Portion for Orphans Newsletter
March 11, 2006
"If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours." -
Jacquiline Mae Rudd
Sawasdee from Pattaya, Thailand, on the coast just South of Bangkok, population
75,000 or so. It's beautiful, but the sex trade (prostitution) is worse and more
widely accepted here than in any place I've ever been to. That and poverty
are the main causes of orphans in Thailand. Notice how most of the pictures
you
see here
are children that look half Thai and half white, hmmm, so sad.
Although the circumstances
here are sad, the children are not. I've been here at the Pattaya Orphanage
for one week now and have one more week to go. This organization
is one that I felt it would be incredibly beneficial to visit. It began as
an orphanage but has extended into various outreach programs that reach out
to people
with all kinds of needs. This organization has been recognized around the world,
even President Reagan made a point to encourage the founder and his work here.
You can read more about this organization at: http://www.fr-ray.org/
Enjoy the pictures:
It's me who writes these updates, for those of you I've not met in person :)
This is Bearwilleye and her little friend during a special day out to the playground
... she came right up to me when I walked in to choose one to take for a walk,
she's my little buddy now, we hang out every day. :)
Rattiakone with 2 little buddies ~ of all the babies I've seen this year, I really
want to bring her home with me, we just get along real well. :) Since the first
day I walked in, she's always right there looking, smiling at me when I go to
the baby room. She's adorable and almost always smiling. Today someone told me
that tomorrow she'll be a year old. "Well then" I said, "We'll
go for a special walk... and since you're one, you should be able to walk by
yourself soon so we'll work on that starting right now." Little did I know
that she was about to take her very first steps, and that she and I would spend
the entire afternoon having a blast now that she can take 5-6 steps all by herself.
She knew it was a big deal! It was so much fun and I've been hoping since I left
TX to be able to help a child take their first steps. Apparently one of her legs
was stiff when she was born and she's had some special massage therapy. I would
have never known had they not told me. It's interesting what just a little bit
of encouragement and support can help others to accomplish.
Bingo at the 'Old Folks' home. :) (as they themselves call it) This is another
project here, just down the street from the orphanage. We had a blast, and probably
managed to break every single rule of the game. These are stateless people, people
who have no place to return to. One of them is from a nearby country where he
opposed and spoke out against communism. He spent time in a torture prison as
a result. Whoa! Another lady is from Burma, I'm not sure how she arrived here.
Another shot of Bearwilleye with her little buddy on the right who, along with
her older brother, will be adopted next month. :)
Rattiakone, that's the look I get every day when I walk into the baby room. :)
If you've considered adoption before, know that each month people come from various
countries around the world and take home a little baby from this room. There
are no words that can describe that.
Rattiakone ... walking around for the very first time. :)
Awe ... the Pattaya Orphanage baby room.
Prayer Requests
- Wisdom for making a few donations here at Pattaya Orphanage.
- Kenya ~ for all who are suffering from the drought, especially those without
parents to look after them.
- Wisdom for this ministry to orphans and what we can do next with all that
we've learned along this journey.
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