Projects Completed

I've finally made it to a place that has high speed internet.  (All internet connections are not created equally...especially if there are photos to upload.)

We finished both projects yesterday afternoon.  At the school, the children put on a little play in appreciation for the work on the new school kitchen.  Here are some Before and After shots of the project.

School Kitchen - BEFORE

School Kitchen - AFTER

The School kitchen project involved two separate roof lines, a 220 volt electrical line running through it, vent blocks, concrete blocks, new water lines, new drain lines, a new sink and new concrete counter tops.

The kids and their teachers came by constantly to thank the team for all the work that was accomplished.

In addition to the work on the kitchen, the team provided some tables for the library, and the school agreed to receive and stock books in Thai and English, including Bible stories.

School administrators hope to add grades 7-9 in the next year.  Most of the kids going to this school are hill tribes kids, and when they leave this school for middle and high school in the nearby community, they frequently get involved in gangs and drugs (the boys), and prostitution (the girls).  The parents would love it if the school was able to add those grades so their kids could stay closer to the village and make it easier for them to keep them away from the bad influences.

The Village project started as a slab and a completely new building was constructed out of concrete blocks.  No one but Dennis had any prior experience laying concrete blocks, and Dennis' experience was 40 years ago.

This project involved regular concrete block, vent blocks, concrete counter tops, a concrete sink, new doors and windows, and a new roof.  Here are some Before and After shots of the community kitchen in the village.

Village Project - BEFORE

Village Project - AFTER

At noon, both teams gathered at the school for the program put on by the kids.  Many of the kids were in their traditional dress, and after they fed us some very colorful, but tasty food, the kids put on their performance.  

After the kids performed through singing and dance, the school administrator thanked the team for coming.  Several of us were asked to speak, and through our fantastic interpreter, Bay, we thanked them for the opportunity to come and work in the school and for hosting us for the past one and one half weeks.

After that, the teams then returned to work to finish up all the last-minute details.

By mid-afternoon, the school project was completed and that team traveled up the bumpy dirt road to the village to join the other team, who was finishing up their project.

Some village elders and a number of women came to thank everyone for their work.  In a very special gesture, all 11 men were presented with hand-made items that the women had been crafting.  Not only had these same women prepared lunch every day for the team, they'd been weaving scarves and bags and other items to take home.  That meant the world to the guys here.

There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony with one of the elders cutting a blue ribbon that had been draped across the entrance to the new building.  

If you click on the photo and have a way of zooming in on the blue ribbon, do so.

After the ribbon-cutting and after we received our handmade gifts, we picked up our tools and drove to our friend's house where we enjoyed a cold glass of iced tea and a cold wash rag to clean the concrete and dust off.

We dropped off some tools, loaded up our friend's truck with all of our luggage, and departed in the vans for Chiang Mai.

We were grateful that God allowed us to finish both projects.  It has not rained a drop since we have been here, which is a little unusual for this part of the world and this time of year.  We had just the right number of men to get the projects finished in the right amount of time.

While the people at the school and the people in the village may feel like they were blessed with one refurbished building and one new one, it was the 11 of us that were truly blessed.

We made it to Chiang Mai safely and had dinner at a Western favorite, Duke's on the Night Market street, a block from our hotel.  After a stop at Starbucks for some mango cheesecake, it was back to the hotel for some sleep.

The battery on my MacBook is down to 11 minutes, so I need to transmit this.

I'll give you an update on today's trip to Doi Suthep after dinner.  Tonight's dinner will be at a restaurant nearby called "Just Khao Soy."  If you've been here, you know how good it is.

Thank you again for praying for us.  Stay tuned for further updates, including one on how you can participate in this Kingdom work.