Nana Orphanage

At the very northern edge of Thailand is a city called Mae Sai. Just outside of Mae Sai is Nana orphanage, which works with orphans from Burma (Myanmar) who really have no other options. These are either true orphans or abandoned children. Nana currently houses over a hundred kids. It is not operated by Immanuel church, but we are their primary financial supporter. This week, the team visited to check up on how things are going and to deliver a gift of 50,000 baht to allow them to stock their fish pond with a sustainable population of fish that will help with feeding the kids.

This is the main administration building.

The staff living quarters. Not kidding.

The new library, just opened. It actually has a solar cell that will provide the room with two hours of electricity a day.

Me with some of the kids. This site is not equipped for infants, and only takes in kids three or four years old and up. The public schools will not provide free education for the children, because they are Burmese, not Thai, so the orphanage has to pay tuition for every kid. It's not that much, but with a hundred kids, it adds up fast.

One of the dorms. The blue stuff is mosquito netting. This part of Thailand is home to malaria, which is transmitted by mosquito, and the netting helps protect the kids while they sleep.

The boy sitting on his bunk is new at Nana. He was found a few weeks ago, abandoned in the jungles between Burma and Thailand. He can not speak in a known language. He does not know Burmese or Thai or any of the dialects from the area. He has a few words he appears to have made up on his own for common things. It's not like he was raised by wolves, but he has had NO education or love shown to him. He is still uncomfortable around others, so he prefers to sit on his bunk, rather than play. Here, he is looking at pictures in a children's book.

Whan you order chicken fingers in Thailand...

Be prepared to eat the real thing!

I actually forgot to take photos today at Jarurat. Today, it was Ah Jan Vee, Tony and me. We sang and I talked about Jesus walking on the water and we had a coloring book page with that illustration. The day went well.

We were late taking off for Soi 107, and by the time we got there, some of the kids had already gone. The team there had the kids painting small clay figures. This was their last day of arts and crafts.

Next Sunday, the slum team is having an all day retreat to spend time together praying and planning for the upcoming months and the direction of the slum ministry. It will be exciting to see where the team senses we are being led and what changes we may see in our work with the kids.

Monday morning, I start four days of vacation and head off with a team from church to assist with revival services in a hill tribes church in Chiang Mai, far to the north. I have no idea what other things we'll be doing, but check in next weekend, as I am sure I will have plenty of photos to share.

Back to Ja Rurat and Soi 107

After being gone last weekend, it was good to be back with the team in the slums this week. At Ja Rurat, two young ladies, Nok and Noom, accompanied Vee and me. They brought an activity with them... making angles using Popsicle sticks and paper doilies (I have no clue where they got them.) So, we sang a few simple choruses and I talked to the children ("dek dek") about the angle appearing to Mary and telling her that God had chosen her to be Jesus' mother. Then, we went right in to making angels.

Some did a really nice job!
One prayer request is that the kids coming to Ja Rurat keep getting younger and younger. I believe this is because it has mostly been just Vee and me, so we can not do what we do at Soi 107 and divide them into age groups. We have to keep things very simple for the little ones, and I think the older kids me be getting bored and quit coming. We just need wisdom in how to attract and keep the older kids and we need more folks from church to join us so we can build a full team for Ja Rurat like we have at Soi 107.

Just at the edge of the commons area where we meet, there is always a group of adults who live nearby.

At Soi 107, the turnout is still quite good. Many of the kids had left by the time I took this. I expect there were close to forty there yesterday. We really need to expand the area we meet in to make room for all the kids.
At Soi 107, we normally teach English, but schools are on break right now, so we are doing the same and instead of teaching English, we are doing a few weeks of arts and crafts. This week, the kids got small canvas book bags and were able to decorate them with fabric paints. They had a great time.
I was talking with a friend earlier this week. I said, "You know, I've got a really good life."

He replied "Ya think!?"

I am so incredibly grateful every day for this wonderful adventure!

Khao Lak - Final Images

Rows of new houses built by relief groups for the people of Khao Lak. These are much smaller than they appear here, and the bottom level is mainly storage, keeping the living quarters well above ground level. It is interesting to go through town and see little housing additions like this, each with one after another of the same exact style, depending on what group built them. These are among the best. Many are not much more than concrete cubes, but they are sturdy and great houses by the standards of small Thai towns.

Aa-jan Vee and me standing before 'green water,' that Discovery Channel kind of beautiful greenish ocean water, near Khao Lak. (Aa-jan is the Thai word used for master teacher or pastor.)
Khao Lak is sandwiched between the ocean to the west and the mountains jut behind it to the east. The mountains are regularly shrouded in mist like this.
Looking back at Khao Lak.
Aa-jan Vee looking out to the horizon, I am sure thinking the same thing everyone does in moments like that... "What must it have been like to see the wave coming?"

Khao lak - Fishing Village

There's no doubt that the major industries in Khao Lak are tourism and fishing. The tsunami had big impacts on both. After the disaster, relief agencies and church organizations rushed in. People were asked what they needed. Most men replied they needed a fishing boat because fishing was the best job available. So many men in the community were given new boats. This immediately led to overfishing the waters in the area and now all fishermen are struggling with the lack of fish and with the high price of gas.

Below, women cleaning the day's catch from local fishing crews.

Racks of small fish fillets, drying in the sun. Dried fish is a very important food source in this region. I had dried cuttlefish (squid) for breakfast one morning. It was a lot like chewing leather with a distinctively fishy taste. I recommend sticking to Cheerios.

Larger fishing boats lined up to unload the day's catch.
This crew is re-filling the hold of their boat with ice to keep their next catch fresh. Notice how young the two boys in the middle are. It's hard to see this, but just below the ice shavings, that is ONE fish. It is a monster, wrapped all around the huge cooler. The tail starts in the lower left and it wraps around with the head near the tail. This one fish is worth several thousand baht.

Khao Lak Teachers

At most of the schools we visited, we were also able to have some time to speak directly with the teachers. At each of these stops, Vee asked me to share my testimony with them, with David Johnson translating. Vee then used my testimony to challenge them with the gospel.

Below: the staff at the first school we visited.


Sharing my testimony.
Sharing at another school. At this one, one of the teachers talked at length afterward about how she is 'almost' ready to become a Christian, but that she is praying for some kind of miracle before she can take that step. Vee explained that giving your life to Christ IS a miracle.
The team poses with the staff of one of the schools we visited. They were such wonderful people and welcomed us with open arms and hearts.

The Khao Lak Kids

Much of the week in Khao Lak revolved around kids. We went to several schools and presented small assemblies, in which the team led the kids in Christian songs and games. Part of this was aimed at the kids and part at the teachers (as you'll see in the next post.) The team members were really gifted at getting the kids involved and having fun. Of course, getting any attention from outsiders is a big deal to them all, so they loved it.


The kids below are at a school operated by a Christian organization for Burmese children (from Myanmar). There is a lot of anti-Burmese prejudice in Thailand. Until this year, Burmese children were not allowed to attend public schools in and around Khao Lak. The tough thing is realizing that kids are just kids. They don't deserve this kind of treatment. This school educates about sixty kids. Eight of them left this year to try the public schools, but six returned in two weeks because of the bad treatment they got. They genuinely enjoyed the assembly and the change of pace from their regular routine. These kids were just wonderful.

At most stops, I talked about where I am from and explain that while they are in school, kids from my home town are in bed, asleep, but the same God who loves the kids in Kansas City loves them, too. When I explain my nick name is Big C, they always laugh and clap.

Vee speaking to one of the groups.

This little one marched right up to me while Vee was speaking and plopped down in my lap like she was home.

Working with Khao Lak churches

There are a large number of very small churches in Khao Lak, most just barely getting by with ten or twenty members. I got the chance to meet several of the pastors and our team spent time with them, encouraging them and praying for them.

This is Pak Ping Christian Center. The church is beautiful. It was designed by a member at Immanuel and built with financial help form Immanuel. About forty people are members here. The church also operates a school through third grade.

Most churches are in little storefront locations like this one. Twenty people would fill the place to overflowing.
Zion Christian Church was our headquarters for the trip. We spent the evenings here. Immanuel provides most of the financial support for this church, too.
Pastor Pet, the pastor of Zion Christian church, and our host and guide for the week. The majority of pastors in Khao Lak are women. Pastor Pet is a remarkable lady. She works so hard and is a real women of faith.
Having supper with a small group at ITV, a community near Khao Lak. A sweet and special moment, sharing a meal with a group of believers in this tiny area. The American sitting opposite me is a man named Dave, a full time missionary with Pioneers, who works in the community.

Rolling up our sleeves and working

Wednesday, we spent part of the day helping put posts in place to support the roof of an expansion to the home of a local church member. It's the kind of thing I really enjoy doing and hope to get a chance to do more of.

More on the tsunami

I spoke with this man, Promoth, while I was in Khao Lak. He told me that he is a fisherman, but was not out on the water when the tsunami came (actually, most those who WERE on the water were able to ride it out OK). He was near the sea shore and saw the water rushing out and then the wave approaching. He ran as far as he could and then climbed a tree and wrapped his arms around the branches. He said the water tried to pull him away, but he managed to hold on until it went back down. His two children fled to higher ground and were safe, but communication was cut off, so for two days he thought they were dead.

These two boats ended up something over a half mile inland and are maintained there as a sort of memorial. The first is nicknamed the 'demon boat,' because as it was swept in, it crashed into several small buildings and destroyed them, and it crushed several people. The locals claim this boat killed nearly a hundred people on its way to its final resting place.

Khao Lak

Whew! What a week! Over the next several days, I will be posting entries about my trip this week to Khao Lak, a small beach town about a ten hour drive south of Bangkok. I went with my buddy, Vee, and a team from Immanuel Baptist Church to encourage and work with several small churches in the area.

I knew before going to Khao Lak, I had been aware that they had experienced a lot of damage from the tsunami of 2004, but I had not known it was one of the hardest hit of all areas. The entire region had been devastated. Each day, the enormity of what had happened sank in more and more.

At first glance, Khao Lak looks little different from most other small towns in Thailand. Then, you notice that almost everything there is new, or nearly new. In the year following the tsunami, this area was swarming with relief agencies and church groups and the entire town was rebuilt... from new businesses to new homes. Since then, though, most of the outside help has left, so you don't see much of that kind of activity any more.

For most of us, the tsunami was a tragedy that was too far away to fully grasp. I know I was that way. To give you a clearer idea of what happened, let me explain it the way several people there told me about it this week.


On the morning of December 26, 2004, an earthquake struck well off the coast of northwestern Indonesia. From that spot, it is a clean shot across the Andaman Sea to Khao Lak. An hour later came the first indication that something unusual was going on at Khao Lak. There were no warnings or advance notice, but people along the sea shore and fisherman on the water noticed that the sea suddenly began to rapidly recede. It was like the tide was going out, but much faster and the water pulled back much, much farther than it ever would at low tide. No one had any idea what this meant. Most just stood in amazement and watched. After just ten minutes, the water stopped pulling back and things stood still for just a moment. In the distance, a line formed across the horizon and came racing toward the shore.

(Looking out to sea from the beach at Khao Lak)

One thing that surprised me was that the wave was not as tall as I had envisioned. At its highest, it was 'only' about thirteen feet, high, not the towering fifty foot wall of water from the movies. But it had the power of the Indian Ocean behind it, and nothing could stand in its way. At the time, Khao Lak was a thriving tourist area, famed for its beautiful beaches and great diving adventures. Other beach resort towns like Phuket had concrete high rise hotels that could withstand the surge, but Khao Lak had a more rustic reputation, and it's hotels were mostly sets of small bungalows along the beach. In addition, the town, itself, sits nestled on a very low lying area between the ocean and the nearby mountains behind it.

Some were far enough from the ocean to flee when they heard the shouts and screams as the wave approached. Others were able to climb trees or other tall objects. One man, as he was being swept away, reached out and grabbed his son with one hand and with the other grabbed the side of a boat being driven past him and managed to cling to it long enough to save himself and his son.

In the end, some 4,100 people died in the Khao Lak area alone, with another 5,500 injured. Virtually everyone there today lost a child, a spouse, or a parent. It is pretty mind boggling.

The Tsunami memorial. Each of the squares holds a name plate of a victim. The wall represents the wave, and is about the height of the actual wave.

Among the victims were many children, whose families left photos to keep their memories alive.

Street Scenes Again

Yep, that chicken is real. Left with other goodies at the spirit house in front of the Fenix Building where I work. Apparently, someone was seriously seeking help from the spirits.



Bananas are very common here, but a good deal smaller than you usually see in US stores. There are lots of vendors grilling bananas along the streets. They slide them off the skewers into a clear plastic bag and drizzle them with a dark syrup. Gooey sweetness.

My friend, the fruit vendor near where I work. I buy fresh pineapple from him almost every day after lunch. A half pineapple, chopped into bite sized chunks is ten bahts, or about thirty cents. Here, he is slicing up a guava.