My trip to Thailand was both productive and timely. It was great to reconnect with our partners in northern Thailand and Myanmar. I had some great moments with my daughter Amber and when my son-in-law James Martin visited, we learned much about doing construction in Thailand.
One of the reasons I went was to go further with Josh & Julie in helping them purchase land for which we fundraised late last fall. After much consideration and prayer, we realized the original parcel of land wasn’t ideal for building on. The type of people the House of Blessing serves are very sensitive to spirits and being in close proximity to a crematorium is not ideal. This, combined with the scope of bringing in a road and power to the site, ramps up the cost considerably. With several other reasons for not building there added to these, we decided to look at other options.
Another big factor that came to light (which we just learned about) is that in order to get legal “foster care” status, the House of Blessing would need to move to an appropriate facility ASAP. They are currently renting a number of small townhouse buildings to house the children. We learned that these homes, being situated in an open village will not likely pass Thai law for foster homes. We also do want to help them find a facility that is secure as possible. So, we looked at other fields and potential sites. There weren’t too many options available in our price range. We saw one dream site with buildings and fruit trees on it, but it has been promised to another group. We were told that even renting this facility on an interim basis wasn’t possible.
Shortly after I returned to Canada, Josh and Julie discovered another site. It was formerly occupied by a German based Christian mission. This 11 rai (4.35 acre) site has been vacant for quite a while (4 years) and there is much work to do to bring it up to speed but Josh and Julie saw beyond the dirt and mould and saw great potential. Going with the rental will help them get legal status for a foster home. When Amber saw the site, she said “Dad, this is perfect!” Maybe one day God will let us buy it! That is my hope too, but, for now, we praise God that he has provided the resources to rent it.
This site has an existing fish pond, pig barn and chicken coop for helping with sustainability. They can plant vegetable gardens and there are fruit trees on site to help feed the kids. There is a village nearby and schools for the children remain readily accessible. There is capacity to grow, and we praise God for his goodness!
Blessings in Jesus,
Rob Griffioen
President | GNI Ministries
