Christmas Gifts for Ha Ron

Even though we didn't sponsor HaRon when he arrived from the refugee camp in Thailand early this year, because he is living with NoSa's family, Jill unofficially adopted him during her many visits with NoSa, ZarZar and the girls.

So this week, Jill brought a few gifts for HaRon when she went to drop off the beautiful, hand-made needlework doll house that Shirley Zingsheim had made for ThaZin, TinSay and ThatThat Nai. The girls weren't at home when she brought it over, but HaRon, ZarZar and NoSa thought it was delightful.

HaRon was very touched and happy and surprised that Jill had presents for him, too. It was fun to watch his smile light up his face as he held up his new shirt to show Jill that it would be a perfect fit.

Christmas Gifts for Ah Mee's Family

Jill Coughlin and her son, Zack, purchased and delivered Christmas gifts to Ah Mee's family last weekend. Jill thought the family seemed very surprised by this and didn't really know how to react. Jill explained, "They didn't open them while we there, which I had sort of expected. When I had given the girls small birthday gifts (since their birthdays were near mine), they hadn't opened them then, either. Mya Min Way looked like she wanted to open hers, though."

Zack used the money that he received as part of the Kingdom Assignment from Pastor Tim to purchase a gift for Mya Min Way, so that was a great moment to capture in a picture. Way to go Zack!

Ah Mee's New Job

Ah Mee has a new job. She started just before Thanksgiving at the Royal Paper Company putting tissue into boxes. The hours are difficult as she works 4:30 PM to 3 AM, but because of the 10-hour shifts, she has Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to be with the children. Because buses don't run at 3 in the morning, Ah Mee must pay for some kind of car service, which costs about $100 a month to bring her and some other people home at 3 AM. That's a huge expense for this family, but she is grateful for her job.

We also learned recently that there is another child in the family. He is the elder son and is still in Thailand where he got married without the rest of the family being there. It was very disappointing for them not to be with him for that. He is hoping to be able to come to the United States with his new wife to join his family here.