Sunday Afternoon

We are back! It has been 5 1/2 long months since we've been back in the "Land of Smiles." We like to spend some of our Sunday mornings going to the Wawee Coffee and then walking across the bridge to the Warorot Market. Warorot is a huge flower market and they have great outdoor food stalls as well. It is a very chaotic place teeming with masses of people and vehicles of all kinds. I don't know how I lived without Wawee coffee before coming to Thailand. It is very addicting! Must be the caffiene.

The girls aren't too adventourous when it comes to Thai food. However, Anna will try most Thai foods. We ordered "Kow Phak Gai" - translation- fried rice with chicken. Can't go wrong with fried rice. While we are eating we just try to blend in with the rest of Thailand. Occasionally people will realize we are foreigners and Anna will usually get her chubby cheeks pinched. The Thai people can't seem to help themselves. For some reason they don't get too excited about pinching my cheeks. I don't get it! Maybe it is the cute factor and apparently I don't have it.

We feel so at home here and it is wonderful to be back. The girls are getting back into somewhat of a routine and our sleep patterns have started to become regular. I think it is safe to say that we are over our jet lag. It still seems so surreal that we are actually back in Thailand. We have been back only 11 days, but sometimes I have to pinch myself, usually on the cheek, since nobody else will.

The girls seem to be adjusting well to being back here, although the heat and humidity is draining us of energy. I forgot how hot and humid it can get here. I have to take 2-3 showers a day just keep me from feeling sticky all the time. I had heard from my friends that we were gone back to the States during one of the hottest years on record for Chiang Mai. Thank God for that one. Even the Thais were complaining of the heat. If they were complaining, then you know it was hot.

I also wanted to appologize to all who follow this blog that I haven't kept up on the posts regularly. The time spent in the States doing fundraising was an all consuming job in itself. I do appreciate your patience.

It was just about to rain as we headed back to our car to go home. Great timing. This is the Monsoon season, so it rains practically everyday. The girls love this season and look forward to playing in the rain every chance they get.

We will keep you all posted on this next chapter in our lives and hope you can walk this journey of faith with us. Until next time Acacia and Anna would like to say "Sawat dii Kaa"

Thailand Commissioning

This is a 3 minute video of our work in Thailand with HIV/AIDS, Disabled children and Human trafficking.

Committed to the Calling

This is an interview that Shelly and I did with Commpassionradio.com. We were able to share with Norm Nelson what we are doing in Thailand as followers of Jesus.

Click below on "Committed to the calling" to hear our radio interview.


Committed to the Calling

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Transitions.

Life is one continuous transition. Big transitions and small ones that all have an impact on which direction one's life is headed. We are on home assignment from serving 2 1/2 years in Chiang Mai. As you may or may not know we are transitioning to a new Mission Organization. We will now be a part of "Interserve". Which is often called the best Mission sending organization you've never heard of. We spent about 10 days in the city of brotherly love (Philly) to participate in the Interserve Candidate School. Basically orientation and training.

So far, we've been back for about a month and a half and I still feel out of whack. The girls have their routine which is great and Shelly and I have the monumental task of trying to raise support to go back to Thailand. It is proving much more difficult than we thought. We are trying to follow God's path, but it has a lot of twists and turns and I can't see what is around the next bend. I trust He will show us the way. I want to say thank you to all the people that helped us, supported us and prayed for us during this difficult transition. I love you all dearly. We look forward to returning to Thailand and continuing what God has placed in our hearts.





Acacia and Annapurna with Mrs Debbie (Leader of the kids program for Interserve)

Faucett Family Mission in Thailand Introduction Video

Chiang Mai Photo Exhibit

I have entered my first Photo Exhibition which starts on Nov 14th and runs until the 29th. Let me back up though and tell you that I'm not a professional photographer and I joined a photography group in Chiang Mai to hone my skills. This is the 2nd year the Chiang Mai Photographic Group (CMPG) has put on an exhibition. I feel very lucky to have 7 photos represented in the exhibition. The theme of the exhibition is Chiang Mai and Asia in general. I have 3 pictures from my Mission trip in India and 4 pictures from around Chiang Mai. I originally had 19 pictures entered, but we all had to vote on other photographers pics and I ended up with the final 7 in the show. This announcement is showing 2 of my pictures in the exhibition. The small picture on the left was not voted in. It is actually a picture of Acacia running in the rain during the monsoon season here in Chiang Mai.
I'll post the other pictures that made the cut in another blog post. For those of you living here in Chiang Mai come on out and check out the show. There are some fantastic photos of Chiang Mai and Asia.

My Work with Mai

In a previous post I told about my work with Hope Home, the Christian residential home for orphans with disabilities. I was matched with Mai, a 13-year-old boy who was neglected and spent his first 11 years in a bamboo cage in a remote village. Mai was progressing very well with physical therapy and receiving lots of love and attention. I looked forward to our twice-weekly visits. However, one day I went to see Mai and he was gone. The staff said that his legal guardian came without notice and took him away. I was devastated. He had spent a year with us and the staff, and he was loved by everyone. Acacia and I had a special bond with Mai and didn’t understand how something like this could happen when things were going so well.

It turns out that the reason Mai’s guardian withdrew him was due to a dispute amongst adults about something that had nothing to do with Mai. I vowed to track down Mai and make sure he was OK. About three weeks later, I saw an ad pinned on an expat news board seeking a volunteer to work with a neglected boy named Mai. I was interviewed by the guardian, who made it clear he wasn’t thrilled with Christians, but I was readily accepted since no one else had volunteered!


I visited Mai at his new “home” and was sad to see his new living conditions. Although his caregiver was very caring, she was also running a daycare out of her home and was taking care of 13 other small children. I know how hard it is to take care of my own two children, let alone a special needs child and 13 others! And this was her first experience with a disabled child. Her home was a very simple, rustic home with a concrete slab for a floor. This is where I first found Mai, lying on the concrete by himself, being taken care of physically, but he was again being emotionally neglected. I continued visiting him twice a week and constantly informed the guardian about Mai’s dismal living situation. After two months, Mai was moved to a new, permanent residential home which was better able to care for him. I am happy to say that Mai has a good home he shares with two other boys and is receiving quality care. I still go out and visit him when possible.



Surprisingly, a few months later I received a phone call from Mai’s guardian. He asked if I could help with finding a Christian assistant at the new home. He said that the Thai caregivers he had hired kept leaving and were not committed to working with the children. The main caregiver said that he should hire a Christian because they had good hearts and would be loving and faithful to the children. Oh, how God does work in mysterious ways!

I am so happy that I was able to be a part of God’s plan for Mai. I was able to act as a neutral party between Hope Home and Mai’s guardian and help assist in his new placement and assure that he was being well take care of. Also, God was beginning to open Mai’s guardian’s eyes to Christianity. Although the staff of Hope Home and I dearly miss Mai, I trust that I was used for His wishes.

Please keep the children of Thailand, especially the orphans and ones with special needs, in your prayers.

Shelly Faucett