Empty planes leave Bangkok crisis

Thousands of passengers have been stranded by the protests

About 40 empty planes have flown out of Bangkok's international airport after authorities reached a deal with protesters camped there for seven days.

Thousands of travellers have been stranded since anti-government groups took over two airports last week.

The deal allows a total of 88 planes to be flown out to other Thai airports, where it is hoped they can evacuate some of the blockaded tourists.

The crisis has economically damaged the country since it intensified last week.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters continue to blockade Bangkok's two airports, closing the capital to commercial air traffic.

Meanwhile, a protest leader, Chamlong Srimuang, said the protest camp around the prime minister's compound in central Bangkok would be closed in order to send more people to strengthen the siege of the airports.

He said it was not safe to stay at Government House following the lobbing of grenades at the protesters on Sunday.

Thailand's deputy premier for economic affairs is reported to be meeting senior figures in commerce, industry and tourism today to discuss the damage being done by the protest siege.

As the backlog of stranded foreigners grows with each day, foreign embassies are beside themselves with frustration, says the BBC's Jonathan Head at Bangkok airport.

Foreign airlines

A spokeswoman for Airports of Thailand said: "Thirty-seven aircraft have left Suvarnabhumi (international airport) since the first aircraft of Siam GA (a regional airline) took off on Sunday evening.

"International airlines will have to contact us to take those stranded aircraft out of Suvarnabhumi."

Twelve planes belonging to foreign airlines are stranded at Suvarnabhumi, as well as 29 from Thai Airways, 16 of Thai Airasia, 15 from Bangkok Airways, and 22 aircraft from other airlines.

With thousands of British citizens among the estimated 100,000 travellers, a spokesman for the UK's Foreign Office said: "Bangkok's two main airports remain closed but airlines have been able to arrange flights and transfers to and from alternative airports.

In pictures: Bangkok blockade Read stranded tourists' accounts Send us your comments

"Some British nationals have been able to fly out but not in the necessary numbers.

"We have continued our consultations with airlines and Thai authorities... and action is being stepped up to enable people to travel in greater numbers, for example via Chiang Mai."

Chiang Mai, in the north, is 700km (435 milies) by road from Bangkok, while the other option - Phuket, a resort in the south - is 850km (530 miles).

France has said it will send a "special plane" to fly its citizens out of Thailand on Monday, with "those in the most pressing situations...given priority," AFP news agency reported.

Air France-KLM has already said it would fly travellers out of Phuket.

A few airlines have been using an airport at the U-Tapao naval base, about 140km (90 miles) south-east of Bangkok.

On Sunday more than 450 Muslim pilgrims stranded at the international airport were taken by bus to the base where they were to board a plane for the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

Spain and Australia have been arranging special flights to evacuate their citizens.

Thailand's tourist industry is losing an estimated $85m (£55.4m) per day, and the government warns that the number of foreign tourists arriving next year may halve, threatening one million jobs.

The protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) are a loose alliance of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class.

The opposition want the government to resign, accusing it of being corrupt, hostile to the monarchy and in league with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thai PM 'to act against protests'

Local states of emergency have been declared around the airports

The Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has said he will take action to end anti-government protests in Bangkok's two main airports.

In a TV address, Mr Somchai said the police would be assisted by some military units in halting the protests.

Emergency rule has been declared around the two airports.

Thousands of passengers have been left stranded by the protest action, just the latest stand-off in a long-running political struggle gripping Thailand.

Protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) occupied a government complex in the capital for months.

At the start of this week said they were embarking on the "final battle" of their campaign to unseat the government, and they have vowed to resist attempts to disable their airport protests.

'Temporary' emergency

Mr Somchai was speaking to the nation after an emergency cabinet session was held in the city of Chiang Mai.

"It is wrong for protesters to take the entire Thai nation hostage," Mr Somchai said, according to AFP news agency.

"The government is not intending to hurt anybody... and the emergency will be temporary," he added.

The [ruling party]'s strategy for months now has been to turn the other cheek to the PAD's provocations Jonathan Head BBC correspondent in Bangkok In pictures: Thai crisis Thailand teeters on the brink

The prime minister said air force and naval units would be deployed to assist police in ending the protests, which he said had caused "massive damage".

Under emergency rule, troops may be deployed, groups of more than five are forbidden from forming, subject to immediate arrest, and a media blackout can be enforced.

Protesters remain resolute that their show of force will continue.

"We will not leave. We will use human shields against the police if they try to disperse us," PAD leader Suriyasai Katasila told Reuters news agency.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville says moving the protesters will not be easy - they have shown they are willing to put up a fight, and have already called on supporters to set up roadblocks near terminal buildings.

Reports from Bangkok say tank movements there have sparked fears of an impending military coup.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat rejected a call by army leader Gen Anupong Paochinda for new elections to end the political deadlock, saying his government was legitimate. Gen Anupong has denied any coup plot.

Economic blow

The protesters have occupied both Suvarnabhumi international airport and Bangkok's domestic airport, Don Mueang.

On Thursday, the Associated Press quoted Tourism Minister Weerasak Kohsurat as saying stranded passengers with "urgent needs" could be flown out of military bases around Bangkok.

POLITICAL TURMOIL September 2006: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ousted in military coup February 2008: Samak Sundaravej sworn in as prime minister September 2008: Protesters call for Mr Samak's resignation, saying he is a proxy for Thaksin 9 September 2008: Mr Samak dismissed for violating conflict of interest law. Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law, becomes prime minister. October 2008: Thaksin given a two-year jail sentence for corruption in his absence Chaos at seized airport Q&A: Bangkok protests

The blockade comes at the height of the tourist season and threatens an industry which is one of the country's biggest earners.

Thailand has been in political turmoil since former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

The PAD - a loose alliance of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class - claim that the government is corrupt and hostile to the monarchy.

They also accuse it of being a proxy for Thaksin, who remains very popular among Thailand's rural poor.

Fresh elections at the end of 2007 failed to resolve the crisis, when a party made up of former allies of Mr Thaksin returned to power.

And since August PAD protesters have launched an all-out assault on the government, occupying government buildings and seeing former Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej forced out of office, though on an apparently unrelated matter.

Thai army calls for new elections

Protesters say they will not leave the airport until the PM resigns The head of Thailand's powerful army has asked the government to dissolve parliament and call new elections. Gen Anupong Paochinda denied the move amounted to a coup, and called on anti-government protesters to withdraw from Bangkok's international airport. But the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which took over the airport on Tuesday after months of protests, said it would not leave. Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat is set to speak shortly, reports say. See layout of Bangkok's airport Mr Somchai, who returned to Thailand earlier in the day from an Asia-Pacific summit in Peru, landed in the northern city of Chiang Mai. He told reporters there that he had not yet made any decision on dissolving parliament, AFP news agency reports. POLITICAL TURMOIL September 2006: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ousted in military coup February 2008: Samak Sundaravej sworn in as prime minister September 2008: Protesters call for Mr Samak's resignation, saying he is a proxy for Thaksin 9 September 2008: Mr Samak dismissed for violating conflict of interest law. Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law, becomes prime minister. October 2008: Thaksin given a two-year jail sentence for corruption in his absence Chaos at seized airport Q&A: Bangkok protests Shortly after he arrived, a man was killed in the city in a clash between pro- and anti-government supporters, police said. Thailand has been in a state of political stalemate since former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Fresh elections at the end of 2007 failed to resolve the crisis, when a party made up of former allies of Mr Thaksin returned to power. However, Gen Anupong said the government was still in control. "This is not a coup," he told a news conference. "The government still has full authority. These points are the way to solve the problem which has plunged the country into a deep crisis. "If a coup could end all the troubles, I would do it." Evacuated Earlier, the head of the PAD, Sondhi Limthongul, said his group would only agree to talks if Mr Somchai resigned. Stranded international tourists have been evacuated from the airport. Briton Rachel Kyte, who spent 13 hours there trying to fly to the US, said that a lack of information had raised tensions among travellers. "People were starting to get frustrated and tired," she told the BBC. The protesters, meanwhile, have brought in food and blankets to the airport, suggesting they have no plans to leave. The group have also been occupying a government compound in the capital since August, claim that the government is corrupt and hostile to the monarchy. They also accuse it of being a proxy for Mr Thaksin, who critics say is still very influential. The PAD is a loose grouping of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class opposed to Mr Thaksin. Their campaign has caused massive disruption to key state institutions, including parliament. The BBC's Jonathan Head, in Bangkok, says that the government appeared to have adopted a strategy of allowing the PAD to attack government buildings while avoiding clashes, in the hope that it could wear the protesters down. BANGKOK AIRPORT CLOSED Thousands of PAD protesters storm the airport Protesters seize the air traffic control tower and airport closed At least 3,000 passengers stranded for 16 hours in terminal building Latest reports say terminal building has been evacuated E-mail this to a friend Printable version

Thai leader rejects election call

Mr Somchai vowed to stand firm despite pressure from the military

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat has rejected calls by the country's military chief to stand down.

Army leader Gen Anupong Paochinda had asked him to call snap elections to end months of political deadlock.

But Mr Somchai said his government was legitimate and that he would continue to work for the country.

The actions of protesters who have occupied Bangkok's main airport and forced its closure were illegal, the prime minister said.

"I reassure the people that this government, which is legitimate and came from elections, will keep functioning until the end," Mr Somchai said in a televised address.

Thailand has been in a state of political stalemate since former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

Fresh elections at the end of 2007 failed to resolve the crisis, when a party made up of former allies of Mr Thaksin returned to power.

The protesters, who belong to the People's Alliance for Democracy, have been calling on the government to step down since May.

Thai protesters shut down airport

Hundreds of protesters have taken over the main departure terminal

Flights from Thailand's international airport have been suspended after hundreds of anti-government protesters stormed the building in Bangkok.

At least 3,000 passengers are said to be stranded at Suvarnabhumi airport, with all access roads blocked off.

The demonstrators say they now control the airport, and demand that airlines seek their direct permission to land.

It is the latest move in a campaign by the opposition People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) to oust the government.

Hundreds of demonstrators, armed with sticks and baseball bats, stormed through police lines on Tuesday.

Airport director Serirat Prasutanon said operations had been "totally shut down" since early on Wednesday, and that 78 outbound and incoming flights had been affected.

Anyone who wants to overthrow or resist the government is attempting a rebellion Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat

"We are trying to negotiate with them to allow outgoing passengers stranded by the protest to fly," he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

"The incident has damaged Thailand's reputation and its economy beyond repair."

One stranded tourist told the BBC: "I don't know what happened to my flight. They won't talk to us. I'm angry and sad, because I have two small children - they're sick, so we want to go home."

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says the protesters may have been hoping to prevent Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from returning from the Apec summit in Peru.

Mr Somchai told reporters in Lima: "Anyone who wants to overthrow or resist the government is attempting a rebellion."

Thinly veiled tactic

It came as demonstrations in central Bangkok turned violent, leaving at least 11 people injured.

Thai TPBS television broadcast pictures of the violence on the main road to the capital's old airport. The footage showed shots being fired from a truck into crowds after rocks were thrown.

At least two handguns could be seen and people standing with the gunmen raised up a picture of the revered Thai king, whom the PAD claim to be supporting.

A man was also seized by anti-government supporters and what appeared to be a large knife was held to his throat.

TPBS said its cameraman had been threatened at the scene and that PAD personnel attempted to seize his tape.

On Monday, PAD protesters converged on Bangkok's old Don Muang international airport, from where the cabinet has been operating since its offices were occupied three months ago.

Organisers say the protest is a "final battle" to bring down the government.

Our correspondent says the government appears to have followed a strategy of allowing PAD to attack government buildings while avoiding clashes, in the hope that it will wear the protesters down.

The government has so far resisted calling in the army. Analysts says it is a thinly disguised aim of the PAD to provoke such a move.

Protesters surround Thailand's parliament building

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have surrounded Thailand's parliament building in what they say is a "final battle" to topple the government.

The protesters have been occupying the government compound in the capital, Bangkok, for months.

The protests are led by the royalist People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which claims the government is corrupt and hostile to the monarchy.

The rallies forced the day's parliamentary session to be cancelled.

The current Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat, who has been attending the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Peru, has said he has no intention of resigning.

Violence fears

Police said around 18,000 demonstrators had taken to the streets, blocking roads leading to parliament. Some groups had marched on the police headquarters and the finance ministry.

Map of central Bangkok

The protesters were dressed in yellow shirts and headbands and carried national flags and portraits of the revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

This is the final showdown Protest leader Somsak Kosaisuk

MPs were forced to cancel a parliamentary session, in which they would have discussed a number of important regional agreements. Their original plans to debate proposed changes to the constitution had prompted the PAD to call Monday's mass protest.

House speaker Chai Chidchob said the session was cancelled because most MPs had been unable to get into the building - and appealed for calm.

"I promise that there will be no violence today, not a single drop of blood will be seen," he told parliament radio. "I ask for all sides to stop the movement now. If you love the king, please return home."

There are fears that the protests will see a repeat of the clashes in October, which left two people dead and some 500 injured. It was the worst violence in Bangkok for 16 years.

Thousands of police were out on the streets on Monday, but police chiefs said they were better prepared this time.

They have been offered 15 fire engines to use for crowd control, instead of the explosive tear gas grenades which caused such severe injury during the last demonstration.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok said the protests have been peaceful so far, but added that there are an awful lot of people out on the streets and the PAD leaders are using fiery rhetoric in their speeches.

One, Somsak Kosaisuk, told protesters: "This is the final showdown. We have been here a long time. We have been patient. But they have robbed the country to the point where it can't take it anymore. I promise you that will soon end."

Long-running grievances

The PAD is aiming for a repeat of 2006, when its protests led to a military coup that unseated former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

They accused the telecommunications billionaire of being corrupt and abusing his power.

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat is related to Mr Thaksin

Mr Thaksin's allies won the first post-coup elections in late 2007. The PAD accuse the government of being a proxy for the former prime minister.

Police said about 10,000 pro-Thaksin supporters had descended on a Buddhist temple just outside Bangkok on Sunday to support the government.

The PAD wants to replace Thailand's one-man, one-vote system with one in which some representatives are chosen by professions and social groups rather than the general electorate.

The new government says it wants to start negotiations with the PAD.

But it is also pushing ahead with controversial plans to amend the constitution - a key grievance of the protesters who see it as part of a plan to rehabilitate former PM Thaksin.

Mr Thaksin, Prime Minister Somchai's brother-in-law, remains in exile overseas. He was sentenced in absentia by the Supreme Court in Thailand last month to two years imprisonment on a corruption charge. In July, his wife received a three year jail sentence for tax fraud.

Thai crisis exposes class struggle

By Jonathan Head BBC News, Bangkok

For weeks the yellow-shirted protesters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have hogged the limelight in Thailand.

Pro-government supporters are fighting back with their own rallies

With the backing of powerful military and palace figures, they have helped unseat one prime minister and two members of his cabinet.

The embattled government, led by allies of controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has in vain protested that it was popularly elected less than a year ago.

Now it has started fighting back with a series of mass rallies by its own red-shirted followers.

This is a dangerous contest between two power-hungry political factions who see it as a zero-sum game, in which they either win everything, or lose everything.

But it has become much more than that.

The rift has split Thai society, along regional and especially along class lines.

'Dress in red'

It is Monday morning, in a quiet backstreet in Udon Thani, provincial capital of a north-eastern province bordering Laos and a known Thaksin stronghold.

Radio DJ Kwanchai Sarakam is taking calls. He is a firebrand Thaksin loyalist who already faces criminal charges over his involvement in a clash with PAD supporters in July. But his callers are just as fired up.

If the PAD cannot convince me their version of democracy will help grass-roots people like me, then I will fight them to my last breath Farmer Ankham Ratanasingha (left)

The first is an old lady, with a warning for the military. "Listen to me, soldiers," she shouts down a crackly phone line, "if you dare try another coup, forget about getting roses, because I will dress myself entirely in red - red hair, red panties, red bra, red fingernails - and jump in front of your tanks. You will have to run over me, a grass-roots woman, and crush me to death."

Other calls follow in a similar, if less melodramatic, vein.

The show finishes with a rousing song, scorning "educated people" for their ignorance and lack of manners.

Kwanchai threatens to bring a red-shirted army to Bangkok to declare war on the PAD. He says there will have to be bloodshed before Thailand can get through this crisis. He almost seems to relish the prospect. But the sense of being engaged in a class war is commonplace on both sides of this struggle.

Rich-poor divide

"You see these people here - they are all educated people," one man told me at a PAD gathering in Bangkok. "But the ones who support the government party, they are all uneducated, especially from the north and north-east."

This is a typical comment from the PAD, implying that the millions of rural people who consistently vote for pro-Thaksin politicians are either bribed or do not understand what they are doing.

Anti-government rallies have been held in Bangkok for weeks

It is the justification the PAD gives for demanding a parliament which is part-appointed.

Such an attitude infuriates Ankham Ratanasingha, who runs a small farm with her husband just outside Udon Thani.

She had to leave school at 10 years old, but takes pride in having educated her two children to university level.

"If the PAD cannot convince me that their version of democracy will help grass-roots people like me, then I will fight them to my last breath," she said. "They should treat us with respect, not as people they can just squash under their feet."

"The problem of Thai political crisis is a class struggle", says Attajak Satayanutak, an academic from Thaksin's home town Chiang Mai.

"We have a wide gap between rich and poor. The poor did not receive anything from the state for a long time. Then, for the first time, Thaksin gave this opportunity for them."

The affection for Thaksin Shinawatra has held up remarkably well in the north-east, a poor and arid region known as Isaan.

Local people say his populist policies, like universal healthcare and the village loan scheme, brought big improvements to the quality of their lives.

But time and again they cite something else - dignity. They told me he offered them the hope of improving themselves, without making them feel small, or humble.

If the military mounts another coup, this time the country will split, and there will be civil war Thaksin supporter

His darker sides - abuses of power, human rights violations, arrogance - were brushed aside as less important.

Isaan has long been the butt of jokes in Thailand. It has a culture and language closer to that of neighbouring Laos than the central plains around Bangkok. It supplies much of the cheap, migrant labour to the capital.

But it has one valuable asset Thaksin Shinawatra identified as he began planning his bid for power in the late 1990s - voters, around one third of the total.

He was the first politician to court them directly, with appealing policies, rather than relying on the local godfathers to deliver their support.

In doing so, he has awoken a new political self-awareness in a previously passive region. And Isaan people are furious about the comments they are hearing from the PAD in Bangkok.

"Those who think Isaan people blindly follow Thaksin Shinawatra have an outdated image of our region," I was told by Puttakarn Panthong, a local politician who is not affiliated with Mr Thaksin's party. "They have better education now, and they understand who and what they are voting for."

Stuck in exile

So at the first of the big rallies in Bangkok, the former prime minister's phone-call, from somewhere overseas, was the most eagerly awaited moment of the night.

Politician Chaturon Chaiseng's song made the link with past class struggles

A huge roar went up from the 60,000 red-shirted faithful as his voice came over the speakers, asking: "Have you missed me?" There were more than a few tearful faces in the crowd.

But this was also a carefully-choreographed event, intended to send out a signal to the PAD and its royalist backers, that they face formidable opposition. The crowd was far larger than any the PAD has managed to attract this year.

Aside from Mr Thaksin, the highlight of the night was a song sung by Chaturon Chaiseng, one of the most respected politicians in the Thaksin camp.

He was also once a left-wing activist who took up arms against the military during the communist insurgency of the last 1970s.

And the song he chose was written by one of his comrades-in-arms, which tells of the sadness of a young rebel unable to return home.

The reference, or course, was to Mr Thaksin, stuck in exile, facing a two-year prison sentence if he comes back.

But it also connected his poor, rural followers today, with the class conflicts of Thailand's past.

Behind Mr Chaturon they held up the words "NO MORE COUP" in bold red letters. It seemed more of a warning than a plea.

One man turned to me and said: "If the military mounts another coup, this time the country will split, and there will be civil war."

Loy Khrathong

The Loy Khrathong Festival is one the most popular festivals for the Thais. It takes place right after the rainy season ends, when the weather is nice, and the moon is full.

"Loy" means "to float" "Khrathong" is a lotus-shaped vessel made of banana leaves. The Khrathong usually contains a candle, three sticks and some flowers and coins. In school the kids made a Khrathong, only this one was for education, not with a "spiritual" meaning.

This festival is where people offer thanks to the "Goddess" of the water. By moonlight, people light the candles and joss sticks, make a wish and launch their Khrathongs on canals, rivers or small ponds. The Buddhists believe that their sins and bad luck will float away with their Khrathong.

During this time, they also shoot off fireworks and send up paper lanterns. This wasn't a part of the original tradition, so we aren't sure if there is special meaning that goes along with this particular occasion. Normally, when Buddhists send off fireworks, it is to scare away "evil spirits" and we haven't found out why they send up the paper lanterns. Here is a picture of us at an outlook over the city watching the fireworks and lanterns going up. It was a beautiful sight.

We obviously don't "celebrate" Loy Khrathong as Christians, however this occasion was a great way for us to understand the Thai people and culture and to enjoy the beautiful sight of constant lanterns and fireworks being sent up. We feel blessed to be here!

Blessings,
The Scotts

Orphanage Project

A couple of months ago we got an e-mail message from a lovely couple, Gerry and Sandra Martin, in Minnesota, that had plans to come to SE Asia and wanted to know if they could come see what we are doing here in Thailand and if there is a specific project that they could give towards. We had the perfect project, Hope House Orphanage. So in Early November Gerry and Sandra came to visit us.

Gerry and Sandra wanted to be able to meet the kids at Hope House, but the kids were in school most of the day. We decided to take them on a tour of the Karen Village which wasn't far from Hope House. The jam packed day began with us picking up the Martins at their hotel and then drove 20 minutes to pick up the director of Hope House, Jeph. We drove another hour and 45 minutes into the hills and up Doi Inthinon, the tallest mountain in Thailand. The Karen village is almost at the top of the mountain, which made the winding drive long and slow.

Well, we couldn't go through the day without at least one incident. As we were driving up the dirt road to the village, we noticed that the road was muddy, much muddier than we anticipated. The rainy season was in full swing and the result was an extremely deep muddy road. As we were driving up the hill, the back wheels began to spin off to one side, veering the van off of the road. Three of us (two of us in flip flops)tried to push the van out, but to no avail. Jeph went for help and with 3 of them (all much stronger than I) and a little ingenuity, they were able to get the van back on the road.

Once arriving at the village, preschool was taking place, so the Martins were able to observe a class in session. Natalie also sat in on the class! :D The kids recognized Troy, Natalie and I from the last trip that we had made - they even sang Head Shoulders Knees and Toes for us which we taught a couple months earlier - it was so sweet!
Just as we were getting ready to move on, the kids had to lie down for a nap, so we had Natalie join them there as well! It was so cute!

Yes, it was distracting for the kids to have us there, so after a couple of minutes we picked Natalie up and took a tour of the rest of the village.


The house to the right is typical for this village. They live in the room above the stilts (the entire family). The families are usually small because they can't afford to feed many children. If they have animals, as this family does, it is usually able to run free, or is tied up underneath their house along with work supplies, laundry, wood for their stoves and what ever else they can't fit upstairs in the room.

Please pray for this community. There are other missionaries (Jeph and Apple) that have also made this village their ministry focus, but it has been a long hard journey to get the people to open up to Christianity and Jesus. We plan to help them as much as possible.

After showing the Martins this village we headed down the mountain and had lunch at a roadside cafe (at a gas station).

After lunch we headed to Hope House to see the children. The kids greeted us at the door with joy and of course grabbed Natalie "the main attraction"! :D

While the kids played with Natalie, we showed Gerry and Sandra the projects that their money would pay for.




There is no ceiling in the girls dorm, so there is nothing to keep heat and mosquitoes out in summer, and cold out in winter.

Gerry and Sandra's money will go towards the ceiling in this room! If there are any extra funds available, we will get the girls a ceiling fan too! :D

We would also like to replace the septic system. During times of high usage, the two tanks leak and make the ground muddy and smelly. NOT a healthy situation all around! That will be the second project that the money will go towards (if there is enough).

After looking at the project we had an opportunity to visit with the children and pray for each child individually. It was precious. It was hard to say goodbye, but it was late, and we still had a log drive ahead.

We picked up Nathaniel and Naomi on our way to drop off Jeph and headed to dinner where we were able to enjoy authentic Northern Thai cuisine. It was wonderful.

We had a very full and extremely blessed day. We are honored to be serving a mighty God with people like the Martins who are willing to give so generously of their time and finances!

Please pray for the Hope House Orphanage. There are many needs there and not many funds coming into this region to pay for them. Also please pray for funds for our ministry to continue so that we do our part by bringing teams to help with these projects and in whatever way God leads!

Blessings,
Team Possible.