilities learn skills like weaving, sewing, basket-making, and decorative flower-making.
From there we went to Candlelight, which works with and helps people in the surrounding communities with physical disabilities. Five of us went with Jan (in the pink) to visit the English-ish speaking families, while the other 5(all Thai-speaking) went with another Candlelight staff member to visit families who only spoke Thai.
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| Denise (L), Natalie, and Jan (pink) and I visiting the first family |
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| Roy (stripes), who is a prof. Physical Therapist and part of our group from ICB, working with the Thai man, helping him to build strength in his legs and sides. |
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| At family number 2, helping their little girl with her balance and hip issues. |
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| Entering the village where the 3 other families live |
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| Natalie with the mother and her daughter of the first village home |
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| Second village house, sweet little girl and her daddy |
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| She was so funny! We gave her noodles, and she immediately marched over to her mommy and asked for hot water to eat them. I don't think they gave her the water, but they put the noodles in a bowl for her and she sat there munching away while we talked with her family. :) |
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| The village |
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| The little boy at the last house we visited. Grandma didn't speak Thai(I think she spoke Mong), so we had a neighbor translating from that into Thai, and then Jan the Thai into English :) None of the families in the village were Christian, but they were all happy to let us pray "to our God" for their children :D |
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| Roy helping his work on balance and some minor knee issues |
After we said our goodbyes to the families, we got our group back together and drove over to Jan's home for their weekly Sunday communal dinner. While cutting up the watermelon in the kitchen with Jan's husband, I happened to mention that my mom had worked at a missionary hospital up north in Mae Sariang about 30 years ago, and Jan came into the kitchen and said, "What's her name?" When I said Rosa, her face lit up and she said, "Rosa CrespoHarris?!" Surprised that she knew my mom's name, I laughed and said, "Um..yeah! Yeah, that's my mom. :D" She was so surprised and excited to realize the connection; apparently they had gone to language school together (35 years ago), and had (indirectly) worked on some of the same projects and things around that time. I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of pride for not only what my mother did as a missionary, but that what she did made such an impact on those around her that they still remember her so many years later. Way to go, Mom. :)
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| Dinner at Jan's house with our group and some of the other local missionaries |
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| Me with Jan and her husband (whose name unfortunately escapes me) |
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| The evening view over the river from our room's balcony |
