Well this will be my last blog for the YouthLinc trip as this is the last night in PhangNga. The two Rotary clubs of Phang Nga and Phuket had a dinner for the kids to thank them for all of their hard work. It was a lovely night with great food, lots of pictures and speeches. Jeff presented both Rotaries with the traditional banner and they gave theirs to him to take back to Salt Lake. The governor of the PhangNga province was there and spoke too. The next day was the sea caves and then home so our time in Thailand was over. I would love to thank all those who so sweetly shared their pictures with me. (I STILL can't believe I forgot my camera!) Especially my little sooul sister Shea who has such an incredible eye behind the lens. This experience for Jeff and me will be one of our best remembered for the work, the love between the children and our youth and the wonderful foundation of YouthLinc and Rotary clubs.

finished pictures

finished mural
Thai food-amazing fruit, lots of seafood and spicy food that makes you stop breathing!

Our daughter Mikell has a non profit organization called heART exchange where the children from different countries draw pictures of where they live and what is important to them. Then, when organizations such as YouthLinc go on these humanitarian projects they take some of the pictures and give them to those countries. Thus children all over the world share in the art exchange of culture. Mikell also has had many organiztions do a mural at their worksite. Shea Jackson and Julia Wee from Youth Linc headed up our mural which goes along the entire length of the pavillion where the children eat and do projects.


The top picture is Julia and the fab girl painting the sun is Shea. They outlined the mural with a PhangNga setting and then the children put their handprints as the tree leaves and filled in the landscapes with boats and houses and other things they love.

Here is our little student (help me on the names guys) just signing her name to her handprint
The day we did pictures was scout day so all the children were in their scout uniforms. They looked so sharp that three of our youthlinc guy volunteers decided they would like to be scouts too! Japan took them to the store and they lined up with the other uniformed children for morning roll call.

Laura and Kathy and their little helper in the new medicine room located at the school




Jeff helping the kids put up the cabinets













All of these supplies have been purchased and donated by generous donors for the children

Kathy and some lucky recipients of the medical supplies. Our YouthLinc nurses also had a health fair for the community and children where they learned some good health habits and had their hearts listened to. Also YouthLinc kids taught dental care in the classrooms during the week.

These students were our little helpers.
These are the kids from the school we helped-the WatBangSiad school for elementary children. I think we were told that they had 58 elementary students. The little nursery school across the field was run by the monks and not the school but they came with their parents often to smile and feel a part of the action.

Our fearless construction leader Matt Law


This is how we shovel and carry old school
Youth Linc kids dug two of these 5 foot holes to put cement rings in to support the big blue tanks that will house the water.

These limestone mountains are cavernous and covered in jungle life. These pictures were taken right outside of our hotel in PhangNga Bay.


Our fantastic YouthLinc kids taken at the hotel

We went to this wild little park we will call Monkey Park. The monkeys are eveywhere. They don't want to play with you and some of them look a little fierce but it was fun to watch them



This bad boy was just plain evil. He hopped down out of a tree and decided that the unsuspecting scooter didn't need its mirror anymore, so he literally wrenched it right out of its holder, ran with it up a tree and then dropped it from high above missing some kids by inches. Nasty boy

Momma and baby

Sawad dii kha everyone! Well much has happened since last week wrote. It is now Monday (your Sunday) and our work and time with the Wat Baan Siad school is done. We had closing ceremonies today. Because I forgot my camera (can you even believe I did that?) I am relying on the goodness of others for pictures but I will get some of the beautiful Thai dances the girls did and the kick boxing demonstrations from other students. Dad was again a guest of honor and sat right next to the head monk. It was a beautiful ceremony and at the end we presented to the school pictures the kids from YouthLinc made for them and gave them the book of pictures from the other countries that Mikell gave to us to give to them. (That's a lot of giving.) We then had a carnival for the kids. After our lunch the rain started coming down in sheets but all of the kids, from the school and Youth Linc just did dances and played soccer in the rain. The kids ate it up! There were tearful goodbyes with little ones clinging to the necks of their new friends but finally it was time to go. We waved goodbye from our vans one more time as they lined the pathway with their beautiful faces.
Yesterday was just plain awesome! We finished up a few projects at the school and then had lunch. Then the vans took us to this wildlife preserve where we ran some crazy white water river and yep-rode the elephants. I got right down on her big old head. It was so much fun and we were all so darn stinky! That night we remembered that it was the Sabbath and had a little sacrament meeting at the hotel. The Thai hotel people were so kind. They brought out fans and incense to keep away mosquitos so we would have a nice meeting, which we did. It was a lovely testimony meeting. These are very special kids!
Saturday-well Dad and I don't really know what happened because we were both right down in bed with the dreaded gambu. Oh my-that was noooot fun. But we are better now, thank heavens. Nasty bugs!
OK. I'll send along pictures. Chelsea, one of the kids has promised to show me how to do pictures right because, as you have noticed, I don't. Love to all. Chan rak khun!

The kids