Picture of Barn Progress

Tim was able to get a picture this morning before leaving SL. I'm sure he was happy to see what it actually looked like in the daylight! Tim made it to the airport and is awaiting departure for his first flight toward home.
Jeana

 I want to thank everyone again for your prayers.  

     Well, this will probably be my last post before I get home.  The last couple days have been long hard working days as we tried to get the barn construction to a good stopping point.  It was really nice on Monday. The weather was really nice and a lot cooler with cloud cover.  That was a welcomed blessing because we spent all day getting the barn arches in place.  We worked with a lot of  steel pipes that usually are very hot sitting in the sun.  Mounting the arches was difficult and pain staking work as our crew carried and then lifted the 20' arches into place.  There were 21 arches that needed to be put into place which required lifting them over the wooden scaffolding in the middle.  We then worked hard connecting all of the support bracing.  I am thankful for God's protection as this work involved a lot of working high in the air to make connections.  As is usual here, creativity is very necessary to accomplish anything because resources are limited.  We utilized the big drilling truck to be able to have a platform to work off of.  Also, the pick up was used to reach the lower sections.  There were lots of challenges, but Monday night we had all the arches set. 

    Today was our last work day, so we knew we had to accomplish a lot.  Our goal was to have the main cover on the barn before we left so they can use the barn to store the drilling equipment during the rainy season.  Well today the heat was back, but we persevered.  Around 4pm we started pulling the cover into place.  This meant we still had a lot to do, but we pressed on.  I am glad to say that we met our goal, and we worked until it was dark to do it.  There are a few small details for the workers to finish, but otherwise, we are finished with this phase.  The  barn still needs the ends installed with the overhead doors, but that will have to wait for another team.  Well, it was really dark when we finished, so we could not get pictures with the guys in front of the barn.  I thought I would instead list some of the guys' names who helped us.  Bub Ba, Andrew. Michelle, Worrie, and Collone.  Please pray for these men and the many others that helped us. 

    We did have a time of brief sharing with the guys as we thanked them for their hard work and handed out some gifts.  They also shared their gratitude to us and our families for investing in their country and allowing us to come and construct this barn and begin the training for the well drilling program.  We ended in a time of prayer then we headed back from Mono to Njala for the last time.

     Tomorrow we begin our journey back home.  We have about a 4 hour drive to the airport.  Our flight leaves at 7pm which is 3pm est. Please pray that our flights will go well and we will stay healthy.

     See you later

Hello from Sierra Leone

    I thought I would give an update on how things are going here in Sierra Leone.  It has been really hot here I am sure well over 100 degrees, especially because the work we are doing require us to be in the sun.  I usually go through 3-4 1 liter bottles of water/day.  I am really thankful for the guest house we are staying at.  It is not a 5 star hotel but it has AIR CONDITIONING at least while the generator is on.  The generator shuts off at 1am so I go to bed cool and then slowly get warmer throughout the night as the air warms and I usually wake up in the morning sweating.   Some evenings it rains and that also cools things down.  Actually, it just started raining hard while I am typing this.  

     The last several days we have been able to start on the barn, the workers dug a 10' wide ditch approx. 3ft deep by 80' long to allow us to build the barn level.  The rest of the dirt will have to be removed after we leave.  Making adjustments is part of the deal when working in Africa, rarely if ever do things work out according to plan.  Today we finished cementing all of the support pipes into the ground which is the foundation for the barn.  The cement was mixed by hand and brought to the holes in a "head pan", which is like a round dish pan.  The ground was very hard so it took a lot of work to dig the holes and get everything lined up.  I know it is not perfect like my friends Craig and Josh would have done it but I think we are close.  We only have two work days left so my goal is to put all of the arches up tomorrow and then the main canvas cover on Tuesday.  The rest will have to be done by my African contractor Andrew.  Please pray that we can be successful up to that point.  Also, we are having some African scaffolding constructed to be able to get 20' in the air to work on the barn so please pray that they complete it in time and that it will hold.  I hope the pictures will come through so you can see.

     The drilling project has honestly been a big challenge.  We have faced a number of problems that have prevented us from accomplishing our goal to teach the African staff how to drill wells.  We have worked extremely hard to work through problems but it seems we are running out of time and parts to make that a reality right now.  Even a holiday  has prevented our last chance to get repairs because the shops are all closed.  It has been really amazing however,to hear the story of how God provided the drill rig and support truck and the oversees shipping to get the equipment to Sierra Leone.  It is obvious that God has used faithful donors to provide desperately needed water for people who need safe water. It seems God's timing is for the drilling to start after the rainy season to allow us to

get the additional supplies that are needed.  Please be in prayer and maybe consider donating to Let them LOL to help ship more supplies over.

     I have highlighted the projects but the most important project I believe is investing in people.  It has been great to work along side of many hard working men who are willing to learn new things.  The learning curve is steep and the men I have worked with have been hungry to learn new ideas.  The investment in these men will last forever.  God has given us opportunities to encourage the men even in difficult circumstances and to show the love of Jesus.  It has also been a joy to get to know the team from LOL and partner with them on this trip.  It is a very rewarding but very challenging work they have here.  

Well, that catches you up a little, I will update you as soon as I can.

Thanks for all of your prayers!

Hey everyone, sorry for not writing, but the internet has been a challenge.  Although, I AM in Africa, so what do I expect.  I am borrowing Jim's I pad since he has a better connection.
    It has been great to partner with Let Them LOL and learn about their work here in Sierra Leone.  It has been fun to get to know the staff and volunteers who are on our team.  It is a reminder that we have brothers and sisters in Christ who are sacrificing to help those in need.  Even though we are from different states, and churches, we share a passion for serving Jesus and helping those in need.  The work here is very difficult, but Let them LOL is committed to persevering.  Kate and Andrew are staff members who are dealing with so much, but it is amazing to see their hearts and commitment.  LOL has property in a little town called Mono and they have built children's homes and a school.  This is where the barn is to be built, and where we are trying to a drill water well.
     Jim and I have been faced with daily challenges regarding both of our projects.  The first was realizing that the location where the barn was to be built is not level.  We used a transit to figure out that the high side was 3' higher than the low side.  There are no backhoes here, so this meant recruiting workers to come and start digging by hand.  These guys have been working really hard in intense heat.  I am having them dig out just enough area for us to get the posts set,  They will have to dig the rest out later.  The other project is teaching guys how to operate a drilling rig to drill for water,  We started drilling, but we soon realized that a crucial pump would not work.  We discovered it had frozen and cracked during its journey from PA to Sierra Leone.  Jim and Buh Buh (LOL driller)  had to drive to Freetown to see if they could find anything to replace it with.  There were no pumps like that here, so they found a machine shop to make parts to rebuild the pump.  Thankfully, the man was willing to make the parts that day.  So while Jim was gone and the barn project was on hold, I was able to move a shipping container from the road where it had been dropped off a couple years ago next to the school building.  I used the large Ford truck with the huge air compressor for drilling wells hooked to a trailer to drag the container into place.  Not your normal job for this truck, but when in Africa, you use what you have.  This process took several hour and lots of patience to move it into place.  After that I was able to accompany the LOL team as they visited some villages who either needed wells or had received wells from LOL.  Wow, what a reminder of the incredible needs that still exist for safe water.  In each village they showed us their water source before the well. It usually was a muddy whole in the woods where the water collected,  I am sure it's  just full of contaminated water, but this is their only option unless a well can be drilled.  In one case another NGO had contracted some guys to dig a well by hand.  They had dug a hole six feet in diameter and were down to around 30' but they had very little water, and they were to the rock and could not dig any farther.  This emphasizes the need for a drilling rig that can drill through the rock and motivates us to continue to work through the challenges so the men we are training can return to this village and drill a well some day soon.
   Today we installed the repaired pump on the rig and then faced several other challenges, but we were able to do some training and drilling in the well we had started the other day.  But unfortunately the conditions in the well had deteriorated while waiting to get the pump fixed ,so Jim and I made the decision to pull out and abandon this well.  So tomorrow we will move and try a new hole, now that we have everything working better.
     So please keep praying for us that we can be successful not only in our training but finding water that is needed here at the children's home and school to replace wells that are running dry part of the time.

Ok, I am tired of feeding the bugs while I type this outside where the internet signal is.  Stay tuned for more to come.

Tim

Sierra Leone

We made it to our more permanent housing for our time here.  We are at a university that has like a guest house/hotel.  Pretty nice for Africa standards.  Our journey to this point went pretty well,  we made all of our connections but arriving in Sierra Leone reminded me all about Being in a small African airport, hot, smelly, long lines, crowded, and a little chaotic.  There were extra precautions taken for the Ebola issue so we had to wait to have our temp taken.  We had to take a boat across the bay, the motors were not working very well so it took a lot longer to get to the other side which is Freetown.  As we travel the roads,  we are constantly having our temps checked at checkpoints.  There are very few new cases but it is good to see extra things being done to keep it under control.  Many places have chlorinated water to wash you hands in too.  After a late dinner it was nice to get a good nights sleep and start to feel a little less sleep deprived.  We drove about 4 hours this morning to the University and then We had lunch and then drove to the village where we will be helping Let them LOL with their property.  Sorry I don't know all the town names I will report them to you as I learn and remember.  The roads most are pretty rough but similar to some roads I have experienced on other trips.  We started to lay out the area for the barn and we got the drill rig unloaded.  That may sound easy but here it takes a lot longer.  The location for the barn is not very level so we figured out how much dirt needs to be dug out to be level.  The guys will start shoveling tomorrow no backhoes!
The one corner is 3' higher than the rest.
Well that gets you caught up to now.  More to come stay tuned

Tim

Sunday, Feb 8

Well today is my brother's birthday, so happy birthday, Bro, from the other side of the world! It's a big one!

Today was a special day as GROW hosted guests from ACT (Aka Christians Thailand) for church. Nine pastors and leaders represented the group. This is a group of Christian Aka people who are seeking to spread the Gospel to their own tribe of people all over SE Asia.  Aka people live in several surrounding countries.  One of the pastors/professors was traveling to Burma to share the Gospel there.  But the Burmese stopped him because he looks like the king of Thailand.  They said the king cannot just walk around like this.  He needs security.  We need to be prepared to welcome him in a big way.  He needs to be honored. Even when they looked at his passport, they didn't believe he wasn't the king.  Since he doesn't speak the Burmese languages and the border security doesn't speak Aka, they held him there for 5 hours until they found someone who could speak both.  So now he cannot travel to Burma because they will stop him thinking he is the king of Thailand.  Wow! he really does look like the king!

This group of people have commissioned one of Faa's brothers to be a missionary in the surrounding countries, but they have no money to send him. They are praying that God will provide a way for them to send him out.  He is a volunteer pastor in his village and a member of this group.  The two women here today desire to teach their women how to let God change their lives as well as how to care for themselves and their children.  These ladies say it is hard to overcome a mindset of "this is how we have always done it so why change".  But their health is poor and their relationships with their children are not strong.  Please pray for these two as they seek to train new Christians and share the Gospel.

After spending time with this group of Aka and playing with the GROW kids a little more, I stopped by Grace Place to spend a little time there and then say goodbye.  The girls and I had a lot of fun playing games.

I always love seeing this little girl below.  She almost died twice from 2 different accidents (one involving water and the other fire), but God rescued her twice, and she is thriving today!

Back to Chiang Mai earlier than originally planned because we just haven't had enough time to finish things here. Please pray as a team from Fremont is here too.  Tutu is going to ask them if they have luggage room for me to send stuff back with them to Ohio.  It would really help if they have room and are willing to carry items for me. We hope to figure this all out today.  If not, we will need to ship some things back which isn't cheap, but doable. Then some things will wait for Faa to come to the US and the Wooster team to come in August.

The Chiang Mai flower festival is going on this weekend, so this town is hopping! Sunday night market was a lot of fun.  Hopefully you caught my Facebook post about Faa helping a vendor sell things as I was shopping for GROW there! You can find those pics on my FB page. So fun!

Faa and I have both been under the weather, but doing better.  I think I gave whatever I had to her.  But now that I am back at Tutu's, I learned that her son has been sick with a head cold.  Today I feel like I might be picking that up.  Too little sleep, too much go go go, such a short time! But Oh so fun!

Pizza Company Day!

The GROW kids were so full of excitement and anticipation for today as today was the first time in about a year that they were able to go for pizza.  Now that GROW has moved to the mountains, it is a 1 1/2 hour drive to the nearest pizza place. It is also pretty expensive to order pizza for 20 here. But thanks to board member, Jim Pike who picked up the tab, I was able to take the kids there today.  Two of the boys were so excite that they jumped in the back of the truck when Bee came to pick me up from my hotel this morning. They thought he was leaving for Pizza Company and didn't want to miss their ride.

So an hour and a half ride and 14 pizzas later, the kids were full of pizza and smiles! They then went to FUN PLANET, a game room in the mall were we ate, and played games.

Faa and I were going to head over to the day market for some shopping.  As we were driving through town though, we saw the sign for the flower festival that has been taking place since Christmas.  We stopped and walked around.  It was beautiful.  They had these statues dresses in different colors around the place. I put some of the pictures together below, and guess what? It tells the Gospel!

My heart was black with sin.

Then Christ's blood washed me

And made me white as snow.

Heaven rejoices!

 

Well, I have been a little under the weather these past few days. Some kind of bug.  I think Faa might have a touch of it too.  Here's my electrolyte replacement. You got to make use of what you can get a hold of! I also drank some fresh coconut juice and a mixed veggie and fruit juice sort of like a V8.

 Ok, well, we couldn't find a place to park for the day market, so we couldn't go. LOL. That was ok with me since less activity right now is best.

 

 

After dinner at the GROW home, the kids wanted to honor me and say thanks for coming by giving me the gift of song and dance. Oh so precious to me! Then the kids took turns sharing their thanks with me and prayers for our family and I did the same with them. Then it was game time with the new things I brought for them. I think the hit was "Mustache Smash". Sorry no pics of this, but I was in the thick of the game with them!

Faa Gets Hit On

Lol. After a day of shopping and meeting people, we decide to eat a late dinner before hitting the night market. Our goal was to be home by midnight. So we are standing on the street outside the Night Bazaar and see a Babylonian restaurant. Why not?! So this place sits above the street on the second floor is pretty cool. The Iraqi owner greets us and immediately begins hitting on Faa. "Welcome, you are so beautiful." He is speaking in both Thai and English. He's probably old enough to be her dad.  He sits us at a booth and asks Faa if she is married or has a boyfriend.  Faa says, "No. But I have children.". This, she has found, is usually a deterrent to unwanted male attention. But not to this guy. "Oh, I understand.  It's ok."

Well, dinner was amazing and it refueled us for more shopping for GROW. At the end of the meal, I left the table for the restroom.  The owner came back over to Faa and asked her for her cell phone number.  Faa told him he had to ask her father and her mother. "Oh really, I have to ask your parents?" She said, "Yes, if you can find them, you can ask them." He was in agreement with this plan until Faa said, "my mother and my father are in heaven." "What? Are you crazy?" he asked. "No. If you can find them, you can ask them."  That pretty much put an end to that!

Did I mention though that the food was amazing! Faa said she would go back thereto eat, but never by herself. I think the owner agreed to feed all 13 of her children. LOL

Well, I was a little under the weather during the day.  There's some stuff going around here. Flu like stuff.  But I am drinking lots of water and doubling up on vitamins. Little sleep and its of activity doesn't help much to fight off bugs though Pray for me.  This morning, Friday here, I am still not feeling  great, but heading out soon for more meetings and shopping then up to WPP.

Sorry, I am still having problems getting pics on here.

Finally, more pics posted!

 

Shampoo Cambodian Style!

 

Today, Feb 5

Yesterday Faa and I spent some time shopping for GROW items. We also had lunch with Faa's mentor, Maria, of whom I had the opportunity to meet once before.  We had dinner with a Korean American newlywed couple from DC that met Faa 10 years ago on a mission trip here who were here honeymooning and contacted Faa yesterday. Very neat to meet them. Today it is more shopping! Oh so much shopping to do and so little time!

 New Drip Bag Coffee from GROW! I am bringing some of these home to sell for GROW.  Just position the bag over a mug and pour hot water into the coffee bag.  Makes 2 cups! Really good and great for travel! Sure beats hotel coffee here!

                                                                      Soup Dinner!

 

                                                    Buying chicken at the market!

more pics

some pics from last two days

Feb 1-2 Sunday and Monday

It's always interested me how each trip I ever take tends to develop its own theme. Some have been fun and exciting, but there was one that took on the theme of death and sadness.  This one seems to be taking on the theme of adventure! From driving in Thailand to riding (a lot) on a moto in Cambodia, to walking the streets by myself in BB and engaging people on my own here, to riding a moto with a 20+ lb backpack on my back, to having my hair shampooed (this is a 30 minute appointment and you have no idea), to having nail art put on nails (twice because after she was finished the first time, she decided it was the wrong color and started over) to venturing out with a woman who doesn't speak a whole lot of English when I speak very little Khmer and spending a good part of the day together (sign language and laughter abound).

This trip has also given me the opportunity to see more of what it would take to live here.  I see more of the daily schedules and struggles of both missionaries and our Cambodian Grace Place staff. Imagine going to the market on a moto and buying food for 30 people, putting that on your moto and heading back to prepare lunch every day. I also see more of the opportunities that are here to help people succeed in life and of course, to hear about Jesus.

Worship was awesome as usual with the kids, but one missionary family from Canada that I know here told me how difficult it is to not worship in English and have Bible teaching in English for their own spiritual growth.  So, they found a church service in English to be a part of.  Yes, it is fun to be with the kids, but I can see, having been here several times now, the importance of studying the Bible with others of the same language.  This is very true if you only speak English well and not the other language you are in. It is also good to learn how people in other cultures understand the Bible through their culture.  It makes me see how sometimes we interpret the Bible through American eyes instead of God's eyes and even understanding culture through God's eyes.

Well, I am sitting the airport at Siam Reap, Cambodia, awaiting my delayed flight back to Thailand. I have one more week with Faa and so much work to do. Pray as I once again switch gears in my brain and languages and culture and to be able to finish my next week all there if you know what I mean.

Also pray for Sambo.  He has started a second school and has 10 students to start.  He is looking for 200 children to come to the Christian school. He is also trying to raise money for the gov't school in his village grade 7-12 to give them a library.  He feels if he can do this for the school, they will let him come in once a week for English classes.  He is looking for an in with these kids that will eventually lead to the Gospel. He needs $1500. He already is working with a ministry that is going to provide the books, but the room they are offering him needs some work and then book shelves and things.

Ok, I can't get my pictures on here right now, so I will try later. I am about ready to strangle all these English speakers who are badgering this poor airline worker about our delayed flight.  Really????  Ugh, what is with people?  The poor man needs to make a sign!

Saturday

This morning I got word from Sambo that he was able to purchase tables, stools and fans for the new school already!

 

Kevin, Jill and Grace picked me up and took me to a resort just outside the city. The staff was so nice to show us some of the rooms they have available. Very cool.  Kevin brought Jill here for their anniversary once.  So, hey, Tim, one time we are both here, we may just have to take a day to rest and refresh here. It is like a little oasis where once a rice field grew. We enjoyed a relaxed and unhurried morning and early afternoon just talking, catching up and encouraging each other.  Grace was delight to have along as she sang songs, enjoyed the flowers and played Cinderella dress up on her tablet.

When I returned to my hotel, I decided to continue to have a refreshing and planning afternoon. SO I took a couple of hours to myself.  Then off I was walking through town again. I stopped in a few shops, met some people setting up for the new night market and decided to hang out in town for dinner.  I went to a new place for me and had Cambodian pumpkin curry with chicken.  Yum yum. I enjoyed getting to chat to the young ladies who worked there and another customer from Germany.

Since the restaurant is on the street, I enjoyed observing people.  Traffic really picked up that evening. Lots of motos on the streets. Funny how I am starting to see the same foreigners I saw yesterday.  Small town. As I walked down by the river, the little park there was full of people.  Many families and friends. Lots of laughter and games.  There was a group of Cambodian men who had welcomed a foreigner to play shuttle cock with them and cheering him on when he was able to knock it back to them. The I came across a place where everyone was just slowly walking around this path.  I noticed they had all taken their shoes off.  The path was stone.  They were walking around barefoot on the stone path to massage their feet.  So, why not. I kicked my shoes off and joined them. Ok, ouch was the word half way around for me.  I do not have my summer feet yet. But it was fun to just join them.

 

Children on the play ground, people exercising on outdoor equipment or just hanging out sitting along to wall. Everyone was dressed nicely and having a good time. I almost missed the three dirty children sitting away from the play ground starring out at the street. Were they waiting for a parent? Where they homeless? Or just poor? I quickly went through a mental list of what I had on me, but I had nothing. I don't speak their language so I was lost at how I could help them. I could pray though. My heart went out to them.  As I turned one last time to see them, the littlest one was laughing and smiling.  Thank you, Lord, for giving that little guy some joy! Please provide for those children tonight.

The rest of my evening was used to prepare for tomorrow at GP.

Friday Night

Well, I challenged myself today to escape my hotel room and explore Battambang on my own. Like I said, you all just think I am adventurous. We, maybe now I am.  I took a walk through town along the river before connecting with my tuk tuk  driver.  I was able to contact him from the hotel phone. I had to laugh when I told him my name, he said, "oh, yes, and your son is Zac". Zac must just be one of those people that are hard to forget. LOL

I decided to head to a café I had visited before (ok, I am playing it a little safe here). If you saw my FB post, then you know about the four young Americans sitting near me and my comment about them. So sad to hear their empty and selfish conversations.  What a contrast  after they left and the next four Americans entered: Kevin and Jill Kane and Gary and Lois Engelhardt. I had a few minutes to chat with them and make plans for that night and the next day (since I don't have that phone yet) before my tuk yuk driver arrived to pick me up.

I asked Mr. Lim if he would stop by a store to see if I could find a shirt for Zac.  Zac loves the styles here for teens.  Unfortunately Zac is already out of the xl size for teens.  But Mr. Lim was determined to help me find something for Zac, so he drove me around to several shops, landing lastly at the best shop in town for quality.  There Mr. Lim even tried on the shirts to help me get an idea if it would fit Zac or not.  We finally found a shirt that fit Mr. Lim in the shoulders and was too long in the sleeves.  That should fit Zac! It isn't the style I was looking for because we had to go to the adult shop and buy an xl there, but Mr. Lim said maybe Zac would be happy that his mom got him something more than it be stylish. So, how many taxi drivers you know who go that far to help their passengers? This guy is pretty cool.  He is the driver Zac and I met last year.  He was a new driver and was just learning the business.  I gave him a few tips on how to make his business a success, especially transporting Americans.  This year, when he picked me up (six months later), he had a new tuk tuk and said his business was going ok.

Mr. Lim then drove me out to Asia's Hope.  As we were driving down their road, many of the students were heading back for afternoon school.  They all waved and smiled as we passed. All this made an impression on Mr. Lim.  Last year I had the opportunity to share with him about AH and what and why it is there.

Sorry, no pics of my afternoon at our GP homes.  I was just enjoying the time playing with all the kids that were there.  I split my time between the two homes and loved every minute.  At five, I had made arrangements to meet up with the DeWitts from Canada here working with Bight Star.  They were teaching a group of brand new English classes.  When we arrived,  one of the teachers was late, so John asked me which group I wanted to teach.  LOL, no materials or anything.  Kind of reminded me of my first teaching job. At least here I had a piece of chalk! So I took the middle group. Luckily for them, the teacher arrived shortly and I went back to John's beginner class to help him.  200 students total in three classes.  They originally thought there would be about 40.  These kids come from the poor neighborhoods and their parents really want them to learn English to give them more opportunities.  They were awesome.  When class was over, several of the girls came to say goodbye and did a 3-cheek kiss goodbye giggling all the time.  Not sure who taught them that as an appropriate greeting for Americans, but no problem because I have many friends from places where that is.  So fun.  There was such delight in the eyes of these children as they were excited to be with us and learn a little English.

After being dropped off at my hotel, I grabbed a bag of clothes for Lois that Connie sent along and walked the few blocks  down the street to another hotel restaurant to meet them for dinner.  The restaurant is on top of the hotel and the food is prepared fresh.  I mean, I watched them cut my vegetables.  Yum Yum.  I had so much fun catching up with Gary and Lois, hearing about the ministry God has given them here and learning a little more about the Cambodian culture.  The food was delicious too.  After dinner they gave me a ride back to my hotel for safety reasons. It is really dark by now.  After my second shower today (the dust here is so fine, you felt like you never really get it off), I dropped into bed. Tomorrow is a day with the Kanes and hopefully with GP kids for a little while.

LOL, I forgot to get the phone!

Friday, Jan 30

I've been traveling for a couple of days and no time or internet to blog, but I am in Cambodia now for a short visit to our Grace Place family here and to also see Jill and Kevin Kane, Gary and Lois Engelhard and a family I know here from Canada. So lots to do in a few days.

Wednesday Faa, Ning and I traveled back down to Chiang Mai. They know a lady who runs like a production studio and produces Christian material.  We met her interns, all American young people, and enjoyed, what else, but food together (snack). I asked the video guy for a few more pointers on video taping because my shots the day before were a little shaky. I think it was too much coffee. Ok, no coffee before the next soot with Faa. I am trying to get footage that can be used to create a new video to submit to FGBC for conference. YIKES, me behind the camera.

Faa and  I then met up with a couple of young ladies living in the DC area.  They work with trafficked women in the US and decided they needed to see the trafficking capitol of the world. What a delightful couple of young ladies.  Their heart for God and bubbly spirits are so encouraging to see among young Christian adults.  I hope to connect with one of them when she travels to the Columbus area.

Thursday morning I hopped on a plane and began my journey to Battambang. I was amazed at the number of nationalities traveling to Cambodia.  It seems to be more and more a place people want to visit.  My entry into the airport in Seim  Reap was fun.  You wait in a long line to get into the building, but when you arrive at the door, they hand you one more paper to fill out.  You already received 3 on the plane.  Then they told you to step aside, complete it and get back at the end of the line.  Well that went over well, especially with the Westerners. Not very efficient.  Then the line to receive a VISA was crazy too, but it gave me an opportunity to meet many people, some form the US, one from Canada and one from Switzerland.  I had the opportunity to share why I was in Cambodia and what our church is involved in. Finally, over one hour later, I made it to the luggage pick up.  That surprisingly took awhile too.  Poor Sambo had been waiting for me for over 1 1/2 hours. He was getting concerned about me. So we got a later start than I wanted, but no problem. After all, this is Cambodia.

Ok, I know I have most of you fooled into thinking I am just some adventurous person, but I have to admit, belong in Cambodia without a set agenda or phone at the moment, by myself is a little nerve racking. I don't know whether to be concerned that people keep asking me if I am here by myself or if they are just being their friendly Cambodian selves. I think the latter, but as an American, it still makes you cautious. I feel completely safe here though, so don't worry.

Today, I hope to meet up with Garry and Lois Engelhard. Maybe some of you remember them from Wooster. They are up in BB for a few days. I also plan to head out to Grace Place to see who is around and hopefully pick up a phone! I have the number of a tuktuk driver we met last year, but no phone to call him to get a ride to GP to get the phone so I can call him. Hopefully I can borrow a phone from someone or ask someone to call Mr. Lim for me.  I hope he is still in the tuktuk business.  See what I mean about "a little nerve racking"?

Ok, well, I never take selfie, mostly because my kids make fun of them.  But I decided to take one anyway for you.  See, I look like those young people hiking around the globe. LOL

PS. I was able to give Sambo money to purchase school tables and chairs for his new school in Poi Pet thanks to a generous donor from our church.  He is very excited and plans to purchase them right away!

Tuesday

Wow, today was a full day.  After driving back to the GROW property (in the fog) this morning, Faa, Ning, Beam and I headed up to the mountains.  We went to Doi Chang way way up in the mountain.

  There we met an Aka pastor named Pat.  This man came to Christ when he was twenty.  He began to have a heart to reach his people.  But he thought, "how can I teach them unless I go to study the Bible myself?" So, he went to Bible college and seminary and became a pastor.  He went to Bangkok and began preaching and teaching at a large church that had money to pay him and money to support church programs.  He worked there many years, but God reminded him why he went to Bible college in the first place and gave him a renewed passion to share the Gospel in his Aka village. So, he obeyed, quit his comfortable Pastor's job and went home.  He saw many old people set in their ways and their beliefs, not willing to change. So, he looked at the younger generation.  He saw many without jobs, doing drugs and drinking.  He thought, "God, are you sure about this?  These people are poor inside and out. How do I help them?" God answered him and showed him coffee as a way to help his village.  His mountain is laden with coffee farms because many years ago, his grandfather, Abonzo, planted the first coffee farm, changing the crop of the village from opium to coffee. Today, Pat owns Abonzo coffee company. 

Pat is friends with a famous Thai movie star who is a Christian and who Faa loves.  Pat had this guy sign a GROW shirt for Faa.

Pat's grandmother and wife of deceased Abonzo.

 

He seeks to buy coffee cherries from the farmers at a fair price so they can support their families.  Then he processes the beans and ships them to roasters in different countries. He is able to purchase from 20 growers now, but has a goal of 100-150 farmers.  But, he has no money.  He sold his own coffee farm to get started: purchasing a machine to shell the berries, renting land to dry the beans and building to store the dried beans. He is trusting God to provide the resources and the people to help with this vision so he can focus on studying the Bible and sharing the Gospel. I told him he is exactly the kind of person I am interested in buying items from to sell in our GROW store, especially our upcoming online store.  I look for people to purchase item from whom we can really help as well as helping to support GROW. I am really excited to hear that he is already selling the beans to a roaster in Columbus.  I asked him to talk to that guy, who is also a pastor, and ask if he would be interested in roasting beans for GROW to sell.  Pat has a trip to Ohio planned in April, so we plan to meet in Columbus and hopefully be able to discuss this with the roaster. After enjoying a better than Starbucks cup of coffee he so craftily prepared for us, we had the opportunity to participate in the process by picking the coffee cherries at his parents' farm.

Sorting the coffee berries

Picking the berries

After 15-20 minutes of work.

This is what we picked. About 2 Kilos, enough for 10 cups of coffee.

Pat's mom

 

Ok, I've learned some things today about coffee that will forever change the way I look at a cup of it:

1. It takes 10 month to a year to process the beans from the day they are picked to the day they are ready to ship to a roaster.
2. It took four if us working for a combined hour or so to pick enough coffee cherries for ten cups of coffee.
3.Coffee coming from Thailand marked "USDA organic" is not organic.  Certificates can be bought and are.  Sorry everybody, they use fertilizer!
4. Coffee marked "Fair Trade" rarely is. Again, certificates can be bought.  Coffee is a business. They might say the farmers are getting a fair price, but according to this expert here in the business as a ministry, it's anything but fair. These two things surprised me very much as we sat at a café of one of the biggest and first companies in the region and read the signs posted all over their buildings boasting of these certificates. Pat says it started out to be true,  but no longer is. Companies buy it cheap, pay for the certificates and sell it high because people are willing to pay for "certified" coffee. They then pocket a nice profit.  Abonzo coffee is marked neither "USDA Organic" or "Fair Trade" because he cannot afford to "buy" the labels. But his purchase price for the beans is more than fair! I will be bringing home a few bags if anyone wants to purchase one.
5. Last thing.  Instant coffee is made from bad beans.  No wonder it taste so bad!

Beans dry for one week being turned over with shovels every 3 hours.

Yes, I am lying in a bed of raw coffee beans. Pat said we could!

Dried beans are bagged and stored for at least 6-8 months. The longer the better.

After seeing the whole coffee process, heading to the top of the mountain, and enjoying another cup, we said our goodbyes and headed down the mountain.

Top of the mountain!

What a place to hang out and think!

 

  We stopped in Faa's village to visit a possible future GROW child.  He is actually a brother of a current GROW child. After a good visit there and a stop at Faa's relatives', we stopped at a resort for dinner.

View from our table!

What a full day! Oh, then I had to drive back to the hotel. LOL