When children come to us, they've often led lives of deprivation and despair. They're usually not ready to start "regular" school due to serious educational, nutritional and social delays. Staff in each Asia's Hope country have to give these children special care and work with educators to create tailored solutions that meet their unique needs.

In India, we have a large number of young children who, prior to coming into our care, have never had any sort of education at all. Rather than trying to mainstream them immediately, we've begun home schooling them. By default -- due to the numbers -- our home school is becoming larger, and more complex. In fact, it's run very much like the one-room schoolhouses that once formed the backbone of the American education system. 

Unfortunately, we don't have a separate stream of funding for our little schoolhouse in India (nor do we have full funding for our large, k-6 Christian school in Cambodia). So if any of you reading would like to help us raise funds specifically for early childhood education, please contact me! 

At any rate, we got up this morning, braved the dense fog that blanketed Kalimpong city and we grabbed a quick breakfast before heading out with Nandu to a local sporting goods store -- a tiny wooden stall on a busy street, not the Dick's Sporting Goods you may be imagining -- and bought some basketballs, soccer balls and volleyballs for the kids at the school. We then headed to our mini-campus, which houses homes 1 and 2 and the schoolhouse.  

We passed out the balls to the most of the kids' delight. Some of the newer kids are shellshocked, and don't quite get what to do with toys, or with people giving them things, for that matter. The playground was absolute chaos for about 45 minutes. Then we divided some of the older kids into teams and played a few rounds of Steal the Bacon (Steal the Chicken here, since no one knows what bacon is in this part of the world).

Afterwards, we shared a delicious lunch of rice, dal (curried lentils) and beef. We left afterwards so the kids could practice a performance they've put together to welcome the soon-to-arrive teams from North Church and Scarlet City Church in Columbus, Ohio.

I love these kids. It's so interesting to see the difference between the ones who have just arrived, those who have been with us for a year, and those who have been together for much longer. They're all in different places developmentally and relationally, but they're all so precious. 

I have a special place in my heart for the kids I know the best, but all of them are great. Please pray for more sponsoring churches. We are in urgent need of two sponsoring churches in India and one in Cambodia. Having spent time with these kids, and having seen the impact on churches who partner with us, I can't imagine why anyone would not want to jump in with both feet. But we're trusting God. He continues to provide for us, and we know that he has given us these kids for a reason.

As you look at these pictures, will you pray for permanent supporting churches for the kids from Kalimpong 3 -- and for those who will be Kalimpong 4. May God bless us all as we work hard for these wonderful children. 

Finally, after too many days of travel and what was ostensibly a relaxing time "off," it's really great to be back among the kids and staff of Asia's Hope. It's a big difference traveling as a tourist and being hosted as a family member. 

We visited our newly-rented facility, a spacious one-acre (although much of it is overgrown at the moment) plot with two kitchens, ample play areas and a one-room school house where most of our kids k-5th grade study and a large, three-story house that serves as home for Kalimpong 2 and Kalimpong 3 children's homes.

Eventually, we will buy land somewhere and build separate single-family dwellings for each home like we have in Cambodia and Thailand. But for now, both of the homes have separate floors in the building, separate entrances and function as individual families. And that's really what's important. Buildings play a role in big role in our strategy, but they're not the foundation. The most important thing is that each child has a mom and a dad, and belongs in a family.

We also visited the Kalimpong 1 home, which has also recently moved into a new, more spacious place. We didn't spend much time with them, because all of the middle- and high school students were studying hard for tomorrow's final exams.

We joined Nandu, Anu and their children Apphia and Nicholas for dinner at their house which is now quite empty. The Kalimpong 3 kids moved into their new space, and now Nandu and Anu have only 12 kids (who will one day be part of Kalimpong 4) living with them.  

(Parenthetically, I should point out that we don't even have a sponsoring church for home 3 -- we've been surviving on generous donations to feed the "extra," or "provisional" kids. Please pray for a sponsor -- soon!) 

My daughter Xiu Dan and Apphia are the same age, same size and like the same things. They are going to be good friends. 

Tomorrow we will spend more time with the kids, and then in a couple of days we'll take off toward Gangtok for a retreat with just our family and Nandu's. The kids will keep themselves busy somehow, and Nandu and I will dig deep into strategic and tactical discussions.  

I'm hoping the weather is clearer tomorrow. I would really love to see the Himalayas on this trip, but everything has been draped in fog. But as always, we will take what the day gives us. Good night! 

Greetings from Cloud City.

All of Kalimpong is shrouded in a thick fog this morning. The monsoon season has come to India, and even when it’s not raining, the clouds always hold the threat of a sudden and intense downpour. Pedantic me advises that it’s mathematically impossible, but colloquial me insists that it’s about 140% humidity out there. Still, it’s much nicer here than in Delhi, where the temperature will reach 104F today. In Kalimpong, we can expect the low 80s.

We arrived here last night after a long, scenic and somewhat harrowing drive from Siliguri, which lies two hours – or four, or five, depending on weather and road conditions – down the mountain. Our Indian director, Nandu, and his wife Anu met us at a hotel in Siliguri and drove us the rest of the way. They had intended to meet us at the airport but were delayed by a landslide that killed a number of motorists, missing Nandu and Anu by only a kilometer or two.

Leaving Siliguri, we faced intense traffic, but enjoyed relatively straight and flat roads that could easily fool a first time traveler into thinking that the road to Kalimpong isn’t nearly as bad as he had heard. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your preferences – we exchanged heavy traffic for poor roads about a half hour outside of town.

Carved into the side of a mountain, this “major Indo-Chinese highway” is only slightly wider than one lane of an American interstate. That would be fine, if traffic only went one way on these roads. But here, huge trucks, tiny cars, SUVs and motorcyles all vie for position in what is practically indistinguishable from a massive game of chicken. If you want to pass (which, of course, every driver wants to do – all the time), you lay on your horn, flash your headlights and jam on the gas. If you possess sufficient skill and more than a little luck, you won’t encounter an oncoming vehicle and get forced off the side of the cliff into the rushing waters of the Teesta below.

Transit drama aside, we arrived safely in Kalimpong shortly after dark and checked into our hotel. The Silver Oaks hotel is a raj-era retreat that looks like something your English grandmother would design. For a Wes Anderson film. It’s a little more expensive than I would like, but it’s really the only game in town if you want internet access and proximity to town.

We’re all sleeping together in one big room – Xiu Dan in the big bed with mom and dad and the boys on their own beds. We slept well, ate a big breakfast and now we’re resting before Nandu comes by to take us to his house. We’ll spend some time with his family and then begin visiting the kids and staff of Asia’s Hope. We’ve rearranged some of our facilities; all of them are rented at this point except for Nandu’s house, so we will continue to move around until we can find land that we can afford to build on.

We’re all ready to see the kids. It’s been nice having a few days’ vacation, but we’re getting stir crazy. We didn’t come here to see the monuments and hang out in hotel rooms.

I’ll have pictures later.

It's only 9pm, but I feel like it's half-past midnight. We've had an enjoyable but exhausting couple of days. We flew from Bangkok to Delhi, spent a day in Delhi, drove 5 hours to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and 5 hours back. Tomorrow we fly to Siliguri and drive up into the foothills of the Himalayas into Kalimpong. 

I'm greatly looking forward to being in Kalimpong. I miss my Indian staff and kids, and it will be nice to be back in Asia's Hope's world after spending a few days as tourists. It'll also be nice to get out of the brutally hot weather. Delhi reached 106F/41C today. Kalimpong is going to be about 79F/26C. Nice. 

I'm also looking forward to spending a few nights in the same place, rather than putting the kids through a constant circuit of check-ins and check-outs. Don't get me wrong. Bangkok was nice. Agra was beautiful. Delhi is exhilarating. But Kalimpong is our Indian home, and I'm ready to settle in with friends and family for a while. 

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.