December

Well I can't believe its December already. We have less than a week until Christmas. I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying the weather here. I like being able to bike and swim outside still and to not have to bundle up just to go out the door.

At the Mercy Center, we finally got the library program that we need to set up the Christian library. Once I have all the books entered into the system (which will take a while) we will be able to lend Christian books out to the church or whoever else wants to read them. This is a valuable thing here as English books are not plentiful and especially Christian ones.

Also, starting in January, I will begin teaching English to the preschool kids and their teacher. The Mercy Center had the Jolly Phonics program donated to them from a kindergarten in Canada. We will start with that for the phonics with a little extra vocabulary added in. We are also looking at finding a good time to teach the older kids but since they go to school already for a full day we have to figure out a schedule. Also, we need a teacher for that since I pick up the boys afterschool and am not at Mercy by the time the kids come back from school.

The boys are off school now for almost 3 weeks so I won't be at Mercy until they go back to school. We will be touring around Ban Chang on our bikes I think. We can ride to the beach which only takes 1/2 hour and we can also ride up to the Tesco if we want to shop and to the park which takes about 20 minutes.

Hope you all have a merry Christmas.

Sharon

2nd Month

We just moved into our new house. Craig and Sherri are in Canada for 2 weeks finishing off some stuff they needed to do which means that I have the boys while they are gone. I am volunteering at their school for these 2 weeks since I don't have transportation to the mercy center. I just wanted to upload a couple of pictures. The first is my new room. The 2nd is a baby in a car seat on a motorcycle. It was very funny. The baby would bounce whenever they went over a bump but I guess they consider it safe here.

First Month

It's hard to believe we have been here over a month already. We have been busy.

This picture is of the boys at the sea turtle farm we went to before school started. You can kind of see the beach in behind the trees. I will have to get some more pictures from Sherri as she has quite a few.


The boys are now in school and loving it. They have made many new friends and there is a lot of sports for them to do.


I started going in to the Mercy Center. I have gone into the slums where we gave out food and prayed for some of the people. I have also gone into the prisons to give out food and water.


Each day I have to return from Pattaya early to pick up the boys from school which means I must take the bus instead of getting a ride. Right now I have to get a ride to the bus stop and wait for the bus, then when I get off the bus (takes about 50 mins) I have to take a motorcycle taxi to get home. I need to buy a scooter to make it easier, cheaper, and faster. I could get one for around $450 CAN but I also must look into one with a sidecar on it so I will be able to pick up the boys from school once we move. Right now our house is right across the street from the school but when we move it will be further away.

If anyone is able to give towards a scooter, I would really appreciate it. I do really need one to get around. Please to go http://www.getspiritproof.com/ and follow the instructions on the donations page. Also, if you can send me an email to let me know either in facebook or yahoo then I would be sure to receive anything sent. If you send it there you will receive a tax receipt but if you give directly to me you won't.

Arrival

We’ve been in Thailand for almost two weeks now. We had two days of recuperating from jetlag at a beautiful hotel. Now we have settled in a temporary house which is a little small for six people but it will do for now.
The people here are so friendly and they love it when you try to speak Thai with them. It’s beautiful here and the temperature is a little hot but not unbearable.
I will be starting work at the Mercy Center August 24th, once the boys go to school. Right now I am looking after them while their parents go to the Mercy Center.

Preparations

In the last two weeks, I've applied for and received my travel visa and purchased my plane ticket. I'm leaving July 28th. I'm really looking forward to getting there and starting to work in the Mercy Center.
I'm still trying to clean out my house and get everything ready to go. I'm working full time until July 23rd so I don't have much time to get everything done but I'm working on it.

Getting Ready

After finally deciding to return to Thailand, I am in the process of getting rid of my stuff, raising money, and getting my travel visa and plane ticket.

I will be working in Pattaya, Thailand as an English language training and support person for the Thai teaching staff in the Early Learning Centers started by the Mercy Center (www.mercypattaya.com)

I will also be assisting in the development of English language training programs for children ages 18 months to 13 years living in Mercy's full time residence for ‘children at risk’.

I will be travelling and living with the Hackwell family and helping out with their kids as well.

If you would like to donate towards helping me to do this work in Thailand you can do so here:

www.getspiritproof.com/donate.html

Please send me an email to let me know, so I will know the funds are for me.

sharlg906@gmail.com