Final Post, Final Thoughts

I returned to the States on Thursday and want to share about the last few days in Thailand and perhaps some summary thoughts.

First of all, its 5 am here.  I did pretty well sleeping the first three nights, but last night sleep and me just couldn't find each other. I went to bed around midnight and have been up since 2:30.  I did forget to take Melatonin, so I am contributing the short night to that.

Our trip to Doi Chang was beautiful.  The village is way up in the mountains.  On this day, the clouds were hanging low and would swiftly drift about and through us.  It was an incredible sight.  Another incredible sight was the construction of the cafe Pastor Pat is building.(I posted pics on my FB page). A year ago, Bria and I stood on that land and prayed for all that God was going to do here.  Today, the building is well on its way, stopped only by the lack of funds.  Pat dreams of having a cafe where he can train and employ his village people.  He will be able to roast his coffee and teach others.  He plans to use this business to share the Gospel and to help his people earn an income. He has a room for conferences, an office, the processing plant behind the building all being worked on. His vision is clear, his passion complete and his trust in God full! He is able to preach a couple of times a month and hopes to be able to do more once this place is up and running.

After touring the site, we went to his family home for coffee of course.  Coffee making here is quite the art and cannot be rushed.  I had three different cups of coffee.  One was an Americana with a little milk and froth with an some beautiful latte art, the second was a pour over, and the third, my favorite, was an iced coffee with homey. But this wasn't just any honey.  This was special honey found only on the side of the cliffs in the mountain.  The bees that produce this honey pollinate a white flower that gives this honey the most unique and delicious flavor I have ever tasted, and I eat Amish honey regularly.  I couldn't believe the taste which I wouldn't even begin to describe.  It made me wonder though if the honey in the "Land Flowing with Milk and Honey" tasted like this.  It was certainly heavenly! Pat's cafe will be the only one on the mountain to serve this drink.

We also enjoyed once again interacting with Pat's grandmother.  She is such a delight. She reminds me of Miss Mary Misner, for those of you who know her.  Always smiling, always giving, and always pulling things out of her bag that surprise you. Need a knife, no problem, pair of scissors, it's in there, snacks, absolutely. Their bags are small but bottomless! After finishing our visit, we headed to a place where we were served traditional Akha food. Very yummy!

Upon returning, I wanted to stop by Grace Place and say goodbye to the kids and staff and to give the staff some gifts that I brought for them.  It was a bitter sweet time of just sitting with the kids and staff, enjoying just being together and then saying goodbye.

On Tues morning the GROW children were excitedly making jewelry.  I was able to bring some home, but Faa will bring more with her this summer. They are beautiful.  I did bring some handmade cards home with me.  When we went to leave for CM, one of the boys was in the back of the truck.  He said he was going with me to see Pi Zac.  He's been having Pi Zac withdrawal.  So after removing him, Faa and headed back to CM.

Tues and Wed we did some shopping, Faa had a couple of dr. appointments. We, saw Maat and bought some blue herbal tea she made for me, stopped by to say goodbye to Tutu, Pastor Mike and Jerry who was still there, met with Mimie, had dinner on the 24th floor of a hotel overlooking the city, took a quick shower, and headed to the airport Wed night for my midnight flight to Seoul.

I met some wonderful people on the way home, had great conversations, slept a little and finally arrived in Cleveland Thur afternoon.  Once home, I jumped right back in to life.  Val was at the end of her spring break, and we had wedding invitation to create, dinner to eat, then off to kickboxing with Val, more wedding planning, catching up with Tim and hearing how Zac's trip home alone and first week back had gone. Then it was time for a must needed night's sleep.

It's interesting how each of my trips take on a theme.  If you've followed my blogs in the past, I have mentioned this. This year was a trip of goodbyes it seemed. I realized that many of the kids our church sponsors are growing up, graduating and moving on.  It was then I realized I wouldn't get to see some of them this trip.  Several will be graduating between now and the next two years. One couple at GROW said goodbye at the end of March as the husband with his family goes on to pursue his dream and passion of being a pastor. We had developed a friendship with them these past three years and hope to be able to visit them in CM next year.  And so on.  So my heart has been heavy and very full. I am so thankful for the opportunity to know these people that are moving on.  They all have enriched my life, challenged my thinking and given me so much love.  Farwells aren't forever for those who are in Christ though.  It is that truth that I hold onto as we say our goodbyes, entrusting them into God's hands.

Thank you for following my updates here.  I hope to have brought you into my experiences a little, informed you on what's happening here so you can rejoice with us as well as pray for the work here.  It is never easy, but oh so worth it.

Jeana Harley

Back in Thailand

Faa and I arrived safely in Thailand after 2 delays at the airport on Friday morning.  Zac arrived safely in the US and Nathan in Guatemala.  From his pictures, he's seeing some incredible places.

Well I'm not the only one missing Zac.  Everywhere I go, people are asking me where he is.  When I arrived at the GROW home yesterday, one little boy who seems to idolize Zac, wanted to know right away where he was.  I miss my traveling buddy , but I am so grateful for all the fun we had together here.

Last Thursday we visited Daughters of Cambodia to learn more about ministry in Cambodia.  Then we met Pheakdey, and she took us to her ministry called CODO. We met the director who was very gracious and shared with us many things about this ministry.  Thus man has many degrees, worked 15 years for World Vision and then felt that God was asking him to leave all of that to work in a small organization where he could work directly with the people in need.  We were very impressed with this man's heart to obey God and to serve the children in their poor communities.  They offer day care for those who can't afford it so the parents can work.  They also offer classes for the parents to help them.  They work with the schools and communities to encourage them to help their neighbors.  I think we can learn a lot from this organization, and it spawned all sorts of ideas in Faa and me for GROW.

Since we had two days full of meetings and it was Zac's last day, we want to do something fun with him.  We saw on our tuk tuk (sort of a taxi) a tourists ad for a place where you could fire a rocket launcher.  So, yes we took a 30 minute tuk tuk ride, got into an SUV and drove maybe 1 1/2 hours to the mountains.  I joked by asking if we were still in Cambodia.  As we drove into the compound where we would shoot, we began to wonder if this was a good idea.  Then we saw the collection of highly illegal in the US weapons and really began to question our decision.  But the prepared and loaded a rocket launcher and called me to fire it first.  Ok, I had no idea of what to expect.  So I just pulled the trigger when he said, "three". Zac said it was like watching a movie, very surreal. I was surprised at how easy it launched.  I have no idea how far from the mountain we were, quite a distance, but it went all the way to the mountain.  Then it was Zac's turn.  Yep, it was just like watching a movie except we were the ones in it.  Zac's rocket actually went over the mountain. Then it was Faa's turn,  She fired a grenade launcher.  After a few misfires, she launched the grenade toward the mountain.  Nothing, nothing, nothing, we turned off the camera, then the explosion.  Lol  I couldn't believe how long it took to reach its destination, but then it exploded on the side of the mountain.  I have video of her firing it, it threw her backward, but she stayed on her feet.

After that adrenaline rush, we had the long ride back to the tuk tuk, back into town and to the cafe we had a meeting at the day before to purchase another mango smoothie, the best one I've ever tasted in my 13 trips here!!!! This was at Zac's request, but Faa and I didn't complain.:) We took them to go, rushed back to the hotel so Zac could shower and get to the airport.  We said our goodbyes and put him on a plane.

When Faa and  landed in CM, Thailand, Brenden Miller picked us up from the airport and took us to their home for dinner.  We got to see little Jude! Becca was pregnant last year when Bria and I were here.  We had a great visit which included a "night walk" with their daughter, Maya, Just she and I though, nobody else was allowed to go.  It basically consisted of walking around their house with my phone flashlight.  It was something she always wanted to do.  Maya was so much fun that night. She reminds me of myself,talk talk talk talk. She told me lots of secrets, like all the games we could play, and planned our next visit to be an overnight where she and I would stay up and watch a movie without her parents.  That night, Faa and I stayed in town.

Yesterday Zach, Tutu's son, picked us up.  I asked that he talk me to one store that's at the night market but open during the day.  Faa and I walked up and down the street trying to find it.  The street looks very different in the day without all of the stands set up.  We couldn't  recognize the store. So we were standing in front of one place trying to decide what to do when we looked in the store in front of us and realized this was the place.  They had changed the merchandise in the front of the store so we didn't recognize it.  When we saw the stairs leading up to the 2nd floor, we realized this was it.  What I was looking for was on the 2nd floor.  SO I was able to purchase some really neat pants and dresses and tops which I will bring back for GROW.

Faa stayed in town for a couple of doctor appointments she had while Zach took me to Tutu's.  Jerry Christensen arrived with Tutu shortly afterward.  We had a chance to talk about his time in Thailand and other things.  It was good to see him.  Jim Rhea is also here, but I haven't seen him yet.  We've communicated on FB, but our paths haven't crossed yet.

Last night we went tp the hospital to see Daniel and Nan's baby.  He was born the day before.  This is another one of Tutu's sons.  He is so adorable.  About 11 pm though there was a fire at the hospital I think in a refrigerator. They had to go home because of the smoke and return the next morning to be officially discharged.

Sunday morning we worshiped at an Asia's Hope church in Doi Saket.  Since a lot of the children are back in their villages visiting family over the break, Tutu had us participate in the special music.  So, we practiced after breakfast and preformed an hour later.

After lunch, Faa's brother picket Faa then me up, and we headed back to WPP.  We all got dressed up and had a celebration for the 6th graders who just graduated.  We also celebrated birthdays for March and April and had a farewell party for our house parents, Bee and Nueng, who are going on to their calling as a pastor. We ended the evening by playing a game with the balloons and the string of flags strung between the buildings.

Today Faa and I head up to Doi Chang with Pat to see how Albonzo Coffee is doing and to purchase coffee for any of you who wish to buy it from GROW.

Thanks again for all of your prayers. We visited a staff family from Asia's Hope who were just in a motorcycle accident this week.  Their two year old has scrapes all over his face and a dislocated arm.  The wife has a fracture in her cheek and the husband had to have surgery for his fracture in his face.  They are recovering and praising God that it wasn't any worse.  Prayers for safety are really important here.  Again, I thank all who are praying.

SOME MIGHT CALL US CRAZY, and maybe we are, but my husband brought to our attention that not only has our family been in three different parts of the world these past two weeks, Nathan in Costa Rica, Zac and I in SE Asia and Val and him in the USA, but starting today, three of us will be traveling to different countries alone at the same time.  Please pray!!!! Nathan left earlier today for a quick trip to Guatemala. At 1pm today, Thurs, your time, I put Zac on a plane to fly from Cambodia to South Korea to the USA and about 11pm your time tonight, I will fly back to Thailand (with Faa). Zac arrives home on Friday afternoon, I arrive back in Thailand 4 am in the morning your time on Friday, and Nathan returns to Costa Rica on Saturday.  Yes, please pray for all of our travels. I leave next Wed to begin my journey home.

IN OTHER NEWS, Tuesday, March 21, we caught a bus from Battambang to Phnom Penh.  This is always an interesting trip. You just never know what can happen along the way. Thankfully, nothing catastrophic happened on this bus ride.  I’ve seen crazy things like people exiting a burning bus, busses on the side of the road with blown tires from the heat or broken down, and I’ve been told (thankfully never seen) accidents where the front or the back of the bus was totally destroyed.  That’s why we always chose seats in the middle of the bus! 

We arrived in PP after seven hours.  I noticed three years ago when I was here last, that the construction going on here is crazy.  This year it is even worse.  Cranes everywhere, high rise apartment buildings replacing what once were humble neighborhoods. All of it is from foreign money, mostly Korean and Chinese.  I tried to inquire about how this is effecting the economy.  Are the displaced people able to afford the new housing, or are they pushed out to more affordable places?  How are some of the people able to afford to live in new neighborhoods of million dollar houses and fancy cars? Most of the residence in one of these neighborhoods are government workers who don’t have big salaries. Of course there is corruption; that might be contributing to some of it.  We are staying in a new hotel in town.  The 12^th floor overlooks the city.  There are pockets of the city that are beginning to look like Shanghai or Ho Chi Minh. I believe in 10 years or so, the whole city will look like this. I’m still trying to get a sense of the economic growth. Is the money trickling down? Is pay able to keep up with the high inflation?  I’m not sure.  I still see a lot of very low income places.

Yesterday was a full day of meetings for us. We met two people from an organization called EMI (Engineers Ministry International). This Christian organization is in 70 countries helping by developing plans for building.  They have some full time staff who prepares short team trips for organization needing their help.  So there are engineers, architects, graphic designers, surveyors, etc who volunteer their time to go where there serviced are needed on short term mission trips.  They work with local construction companies and also offer internships to locals who want more experience in this field.

 

We also met with a man from a ministry called Hagar.  They are involved in helping to create a foster care system in Cambodia.  GROW would like to expand into Cambodia in the future, so this meeting was very beneficial as we learned a lot about the legal side of operating in Cambodia. 

Then we met with Pheakdey, an old friend of both Faa’s and mine. We met her in 2010 when she worked for Asia’s Hope.  She now works with another organization in PP and has made arrangements for us to visit and to learn more about it this morning.  Pheakdey remembered how much Zac likes pizza and ask if we would like to have pizza last night.  LOL, we had a great time catching up and reminiscing about past times we were here with her.

Today, we will meet with the director of Daughters, another ministry here.  Our goal in meeting with all of these ministries is to learn what we can from them to take back to GROW what we find beneficial for us.  After Daughters, Pheakdey will pick us up and take us to see her ministry.  Then, it will be time for a little fun with Zac before he heads out.  Watch FB for pics!!  That will leave us an hour or so to check out the market to see if there are things I might want to bring back for GROW.

I apologize again for not adding pics on the blog.  It’s a lengthy process for me and the equipment that I have.  So please, check out my FB.  I post and repost pics from others often.

LAST THING! I will be visiting the coffee farm where GROW gets its coffee.  If anyone would like to order coffee, please FB message me or email me.  I will make sure you get what you would like to have.     

Again I apologize for not posting more often.  You can follow me on Face Book to see pictures and short updates. I am finding it much easier to post from FB. I will post though from time to time on the blog.  If we aren't FB friends, search for me as Jeana Harley.

We have been in Cambodia for a few days now.  Are flight was delayed a couple of hours from Bangkok to Seim Reap.  Bangkok Airways is pretty amazing though.  They fed us on the one hour flight to Bangkok, then gave us meal tickets to buy dinner since our flight was delayed, then fed us another meal on the next hour flight. Needless to say, we were not hungry when we arrived in SR.

Sambo picked us up.  It was great to catch up with him anout his family and ministry.  He has such a big heart for Jesus and his Cambodian people, especially children.  He opened a new school in a village in the Poi Pet region.  Today we are going to visit him, his family and his ministry.

On Saturday, we stopped at Angor Wat.  Faa wanted to get a few pictures for an art therapy project they have planned. I haven't been there in a few years, so it was nice to visit again.  It was really hot and very crowded though, much more than  before.  We decided the next time we come, we will go at 5am to watch the sunrise, no people, no heat!

When we arrived in Battambang, it was raining very heavily.  Some of our Grace Place 2 kids and the parents came to visit us at the hotel. It’s always a blessing to see how much the children have grown and changed.  Of course they haven’t seen Zac in 3 years, so everyone is commenting on how tall he is.  It’s so funny to watch him with the kids.  The girls, especially love Zac, no matter the age.  He has been getting a taste of what life would be like if he were famous.  Everyone wants a picture with him and his autograph on their art projects that we have been doing with them.  Yesterday, Nga, one of the girls, wanted him to draw a beard and mustache on her so she could look like Zac. Zac double checked with me to make sure the markers ere washable!!  Then he drew on her face.  Then she drew on his face!  The kids laughed and laughed.  He is a good sport.  See FB for pics!

Church at Asia’s Hope in BB is always such an amazing blessing.  There’s just something about hearing all the voices worshiping God together.  The music is good, but not so loud that you can’t hear others signing, not just the person next to you, but the whole assembly.  It’s pure worship from the kids and others who attend the church.  It’s one of my favorite things here.  It takes me back to a time when Tim and I were part of the choir at a Billy Sunday Revival.  We were part of a 2000 voice choir.  When we sang a cappella, it was so beautiful.  All of our simple voices raised up together.  I thought to myself, “This must be what it will be like in heaven.” To be a part of that was so amazing that I really don’t have words to describe it.  That’s how it is at church here too.  So beautiful.  I love instruments, but the human voice with the purpose of lifting praise up to God, from the heart, is beyond beautiful, even more so in corporate worship.

With two Grace Place homes, we have to divide our time between the two.  So after lunch, games and activities with GP 1, we walked to GP 2 where the kids screamed with delight as they saw us turn the corner.  I can only imagine them watching and waiting for us to appear.  Maybe like the father of the prodigal son, watching and waiting all the time with anticipation of seeing his son turn the bend toward home and running out with such joy to great him, they ran out to great us.  So the hand-off was made from one group of kids to the next, and we started all over again with home 2.  Lots of games: soccer, corn hole, parachute games, and more coupled with food and fellowship filled our day.

 I enjoyed being swept away by our house parents for a few minutes for coffee and a time to hear about their challenges as house parents and how we could pray for them. If you can imagine raising 23-25 children, if you’ve raised one, you might be able to imagine what it is like for them.  What I love the most is how much they love these children and want to see them follow Christ.  Their struggles are unique and yet not so different from what parents in the U.S. face.  I keep thinking how blessed these children are to have the house parents they have. They cry when the children make bad choices and rejoice when they choose good ones, work hard, or are successful in something they do.  I can’t thank enough for how He has provided for this ministry in the way of staff.

Today, Vannak, his wife and two of the girls are taking us to Poi Pet to see Sambo.  Sambo couldn’t get a car to pick us up, so he asked Vannak to hire us a taxi, but Vannak said, no, he would take us, and his wife would go along to take care of us.  This is the heart of this couple. 

Ok, wow, I forgot it was my birthday.  Thanks, Tim, for the message reminding me.  It’s weird to go almost all day without even giving a thought to it.  LOL. But tonight we have a dance party with the kids. That will be party enough for me.

We had a very good visit with Sambo at his English school. He was between classes, so we had lunch prepared by his beautiful wife, and spent a lot of time talking about his ministry and about GROW and so on. His heart for Jesus and for children never ceases to amaze me.  He use to have over 300 students in the main city of Poi Pet.  Then the economy took a hit due to many factors.  Most of the children could no longer pay for school, but Sambo kept them as long as he could.  Eventually he had to close the school because there wasn’t enough money to pay the teachers.  He went to Seim Reap and lived out of his car and tried to find work to support his family.  He sold his land and moved his family to Seim Reap but still there was no work for him. So he bought land in a village in the Poi Pet province, moved his family back, and started a new school.  His family lives in a room at the back of the school. He has 24 students who are learning English from him.   It was good to talk to him and spend time with him today.

On my first trip here in January 2010, I met an older girl living in GP 1.  The next year I think it was, she fell in love and got married.  I also know the man she married.young man.  They have a little boy 4 years old and live in Poi Pet as well.  They really struggled those early years, and we had the opportunity through friends here to support and encourage them with rice and diapers. Today we stopped by and visit the husband and his son.  He started a school a couple of months ago.  His wife was working elsewhere, and we were unable to see her, but it was great to visit for a few minutes with him and to see their son.  See my FB for pic!

Now we are heading back to BB for our farewell party and to see Kevin Kane who just returned to BB from a 4 day trip. Tonight will be fun, but difficult at the same time as we say goodbye to these children who are so near and dear to our hearts.  It’s hard to believe so many of them are close to graduating from the university, trade school and high school. They are grown up.  I can’t say enough good things about our house parents here. They love and serve these precious children 24/7.  The quality of the care these children receive is excellent.  I am so blessed to know them.  I have learned so much from them.

Ok, this blog has taken all day to write.  It is now 11 pm.  I wasn't going to add anything tonight, but I just had to add one more thing. Both homes surprised me with birthday cake, silly string and "Happy Birthday" song when we returned from Poi Pet.  First was GP1 then an hour or so GP2.  I came to find out that Faa was in cahoots with our house parents for 2 days.  Ok, to be honest, I never thought about it being my birthday again after Tim's text.  Lol, that is until we pulled into GP1.  Short of not being with Tim and the rest of my children, my birthday couldn't have been more perfectly spent, with the Cambodian "family" I have come to love.

 
Don't forget to check out all pics posted on my FB!

Goodnight,
Jeana

After three seemingly endless flights, we arrived safely in Thailand. We landed at approximately 11:00 pm and were greeted by Tutu’s son David. In celebration of my (Zac) birthday, David treated us with a trip to an authentic Thai restaurant called McDonald’s. We then arrived at Tutu’s place at midnight where we were welcomed with a warm embrace.

After a short night of rest, we attended church at Asia’s Hope homes in Doi Saket. After the service had concluded, we spent a few minutes socializing. My role as a tree was quickly established when children rapidly began climbing on me and lifting themselves up on my arms. As tiresome as this role may be, it brings me so much joy watching their faces light up as I lift them into the air or spin them around. Their smiles are so lively and infectious.

Afterwards, we ate lunch and then prepared ourselves for the drive up to Wiang Pa Pao where the Grace Place and G.R.O.W. homes are located. I was in awe when I noticed how much the kids have grown up since the last time I saw them. Many of them can hardly be classified as kids anymore. With the Grace Place children, we played a lot of badminton. My entire right side is still sore from the hours that we played. We then concluded our time at Grace Place and went to the G.R.O.W. home where we are spending the next several nights.

While I stay at the G.R.O.W. home, my mom (Jeana) is traveling back to Chiang Mai with Faa and Ning for a couple days. Staying by myself in a different part of the country is an abrupt yet exciting start to my adult life. I am spending so much time with the kids and having so much fun. On Monday, I attempted to teach several of the kids how to play the drums and the guitar. This was quite the challenge considering the differing languages. Nonetheless, the kids were fast learners and seemed to enjoy themselves. In fact, as I type this right now, I hear one of the boys practicing one of the drum beats I taught him the day before. Their desire to learn music makes me feel right at home.

Later that day, the other children returned from school and started a game of soccer. This made a great day even better. I had so much fun playing against the kids and the staff. Afterwards, dinner was generously prepared for me. To my delight, one of my favorite dishes was made: mango sticky rice. If it was possible for me to gain weight, I would have definitely already added five pounds. My trip thus far has definitely been incredible.

While Zac was having fun with the kids, I (Jeana) went to CM with Faa, Ning and JJ.  Ning and Faa both had dr. appointments two of the days we were there.  We also did a lot of shopping for G.R.O.W. I’ll post some pictures later of items I am bringing home. I had the opportunity to see the young lady who interned at G.R.O.W. last year.  Maria #2 is what they called her.  She now owns a massage parlor and is using it to reach people for Christ.  She is developing a great ministry.  Yes, of course, she gave me a massage.  I also visited briefly with Beam.  If you remember, Beam is Faa’s cousin who worked for G.R.O.W. for several years.  She left to continue pursuing her education in Chiang Mai a couple of years ago.

Back in WPP, Zac and I went over to Grace Place to play with the kids there for a little while.  We pulled out a coloring activity thanks to a friend who sent them along!  The kids enjoyed that. Then we unwrapped the parachute we brought.  Zac and I taught the kids all variations of things to do with a parachute and a ball.  The kids laughed and laughed, and we all had so much fun.

Final Post from CAR Trip 2017

Well since we have returned to Bangui, We have been working on a variety of projects. Nothing really exciting but yet important. The most important thing that we have been doing is reconnecting with some people here, spending time catching up with one another. Sunday after church, we went out of town to meet with the leaders of the Grace brethren seminary at their new property. We got to hear their vision for the growth of the school and the development of the property. We discussed their need for the expansion of their water system to accommodate the growth. We will do some research along with Water for Good to determine the best plan moving forward. 

This is a water well that our church funded for a village that neighbors the seminary property.

Our visit to Grace Brethren Seminary.
Today, Monday, we worked very hard to finish up the projects we have been working on. Bruce and I were also able to squeeze in a visit with an old friend. This man lives away from town a little bit and grows spiralina. Spiralina has a high level of protein and other nutrients and is used to help people who are sick especially, but it can be taken for preventative health measures as well. Over the several years we have been coming here Bruce and I have developed a relationship with this man, and Bruce has assisted him and his work. So today we wanted to go see how this man was doing after the war.  Marcellin took us to the farm, once the man realized who we were he was so thrilled to see us and could not stop saying how excited he was to see us and how that he was going to sleep so well tonight knowing that we have stopped to see him. He shared with us how that when the Seleka rebels came he got shot in the neck and they beat him.  He said then they took everything he had. So now he is trying to rebuild his business which is hard because most of his workers were scared away and have not come back so he is doing the work now along with his family members. Some of the customers that he had before the war, like hospitals, orphanages, and other things like that have lost contact with him as a result of the war. He is hoping to reestablish himself and his customer base but it is very difficult. Please pray for him.

This will be my last post from Africa as we will prepare to leave to come home tomorrow morning. We are thankful for the time that we could be here and invest in our brothers and sisters in Christ to help them help their country. I am especially thankful to Bruce, Rick, and Walter, for being willing to come with me and invest their time and resources. It has been a great trip filled with lots of hard work, laughter, and adventures. My prayer is that God will bring me back again. Thank you to all who have been praying for us, it has been very important to 
us knowing that we are lifted up in prayer. Thank you especially to our families for letting us come and holding down the fort while we have been gone. We look forward to sharing with you more as you see us.

Tim
Sent from my iPhone 

Bruce and the Spiralina farmer

Back to Bangui

Scroll to bottom for pictures.

As expected, yesterday was a long travel day back to Bangui.  We left Berberti around 5:45 am and we arrived in Bangui around 8:30-9 pm. This time we took the southern route which follows the fourth parallel Road across the southern part of the central African republic. This road goes down through the rain forest and provides wonderful scenery with the canopy trees over the road. The entire road is a one lane dirt road that most the time is all sand. The roads have not been worked on much so they are very bumpy and the drivers are constantly swerving to miss holes. 

Thankfully we did not have any car problems other than having to stop and resecure the luggage carrier that broke the mounting bracket that secures it to the roof of the truck. I was happy that I had left some suitcase straps in my backpack that we had used on the way over to secure our heavy bags. We used these to secure the luggage rack and were able to continue our journey. Things were going well and I thought we were making good progress but then we entered the town of Boda.  

Once we arrived we quickly realized that there was a big truck stuck in the middle of the one lane bridge, it had fallen through part of the bridge over a small river. There was no other way to cross the river and to go a different way would take hours to go around. But we had the best solution, his name is Marcellin. He assessed the situation and decided that he could engineer a way to lift the truck back up onto the bridge and get it off the bridge. You would think this idea would be well received by the community, but in this case it was not. Typical of African culture there was a man who did not want the truck to be removed until the trucking company owner came to the town to pay to rebuild the bridge. We learned later that the truck had been stuck for over a day and a half already.  Marcellin insisted to this man that he could remove the truck from the bridge then the bridge could be repaired. At this point there was a confrontation, the man causing the problems grabbed a bar being used to jack up the truck and started swinging it at the people watching this whole situation. Then he started yelling at Marcellin and asked him why he was not afraid of him, and Marcellin challenged him back, why are you not afraid of me? It turned out that this man was a chief of the former militia group called anti-balata and the people were afraid of him because he was a warrior.  Marcellin told him he would follow his ideas if they were right, but if they were wrong he would not follow him. Thankfully this confrontation only lasted a few minutes, then Marcellin and some others guys continued to work on jacking the truck up so they could move it off the bridge. This process took a while as you might guess, but it was really cool to see Marcellin's problem solving skills take over, he took charge of the scene and started organizing people around him. He even purchased big wooden boards off of a truck waiting to cross the bridge so that they could be put underneath the truck to cover the hole in the bridge. About three hours, the truck was able to be backed off the bridge much to the cheers of all the people watching. Then we quickly drove our trucks across the bridge first to make sure we got a crossed since Marcellin had "come to the rescue". Oh, how would you feel to be the first ones to drive across a bridge that had just broken? Well we got to do that, the guys actually drove the trucks across with Bruce riding with Marcellin, but then the rest of us walked across the bridge just to be safe which actually was not easy either because you had lots of boards across the bridge that were not secured down, and people were wanting to start going across the bridge too. Well, after this three hour delay we were back on the road. 

The rest of the trip went pretty well getting us back into the capital city just before the city curfew. It was a great feeling to finally get back, we all felt worn out like we have been working the entire time which, in a way, we have been, we were constantly holding on as we bounced around the roads. It was a great feeling to lie in bed and to be still, but one funny thing happened, imagine being in a vehicle for all of those hours listening to the same music over and over, imagine it is in a different language, this music was stuck in my head while I was trying to go to sleep, but I figured Marcellin had earned the right to listen to whatever he wanted to because he had gotten us back.
Today, Friday, we helped Rick get packed up and headed off to check in his bags so that he could leave around 5:30 PM local time to head home. I am so thankful for Rick's contribution to our team and I ask you to pray as he travels home, and that he may have a great reunion time with his family on Saturday.
The rest of us went to the water for good office to check on the progress while we were gone. The guys did a great job and had a fresh coat of paint on the exterior and interior of the office. Walter continued his work on the electrical system making connections to be able to switch between solar power and electrical power. If you know Walter, he is an expert, and is very thorough, and knows how to connect complex wiring situations. While Walter worked on that, I sorted more tools so that they could be left here for the team here in Bangui .  

Before Rick left, we took time as a team to tour a couple of the other properties of water for good. We actually got to meet Marcellin's mom and other family members. This was a fun experience, but I realized that I forgot to take pictures so I will see if I can stop again. Then, we visited a place called PK – 22. I admit this was a little difficult because over the years my teams and I have spent a lot of time at this property fixing it up to be another base camp for Water for good. We had built a large barn and had assembled shipping containers and made them into a working mechanic shop. But as with so many things here in the central African republic, this property was looted and destroyed by the Seleka rebels. Water for good removed as many things as they could just in case but they could not move everything. There were carcasses of machines sitting around that had been stripped of all of their valuable parts. Everything else was completely gone every shred of the building and containers was completely gone. While this was a discouraging visit, I am thankful to God for the resolve that he put into my heart that this would not keep me from continuing to help the people of the Central African Republic. My job is to serve Jesus, Jesus's job is to do the rest, my job is to be faithful to what Jesus wants me to do. I also reflected on several conversations I have had since I have been here with Marcellin. He has had many things destroyed by the Seleka rebels, and been threatened with a gun if he did not give them money,but his attitude has been to persevere and not let them stop him from living the life that he believes God has for him. He even said one time, they took all of my cows but I will go buy new ones. Well, I pray that if it is God's will we will be able to come back at some point and build another building to replace the one that was destroyed it will be in a different location but the results will be the same, we will persevere with our partners here to further the work that God has given them, and us.

PK-22 now

The barn sat directly behind this tree.  We ate our lunches under this tree while building it.

The buildings are all gone.

What the barn at PK-22 looked like before the war.

PK-22 before the war.

Tim
Sent from my iPhone

In the central African republic it is in the dry season right now, but the last couple nights we have had rain showers that have cooled off things very nicely. This made sleeping much more enjoyable, not having sweat running down your face while you're trying to sleep.
Tuesday, was another workday, Walter and I finished working on the drill rig and we did some final testing with Marcellin. We also took time to document all of the hydraulic systems so that Walter will be able to help order parts in the future for the rig.  Marcellin was very excited to see the rig working properly again. Now they will be able to go out and drill new waters wells soon. Walter also worked on the second drill rig to replace a pump that needed wasn't working as well.   Rick and Bruce continued to work on the office project, they were making and installing the trusses to hold the roof. They also were making screens for over the windows to keep bugs out of the office.
One of the things that we have really enjoyed is getting to know some of the workers Monday night, we had Elise share about her experiences when the Seleka rebels came to Berberti. Elise has been our cook while we have been here. She is always busy cooking or doing our laundry and she just loves to serve and she told Jim that she is very happy that we are here so that she can have a job. So she told us how The rebels came and raided the house that we are staying in. They stole furniture and broke doors in every room.  They also demanded that a Elise cook them meals. She obviously was fearful, but had to follow their demands so she prepared meals for them. There were about six different times that the Rebels came to the guesthouse each time demanding she make them food. One time a group that was here gave her money to go buy food and then prepared it for them. She left the food on the tables for the guys to eat it then when she came in the gate of the compound they put a gun to her head and told her to eat the food first because they were suspicious that she had poisoned the food. So she ate some food and after about 10 minutes they were satisfied and went ahead and ate  the food. After the meal the leader of the group thanked her for treating them so kindly and asked her to pray for them because he knew that what they were doing was wrong. So the leader of this group made all of the soldiers get out of the trucks and kneel down on the ground and she prayed for them before they left. There is much more to the story but Jim is going to record it again and have it translated so that it can be documented.
Last night we got to visit with Marcellin's secretary Astride. Again, it was great to hear more about her family and to share with her about our families. She shared much gratitude to us for sacrificing time from our families at home to come to their country to help them. She also had stories about the rebels coming to town, I am so thankful that God has protected these wonderful people here and I hope that we have been an encouragement to them to persevere. It also reminds us that we need to pray for our brothers and sisters who are going through very difficult times to help them stay faithful.  Our projects are important, but building relationships is most important and I'm thankful that we were able to do that.
Wednesday morning, I had the opportunity along with Bruce to go to the employee devotional time at 7 am. At the end of this time Bruce was able to hand out some gifts that we had brought them. After this time we also took time to take some pictures. Then later, Walter did a training class for all the employees teaching them about some of the principles of hydraulic systems. Walter is very knowledgeable and his expertise was very helpful to all of the guys.
     Thank you for all of your prayers, and we would ask you to pray once again for us as we will start the journey back to Bangui early Thursday morning. We anticipate another long bouncy day traveling back, pray for perseverance for us and the vehicles. Rick will fly out of the country Friday, but the rest of us will stay until Tuesday to finish some of the work.

 Rick and Bruce installing trusses.

 Bruce handing out gifts.

 Marcellin and Tim

 Bruce and Astride

 Walt and Marcellin

 Walt teaching his class while Jim translates.

 Walt's students

 Alexis's wife had a baby boy this morning.  They named him Tim.  Wow, how special is that?! I'm so glad that my husband's presence means that much to the Africans working with Water For Good (Jeana).I pray many blessings for little Tim.

Tim and Elise.

.

Tim
Sent from my iPhone

Well, I finally have Internet so I am going to send some updates about what we have been doing. The funny thing is, I had typed up a blog post on my computer waiting for the Internet to come back on. But now my computer screen will not work so I am typing it on my phone. I was able to send some pictures yesterday that I saw were posted, so I will try and provide information to go with the pictures. Saturday we continued our projects, Bruce and Rick continued their work on the container turning it into an office. They worked at framing the windows and doors and leveling the container.  Walt and I continued to work on the drill rig looking to diagnose the problem with the hydraulic system. We spent all day looking at different scenarios but as of Saturday, we had not found the problem.
Sunday we attended church in town it was great to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. After Church we drove around town a little bit looking at how bad the roads were. We got out and looked at the main road into town and how badly the road had been washed out by the rains. The ground is very sandy so once the rain comes, it quickly washes it away. Many houses are now in jeopardy of falling into the hole . Most of the afternoon we took the opportunity to rest and just relax. Later in the afternoon we went for a walk in our neighborhood to visit two of the men that work for MAD (Marcellin African Drilling), Alexis and Etienne.   We wanted to go visit these men at their homes and meet their families and hear their stories. We asked them about how their families were affected by the war and when the rebels came into town. The men said that they hid their families out in the tall grass so that they would not be harmed by the military men.

At this point I want to explain a little bit about the structure of the Water well drilling teams. You may have heard the phrase "give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man how to fish feed him for a lifetime". Well this is the philosophy that water for good has been working on in the Central African Republic. They have worked very hard to invest in the African people and to teach them principles that will help them long-term, this is a much harder process, but the results will be last longer. Jim Hocking has sought to mentor men and women over the years as he has operated water for good.  One of those men, Marcellin, has been trained to do the drilling of the new water wells and to do mechanical repairs on all of the vehicles. He is an awesome guy who has worked very hard to learn the skills and to grow in his leadership abilities.  

A little over a year ago, Water for Good continued the process to invest in the African people by handing over part of the drilling program to Marcellin. He now owns the Drilling company and has his own company name, Marcellin African Drilling (MAD).  He is the only central African business owner of a well drilling company. He leases the land and equipment from Water for Good, but just like any other company, he is responsible to hire employees and run the day-to-day operations. So Water for Good and MAD partner together to do the water well drilling projects here in the Central African Republic. It is exciting to see this big step take place. It has been fun for me personally to see him develop over all of the years I've been coming here. Please pray for him as he has this big responsibility, I can tell that he enjoys it, but anyone who runs a business knows the challenges of managing and running a business. He also leases the property where we are staying, so we are his guests, we ride in his trucks, we stay in his guest house. We are excited to help him in his new business as he partners with Water for Good.

Monday was another workday, the office project continues. I appreciate Bruce and Rick taking on this project. They are doing a great job and are enjoying working with the other guys. Walter and I continued to work on the drill rig. Thankfully Walter figured out the problem with the drill rig, and we now have it functioning again. Now we are starting on the other Drill rig to work on a problem it has, but Walter thinks he knows the problem. It is great to have Walter here with his knowledge and expertise. 

We also had the privilege of handing out new tools to the maintenance teams yesterday. These men go out into the villages and do repairs to the water pumps so that the villages can continue to have clean water. I took a picture of their old tools, and then I took a picture of them as they received new tools that we brought with us from the US. It was honestly very expensive to bring these tools here but seeing the smiles on their faces was very rewarding. The men said that they will be able to do their work because of these new tools. I want to thank all of you that donated to our trip to help fund these tools. I will also take this opportunity to put a plug in for anyone who is interested in helping continue the work here in the Central African Republic by donating to Water for Good. We get to see firsthand that the money is being well spent to provide clean freshwater as well as investing in training the central African people. You can visit their website to learn more at www.waterforgood.org and donate.

God bless
Tim
Sent from my iPhone

Sunday, Jan 22

It's hot and muggy in Beberatti with no air conditioning.  Tim took a little tiny fan in hopes it would provide some relief during these stifling nights. It's hot/dry season in then CAR. It could be up to 130 F in the sun during this season.
Yesterday, Sunday, morning, Rick wasn't feeling well and had to leave church early and head back to the guesthouse.  This morning I heard from Tim that he is starting to feel better.  Communication has been slow since they arrived in Beberatti.  The internet is unreliable.  He was able to get a call out to me on Saturday evening though. Pictures he sent last night finally came through today.  So please see the pics below and appreciate some of what they are doing there. Thanks for your prayers!

 Saturday's work

 Saturday's work

 Church

 Main road into Beberatti was washed out by heavy rains.

 Visit with Alexis

 Partnership between Water For Good and Marcellin African

 Maintenance team's old tools.

Maintenance team's new tools!

Jan 20 CAR Update

 I wanted to get you caught up on our last two days.

Thursday was our travel day from Bangui to Berberati.  Our trip took around 14 hrs, this journey is not for the faint of heart.  About an hour into our trip we stopped in Boali, where Water for Good has its radio station.  We dropped off some much needed supplies that we brought from the US so the guys can make some repairs and help get the nighttime transmitter working.  The Water for Good radio station has a huge impact on the country as its broadcast reaches all across the Central African Republic.  The radio station did sustain some damage as the Seleka rebels looted and destroyed as they took over the country.  But it has been back up and running for a while now and soon once repairs are made it will be fully back online.  Walt was excited to take a look at the broadcasting equipment in the humble studio built in a shipping container.

     Our journey then continued on to Berberati, Being able to drive on asphalt was a luxury we only got to experience for a couple hours.  The majority of our trip was on untouched dirt roads.  This was like a 6-hr workout for us and the vehicles.  The roads were washed out and hard to find a path to drive on at times.  The ruff terrain tossed us back and forth like a pinball in a pinball machine.  If you have ever ridden in a pick up truck and noticed handles above the passenger doors and wondered "whoever uses these", well, these were lifesavers for us.  The person in the middle of the back seat got tossed back and forth, because there was nothing to hold onto.  The roads were worse than I had experienced in previous trips by far.  

     Another noticeable difference was empty towns that normally were bustling markets in previous years.  Many people fled during the war and only part of the people have returned.  The Seleka rebels systematically killed and destroyed people and infrastructure.  They destroyed fuel pumps in every town that had a gas station leaving getting fuel to buying from local guys who carry their fuel in smaller containers.  This was then followed by the exodus of Muslim people fleeing from the Anti-balaka who were retaliating for the attrocities committed against the people.  Many of the Muslim homes and businesses were either boarded up or completely destroyed.

     Well, part way through our trip one of the trucks quit running.  This caused us to be broken down for about an hour and a half in the middle of the bush.  We broke down in a section of road that was one lane only, no one could pass us on either side, so after awhile we had oncoming traffic waiting for us to get out of the way.  Thanks to Marcellin's mechanical skills, the truck was back up and running and lasted all the way to about 2 kilometers from our destination in Berberati.  At this point in the road, there was a large truck stuck almost tipping over into a ravine.  The truck was blocking the road, but thankfully for us, Marcellin and Patrick dug out the bank of the hill on the left side of the truck and just enough dirt moved to get our trucks by the big truck.  But just as we went to leave, the truck that had broken down earlier quit working again.  This time we could not get it running  but since we were close we just hooked up a tow rope and towed the truck to town.  So finally our journey was complete, time to rest.  Even though it was a long tough day, we are thankful to be here to help make a difference here in the CAR.

     Today, Friday, we took some time to scope out the needed projects here.  Walt began his crucial work of diagnosing the problem with the hydraulic system on the drill rig.  Please pray that he is successful as the drill rigs are what allows new water wells to be drilled.  Bruce and Rick began the project to transform the shipping container into an office.  This office will house the teams that go out and do the maintenance on the water well pumps.  So pray that by the time we leave it will be close to move in ready.  I just worked with Jim and bounced back and forth helping Walt and Bruce and Rick.  A lot of the people here remembered me from previous trips, almost all asked to see my hand.  On one of my trips in the past, I seriously injured my finger ("almost cut it off" adds Jeana). I guess it had a major impact and I know it encourages them to see me come back, especially when I bring others to help.

Thanks for your prayers

Tim

Today was our first day to work, our main goal was to sort out all of the tools that we brought with us from the United States. First of all I want to thank everyone who donated to make this possible.  I would like to thank the Wooster Lowe's for donating a bunch of tools and toolboxes that will be handed out throughout our time here. Next, I want to thank those who donated financially which allowed us to purchase tools at discounted prices from a local store owner, to be able to be used to help Africans have safe clean water. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to hand these tools out to the teams, I'm sure it will be just like Christmas morning to them.
After lunch, we went back to the Water for Good office to continue to evaluate improvements that need to be made. Next we decided to hook up the solar panels that were mounted on a stand so that the office could have solar power back up for when the electricity is not on from the city. Walt got up on the ladder to do most of the wiring, it is nice to know someone who can keep the wires straight.
Tomorrow we will leave at 5 am to begin our journey to Beberati which is where the water well drilling facility is located. This journey should take between 12 and 14 hours.  We plan on doing many repairs and maintenance to help get the rigs ready to drill more wells. Walt will do some training on hydraulic systems as well. The rest of us Will work to turn a 40 foot shipping container into an office for the maintenance teams to use.

Thank you for your prayers
Tim