We arrived in Bangkok yesterday morning, and checked into our hotel on Yaowarat Road, smack dab in the middle of Bankok's ancient Chinatown. Dismissed by snooty travelers as dirty, crowded and chaotic, Chinatown is the place to be if you're a food lover in need of a few days' R and R. 

We're staying in a cool old hotel that feels like I'd imagine 1920s Shanghai, minus the opium and gangsters. Poorly lit, musty and fabulously evocative, I wouldn't want to live here, but it's great for a break.

Yaowarat Road is the main drag, and it looks exactly like you'd expect -- lots of signs in Chinese, tea shops, duck vendors and purveyors of watches and sunglasses of dubious provenance. It's best first thing in the morning and just after dusk.

As the lights go down, the street kitchens roll out. Carts, card tables and umbrellas crowd the sidewalks and spill out into the road. Tuk tuks, taxis and buses speed by as diners slurp down noodles and sip beer at restaurants whose appearances belie the world class cuisine served therein.

Anyone who knows me knows that that I'm in heaven around here, right?  Unfortunately, the cold I was getting in Chiang Mai hit me full force last night, and sapped me of all energy and appetite. Kori assures me that last night's dinner was delicious, but I could only finish a couple of bites. I dragged myself back to the hotel -- Pak had to carry my bag, as I was too tired to do so -- and was in bed by 7:30. I slept until about 8:30 and decided that I was going to feel better, even if it killed me.

I took our clothes to a back-alley laundry (saving about $50 -- hotel laundry services are the biggest ripoffs in the hospitality industry), grabbed a bag of cooked rice, a few steamed buns and a styrofoam carton of crispy pork belly and returned to our room. We ate our breakfast on the floor of our hotel room (saving about $30 -- hotel restaurants are the second biggest ripoffs in the hospitality industry) and decided that I felt well enough to take the family out shopping. 

We took a taxi to the impressive and bewildering Central Plaza mall. We don't really need anything, so we just wandered until lunch time. We selected Din Tai Fung, a dim sum restaurant widely reputed as having the world's best xiao long bao (soup dumplings). I don't have enough experience to confirm the dumplings' status as world's finest, but they were certainly the best I've ever had. Rolled and stuffed by hand, these are the real deal, and are a far sight better than the ones served in Columbus at Helen's Asian Kitchen. 

We returned the hotel, and the kids stayed in their room doing homework while Kori and I walked down the street for a foot massage. By the end of the massage, my energy had almost completely returned. Thank God! And thank all of you for praying.

Around dinner time, we headed out and enjoyed the fine dining and people-watching I'd missed out on during last night's malaise. We walked around for about an hour before settling down at a folding table right on the street, and we enjoyed noodles with duck broth, crispy duck breast and pork wontons. It was a perfect meal, and cost about a buck a bowl. Not so bad.

Afterwards, we stopped for tea and cookies. So nice. Everyone is happy, and we are all getting along. And I'm feeling much better. About 75%. I'm hoping for 100% tomorrow morning. We'll visit the Royal Palace and something billed as "the thieves market." Sounds cool. 

We have one more day in Bangkok, and then we head to Delhi. After a couple of days in Delhi and Agra, we'll be in Kalimpong to visit the kids and staff of Asia's Hope.  

It's been a great couple of weeks. I'm happy to say that the kids and staff of Asia's Hope Thailand are thriving under the leadership of Tutu Bee, our national director. Tomorrow, we leave for a couple of days R-and-R in Bangok, and then we're off to India.

Tonight Xiu Dan is hanging out with Tutu, while the rest of us head to the city with her son Daniel to grab some dinner and hang out at a Jazz club. 

On Sunday, we spent the morning worshiping with the kids and staff at Wiang Pa Pao, and enjoyed the scenic drive back into town. 

Last night, we spent the evening with at our Doi Saket 2 home, and played takraw and volleyball with the kids much to their delight and amusement. It's probably not necessary to say that neither Kori nor I will be trying out for any takraw teams anytime soon.

This morning we joined all of our Thailand staff except for those in Wiang Pa Pao (it would be quite a drive for them) for a meeting, prayer and a delicious lakeside staff appreciation lunch.

I feel so blessed to call these guys my friends and co-workers. I'm going to miss them, but the calendar says it's time to move on. Pray for us as we embark on a few days of travel. Aside from some colds and an occasional bout of the squirts, we're in sound body and spirit. 

Next up, Bangkok. 

Tomorrow will end our three day visit to our campus in Wiang Pa Pao, a project we sometimes refer to as “the farm.” While we do have some crops growing here – lychee, pumpkins, corn, chilies, cabbages and mulberry trees (for a small-scale silk production) – it’s the people that we’re here to see.

Tutu’s parents live here as caretakers, along with 7 widows, 8 other staff and two homes of 20 kids each. The homes are both sponsored by Wooster Grace Brethren Church, which has been a generous partner for many years. I remember when the property was fallow and abandoned, the large house which is now the Wiang Pa Pao 1 home in disrepair. Today it’s in great shape, something always under construction, and filled with laughter.

Last night we had dinner Tutu’s parents’ cottage – home-grown chicken, mountain rice and the best mangos you’ve had. We played soccer with the kids and watched them leap through the air catching a rubber band rope with their toes in a game that I could barely understand, much less attempt. We sang songs and walked hand-in-hand through the mulberry orchards.

Today we showed up around 11am to find that the pig for this afternoon’s barbeque had already been slaughtered, an apparent concession to the my kids’ western sensibilities. We didn’t complain; we’ve been present for the pig’s demise on a number of other occasions, and it’s a fascinating, but nasty business.

Staff and kids worked together to butcher the beast, and before long, the meat was portioned into large bowls where it was combined with garlic and chilies grown on our property, honey, soy sauce and other secret ingredients. The meat was hung on hooks inside a grill made from a cleverly-converted 50 gallon drum and cooked over charcoal and wood until the outside was glazed and crispy, and the inside tender.

Demonstrating once again the superiority of the New Covenant, we feasted on pork until we felt like pigs ourselves. We then escaped the afternoon heat, retiring to the newly-constructed chapel to play games and enjoy the two new keyboards bought by one of the members of Wooster Grace Brethren.

After exhausting ourselves, we returned to our rooms at a local mountain-side hotel and enjoyed a dip in the pool. Right now, Kori’s reading a book and all three kids are working on their summer homework. Tutu’s coming to pick us up for dinner soon, although I must confess I’m all that hungry. I just hope pork isn’t on the menu.

Tomorrow we’ll worship together, have lunch and then return to Chiang Mai. We’ll spend the evening with the kids from Doi Saket 2, and then before we know it, our time with Asia’s Hope Thailand will be over. On Wednesday, we fly to Bangkok for a couple of days of r-and-r, and then we’ll be headed to India for the next phase of our adventure.

I still have quite a few meetings with staff and visits with kids before I leave, but I feel like I have had a productive trip thus far. Beyond that, it’s been enjoyable. My family travels well together, and aside from a few surly moments from each of us at different times, we’ve not let stress on our bodies and minds discourage us or turn us against each other. I’m sure that before this is all finished, we’ll have our moments, but for now I’m feeling extremely blessed to be able to taste and see the fruits of the last decade’s labors. Thank you for your love and support.

Anytime one of our friends in Thailand use the words "cricket" and "dinner" together, my kids get a little nervous. But tonight's fare was unrelated to the protein rich members of family gryllidae. It was, rather, a celebration of 9 students who have competed at the highest levels of cricket in Thailand and Around the world.

Eight of our "cricket champions" joined us for dinner; one of our boys -- Narabed -- was unable to pull away from studies to do so. The kids voted unanimously to eat at an open-front, roadside restaurant called "The Pig Pen" (The name is justified by the unlimited servings of raw pork, fish, squid, chicken and beef you can grill on gas-powered braziers in the middle of each table.)

Among the nine, we have three young players who are truly world-class. You may remember that Parichat and Jutamat were two of only 14 girls nation-wide who qualified for Thai National Team, which competed in the world championships in Kuwait last year. They will also travel to New Zealand for international competition in a few months. And Narabed (not pictured; he was home studying) represented his age group on an international level in Malaysia.

It is amazing that out of all the youth cricketers in Thailand, three of the very best were raised at Asia's Hope. For all nine of the teens we celebrated last night, their success on the pitch represents untold hours of hard work and indicates a certain drive and character that will serve these kids well in whatever endeavor they choose in life. 

I don't know much about the game of cricket, but I do know that I'm really proud of each of these wonderful kids.

Today we visited Ford, the son of our Doi Saket 2 parents, Dong and Ying, at McCormick Children's Hospital. 

You might remember this little guy, who was thus named because he was born in the back of a pickup truck.

Well, he has suffered from a recurring condition since birth wherein he gets a kink in his small intestine and has to go to the hospital for treatment. As you might imagine, this is painful for him and both scary and frustrating for his parents.

He's been in the hospital for three days now and is expected to be released tomorrow. Thankfully, the doctors were once again able to treat him successfully, and he is no longer in any pain. When he is older, he may be able to have surgery to correct the problem, but for now, all we can do is deal with it each time the problem flares up.

Please join me in praying for complete and immediate healing for Ford. 

Ford with his Dad, Dong, and his mom, Ying.

Pictured left to right: Yupin, Jinda and Sukyuna

Today I had the privilege of congratulating three girls Yupin (Doi Saket 1C Children's Home), Jinda and Sukunya (Doi Saket 1B Children's Home), who were recently awarded four-year scholarships by the Thai government and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to study Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan after they graduate high school in 2014.

Fluent in Thai and in their native tribal languages (Yupin is from the Hmong tribe; Jinda and Sukunya are Skaw Karen), these girls are already incredibly accomplished young women compared to the vast majority of their peers, and would be almost guaranteed a good job and a bright future even without this chance to study abroad. With their completion of their course of study in Taiwan, their opportunities will be truly unlimited.

We are all proud of these hardworking young women, and we are also thankful for our staff in Thailand who have raised them and for our friends in Canada and the U.S. who have provided generous and consistent financial support for the girls since they came to Asia's Hope as young children.

Please continue to pray for Yupin, Jinda and Sukunya and all of the students graduating from Asia's Hope in Thailand, Cambodia and India. And please consider making a donation to our Scholarship Fund, which will help make university or vocational training a possibility for all of our 700 kids.

Sunday is for rest, right? Well, Tutu did take Kori, Xiu Dan and I to get Thai Massages after lunch (imagine chiropractic-meets-Brazilian-jiu-jitsu). But aside from that, it's been non-stop activity all day long.

We started the morning with church at our main campus in Doi Saket -- all of the kids and staff from our seven homes in town, as well as neighbors and a contingent from another organization's orphan homes joining their voices in worship. Pretty amazing.  

After lunch, my sons went out with Tutu's son and nephew and played video games at a local internet café while Kori, Xiu Dan and I endured/enjoyed the aforementioned massages. We then returned to Doi Saket 1 and spent the remaining sunlight hours playing cricket and soccer.  

At dusk, we said goodbye to the Doi Saket 1 kids and headed into the city for the Sunday walking market. We ate some great street food and wandered around with a multitude of others, mostly tourists, looking at but not buying the handicrafts and souvenirs.

It's 11pm now, and I'm feeling weary but blessed. It feels like we've crammed a week's worth of activities into a single day. Tomorrow we'll exhaust ourselves all over again. Maybe Tuesday we'll get some rest. Or maybe not... 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

A couple of years ago, one of our staff members had some shirts made for an Asia's Hope soccer team and misspelled ever so slightly the name. Hey, his English is a lot better than my Thai. 

At any rate, these pics are from our evening at the wonderful Doi Saket 3 and Doi Saket 4 children's homes. I'm so grateful for Grace Community Church in Fremont, Ohio, sponsors of both of these homes. Thank God for the staff and congregation under the leadership of Pastor Kevin Pinkerton. Without their help, these orphaned kids would have languished in extreme poverty, at high risk of sexual and economic exploitation.