Dealing with lice was something thing to consider at most Thai schools.  We started the battle with lice since day one, last May when the girls arrived. We found out that at the government orphanage, the girls had lice off and on for 3 years.  We realized that over the counter medicine had not been working and could even be harmful for children with HIVs.  My Thai Pastor told us about a local plant called "noi na", a fruit tree with strong smelling leaves.  We blended the leaves with hair conditioner to make a natural paste to apply for the girls hair.  We had to wrap their hair overnight and rinse out in the morning.  Every few months, the girls had to take the lice treatment.  Some of our girls took it joyfully while others were definitely less enthusiastic. 

One of the greatest joy in bringing children to come to know the love of God is seeing them respond to
God's love.   My orphan girls love to go to church. I am very proud of them because I don't have to force them. They have the desire to go to church and to worship.  It is a very precious thing to see children's spontaneous praise and prayers to God.

The girls began to reach out to their friends by inviting them to come to our home for songs and Bible study.  Through prayers a handful of girls began to join us each Friday.  Some of these girls came from homes whose parents are against Christianity. But they still come, knowing that they face a spanking or a beating when they get home. Please remember the Thai children in your prayers and pray for more Thai Christians to dare and share their faith with their friends and neighbors.

At home each night, we get together before bedtime to memorize scriptures. In order to be able to share the Good news, we have to know and understand The Word. We would set time for about 20 minutes  each night to go over a verse. Then we all pray out loud and silently.  The girls would pray for their school. They would pray for Thailand and for their teachers and friends to come to know Jesus. They always pray for the boys who have been bullying them.  At each prayer time, they would ask God to bless Khun Na, the house mother, Kru Wilai who have been teaching them about God and for "Grand Pa Gary& Grand Ma Cindy, the missionaries who have been supporting them.  

What a great time we had at Nick Vujicic's first time in Thailand concert!  We were very inspired by Nick's testimony of faith and hope in God. His message was very timely for our girls who had their own insecurities of outward appearance and ability.  Now they understand that no matter what, they are important in God's eye and that they can do great things for God, if they just have a willing heart.

This was the girls first concert outing!  We waited with anticipation.  We not only got to hear Nick's story but we also had some Thai and Korean pop stars and singers! (Thai girls are crazy about Korean stars.  That night, they got to hear Korean Americans singing songs about how Jesus changed their lives. 

Nick Vujicic's concert packed out the convention hall with over 12,000 people. This was a prelude to the grand scale event of Franklin Graham's Abundant Life Festival that was to come in November. The outreach effort of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association took months of preparation and organization from The BGEA and the hundreds of Thai churches in Chiang Mai and north Thailand. They prayed and anticipated tens of thousands of people to come here the Good News.  For many, it would be the first time in their lives.