I have put together a slideshow video about the hardships suffered by the Karen People.
"Courage on the Run - The Karen People of Burma", is a fictional depiction of a village being attacked by the Burma army which was pieced together with actual photos of fleeing IDP's from the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) archive. The story is based on the countless real life attacks by the Burma army which have continued for several decades. It is important to note that the photos may include Burmese ethnic minority refugees other than the Karen, for there are many other non-Burman ethnicities which are targeted for mistreatment by the Burman military dictatorship led by Senior General Than Shwe.
Courage On The Run
A glimpse into the lives of Karen villagers who must flee into the jungle with their families and whatever they can carry on their backs in order to remain free.
Courage on the Run from Garrett Morgan on Vimeo.
February 21st 2007***********************
Today is the day, I am off to Thailand. I leave LAX at 11:40 PM Wednesday, and I will arrive in Bangkok on Friday February 23rd at around 11 AM.
February 23rd
******************
Here I am.
After two uneventful flights, I arrived at BKK International airport. My son Chris met me at my terminal and we immediately left for Kanchanaburi by taxi. Upon arrival in Kanchanaburi, we met up with missionary Sharon Porterfield who took us to the K-buri House office leased by Calvary Chapel Norco. The house is much more than I had anticipated, and is in a nice neighborhood.
We hung out at the home of a friend of Sharon's, while they put the finishing touches on a video about Sharon's work with the Karen IDP's. Sharon had DSL internet installed at the house, and while it is not high speed, it is adequate for Email and basic search functions.
We went out to dinner tonight with some Karen neighbors from a few houses down the street. We had originally planned on Indian food, but as the restaurant was unexpectedly closed, we settled for Thai Food. When we got back to the house, Chris began swapping out his damaged hard drive with the replacement I had brought with me, and the began installing all of the updates. With the less than high speed connection, it was slow going. After chatting with him for a while, I finally pooped-out and called it a night.
February 24th
******************
After I awoke at my normal time and took a shower, I let Chris sleep, and sat out on the front porch reading my Bible, while Sharon was answering her emails.
Chris soon got up, and De Sunshine, a young Karen man who has been working with Sharon, made us delicious breakfast of Ramen noodles cooked with the leaves of a plant he had collected from a nearby pond which tasted a lot like spinach. After breakfast we went for a walk to get familiar with the neighborhood, and a short distance later we arrived in a nearby neighborhood which has some shops and restaurants. We went back to our Karen neighbor's house and visited for awhile, and then we all went to lunch at the Indian restaurant.
After we returned, we all worked on emails to family and friends. Later, Chris, De Sunshine and I returned to the area with the food vendors and shops, planning on finding our dinner and picking up some groceries for the house.
We had Thai food for dinner and then made our way to the market we had visited earlier, only to find that the whole street was closed down and the local Buddhists were having a dinner party in the street. We were ushered to a table, with three Thai ladies whom Chris began speaking to in Thai. We were offered food and Coke, but since we had just finished eating, we didn't have much room, but Chris did take the opportunity to practice his Thai. We stayed for about 30 minutes before giving our thanks to our hostesses and making our way back to the house.
We attempted to find the remaining items on our shopping list at every shop along the way, but we had little luck. When we got back to the house, Chris and De Sunshine borrowed a motorcycle to go and get what was needed at a larger store. When they returned, Chris and I visited for about an hour, and then I turned in for the night.
February 25th
******************
After breakfast, we went with another neighbor to Sunday services at a Thai Pentecostal church, where we were also fed lunch. They were very nice and the pastor, who's name is "Preacher", even sat behind me and translated as a guest pastor conducted the service. Preacher, who lives at the end of our street, is the husband of Yuka, the Japanese woman who gave us a ride, and as I said, they were very neighborly.
After church, we returned to the house and relaxed for a bit. In the late afternoon, we walked into town and toured around the night market area adjacent to the bus station, and then went to the Pizza Co. for dinner (three cheers for pizza and air conditioning). After we returned to the house by Tuk Tuk, we cruised the Internet and checked our emails, and then called it a night.
February 26th
******************
Today we will head out for Huaymalai.
As it turns out, PC, the Thai man who drives for Sharon will be here soon with some furniture for the K-buri house he brought from the Bible School at Pala U, and he said he is willing to drive us to Huaymalai. First though, we waited for Pastor Dale Richman and his friend Jim, who would be sharing the ride with us. We used the time to pack, and make a list of needed repairs for the landlord. Dale and Jim soon arrived, and after a quick tour of the house we loaded up and hit the road. We dropped Sharon and De Sunshine off at the bus station, and then we were off for Huaymalai.
Since we were all hungry, we stopped at Sai Yok for some BBQ chicken before continuing on to Huaymalai. We dropped Dale and Jim off at the P Guest house in Sangkhlaburi, and the drove the last leg to Paw Lu Lu's house, arriving in the late afternoon. After a nice reunion, we had dinner, visited for a while, and called it a night.
February 27th
******************
We had morning devotions with the family, and looked around the grounds a bit. Shortly after breakfast, Dale and Jim arrived and after Paw Lu Lu visited with them, we left for Three Pagodas so Paw Lu Lu could try to locate a new weaving instructor.
On the way, we stopped in Sangkhlaburi, so that I could pick up a few things and then continued on to Three Pagodas. We shopped around, had a cup of coffee, and Chris continued to impress the locals with his Thai language skills.
After we returned, Chris and I walked down to the Kwai River Christian Hospital (KRCH), so I could look into getting a prescription for anti-malaria pills. Dr Anchalee directed us to an American army doctor who took care of me, and answered Chris' questions.
After we returned to Paw Lu Lu's house, I taught English class for the kids, and then it was time for dinner. After dinner there was a worship service with the elderly folks and the kids. When that was concluded, Chris and I used the Internet for a while and looked at photos and videos at Webshots.
February 28th
******************
We worked on the TBBC report for February, and visited with Paw Lu Lu for most of the morning. In the afternoon, we went to KRCH and got my prescription filled, and then we stopped at the Blue Eyed Cat restaurant for iced coffee on the way back.
After we returned and visited for a while, Chris checked out Nan Doe's computer which was malfunctioning. I held English class for the Kids and found that they are doing very well.
Later, after we had dinner, Paw Lu Lu and I finished the report to the TBBC. Tomorrow, Paw Lu Lu will depart for Chiangmai, and Chris and I will be going a short distance over the border into Burma with Nan Doe to the village of Japanese Well, where he will translate at a Pastor's meeting for Dale and Jim. Afterwards, we will drop Chris off in Sangkhlaburi, so he can catch the van to Kanchanaburi.
March 1st
**************
Today at 4am Paw Lu Lu took off for a woman's meeting in Chiangmai, and Nan Doe, Chris and I went to Japanese Well to hear Dale and Jim speak to a group of Thai and Burmese pastors.
This was interesting since I have already met many of the group members. After we ate lunch, we headed back with Stephan and Andrea, a Swiss couple who had borrowed a songtaew.
After they dropped us off in Sangkhlaburi, I escorted Chris to the van stop, gave him a hug, and then headed back to Huaymalai with Nan Doe. When we got back I walked down to the little shop down the road to grab a cool drink and some potato chips.
After returning I downloaded some photos, and worked on these notes. In the evening I had a class with the kids, and after eating dinner took advantage of our satellite internet service to work on my blog, and check emails. While not as fast as the high speed cable at home, it is about the best I have seen in Thailand.
March 2nd
***************
We had planned on attending the Pastors meeting again in Japanese Well, but Nan Doe needed to finish some financial reports, so we cancelled out, and since I was just hanging out, I typed up a request for some recreational equipment for the Safe House and the Children's home for Nan Doe.
Nan Doe will soon be leaving to go to the nearby Ban Don Yang refugee camp for the graduation ceremony at the Bible school there, so I will be on my own for a couple of days...no problem. Nan Doe was waiting for the lawyers from the Total Gas Pipeline, to come by and take someone's deposition, but they never showed. In the meantime, he spent most of the day waiting for them.
After lunch I had my computer out and was playing some of the Thai and Burmese music videos I had downloaded, and they were very popular. In the afternoon I walked down to KRCH to pick up the rest of my anti-malaria medicine (they start you with a two-day supply just in case you have a reaction), and then stopped for a couple of iced coffees at the Blue Eyed Cat Restaurant.
There were a couple of extra kids at the class today, and they did a good job picking up the swing of things. After dinner I had my computer out again and spent almost three hours showing photos and videos to the children and adults who came by.
March 3rd
**************
Today, since there was very little going on around the house, I worked to set up my Huaymalai blog and it seemed like it was much hotter today. The two new children are trying hard to pick up the greetings I have taught the others, who are enjoying the knowledge they already have, and playfully laughing at every mistake the new kids make.
It seems that whenever I hook up the computer at night, I draw a crowd of onlookers when I start showing videos and photos. It is fun to share, but I don't get much work done. At any rate, I sent out some emails today and uploaded some photos to Webshots.
March 4th
**************
I attended church early today because they will be holding their yearly meeting to elect the church officials. I had a nice reception of hugs from the children I teach, who had gathered around me as I approached the church and then dragged me to the entrance. Paw Lu Lu's cousin Ophelia sat next to me and translated the service, which due to the meeting was only spoken in Karen today.
After church I spoke with Dr. Anchalee, and she asked me when Don and Becky would be arriving. Since they had helped with computers in the past, Lea the head nurse wanted to see if they could start a blog for KRCH describing their weekly activities. Since reading their accounts of Huaymalai after my first visit, I had contacted them and they were supposed to be coming back during my stay. I told Lea that if they did not make it to Huaymalai, that I would try to set it up for her.
After returning to the house, I worked on my blog for a while, and then read until Nan Doe returned from the camp. He had torn a muscle in his calf playing soccer, and it was badly swollen.
I took some photos of the children and the sunset, and then Paw Lu Lu, Chana, and I drove into Sangkhlaburi to visit Dr Mike, a friend of Sharon's from Germany. One of the villages inside Burma has had an outbreak of diarrhea, and Dr Mike brought medicines with him to give to the village medics. Since he was staying at the P Guest House, we also visited Dale and Jim while we were there.
March 5th
**************
It was a long hot day today.
We started out by writing an email to Phillip at TBBC to see if he can help out with the issue of needing to set up a foundation for the children's home. This came about after Paw Lu Lu was told that another children's home in Sangkhlaburi has been shut down for non-compliance.
To set up a foundation costs 200,000 Baht, and since the Safe House is under the TBBC, it should not be necessary. Of course, writing the email set back our schedule by about an hour and a half, so everyone was calling everyone else to see what was going on. We finally got *everyone together and headed out for Three Pagodas, where we would meet the medic from Mae Ka Tha.
Once we got there, we had to wait about an hour for the medic to arrive. Dr. Mike then explained the dosages to the medic, and after picking up a couple of bags of charcoal, we returned to Sangkhlaburi, and to check out the compressed earth block press machine being donated by Pastor Allen from Australia. (* everyone= myself, Nan Doe, Chana, Pastor Dale, Pastor Allen, Dr. Mike, and four neighbors we would drop off in Three Pagodas who would be traveling into Burma, and we took along some gas cans to fill for a friend of Nan Doe's on the way back)
We finally got back to the house in the late afternoon, soaked up on cool water, and ate dinner. I moved on to my English class, and then was back in my room by about 7:30.
March 6th
**************
Chana needed to go into Sangkhlaburi to get the truck worked on, so Paw Lu Lu was going with him to visit with Dr. Mike at the P Guest House. Since I had nothing else to do, I tagged along.
While they talked, I took some photos of the orchids growing there. After some time, Paw Lu Lu went to get a phone card, and I had a chance talk with Dr. Mike, who is very easy to get along with.
A friend of Paw Lu Lu's picked us up and gave us a ride back to Huaymalai, and Dr. Mike came along with us. When we got back, Nan Doe needed to send a couple of photos and a proposal out, so I photographed them, put them in my laptop, sized them and wrote the email before sending it out.
My pocket drive has come in handy a few times already. We had to resend the request for recreational equipment and used computers to Sayan, but it worked out OK because I forgot to include the request for the computers in the original.
While we were doing all of that, Paw Lu Lu, Dale, and Dr. Mike went down the road to the village of Morakakee, and held an impromptu clinic. It looks like Chris will be able to come with us to the border village of Htee Lay Par after all, which is very cool.
March 7th
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Today I walked up the hill, to get some exercise. While it was very dry up there, I was surprised to find a few types of flowers in bloom. After lunch, I went down to KRCH to begin putting together their newsletter. Lea, the head nurse took me into her office to work, but her connection was unavailable so we moved to another office. That connection worked, but was very slow. The system at the house works much better.
After showing Lea some of the features, I headed back to Paw Lu Lu's house. I stopped at the Blue Eyed Cat for some iced coffee on the way back.
Phillip from TBBC stopped by the house, and told Paw Lu Lu that he spoke to the army and they could not explain who it was that told her to form a foundation. I tinkered with the KRCH newsletter a bit, opening the Google account and whatnot. Later on, Ophelia's daughter Dao came by to use the internet, and I went to the children's home for English class. Then, after dinner there was a fellowship meeting.
March 8th
**************
After devotion this morning, Paw Lu Lu will go into Sangkhlaburi for a women's meeting, so we are just hanging around, getting ready for the trip to Htee Lay Par. Chris will be arriving from Kanchanaburi, and it seems like everything is going to work out fine.
I worked on the KRCH newsletter, and have all of the links Lea requested installed. Chris arrived and Paw Lu Lu picked him up on her way home, and after an early lunch we set out for Htee Lay Par with Paw Lu Lu, her son Chana, De Sunshine, Pastor Dale, and Can Di, the Safe House handyman.
We stopped in Sangkhlaburi for supplies, and then headed towards Three Pagodas. Shortly after turning off of the highway, the paved road ended and the dirt road began.
I will point out that when we left the Home compound (image 1.- 2.- and 3.) the truck was loaded above the sides of the bed with supplies and personal effects, and there were 3 passengers riding in the back, and four in the cab.
We found ourselves driving through a rural Thai village and soon the road degraded to the point where we had to engage the four wheel drive. This ride was by far the roughest ride I have ever enjoyed, probably around 30 miles of bad road, much of it through thick jungle.
This would not be a good place to have your vehicle break down, or to get sick. There were two forestry department checkpoints on the way, and at both of them we picked up travelers going our way, I think we ended up with eight or ten adults in the back sitting on top of the almost full truck bed we left with. And, there were five adults packed into the cab. I have no idea how they all fit in the back, or how they held on during the wild bumpy ride up and down the mountains. We climbed steep hills, and forded the river a couple of dozen times, and at several locations we drove past brush-fires burning along the road.
It was late in the afternoon when we arrived in Htee Lay Par, which is located so close to the Thai/Burma border, that we would cross back and forth over the border several times along the way. We would be staying at the home/clinic of Waymoo, who is the village medic.
After washing up in the cool clear creek flowing past his house, we ate dinner and then had a candlelight Bible study with several locals including the village leader. I had taken several low light photos, and also used my voice recorder to record the meeting.
After everyone left, we "attempted" to get some sleep.
I say attempted, because although it had been in the mid-90's during the day, after dark it dropped to the mid-40's, and the temperature, combined with the cold hard wooden floor made sleep nearly impossible. At around 3 AM, Chana got up and started a fire. I could here it popping and hissing, and soon he was joined by another man who was calling Waymoo in a loud voice and talking as if it were midday. After a while of this I decided that sleep was futile, and wrapped in my blankets, at about 4 AM, I joined them.
Soon Dale was with us, and then Chris. Sleep or not, that fire felt good and we were all enjoying it. One by one we tried to go back and get some sleep, but I don't think I slept more than an hour or so all night.
March 9th
**************
Again I awoke to the popping and hissing of the fire, and after putting 2 of my 3 blankets on Chris, I got up and returned to the fire, which had by then drawn a small crowd of villagers. After warming myself, I walked around nearby and got some photos.
When I returned Dale was up, and then Chris soon after and once again the fire was a meeting place for all of us to make ourselves comfortable. Paw Lu Lu returned from her friend's house and we had sweet rolls and coffee for breakfast. We all took a ride to the monastery school and met some of the villagers, many of whom Chris had met on his first trip here.
Dale took these photos of a woman, her children, and her family's water buffalos.
We then found ourselves at the village church, and held a service for several villagers. I took some candid shots of the group, trying to avoid being a distraction, and trying to keep myself occupied because I was getting drowsy.
There was a woman who was suffering from pain in her arms, and Dale suggested that we pray, and then lay hands on her. All the while Dale was speaking, despite my most earnest attempts I was falling asleep, that is to say that if I closed my eyes to pray, I would likely have fallen off my chair.
Then it happened that we all got up to lay our hands on the woman and pray. At that point it was as if I was fully charged with energy and was in fact fully awake the rest of the day as if I had slept soundly all night. Praise to the LORD!
After we had lunch at the house Paw Lu Lu had stayed at, we returned to Waymoo's house and had lunch again before we left. After saying our goodbyes, we piled into the truck for the wild ride back. Since I rode in the cab on the way, I missed the full effect of the road and the river and the jungle. I did not miss these things on the way back, and I have many bruises to remind me! But it was wonderful!.
It was truly awesome and made more so by sharing the experience with Chris, Dale and Chana. We took some cool videos and photos, and enjoyed the ride.
We stopped in Sangkhlaburi to pick up food supplies and got back to Huaymalai at around 5:30 PM.
After cleaning up,(a cold shower never felt better), and downing some Tylenol Extra Strength, we had dinner. Chris and I reviewed the photos, videos, and sound recordings I took, and then we all went to bed around 9 PM.
March 10th
***************
We spent the majority of this day recuperating from our journey, and traded each other's photos and videos. I also showed Paw Lu Lu the KRCH newsletter and some other stuff.
We had a Bible study in the evening and made the final preparations for the dual baptism on Sunday. Ibby, an Australian who is building a church nearby, came by to use the internet. I was glad to see him leave some baht behind when he left to help pay for the service, he's a real nice man.
March 11th
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I got up and took a cold shower, and then went outside and got some shots of the red sun coming up through the trees. The morning played out in slow motion, but quickly sped up. A medic from Htee Lay Par stopped by to visit Paw Lu Lu, and before we knew it, it was time to go to church. It seemed that they made the service longer to make up for the short services last week.
The Family even surprised me by singing my favorite Burmese worship song which I whistled to myself every day. Once the service ended we went back to Paw Lu Lu's house to get ready, and then walked down to the river by the swimming hole.
There were around thirty or forty people on hand to see Paw Lu Lu's daughter Ablay and I get baptized. It was an awesome ceremony and Dale was great!
In fact everyone was great and it was special that Chris was there. Sharon made a special trip out just to be there too.
Afterwards we went back to the church for communion, and Ablay and I were welcomed into the congregation.
It was then time for a late lunch which was delicious and too much as usual. We sat and discussed some upcoming visitors and then the power went out for an hour or so. There were a couple of teachers from the Bible School who came by to invite us to their graduation tomorrow. About the time the power came back on we ate dinner, and then had another Bible study.
March 12th
***************
We went to the Bible school graduation, while Paw Lu Lu went into Sangkhlaburi to pick up a couple of beds, and supplies for the many visitors which will arrive today.
As God would have it, I the newly baptized Christian will be giving the prayer to close the ceremony at the Bible school. Afterwards they fed us lunch and then we returned to Huaymalai. We spent the rest of the day around the house visiting and doing computer stuff, and the guests arrived while I was conducting English class with the children.
One man Steve, is a Karen, who has been allowed political asylum in the United States. He is an engineer, very pleasant and knowledgeable of the politics involved with the IDP's. There is also a Karen woman with him, Esther, who's family was the first sponsor family Sharon stayed with when she began her ministry. Steve is interested in the new Safe House, the Border hostel, and also providing medicines for the IDP's.
March 13th
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Today we went to look at the land for the new Safe House, it is quite large. We also began gathering the various proposals for review.
Paw Lu Lu, Steve, Esther, and Sharon attempted to view the Hostel site in Burma, but Esther was uncomfortable going there with Sharon. We were going to follow them in the truck, but they decided to just visit the Mon Monastery school in Three Pagodas instead, so we decided to skip the drive.
Nan Doe got a massage of his sore leg while I worked on photos and Chris worked to get Nan Doe's photos out of his phone, and also to try to recover some photos from the flash card in Sharon's camera. After Bible study, I got a massage, and talked with Chris for a while, before we finally headed to bed.
March 14th
***************
As advertised, they all left early for Bangkok, hopefully Chris will be back with the next group. I started revising all of the proposals, and conducted the first full adult class including Saw Doe from Htee Lay Par.
Afterwards, I started working on some photos to upload to Webshots showing Htee Lay Par, and our travels coming and going. I included a couple of the videos too.
I spoke on my cell phone with Chris for a bit and he was safely back in Kanchanaburi. In the late afternoon, Nelson came by and the girls upstairs made some papaya smoothies.
I then sent an email to Pastor Louie to let him know about the additional photos. I have had a bit of a sour stomach today so, after dinner, I went to bed early.
Mr. Gecko
Large geckos hanging out on the rafters above my bed would always get my attention with their bellowing "AHH-OOHHHH's", but since they eat other creepy-crawleys like centipedes and scorpions, they are highly tolerated. This one, tail included was about 15 inches long.
March 15th
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Kind of quiet around without anyone else here. Today we went to the market, and I picked up a few things and schmoozed around there.
Kanda found me a nice Karen shirt at the hospital gift shop which was my size, and I found out later it was made at the Safe House. Nan Doe is much better today...Thank God! Yesterday morning he could almost not get out of bed. In fact, Dale prayed for him and we all laid on hands, before they left.
Later, Nan Doe got some leaves, which when made into a paste get hot. He then wrapped his leg with an ace bandage. Today, he is smiling and ready for action. He began putting together the estimate for the new Safe House buildings, which are designed to house 48 patients.
A Thai group came by today with candy and sweets for the children, and some food items for the Safe House patients. Late in the afternoon, we went down to the Safe House to take some photos of the living quarters, and the vegetable gardens. Ibby was here to use the internet, and stayed for about 45 minutes or so. We all turned in early, and plan on working hard tomorrow.
March 16th
***************
We began working on a proposal for teaching nursery school teachers, and there were some more interviews of the victims of the Burma Army who were forced laborers on the Total Gas pipeline.
I used the time to process the Safe House photos I took yesterday. We didn't make any more progress on the New Safe House proposal, but I will persevere. I spoke to Chris for a while in the evening which was nice. He has three families from Pala U staying at the K-buri house on their way to Huaymalai to visit relatives in Ban Don Yang.
March 17th
***************
Nan Doe received a letter from David Leem, a Chinese missionary. He will be coming here later this month. We all stayed close to the house today getting ready for the visitors from Pala U, and Pastor Rick from Utah.
March 18th
***************
The house is almost ready for visitors.
I went to church, and on the way back, Kanda, Ablay and I stopped for some Thai noodle soup at a stand next to Thablay's parents house. The visitors arrived in the evening and after dinner we had a fellowship meeting. Afterwards, Pastor Rick and Joe were thrilled to be able to use the satellite Internet system. Pastor Rick spent almost 3 hours online.
March 19th
***************
After breakfast we had a devotion led by Pastor Rick. Then Paw Lu Lu and I went upstairs to work on a letter to Sonja, requesting help with the ID card fees. Sharon, Paw Lu Lu and Pastor Rick went to the Safe House, and later they will go to the Morakakee school.
In the afternoon, I will head to the hospital, to work on their newsletter, and to see if they have any dysentary medicine to spare for Mae Ka Tha village. After visiting KRCH, I was given a shopping bag full of expired drugs, which can still be used. I came back and copied into the newsletter, a KRCH fact page Lea gave me.
March 20th
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I feel like I am coming down with a cold. PC snored all night and I was forced for the first time to wear my ear plugs. Sharon and Pastor Rick were up early, and began working at the dinner table. They were supposed to go to Htee Lay Par early, but instead did not leave till almost 11 am.
I worked on the new Safe House proposal, and got a copy of the Border Hostel proposal. I also worked on the floorplan for the women's dormitory. A group from TBBC was at the Safe House earlier today, and continued on to the camp at Ban Don Yang. Around 3:30 it started raining and thunderstormed for almost two hours.
Kanda made Thai noodle soup, and picked me up some cheese bread in Sangkhlaburi. I think I will try to go to bed early tonight.
(I ended up staying up till about 11 pm to see if our group returning from Htee Lay Par would show up.)*note...as it turned out, they got back home from Htee Lay Par at around midnight. They left late, and had with them a woman claiming her baby was sick. So Pastor Rick and Joe gave up their seats inside and sat in the back in the rain and wind.
Then they had a flat tire, which they had to change in the dark, in the mud with only penlight flashlights.
March 21st
***************
Pastor Rick sounded as though he had caught a cold in the process, so I gave him all of my cough drops this morning as they prepared to go to Ban Don Yang. As Pastor Rick was preparing to check his Email, Sharon anounced that plans had changed, and they should get ready to leave immediately.
About an hour and a half later they were still here, and Sharon called Sayan only to find out that the truck had already left, and they would have to make other arrangements with Chana when he returned from Sangkhlaburi.
He finally returned, and after lunch they set out for the camp. I took some time to call home, and spoke with my sister Glenda for a bit before my class with the adults.
After class, I worked on the various proposals, and later I put them on Sharons computer.
March 22nd
****************
It looks as if Chris will be traveling to this area with David, an NGO worker from Chiangmai, and his group. They are supposed to travel to Htee Lay Par. But their schedule seems to slip daily.
I worked on proposals and returned an email to Pastor Louie informing him of the projects I have been working on. Ibby came over and spun his wheels trying to get on-line.
It appears that the man who is living with him, who works for the contractor who is giving him problems, was trying to delete photos showing the errors. The man may have also attempted to sabotage the computer.
I helped him restore his computer to an earlier system checkpoint, and we got it working again. I also helped him set up an account at Webshots. He was very grateful.
March 23rd
****************
Chris and David still have not made it here, Chris said they would be here in the afternoon, then in the early evening he said they would not make it here till late Saturday, or maybe Sunday. Ibby came to the house twice today to use the satellite internet, and I think he is going to end up taking a good chunk out of the cost of the system.
After dinner we took off in the truck on a little 4-wheel jaunt to pick up a woman who is going to help Paw Lu Lu with her weaving. It wasn't crazy four-wheelin' like the road to Htee Lay Par, but it was quite unusual to be driving through the jungle at night. I am fairly certain that we crossed the border into Burma, and we ended up at what seemed to be a small farm. We waited there for an hour or so, but she never arrived, so we headed back. It was an interesting evening nonetheless.
March 24th
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I spent most of this day writing, editing, and re-writing my testimony to read at church tomorrow, and selecting some verses to read. I also worked on the new Safe House proposal. Chris is still in Htee Lay Par, so I will hope to see him by tommorrow. I printed out two copies of what I wrote, one for myself and one for Kanda, who will translate for me.
March 25th
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When got up, I had a text message from Chris saying they were in Sangkhlaburi, and that they would be here in time for church. They arrived at about 9:50 AM. David , who is a pastor, knowing I was nervous about speaking in front of the congregation, jumped out of the truck and said a prayer on my behalf.
We went to church and everything seemed to go well. Nan Doe was the chairperson, Ophelia was the vice chairperson, and Kanda translated for me.
After lunch we hung around and later checked Emails.
Pu Aye Kyaw was not feeling well so we took him to the hospital. Afterwards we took the children to the river at Ban Mai to go swimming.
After dinner we visited and there was a fellowship for the children. We visited some more, looked at photos and called it a night.
March 26th
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Happy Birthday Chris!
After breakfast I went over the Safe House proposal with Paw Lu Lu, and we made some major changes. I worked on it for a while and decided to go ahead and make a facilities only version. Paw Lu Lu went into Sangkhlaburi for supplies.
Joanna from Candlelight foundation came over and joined us for lunch, and took photos for the young man going up to McKain home in Chiangmai. Chris fielded Happy Birthday calls from the states all day.
Joanna then asked Paw Lu Lu to join her to talk to Didi about giving a child back to it's mother who had abandoned it, so Paw Lu Lu went back to S-buri again.
Chris and I conducted computer classes for the staff. The ladies here all worked together to make Janza Hinga (a Burmese dish) for the birthday boy's dinner. We then had a fellowship in his honor.
March 27th
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Today Paw Lu Lu and I worked on the proposals, and I broke them into Land and Facility versions. After a final check for content with Paw Lu Lu, Chris went through them and rearranged a few things to tidy them up.
I also worked on an email to Pastor Louie, and an email to Saw Steve. We went to see Ibby's place and looked at the trees he is cutting down to see if any might be transplanted to the Safe House.
They are mostly Pomello and Mango trees. Paw Lu Lu also noted many plants on the property which can be used for natural dyes. We held another basic computer class for the staff today. I sent to Saw Steve, Paw Lu Lu's biography, and a link to the Safe House photos at Webshots.
March 28th
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Sharon will be arriving today with a couple of men from the states. One of them, Dr.Doug, is a child psychologist in Morro Bay, California. His companion Mark, is a computer engineer, who is part of a Christian ministry called His Healing Hands. They provide donated medicines, and medical teams which hold field clinics for needy people in remote locations, and locations stricken by natural disasters.
I worked on the Safe House proposals, and taught a computer class with Thablay. In the afternoon, Waymoo showed up, and it was a reminder that I needed to begin looking at the clinic proposals. So after I found the second one, I began asking Paw Lu Lu questions she could not answer, so she called Waymoo to come back over.
It turned out to be a blessing, because we totally revised the medicines for both clinics. I also made a separate list of the medicines, so we could get updated pricing.
Sharon and her friends showed up around six o-clock, and we had a delicious dinner of Khow Soi which Kanda prepared for Chris. After talking for a while, Mark was overjoyed to use the Internet system, and we all hung out for a bit.
March 29th
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We were to visit Htee Lay Par today, but we found out that God had other plans for us. We loaded up the truck, went into Sangkhlaburi and picked up Waymoo (the Htee Lay Par medic) and a bunch of supplies, and thought we were good to go.
However, about 15 minutes past the first forestry dept checkpoint, after fording the river, we had a blowout.
After changing the tire, we headed back to Sangkhlaburi to see if they had a tire....they didn't.
(Mark, after seeing the portion of the road he was able to see before the blowout, decided to buy new tires for the truck..a small miracle which came from the blowout)
So instead, we went back to the house, and took Doug and Mark to see the Safe House. They both were moved by the patients and their stories, and they both bought lots of handicrafts. Afterwards, we took the children, and went down to the Sankalia River to swim.
Mark went to set his camera down and it fell into the river. (he yanked it out of the water and dried it off, the next day it worked fine....another small miracle that came after the blowout)
Everyone had a good time and I began to notice the rain clouds gathering. We stopped for iced coffee on the way back, and it was decided to stop by KRCH to introduce the guys, and to talk to them about some meds that Mark had stuck in customs in Chiang Mai.
It was an important visit, with Doug even deciding he wants to come back to work at the hospital. While we were there, it began to rain.....if we had gone to Htee Lay Par, we would have had a rough, wet trip coming back (making the flat tire a small miracle).
As it turned out, after the hospital, we visited the proposed land, and Doug and Mark got to see it first hand and were impressed. We returned to the house and I checked my emails to find that Saw Steve had forwarded the proposal to Rich at World Aid.
As it turns out, Mark, Doug, Chris, Sharon, and I have many aquaintances in common....very weird! After a fellowship meeting, I went to work to send out the buildings proposal to Steve and Rich, give all of the proposals to Mark, and update the Safe House photos for Sharon.
Then with an early departure in the morning, everyone went to bed. I stayed up and sized and uploaded photos to Webshots, and prepared some photos to give Mark. I finally turned in around 11:45.
March 30th
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I woke up early, and put together some more photos and videos for Mark. When everyone was up, we transferred the photos, had coffee and breakfast, and then it was time for them to leave.
I worked on an Email describing our recent adventures to Pastor Louie, and found that Rich at World Aid had sent me a receipt for the facilities proposal. He asked if I was the one who had left a comment at their church blog, and told me they needed more photos for a presentation they would be putting together to seek funding from a group of local churches.
I worked on the ID card proposal for Gladiola a bit, and late in the afternoon, we went to her house for a birthday party and fellowship meeting. They had Indian food, and Coca Cola....with ice! When I came back Majah showed up and gave me a massage.
March 31st
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We stayed mostly around the house today, working on emails and proposals. I bought another shirt today made with the natural dye I watched them make last week.
Later, I tried to take a nap, but it was too hot. Ibby came over and I tried to get him up to speed on the Burma situation. Later on we stopped at his place and Nan Doe looked at the trees.
It rained hard for a while and the power was off for a few hours. I did manage to get the photos uploaded to Yousendit, and sent detailed instructions to Rich at World Aid how to download them.
Just before dinner the power was back on and we worked some more, before turning in.
April 1st
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After reading the Bible with the family this morning, I checked my Emails and Rich at World Aid confirmed that he was able to get into the photos, and that they had had a meeting with one of their pastors about the projects.
After church, Nelson, Andrea and Stephan brought an Austrian singing group "the Regez Sisters" to the Safe House and also to the Home compound to sing. They were very good, and real nice people.
I took a ton of photos and videos and will put them up at Webshots. The singing group started off at the Safe House.
Andrea and Stephan are a Swiss couple who are learning Burmese in order to evangelize among the Burmese, and Nelson is an evangelist from Burma.
The patients at the Safe House were awestruck by the Regez Sister's performance.
They were all very nice to both the children and the elderly, and it was easy to tell that not only do they get a lot of practice, they enjoy what they do.
April 2nd
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Well, we did not go for the trees today. And even worse, Ibby was depressed because of some personl problems back home. I felt terrible because he is such a nice guy!
I worked on uploading the photos and videos of the Regez Sisters, and worked on the proposals for the clinics all day. I am tired!
April 3rd
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It was a bit cold last night. This morning after breakfast, I started putting together the Mae Ka Tha clinic proposal. I copied the medicine list from an excel spreadsheet they had put together, and cobbled the rest from information I gathered from Harry Moo.
It was a hot day and I felt a bit of fatigue setting in. Nonetheless, I am going to persevere on getting the proposals together. I worked on proposals all day, until in the evening Mark and his son Christian arrived. We all went to the church to see the Regez sisters perform again, and Stephan, the evangelist from Switzerland, spoke about Jesus curing the leper.
April 4th
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We traveled to Htee Lay Par clinic today with Mark and his son Christian, to deliver the supplies we had been forced to leave in Ban Sanephong when we had the flat tire on our last attempt.
The local kids feasted on the cookies which were part of the supplies we had brought.
When we got to the clinic, we even had time to take a refreshing swim in the cool clear creek which runs behind the clinic.
Things went smoothly until a thunderstorm hit just as we were about to leave. I was glad I brought my poncho! If you put aside the inherant danger of driving on mountainous jungle roads (read dry stream beds), made slippery and muddy by the rain, it was a lot of fun.
Mark even had a chance to engage in his hobby of collecting butterflies in a target rich environment. As usual, there were travelers riding with us on the trip back to Sangkhlaburi. There was a woman with a baby who rode inside the cab, and five more in the back which made it a total of ten people in the back of that shortbed, and five more inside.
There was a truckload of men traveling ahead of us, and they took care of a couple of trees which had fallen across the road with their machetes.
April 5th, 6th, and 7th
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Medicine proposals, emails to World Aid and TBBC and a new plan with the Borderline Karen Development Committee to loan tuition fees to local college students with good grades.
At a meeting on the 7th, I was made an honorary member of the committee. In the evening, Chris arrived from K-buri, and Pu Curtiss arrived from Pala U.
Also on the 7th, we took the kids down to a small opening party at a local childrens home run by an American.
He was a nice man, who seemed to be a carry-over from a 1960's commune environment. They had a Buddhist monk there to entertain the children by teaching them how to draw. The children here are fast to learn and soon they were following right along, and having fun while doing so.
We were a bit curious and concerned as to what type of spiritual upbringing the children at this home were receiving. There are several children's homes in the area which have a sort of "New Age" philosophy.
The architecture seemed to be a cross between Thai style and Santa Fe New Mexico.
I thought it was a bit grandiose considering the rural setting and the poverty which is suffered by many of the local residents.
April 8th
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Easter Sunday in Huaymalai.
After church we had some Thai noodle soup, and then in the afternoon Chris and Pu Curtiss had a fellowship meeting for the children, the elderly, and the patients from the Safe House.
There was a half hour long thunderstorm which helped cool things off a bit. After dinner, Chris and Curtiss drove to Sangkhlaburi, while I worked on some photos. We also sent an email with the new Safe House proposals to Sally at TBBC. Then Nan Doe, Paw Lu Lu and I started working on an email to Rich at World Aid.
Once they got back, I asked Chris to go over the email and correct it for me. He was almost done when the power went out.
After almost two hours it came back on, just as we turned in for the night.
April 9th and 10th
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I finally got the Email out to World Aid on the 9th, and spent most of the 9th and the 10th working on the medicine proposals. On the 9th, we took the children into Sangkhlaburi to get their traveling papers to go on a field trip to Kanchanaburi.
On the tenth we found out that their ID cards don't permit them to travel there....such is the life of externally displaced refugee children.
In the afternoon Chris and Chana took them to Ban Mai to go swimming.
April 11th
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Another day working on the medicine proposals. I decided to write an email to Steve, to see if he can get us the medicine prices. Other than that I watched Chris and Curtiss work on Nan Doe's computer, which would not work.
In the afternoon, we all watched the Sound of Music.
April 12th.
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Chris and I went to the market to get 3 in 1 (instant coffee) and jaggery, then we all just hung out with Faa and Htoo Gay, until we went to the village at the forestry station to inquire about transporting the tractor.
We will go to Htee Lay Par tommorrow. The children had a Bible recital, and K'paw Se took first place, while Mareesa took third. They all did great!
April 13th
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We loaded up the tractor and headed for Htee Lay Par today.
By the time we stopped for gas at the Three Pagodas turnoff it was 10:30 AM.
After the first stretch of hilly, bumpy dirt road leading to the village of Ban Sanephong, it became obvious that the various parts of the heavy tractor would need to be re-secured, prior to reaching the mountainous and really bumpy road we would encounter past the village.
Chris and I sat inside and as usual we picked up extra passengers on the way. This time it was a young Karen woman and her two children.
We insisted that they ride inside the cab with us and Paw Lu Lu's daughter Ablay, and while the mother and her baby did so, Christopher's offer of his inside seat was refused by the older daughter who said she wanted to ride in the back.
About 30 minutes past the second forestry station, at one of the steepest climbs, it began to rain, along with thunder and lightning. It was an E ticket ride for sure. The thick jungle and heavy cloud cover made it dark enough to need headlights at 2:00 pm. We made it there without mishap, spent about a half hour there while the tractor was unloaded, and then we left to return.
Htoo Gay did take advantage of a quick photo-op with some of the kids who came by to see what the commotion was all about.
The rain continued much lighter for about an hour after we left, and then stopped. The jungle is quite beautiful and fragrant after the rain.
However, it was a sporty ride back on the muddy jungle road, and fording the river after dark was fun too. We got back to Huaymalai at about 9:30 pm.
April 14th
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I spent most of Saturday working on the clinic proposals. I had a nice long-distance conversation with my older son Mike in the morning. It was a beautiful clear morning with thunderclouds on the horizon, so I climbed the hill and took some photos.
The clouds quickly overtook the sky, and it became apparent that it would be raining soon. Chris, Paw Lu Lu and Htoo Gay, had gone to a couple of fellowship meetings, and Kanda arrived from K-buri.
In the afternoon, we went to a memorial service at Ophelia's house, and then had dinner.
April 15th
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I spent most of the day working on the clinic proposals. Chris began the difficult task of converting them to spreadsheets and PDF's. It was very warm, and we had to stick a block of wood under his laptop to allow for some ventilation.
I can't believe Pownatee was wearing a jacket!
April 16th
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More clinic revisions, and still waiting for pricing from the pharmacy in Sangkhlaburi. We made a run into Three Pagodas to pick up some of the sesame seed oil Paw Lu Lu had pressed there.
April 17th
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Since the children's school vacation was soon going to end, and they had all done so well at the Bible recital competition, Paw Lu Lu wanted them to get out and have some fun.
So with the help of Sammy from VisionTrust, we took the kids to the Kroengkrawia waterfalls near Thong Pah Phum. They really seemed to enjoy playing in the emerald green water, and Chris had a lot of fun too.
We also hiked around on the trails through the lush vegetation, and enjoyed some beautiful views of the many falls and hidden grottos.
We had a very delicious picnic of goodies that Julia, and Toe Lwee Wa made, and they also picked up some Thai Style BB-Q chicken from one of the vendors across the road from the falls.
I began to realize that I was soon going to miss these kids a lot. They are very bright, and usually try their best to pay attention in class, and do a great job of helping each other to learn.
And just like when I left in December, I noticed that many of them are staying close, knowing our time together is short. Groan......I hate this part.....it is the most costly part of coming here.
On the way back, we stopped at a small lakeside resort to check out the guesthouses for future reference. We were the only ones there, and it was a beautiful parklike location with exotic trees and orchids, and large grassy areas for the kids to run around and play on.
We enjoyed some cold drinks, and then it was decided we would finish out the days activities by taking the kids to the river at Ban San Kalia. It was a day of fun, and we all had a good time.
In the evening we worked on the clinics.
April 18th
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Clinics, clinics, clinics.
Running out of time!
April 19th
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For the most part the clinics are finished. All that is left is for Chris to complete converting the Excel speadsheets, and the PDF's. We have stayed mostly around the home compound, and there has been more thunderstorms each afternoon.
April 20th
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Well, the clinic proposals are all buttoned up.
We put all of the finishing touches on them and zipped them up for their journeys. I had my last English class with the children, and did well until the last moment when I lost my composure a bit.
One of the children used her new found English skills to ask me, "Teacher cry?". I said "Yes, teacher cry" and she gave me a hug.
After a nice going away dinner of "Gary Food", Nan Doe had prepared a going away fellowship message for me. There had been thunderstorms all afternoon into the evening and it was an awesome evening with constant flashes of heat lightning, minus the thunder. Just as Nan Doe began to speak the electricity went out, and without even pausing 10 seconds he lit candles which he had sitting right next to him as if he expected the power outage.
I thought Satan 1, Nan Doe 1. Then, eerily a strong breeze blew through the open windows, extinguishing some of the candles. Satan 2, Nan Doe 1. Within another 10 seconds Nan Doe had a flashlight lit, tying up the score at 2 points all.
Apparently Satan gave up trying, and Nan Doe continued without further interuptions. Afterwards, I was presented some beautiful Karen shirts by Nan Doe and Paw Lu Lu, and also Toe Lwee Wah.
Chris and I spent the rest of the evening packing, and turned in around 11pm.
April 21st
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Well this is it.
After breakfast, we packed our stuff in the truck, hugged the children goodbye, and headed out for the Sangkhlaburi bus station. It was a bit of a relief to have the children not come with us this time.
Knowing I have used up my savings account, I am quite unsure how long it will be before I am able to return, and I would have had a difficult time saying goodbye over and over while waiting for the bus.
The family came though, and as we made it in time for the early bus, we soon found ourselves saying Goodbye.....
Chris and I passed the long ride to Kanchanaburi discussing possible goals for his church to pursue in the future, and the trip passed quickly. Soon we were back in Kanchanaburi riding a Tuk Tuk back to the K-buri house where this stay began back in February.
PC, would meet us later, spend the night, and then give us a ride to the airport in Bangkok. We dropped off the luggage, and then rode back into town in the same Tuk Tuk, to get a snack, and do a bit of shopping.
After some great pizza, we met up with PC, goofed around a bit and headed back to the house.
Later that evening we had dinner at one of the floating restaurants on the river below the Kwai River bridge. It was a beautiful night, with a gentle breeze down the river, and the food was awesome. After taking a few photos we called it a night, since we would leave at 5:30am for Bangkok.
April 22nd
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5:30am came very quickly, and it was a long ride back to Bangkok. It had been a good trip though. I had seen a lot, learned a lot, and had done a lot of work which will hopefully benefit a lot of people.
In addition, there had been many visitors during my stay and I had worked hard to educate them, entertain them, and record their adventures in photos and short videos.
And, I had met some great people who truly care about the needy. I got to spend a lot of time with Sharon on this trip, as she came and went with various visitors. She is the sparkplug of the efforts to aid the Karen refugees!
And last, but certainly not least, I had gotten to spend some very wonderful times with my son Chris. As we rode into Bangkok, one of my only regrets was not spending any time in Bangkok at all, and missing out on the street foods near Chris' school, and especially the Raht-Naa restaurant nearby.
We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, and then went into standby mode at one of the coffee shops. I had about an hour before I could even check-in. The plan was that PC would hang out with us till I was off, and then give Chris a ride to his school to pick up a few things in storage there, then drop Chris off at the train station.
Chris planned on taking the night train to Chiangmai, and it was looking like he would have to wait several hours to do so once he got to the station. At about 10:30am, I went to check-in for my flight to Taipei, only to find that the Taipei to LAX portion of the flight was overbooked.
They said that if I would wait till 7:45 this evening, they would put me on a non-stop flight with another airline. Not only that, but they would give me a hotel room for the day, and, my flight would be Business class. While we were discussing all of this, Chris called his brother, who was my ride, to see if he could work around the different arrival time.
He said he could, and that it was an awesome change of plans because he had a very busy day at work he would have lost out on with the original schedule, therefore he was very happy because he needed the money!
So, I took them up on the business class non-stop flight, the only problem was the wait for the flight. To make a long story short, I gave Chris the difference between his train fare and the air fare to Chiang Mai, and his flight left at almost the same time as mine, so we now had all day to hang out.
We asked PC how much it would be to take us to Chris's school, to pick up what he needed from storage, so PC was able to make a little more money that day, AND, we even had plenty of time to walk over to the Raht-Naa restaurant for lunch!
What a crazy day it turned out to be. By the time we got back to the airport, we still had plenty of time to visit. Finally, we said our goodbyes and headed for our respective terminals.
My Business class seat came with admission to the airline club, so I was able to have a snack, a couple of cold drinks, and check my emails preflight. It came time to load up, and I was amazed at the luxury of the seating. Plus, the seat next to me was unoccupied....nice.
Gourmet food, soup to nuts, drinks included, very ,very nice.
Not to mention an electronically operated seat which laid out full length without coming close to another seat, complete with roller massage.
This was the first trans-oceanic flight I was able to sleep on.
I checked the price of the flght online when I got home and at $3000 plus- 1 way, you can be sure I will look forward to my airline overbooking my flights anytime they wish in the future! With the business class seat also comes priority baggage handling, so I was out of the terminal quickly on arrival, and my son Mike was there waiting.
It was a great trip!
