Photos & News 

PROJECT X: "Support a family, adopt a village".

PROJECT X. [The 'X' was used by the early Christians as a symbol of Christ, from the Greek 'X' meaning Chi, or Christos]. 

BACKGOUND: July 2010] A 15-year-old girl who we will call "LEK" (not her real name), living in a tribal village in the remote North ofThailand, confided in an older village woman that she is selling her body for cash. This  was her sacrificial attempt to ward off starvation for her orphaned family of seven. Most days they didn't eat at all, and when they did, it is a small bowl of plain rice. As she confided in the older woman, tears spilled from her eyes. She  was selling herself out of desperation only. In the short term we have committed to making return journeys on a regular basis to provide this needy family with literal life support, and the opportunity for 15-year-old "Lek" to not be forced to sell herself as a means of surivival.  Long-term we will be seeking to help this family become more self-sufficient.

15th Trip (December 2011)

This trip has proved to be the longest so far. Apart from the 11-12 hour drive, we spent about four hours with our family. Lek's oldest brother proudly showed us his rice and corn crop, and even cooked up some rice for us to sample.  Nara, Lek's sister-in-law, asked us if we'd like to go to one of the Royal Projects about 4o minutes drive from their village. We got to see the terraced hillsides full of vegetables, pigs, chickens, and even coffee plants laden with coffee beans. The highlight of the trip was when Nara started to call Angela "mum" in Thai. Facing a long drive home, we got the hired 4WD back to Chiang Mai airport with five minutes to spare.

                      

Picking vegetables at the Royal Projects

Dan with the Project leader and a local army chief. We all drank hot (very hot!) tea together and talked for over an hour


One of our boy's in Nara's kitchen 

      

16th Trip (January 2012)

We were accompanied by four Kiwi friends on hired trailbikes on this trip. We arrived unannounced to find the house locked and nobody at home. Finally Sudarak, Lek's middle sister, turned up and let us in. We celebrated our youngest boy's eighth birthday with a cake and candles inside the bamboo house with Sudarak. On the way out to the main road we bumped into Lek's oldest brother, his wife Nara, and their baby.

           
The whole team early in the morning (minus Dan who is taking the photo)  
               
            
                          Singing Happy Birthday

                             
                            Angela and Sudarak  

KOH KONG INTERLUDE

At the end of November Angela, Dan, and Andre made a five day trip by bus over the Cambodian border to Koh Kong, to finally meet with Andre's girlfriend Teavy and her parents. In Khmer culture it is extremely important for prospective in-laws to meet and to approve of a match for their children. The extended family welcomed us and hosted us and fed us generously.  In late December Andre journeyed by himself to Phnom Penh (where Teavy works in a Christian kindergarten), and, as the fireworks exploded over the Mekong on the stroke of midnight December 31st, he took out an engagement ring and proposed.

So this is official! Andre and Teavy are engaged to be married. At this stage they are planning a wedding for December of this year. They are presently working on the required paperwork both in New Zealand and Cambodia.

We are very happy and excited to welcome Teavy into our family. 

 The two families at a beach in Koh Kong. Teavy is in the centre in pink.

 Andre and Teavy