Prayer over the Orphanage...

Good morning! We just woke up had the usual rice and cooked cucumber breakfast! It was very good! I love that Thailand doesn't do sweets or sticky food for breakfast!

Anyways yesterday we took a little trek to the mountains me and Bethany rode in the back of the pickup for quite awhile to reach a little village up in the northern mountains of thailand... It was the village of the first boy that Baan Emmanual Orphanage took in. He is now grown and where they had origanally took in a very angry aggressive boy, he is now a very gentle and loving man who now runs an orphanage and widow home of his own. :) They brought us a few of the fruit they had been growing there! The pinnapple was the most delicious pineapple ive ever had! It was incredible! They then pulled out an old Muzzel Loader gun... you have to use a long pole to load it and stuff it with gun powder :).... it was like dropping into the early 1800's. This was the gun they hunt with!!! We took turns shooting at a palm leaf target. I shot it dead center! My dad would have been proud to know The Great State of Texas still lies within me!

Later that day we travelled to a piece of land that they are going to be purchasing at the end of the week! Its sits on the banks of the Mekong River and Ron has a beautiful vision for it. He wants to build a small hostel like place for the travelling backpackers. The location is on the river and sits between the Red Lahu Tribe land and the Elephant Village. Behind the orphanage he wants to build a shelter for girls escaping prostitution. It will be a sanctuary for the broken and hurting. Many times he will come back to a tribe village and a few of the girls have disappeared..they were sold to casinos.

The little backpacking hostel will be their means of escaping and becoming independent. Alot of times when they escape there is no where for them to go. They have never learned a trade and will likely end up back on the streets so Ron and his staff will train and hire them in different trades they can use..cooking...cleaning..ect ect All the while loving them and teaching them the word of God!

I think its a beautiful vision of God's desire to rescue and restore. I'm praying how I could help them with this with prayer, action or finacially.

On the way home we stopped in a little village that had elephants :)

For those of you who have read my facebook page you know its been one of my dreams to ride one! We paid 200 baht to a man to let him ride one of his elephants... 100 a piece... so I paid 3 dollars to ride one of his elephants!!! It was awesome! After we started riding a while i tapped the guy on the shoulder and motioned i wanted to ride on the head... Its Thailand, so there's not really any concern for lawsuits, so he let me slide onto its head. I guess the elephants got sick of the heat because towards the end of the walk they headed straight into the Mekong River...there's nothing you can do about it. It was hot and the water was cool, so we went with them. Sometimes the best thing to do is just let it happen...I mean your already in Thailand so who really cares. Carpe Diem!

The verses we have been praying over the Orphanage and the Hostel is:

Isaiah 43:4-7

⁴"Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
⁵"Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
And gather you from the west.

⁶"I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
And to the south, 'Do not hold them back '
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

⁷Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."