Making our home in Chiang Rai

We have been here in Chiang Rai for almost three weeks now. Currently we are living at the Akha Youth Development Center in the dental clinic, which is 

the same place we stayed our last time living in Thailand. 

We live on a small property with 70 Akha children ages 4-18, as well as 6 of the staff at the center. Our first night in the clinic we discovered a snake skin that some reptilian friend had left behind in our new home. We soon found where he had been making his entrance and closed off that hole :>)

Every day of the week we head into town to study Thai from a private tutor at a small language school here called A.U.A. Studying Thai is a challenge, especially because of the 5 different tones the language contains, making it easy to mispronounce a word. Luka (the director for the foundation we are working under) has really been encouraging us to spend this first year really focusing on learning Thai, and to not get distracted by all the opportunities to get overwhelmed with work here. Beyond studying Thai each day we are teaching english to the children at the center on Monday and Thursday evenings. 

Rusty has begun making phone calls and plans to visit various tea factories around here to learn more about the steps of processing the tea, as well as to explore different packaging options. This past weekend Rusty took some of the older kids from the Akha Youth Development Center to one of the villages we are working in to discuss how they can help them with some future building projects. This village has ten families in it who called Luka last year and asked if he could come and share more about who Jesus is with them, and have since started following Jesus.

As far as using my nursing skills here I have decided to stick with just caring for the needs of the children at the center here (about 70 children), and to postpone working in the clinic in a nearby village until Libby (my Nurse Practitioner friend from Seattle, WA) arrives in November. From the children I have seen impetigo, boils, fevers, rashes, asthma attacks, bee sting allergic reactions, and sore throats. On a few different occasions I have called a doctor living in the Naan province of Thailand for some direction, as well as Libby in the States. So thankful to have them a phone call away!

The other day one little girl had an infection in her leg that was causing her to barely be able to walk. The staff at the center kept telling me that I needed to cut it open to allow the pus to drain out. I tried to explain to them that I have never done that before, and that I don't really feel comfortable cutting her leg open and I'd rather drive her to a clinic and see what they suggest. So we loaded up on my motorbike, and sure enough they didn't cut open her sore, but rather prescribed medication for the infection. I wouldn't want a new graduate nurse lance a sore in my leg, so I won't inflict my lack of skills on an unknowing patient here :>)

Besides this we have been working on reorganzing the sponsorship program here, updating the files of new children, and begin communicating with sponsors at home.

We love hearing from you at home. Even if its just a little e-mail sharing how your week is going, what your learning...you know the little things.