Christmas is always fun -- imagine it with dozens of brothers and sisters! The kids at Doi Saket 1 and the Early Childhood Center gathered together for performances, presents, games and special meals.

Happy Father's Day!

In Thailand, families celebrate Father's Day on the King's Birthday, December 5.

Each year, all of the kids at Asia's Hope gather to celebrate and thank God for their new dads and all of the male staff at the orphan homes. This kind of celebration is always very meaningful for the kids, who have faced so much loss in their young lives.

After the celebration service, kids from each of the individual homes gathered in groups to enjoy a special picnic lunch of sticky rice and grilled chicken -- a favorite among the children. Boys from Doi Saket 1 are pictured above.

Doi Saket 2

Doi Saket 3

Doi Saket 4

At the service, recently rescued baby Nit received a biblical name, Abagail. Pictured here are Tee (nit's caregiver), Nit and ministry advisor Mike Flinchum.

Children from the Early Childhood Center hang out around the front gate of their house.

The boys pose, proud of the new "hoodies" provided by a friend of ministry advisors Mike and Deb Flinchum.

The girls pose in front of their dorm.

Some of the younger kids enjoy a rare treat -- a night out at a restaurant.

Some of the kids from the Early Childhood Center enjoy chatting via Skype with former intern Ashley Barnhill. 

Kids from the Early Childhood Center pose for a picture.

The kids enjoy a beautiful water fountain show on an evening outing.

The girls sing a song of worship at a Sunday morning service.

Some of the girls pose together in the large yard in the middle of the Doi Saket 1 campus.

The older kids sing together at church.

The student-run worship band is a highlight of every church service.

Country Director Tutu Bee poses with some of the kids in the beautiful garden at Doi Saket 1.

Update provided by Asia's Hope Thailand Intern, Ashley Barnhill

Throughout the beginning of this month, many of our students continued studying Thai and English during the week in hopes of them getting caught up with their classmates. They’re progress is evident and it’s a blessing to be able to see their minds working and to see these children being invested in and challenged to work harder and reach a goal that before coming, would have been completely out of reach.

Their coloring and cutting skills of the kids at Home 3 have even gotten much better!

After a fourth complete month of being here, our Home 3 kids are doing excellent. The staff is incredible and really emphasizes the importance of God’s Word. Before every meal, all the children recite Bible verses and pray together, all led by one of the kids.

Also pictured is Jojo with his watermelon, enjoying a safe home at Asia’s Hope. Jojo’s father used to beat him, so when he was told that some of the kids were going to visit the villages, he said he didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay with his new dad, Ajarn Boone.

One day early April, we took all of the kids that were here to the Chiang Mai Zoo. The kids loved it and had a great time.

After the zoo, we took all the kids to a local waterfall to have lunch together and play. All the kids were fast asleep on the way home after such a long morning and afternoon.

This month, Dob and Ying, an engaged couple who have been helping out at Home 2, were married up in the Karen village of Om Koi. They will be joining our staff soon at Home 2.

In mid-April, Thailand celebrates the festival of Songkran. The festival is celebrated over 3 days by people throwing water, sometimes ice cold, on one another all day everyday. We took our kids out on the first day to join the fun. They had a great time, but were pretty tired by time we returned.

The kids in the nursery home are all healthy and happy, which is such a blessing after a long battle with re-occuring sickness, especially with Tee Noi and Sai for several months after they came. They have personalities like you wouldn’t believe! The kids love to color and are getting better each time!

Rachel from Home 2 just moved with her new care-taker to live in the baby house as well. A welcome addition. She’s walking and babbling now!

We have some different activities for the kids to do to fill their time before school starts, such as language study, learning dances, art and new songs as well as some chores around the orphanage. They are all adjusting well coming back. Their first Sunday back, after church, we had an Easter egg hunt for all of the kids and they all searched for hard-boiled eggs to eat for lunch. They enjoyed it so much. (Easter hunt).

Please pray for:

• Health of the children and adjustments as they enter new grades and, some of them, new schools
• Safety and protection for our children and staff
• Continued encouragement of the staff as they work hard to care for and to guide the children who have experienced extreme hardships and loss

The children had a great outing. There is a waterfall within an hour's drive of Doi Saket. The younger kids and staff piled into three trucks. The weather was hot and the water refreshing. We allowed them to play until they were exhausted and hungry. They ate a picnic lunch of sticky rice and fried chicken. They all slept on the return trip to the orphanages.

Children in Thailand are required to go to school until the 6th grade. After the 9th grade children may then choose to go to high school, trade or technical school. Five of ouryoung peoplegraduated from the 9th grade this year. They have all chosen to continue in their education by attending the local high school. Arunya and Supawadee have signed up to attend a special sewing class near the Asia's Hope Widow's Farm during the hot weather school break.