EARLY DAYS OF THE CHILDREN'S HOME 2

UNEXPECTED HELP

The first orphans arrived in February 1975. The two youngest did not speak Thai. The older siblings translated for them. We had not made any plans before they came. We just welcomed them as we had a large house.

I CAME TO HELP YOU

One day, one of my former Thai language teachers from Bangkok came to our home. Her name was Kuson. I had left language school three years earlier and had not had contact with her since then. I was surprised when she came. I welcomed her and asked about her plans. She said, "I came to help you." I was even more surprised. What could I ask her to do? I greatly respected my language teacher, so I was unsure what I could ask her to do.

She saw the children and asked me where they came from. I said they were orphans and belonged to a hill tribe in another province. She tried to speak to them and noticed that the youngest children couldn't speak Thai. So she said, "I could teach them Thai so they can begin school in May."

So she sat with them every morning for a few hours and taught them to speak, read, and write Thai.

The school year in Thailand began in May. By the time school started, all the children were fluent in Thai. Soon after that, the teacher left for other tasks. Although I do not know where she went, I am incredibly grateful for her assistance, particularly her support of the children. They had no problems starting in primary school, opposite our home. Soon, they were at the top of their classes.

Several new girls came to live with us just before the new school year began. Three of them were orphans. Two came from villages where they could not study beyond the sixth year of primary school but could continue in a lower secondary school in the town.

One day, we had another surprise visitor. He saw several children playing in the house and asked who they were and how we financed their care. When we answered, he took out his wallet and started piling red 100-baht bills on our dining room table. (At the time, 25 Thai baht equaled one US dollar.) When we accepted the children, we had not even considered finances. Somehow, God supplied all their and our needs.

Within the next few years, our family in the Maliwan House in Loei was more than full. We wanted to help these children through their education, but we thought our task would end when they were grown up. God had more plans for the coming years.

Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21