The Boy's Bamboo Hut

As we get to know our Thai Family at Hot Springs better, I am appreciating more and more the creativity, ingenuity and initiative required to care for 15 children, within the boundaries of limited resources.

I'd like to take you on a brief photo tour of the brand new accommodations Suradet has built for our boys. First, some background. From the first time I visited for an extended period of time in October of 2008, Suradet has expressed to me his concern that the original sleeping arrangements for the children would not be appropriate as the children grew older. As you recall, the church building was not designed with an orphan home in mind. The basement rooms were merely the quickest and best place for the children Suradet and Yupa invited into their lives three years ago.

Besides the environmental and aesthetic issues, the situational placement of the rooms in comparison to where Suradet and Yupa sleep does not provide enough supervision to ensure that things stay safe and healthy as the kids move into their teen years.

The end goal is to build a proper dorm, such as is the case at the other orphan homes. It would be a clean, simple structure, with space for houseparents separating two larger spaces - one for the boys and one for the girls. (Suradet also has a vision to add at least 15 more children at Hot Springs, but that's a matter for another blog.)

This was not a project Highview could commit to immediately. The love and generosity of our Sponsors is unquestioned. The way our church has embraced our Thai Family is amazing. So our ongoing partnership and helping Suradet achieve the full potential God has envisioned is something we want to be part of and continue to plan towards together. However, when it became clear that such a project would not be happening in the immediate future, and given that puberty does not get put on hold, Suradet set about to solve the problem in the interim....Thai style.

The new bamboo hut is a very sturdy structure made of a combination of purchased materials (very inexpensive) and materials gleaned from the property (free). It is up off the ground and enjoys more circulation and therefore is much cooler than the guest house rooms where Suradet had moved the boys for a few months during construction.


The wardrobes purchased last visit have gone with them, as you can see. The walls look airy to us, but believe me, in the heat you want as much circulation and air flow as possible.
Shoes for school are kept safely up off the ground.
We are back to mattresses on the floor for now, and mosquito netting has been installed.
The boys hut is situated to the left of the church building if you are looking at the property from the road. Some simple "landscaping" and leveling of the area around, plus the addition of some gravel has actually improved the play space outdoors. The boys still use the same washrooms they had when they were indoors.

This isn't a perfect arrangement by any means. However, when I asked the boys if they liked their new place they were enthusiastically positive. (I believe they are trusting me more to give me honest answers, as Entorn most certainly did when I asked him if he liked his new haircut. "Mai chorp." was his quick response. "Not like.")

I was given special permission to go inside (normally the rule is "no girls allowed") and it really does have the feel of a fun club house or tree house. And like I said, when you hear bamboo do not think rickety. It's a strong and sturdy structure.

Every time I visit Hot Springs I am more impressed with Suradet. He does not sit around and wait for someone else to solve the challenges. He is very aware of the needs of the kids and will do whatever he can with whatever he can to make sure they have the best possible place in which to grow up. He's patient, and has a great faith in a sovereign God who's timing is perfect.

When he and I talked about the next steps, and I explained that Highview is engaging in her own building project and that our prayer and hope is that more would join the adventure so that more can be done for the kingdom, including Thailand, he listened seriously until we understood each other, and then sat back in his chair and smiled. "Work together future many years," he said moving his hand back and forth quickly between us and then indicating a future time line. "Yes, I said. We are together for a long time." There was a pause, then Suradet pointed upwards. "Trust God."

That we will, Suradet. We will trust a God who has promised to give us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) no matter where on the planet we serve Him.

Suradet shops in the open market for groceries for his family.