We are feeling so blessed here this week. It seems that every time something major happens, and it appears that our world is falling apart, it is just a preparation for something better.

Since the caretaker left, our students behavior has changed dramatically. Instead of hovering around the house most of the time, they are out working on the gardens, and fixing up the outhouse, or working with Daddy in the training center. (I am known in America for having a cute outhouse, so I decided it was time to do something about our boring one here) They feel free now to use the whole property, and the tension that we always felt before is gone.

I wanted to update you on our little girls also, since I have not mentioned them for a while. Meme is amazing! When she came here, she was an angry, demanding, dirty little thief. I really did not like her at first, and I had to pray long and hard for love for her. Now, 4 months later, she is a sweet child, who is very affectionate. She is doing really well in her schoolwork. When we first started teaching her at home, she could not do ANYTHING! She did not know her numbers in any language, or the alphabet in any language, and she didn’t think that she could learn either. Teaching her to even try took a lot of time and patience on our part, along with a great deal of spankings, deep knee bends, and races around the field! Now, she has mastered addition, and is starting on subtraction. She excitedly shows everyone her math papers, and tells them “I am very smart, no spankings!”  She has also mastered the alphabet in English, Thai and Karen, and is working on learning to read in all three languages. Pearl will also start her on learning Burmese when we get the right books for her. (she already speaks it fluently, but she does not know how to read it)

Meme is also very excited about learning to pray right now. Every chance she gets she asks me to pray with her. She prayed in Sabbath School last week for the first time ever, and she was so proud that she knows how now. She has not stolen anything for a very long time, and seems to be a well adjusted child for the most part. Because of what she has been through in her short life, we call this a miracle. And did I mention that God is very faithful and has helped me to love and appreciate her a lot?

Hannah is 22 months old now. We have had many challenges with her. She inherited a nasty temper, and a lot of anger. But, she is learning to pray when she gets angry, and her tantrums are getting to be shorter in duration. She still has a long way to go, but we found recently that if we can get her outside and doing something constructive, it helps her attitude a lot. This means that I am going through a LOT more laundry for her, but believe me, it is worth it if I don’t have to be correcting her continuously. She likes to pull weeds with me in the mornings, and play on the rocks in front of the house. Her favorite toy is her dolly, which she has with her almost all the time. This morning, she fed herself breakfast for the first time, and did not do that bad of a job at it. We are going to start potty training her very soon, and it could prove to be a rather interesting undertaking! I just hope she likes the idea.

Last night Pearl, Travis, Roy and I were lingering around the table after English class, while the boys and Thunduh were in the kitchen getting things ready for breakfast, when we heard music. Travis walked to the door of the kitchen to check it out, and was just in time to see Thah Me quickly hide a cell phone. So, Thah Me was called in and we asked to listen to the music that he had been listening to. He complied reluctantly, and we heard what we thought we would…bad music! So, we talked to him for a while, and he asked us to show him in the bible why it was wrong to listen to this stuff. He told us that when he was taking bible studies, nobody mentioned anything about music to him, and he had never heard a sermon preached about it. So, we showed him some texts in the bible, and the light dawned on his face. He explained to us why it was wrong, and we did not have to say anything more! It is such a blessing to have students who really want to do what is right. They just have to be taught, since they do not know.

We have also been talking to the people who own this property, and although I don’t feel free to tell you all about it yet, I can tell you that God is absolutely amazing! He works in ways that we cannot see, and prepares the way before us. We are very happy in the knowledge that we are where God put us, and we know that he is also in control of the future.