Doi Saket 2 -- December Update

New sandals!

The kids opening gifts for Christmas.

Singing a song for Christmas.

Doi Saket 2 -- December 2011 Update

Having fun on the playground with friends.

Thailand [Fall 2011 Update]

Celebrating October birthdays in Doi Saket 1.

Making Christmas cards in the Early Childhood Center. 

Students from Hot Springs work on English homework together.

A praise and worship songwriting sing-off brought the Thailand homes together.

Kids from Doi Saket 1 perform in the sing-off.

Doi Saket 3 performs their song.

Doi Saket 4 sings together for the other homes.

Another group from Doi Saket 1.

Doi Saket 2 delivers their best performance.

A well-coordinated performance!

Learning to cook at Hot Springs.

Some of the older girls from Doi Saket 1 singing at a village church.

Doi Saket 2 -- Summer 2011 Update

The kids take turns playing a popular Thai game.Unbounded joy comes standard with jumping rope.A moment to sit and contemplate the day.

The girls work diligently to color the Christmas story.

Doi Saket 2 -- May update

The jackfruits are almost ready to eat!

Sunday services are fun for all of the Asia's Hope kids.

A view of the front of the house.

The kids love their bikes!

Mosquito nets are a definite must in the kids' bedrooms.

The kids sing a song at an evening assembly at home.

The kids enjoy playing Skip Bo, Uno and other card games.

The kids play and dance in the shade.

The kids prepare for a Sunday service at Doi Saket 1 campus.

These girls dress up in their native tribal garb -- Hmong, Lisu, Karen and more!

The kids sing together at Sunday morning services.

Thailand kids enjoy Chiang Mai Toyride

Thanks to the generosity of the planners and participants of the Chiang Mai Toyride, all of our kids under the age of 12 -- more than 80 in all -- were treated to a fantastic day of games, toys and even country music!

We appreciate all of the efforts that went into organizing this wonderful day of fun.

Merry Christmas from Asia's Hope Thailand!

All of the kids and staff from our 7 orphan homes in Thailand wish their friends, sponsors and supporters in the U.S. and Canada a very merry Christmas!

They're currently celebrating the holiday with special meals, assemblies, gifts and outings, all provided by the generosity of their brothers and sisters from the other side of the world.

Doi Saket 2 Thailand Summer '10 update

Boys at DS2 enjoy playing soccer after school

(front to back) Dob (Asia's Hope staff), David (Director Tutu Bee's son), and Pak (Exec Director John McCollum's son) seek a little shade on a hot Thailand day.The DS2 girls enjoy playing with Xiu Dan McCollum (in orange shirt), a visitor from the U.S.

The kids from DS2 join all of the other Doi Saket kids for a Sunday morning service.

The kids and staff enjoy beating Executive Director John McCollum in an evening game of Skip-Bo.The children enjoy dressing up in their traditional tribal attire (plus some decidedly non-traditional tiaras) to sing a song in church on Sunday.

Gemstone project

Thanks to the ingenuity of our staff and the generosity of donors from Canada, we recently opened our first ever gemstone-cutting vocational training program for our older kids in Northern Thailand.

We already offer weaving, silversmithing and other training, and believe that this will provide the children in this program with skills that will provide them access to well-paying, high-skill jobs in the future.

As the kids' skills improve, we may make some of their products available for sale to reinvest in their education and to make the program available to more of our children.

Christmas at Doi Saket 2

Thanks to the generosity of Asia's Hope sponsors and partners, all of our kids enjoyed a great Christmas. The kids at Doi Saket 2 got many special presents and treats, and participated in special games and performances.

Happy Father's Day

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.

Doi Saket 2 -- November 2009

Doi Saket 2 from John McCollum on Vimeo.

Kids from the Doi Saket home sing a song about Adam and Eve and enjoy a sleepover at the home of Thailand country director, Tutu Bee.

Thailand October update

Debbie Flinchum, one of our key volunteers in Thailand, sent along these pictures from October.

Kids enjoy the new playground at the Doi Saket 3 and Doi Saket 4 shared campus.

Kids from Doi Saket 2 pose for a picture.

Kids at Doi Saket 3

This little girl from Doi Saket 4 enjoys the monkey bars.

Kids from Doi Saket 4 enjoy learning a new song.

This little drummer from the Hot Springs orphan home keeps the beat during an evening worship service.

Executive Director John McCollum speaks with the kids as Mike Flinchum translates.

Kids and caretakers from the Doi Saket Early Childhood Center mug for the camera.

Beautiful smiles at Doi Saket 3 and 4 playground

Doi Saket 2 -- July 2009

A little princess gives the international sign for "I love you," while proudly sporting a t-shirt from her supporting church.

The kids enjoy playing with each other outside of their home.

Each Sunday, all of the kids and staff from the four Doi Saket orphan homes gather at the main Asia's Hope campus for worship.

The kids pose -- in matching t-shirts from Grace Community Church in Goshen, Indiana -- after church.

Doi Saket Thailand May Update

Update provided by Asia's Hope Thailand intern, Ashley Barnhill.

Throughout the last few months, I’ve been collecting new pictures of all of our kids and staff. Early May, after church, many of the staff got together for a group picture. Praise God for the hard-working staff that He’s provided for Asia’s Hope and please remember to pray for them often.

Dob and Ying joined our staff early this month after just recently getting married near the Karen village of Om Koi (see last update). They are doing a great job with the kids and are already expecting their first child!

Birdy, a Bible college student and Asia's Hope orphan, helping prepare shots.

Jeran - Home 2

Thilapha - Home 2

All of the kids from Home 1, 2, 3 and Hot Springs were given another round of immunizations before school started again.

Rachinee and Muntri from Home 3 recited almost 5 minutes of memory verses on an awards night for all of the orphans. 

 

Things are going great up at the widow’s farm in Wiang Pa Pao. Several trees full of ripe lychee greet you as you pull in. They just finished planting several acres of crops, including corn. The widows' house is progressing and Tutu will soon be taking several of the older kids up to help lay brick and get it finished. The widow’s continue weaving bags and shirts and several visitors have taken many items home recently to help sell for the widows in the U.S. and Canada.

L to R: Dow (Tipanee), Paleupa, Sai (Natiga), Tua Lek, Jam (Pawinee), Jo

The nursery kids got all dressed up one day and sang and danced for church. They all remain healthy for the most part.  The older four, Jam, Jojo, Paleupa, and Tua Lek just graduated to “big kids school.” Joci, her brother Eric, (two short-term interns here) and I threw a congratulations party for them last Saturday, playing games, eating cake, and giving gifts. They were so excited!

 Short term intern, Eric Biddle, with the nursery kids during the party.

 The four graduates!

Samaporn and Muntri - Home 3

Home 3

Phi Pha - Home 3

A group from Campus Crusade came to have an English camp with the kids the week before school started. The kids had a blast playing games, learning English, and doing fun crafts. The staff from Campus Crusade took the kids swimming one day and topped of the week with a special meal and a great night of ice cream, fireworks and sparklers (above).

Short term intern, Jocelyn Biddle, with Galia and Mai from Home 3

While Joci and Eric were in town, Tutu decided to hold a big concert for all the kids. Us three interns, Tutu’s sons, some of the staff, and some friends all put on a concert of love songs, fun songs, and worship songs for the kids while they ate cookies and drank Coke.

Tutu, her son David, and us three interns headed to a prison about 2 and a half hours away with another group involved in prison ministry. We sang songs, shared testimonies, and shared from the Word of God together. Please pray for God to continue to work in prisons throughout Thailand.

Prison ministry in Pa Yao

Boys from Home 2 and 3 waiting for haricuts.

Several volunteers came this Saturday to cut the kids hair. They were cutting all morning!

Jutamat, Home 1, getting her hair cut.

Girls from all 3 homes waiting for their turn.

Now that the kids are back in school, I’m working with the girls again on Saturday afternoon, teaching English songs and cooking. Today we learned “How Great is Our God” in English and made a Devil’s Food cake. The girls did a GREAT job reading the recipe, making the cake, and learning the song!

Supawadee, Jinda, and Ahrunya with the cake they made with the rest of the girls :)

Please keep praying for continual protection for our children from physical, spiritual and emotional enemies as they attack. Being here for almost 10 months now and living with the kids, I haven't gotten close to seeing the end of God's grace in these kid's lives. Everyday you can see God's awesome provisions and grace in these kids lives. He truly loves them unconditionally. Thank you immensely for your prayers and financial support. 

Doi Saket Thailand April Update

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

English and Thai classes in Doi Saket

English and Thai classes are taught Monday through Friday at Asia's Hope. Most of the children from homes 1 and 2 are taking advantage of the extra tutoring. Some of the children were behind in their studies. The children know Thai as a second language and they need the extra practice reading and speaking. Usually the school teaches English but it is not taught by native speakers. The focus on the English classes are letter recognition and the corresponding phonic sound.

Doi Saket 1, 2 and 3 kids enjoy their time off school

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.

Doi Saket 2 kids enjoy a day at the waterfall

School's out! Three trucks were loaded with children. A man-made waterfall provided safe, free fun for the children. They played in the water until they were blue. The picnic lunch followed. Then the tired tikes slept all the way home.