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On October 7, Avin Houghland wrote:

> To: [post.imaginethailand.avin@squarespace.com]> From: Avin Houghland [ahoughla@gmail.com]> Subject: Avin Houghland wants to stay in touch on LinkedIn>> I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.> > - Avin Houghland

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-- (c) 2010, LinkedIn Corporation

This is a reminder that on October 7, Avin Houghland sent you an invitation to become part of his or her professional network at LinkedIn.

Follow this link to accept Avin Houghland's invitation.

https://www.linkedin.com/e/i8oy5x-gf6pqvfw-1a/doi/1756991369/kPkiGuCi/gir_194023965_0/EML-inv_17_rem/

Signing up is free and takes less than a minute.

On October 7, Avin Houghland wrote:

> To: [post.imaginethailand.avin@squarespace.com]> From: Avin Houghland [ahoughla@gmail.com]> Subject: Avin Houghland wants to stay in touch on LinkedIn>> I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.> > - Avin Houghland

The only way to get access to Avin Houghland's professional network on LinkedIn is through the following link:

https://www.linkedin.com/e/i8oy5x-gf6pqvfw-1a/doi/1756991369/kPkiGuCi/gir_194023965_0/EML-inv_17_rem/

You can remove yourself from Avin Houghland's network at any time.

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-- (c) 2010, LinkedIn Corporation

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- Avin Houghland

Avin HoughlandHuman Resources at Imagine Thailand Vancouver, Canada Area

Confirm that you know Avin Houghlandhttps://www.linkedin.com/e/i8oy5x-gf05gaqc-2y/isd/1756991369/kPkiGuCi/

-- (c) 2010, LinkedIn Corporation

I did also had the chance to bake with mom, decorate the Christmas tree, watch all our Christmas movies, plan for my family’s trip to Thailand, ski at Mt Baker, attend the Santa Claus Parade, have pictures with Santa and friends, visit family on Vancouver Island…a month went fast…

I was able to meet with many amazing people to share about the works that God and Imagine Thailand are doing here in Thailand. From small home groups, to mayors, to churches, businesses, and individuals, to a very special elementary school, Glen Elementary – all listened and asked questions. Thank you for caring about a world you don’t know.

International Children’s Day was an extremely special day as I was able to join the assembly at Glen Elementary in Coquitlam and thank them for the money they raise to bring migrant children clean water. http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/news/70554822.html My eyes filled with tears as these beautiful children sang the Unicef song Hand in Hand…these children really understand that they made a difference, and that there are people in this world who do not live like them. The questions and insight that came from the grade 1-4 children truly blew my mind…if we can continue to inspire these next generations maybe we will live to see the world truly changed by love and understanding. One special girl came up and gave me a drawing with the words “You Inspire Me – thank you”…children wait to be inspired, for it to be modeled, and if the adults around them don’t show them anything, then where does that passion go?

I was also blessed to speak at Surrey Christian Life Assembly one Sunday. This was the morning after I received some very difficult news about a friend of mine and I was truly wondering how I was going to find the strength to speak. But God came through, as He is know for doing in my life, the heartfelt worship, the words that the congregation spoke out ministered to my soul…and by the time Pastor Graham handed me the mike I was in tears but my heart was ready to share. Even more spirit-filled was the time after I spoke, I have never been so surrounded with people willing to share their stories and bless me. This church will always remain in my heart – God is moving in Surrey.

Today is my first day back in Bangkok…and the weather is more my style, warm, and the city is buzzing from every corner. We had our Christmas party last night and today I was able to venture out and see the Christmas decorations all over the city…they are tremendous.

Christmas is about family and friends and the love of God shown to all of us…Merry Christmas from a little apartment in Sathorn Bangkok.

I have gone through a personal down time over the last few weeks after finding out that my Grandmother has passed and gone to wait for us in heaven. My heart has been with my family through it all and I am now even more excited to return in November to spend a month with them, grieving and celebrating life together.

Here in Thailand there have been some truly amazing connections, opportunities and open doors for all of us with Imagine Thailand...and we are excited to see where these doors will lead. Thai language has been a STRUGGLE these first few weeks back...but after spending time in the south again I remembered how important it is for me to learn the language...so this week has actually been refreshingly wonderful again!!!

We took our CARAVAN OF LOVE down south for 5 days to bless the communities we work with in Phangna Province (hardest hit area of the Tsunami). Through our Passport Cafe we gathered 25 Chulalongkorn University students of all different faculties, teamed them with our Imagine Thailand leadership staff, our acoustic music team and 2 foriegners, and we all headed out together. We spent our days living at the Thai Navy Base, a great location with cabins to sleep in, a turtle sanctuary to see with hundreds of turtles, and a beautiful beach for us to start planning the children's camp around. The first day our team was put through the Thai Navy Boot Camp! So much fun, and we all were able to bond over the pain for the next few days! The Chula students who had joined us before were put in charge of planning this 2 day"summer camp" for the children from our supported schools in the area. All these children have lost one or both parents in the Tsunami, typically do not have time for fun, are not usually allowed to go to the beach because their parents are too afraid to return to the sea (even for a swim) and are children who need to know they can be children again. Their ages ranged between 5 and 17 years old (we did not expect the older one to want to come- but they had the most fun!) So we then began two phenomenal days ofteaching English, teaching music, doing arts and crafts, playing crazy games on the beach, and spending time with the children one on one...which climaxed on our last night when we held a music/ game concert for their entire community and then we showed a video of the 2 days for everyone to watch!...the children loved seeing themselves on screen and the families loved seeing what their children had been up to! The camp was both a blessing to them and to us! I was inspired by the leadership the Chula students took and also by how much they opened their hearts, minds and eyes to this world they had never seen before - it touched them all deeply.

My favorite memory was of one 10 year old girl...we were on break from activities and she was showing me around the turtle tanks and just chatting away like any excited young girl...but then she began to speak of the friends and family she lost in the Tsunami, how this beach used to be a place she would come to for fun but since that day it has really been nothing of the sort for her. But with a big smile and open eyes she looked up at me and said "But now it is a fun place again!"...she swam again, played volleyball, sang with her whole heart and when she hugged you she almost would not let go...nothing can break a heart like true happiness returning to the innocent. This is why I love being a part of Imagine Thailand - why I am so excited to help the next generation of Thailand open their eyes to what they can do in their own country, with their own people.

I will be returning to Vancouver for the month of November and I am in need of raising funds to continue my work here in Thailand...if you are interested in how you can be a part of this please let me know. I would love to spend time and share more stories (of which I have many!) if you would like to.

Blessings and thank you - to everyone and to God who makes all things possible for those who believe...

Everyone has those projects, passions, experiences, dreams that they pour their heart and soul into. Sometimes all you need is inspiration to spark a world of change or to re-energize the path you are already on...and that has been what the last few weeks have been for me. I have had both new sparks of inspiration for what can be here in Thailand, and re-newed energy for the work we are already involved in here. I am so excited for this next season!

I was honored to be a part of the Love Bangkok meetings that were held here in in the city last week. I am inspired by the leaders of this country that are taking an active interest in making a difference in their world. Whether this is through CSR initiatives or leadership or expanding Bangkok's international appeal, everyone is looking to the future and it is energizing to watch this happen.

We also held our Imagine Thailand staff retreat 2009 this past week. It was an incredible time of re-exploring our areas of focus through out Thailand, vision casting for the coming year, preparing for what our next steps in impacting these areas are, and then spending time bonding as a team. The entire staff shared their hearts and we were able to see amazing plans for this country. The team continues to inspire me and remind me why I am here. Whether it is the new intern program that the Koch family is looking to develop in Mae Sot with the young men and women there, or the next team of Chula students we are taking to the Phangna Province for work in the post-Tsunami region, or the plans for income generation projects with the widows of terrorism in the deep south...I am left breathless. Imagine Thailand has grown so quickly in a year and to see how dedicated our team members are to impacting the lives of people here in Thailand, it makes you realize that we need to dream big! They are a part of creating hope, inspiring changed lives, and serving people with open hearts.

This next month is already looking like a extremely busy month - I am returning to Thai language classes, helping lead the Chula team on their trip to the Tsunami region - getting these next leaders hands on with the less fortunate - and moving forward on our CSR front.

I will be returning to Vancouver, Canada on November 7th. This time will allow me to share what we are doing here with those who support us in our work, talk to new supporters, and spend time with friends and family to recharge.

It is still amazing to me how much I have fallen in love with this country and how blessed I am to be here doing what I am doing. thank you to my supporters...I will be your hands and hearts here!

As for me, this trip was probably the most emotional and spiritual trip, to Mae Sot, I have had. There is something moving in the spirit of the people in that place that is new. Two highlights come to mind tonight…the first is my visit back to one of the 61 migrant school is the area, Bwe Klar…this school situated in the rural, mountains of Mae Sot is surrounded by beautiful rice fields and lush terrain, it seems picturesque. But the school has no electricity, no water, no food, no soap, no funding…and yet is home, and family, to hundreds of orphaned children. It breaks and warms my heart to see the smiles of the children as they run, sing and play like children should, but as they live a different reality. What is happening behind all the smiles makes me want to hold them in my arms and promise to change their world for them. Then the reality of being human and of limitation comes over you like a wave…the only ting I can promise is to tell their stories and pray…they deserve to know they are loved…so I smile back.

The second moment was when I was able to re-connect with a student I met on my first trip to Mae Sot. King is a 17 year old boy who fled to Thailand 4 years ago seeking a safer place to grow and learn. He is graduating grade 12 in April and is actively pursuing education in Human Rights and Child Trafficking, he wants to be a teacher. When King first arrived at his migrant school, Hsa Htoo Lei, is was much smaller and the school could not offer education past grade 6…but Hsa Htoo Lei is a story of hope, this is a school we have provided with a clean water system and a school that has been able to receive support, though little at best, for their basic needs. This school is now home and family to over 500 children and is hosting grade 12 graduates! King was able to take time to share his story with us– his life, his faith, his testimony and his plans for the future…he is a man of God and I can’t wait to see him graduate!...sometimes all we need is a little help and a miracle to make a difference…King was my miracle on this trip.

So September has been a full month…extremely full…but I would encapsulate September as the month of growth and ground work…great things are happening as our team in Thailand expands and the potential partners in our work start to come along-side. We need your help to make what we do possible…thank you for walking this journey with me…talk to you soon

Pslam 91

Crystal and me on her day at Huay Ka Loke Migrant School

"Well, at the moment I’m in a quaint little bed and breakfast in Mae Sot with Avin next to me writing in her journal and listening to Bob Marley on herlaptop. We have spent three days visiting six Burmese migrant schools and amedical clinic. It has been a surreal experience, but in the very end,surprisingly humbling if that makes any sense.

Our school’s name is Huay Ka Loke or CDTS ( Child Development Training School). Just recently, their enrolment has doubled due to increased fighting and recruitment of younger soldiers and mine sweepers in Burma. Recruitment is an interesting term because they are forced into this. Acouple of months ago, 4000 more refugees came across the border to Mae Sot in a week. Other refugees most likely made their way into refugee camps along the border.

We were unable to visit one of the refugee camps because the process to begranted access to any of the refugee camps is a very difficult process unless you are specifically doing something within the refugee camp.Imagine Thailand is too small of an organization presently to help in the refugee camps compared to all the NGO’s (Non-profit organizations) that are already there. Imagine Thailand is helping the communities and schools around the refugee camps that don’t have as much help and seem to be in more need of it. Access inside the refugee camps is also a difficult process because other foreigners have gone into the camps, taken photos and published them and/or written articles depicting the Thai government in a negative light, which is not acceptable by any standards within Thailand.

Huay Ka Loke is on the outskirts of Mae Sot and as we were driving out to itin our truck, it seemed to be way out there. The area is called Baan Huay KaLoke and is a small agricultural and farming community of people from the hilltribes. For parts of the year, the land and scenery is dry dust, but with my visit and the monsoon season, the dust has turned to mud and there is a bit more greenery.

As soon as we pulled up, children in torn clothing, bare feet and dirty faces come out to watch and stare. They are so curious, but have serious and untrustworthy looks on their faces until you give them a smile. Then, they can’t help but smile back and when they do, the beauty of their smiles, the innocence and pureness in their eyes pulls at your heartstrings immediately.These children seem happy despite the poverty, the malnutrition and the absence of their parents. They don’t know any differently. They turn to each other as family and it is so obvious that their primary attachments are their classmates. The little ones hide behind the older ones and they cling to each other’s clothing. I couldn’t help but wonder what life must be like amongst hundreds of children who must live like this and fend for themselves.

I saw children climbing the walls and equipment and hanging out all over the place, without supervision, as young as three years old. I watched a child who could not have been any older than 3 jump down from a 6 foot cement wall. He was wary and it took him a few moments to get up the courage, but off he jumped down onto cement in bare feet. Can you imagine seeing this in North America? But here, they have no parents, just each other and their teachers, and there are only 12 teachers spread out amongst 363 students,222 of which board at the school. 35 of the students are orphans whose parents have died. The rest have families in the villagenearby or back in Burma or refugee camps.

My initial feelings and emotions of the children, their environment and the school was just pure shock and it was as if the wind is being knocked out of you. It’s hard to breathe for a few moments and when you get a whiff of the stench of the muddy, filthy river or stream water next to you. It is one thing to hear about these conditions, to read about them, study them, but to actually see it in reality, is a completely different experience and so important to be able to truly understand poverty. The real visuals, smells, sounds, the feel of the climate on your skin and the interactions with the children and their physical touch just completes the experience. How can you not be affected for life and grow in your soul from this.

I first spoke with a group of older boys. I introduced myself and said that I came from Glen in Canada and gave them the clean water. They only understand a little English, but immediately said thank you with giant smiles on their faces and kept saying it as I moved on.

Thanks to the water system, two of the bathrooms now have toilets and showers in them, which is just amazing! They still have access to the outhouses, which are just disgusting, but they have to have more than two washrooms for close to 400 people. Something worrying is that thekindergarten students probably use the outhouses more than the other students since the Kindergarten classes are down the dirt road and right next to the outhouses. The ground is muddy in places and the path to the toilets is just disgusting and filthy and most likely contaminated. They have layed out narrow wooden planks on top of the mud to walk across it tothe bathrooms. I couldn’t believe there were children running along this filthy pathway in bare feet and they don’t even flinch if their feet get some of the sludge onto them! Meanwhile, I’m tip toeing in my cute, flowerylittle flip flops and holding my breath as I open the broken door to the new bathrooms. The stench is unbearable and you have to plug your nose or breathe through your mouth. But if you do that then you worry that you will taste the foul odour instead. To think that they must shower in this room as well, is almost impossible.

The water filtration system is in the staff room and Jim was there to greet us. He is the Assistant Headmaster (like the vice principal) and such a delightful man. He also has the sweetest smile ever. He speaks English very well and is incredibly grateful for the water.I was able to sit and sort of interview him about the school and the water system and how it has impacted their lives so far. They are able to save a lot of money now since it used to cost them 200 baht ($6) per 200 L of water a day and this was just drinking water. They now are able to wash using clean water from showers, not to mention laundry and cooking. The 4 year old children used to have to carry heavy buckets of water from the well several times a day. They now also have flushable toilets instead of outhouses. Jim also mentioned how much easier life is for Sansu, their student who is missing a leg. He is now able to clean himself properly on his own. The students can now drink as much water as they like, whenever they like,compared to drinking maybe two cups of water a day.

The students receive 3 meals a day and get rice donations from the local Mae Taw clinic. They sometimes get curry if there is someone to donate it, they collect bamboo shoot and water crest from nearby and Jim fishes in the local ponds and rivers when he can. They get no fruit or vegetables other than the bamboo and water crest and get meat perhaps 3 times a month. There are no animals that they could get food from. They would like to start up a mushroom farm, but the little money that they do receive must go to food and teacher’s salaries when they can afford it. They also need to get access to the nearest cities pipeline to be able to use the water to for watering the farm, but Imagine Thailand is working on this and should have them connected in a couple of months. It would cost about $600 for them to start up amushroom farm. I heard this and realized that our job at Glen is not overand this school is in desperate need of food now, the second most important need for survival. We have to find a way to continue fundraising money next year for food for these human beings.

The most common illnesses for the children are severe Diarrhea, severe stomachaches, and Malaria. There is no mention of malnutrition because I don’t even think they know what that is. They get 1 or 2 cases of stomach illnesses a month and 2 or 3 cases of Malaria per month. The students can go to the Mae Taw clinic and they will treat them for free and provide free medication. I wonder if there will be less stomach cases with the new water filtration system.

As far as clothing goes, the students have about 3 or 4 outfits for the year and receive donations that are delivered to the school. They most likely have one pair of flip flops.

The students received my class’s letters and are in the process of writing back, but it takes them a long time because they don’t speak or write English very well. The teachers would love to continue a pen pal program with our school and think it’s a wonderful idea.

A unique aspect of this school is that it goes from K-8 and half of their graduates have the opportunity to go on to a secondary school where they have the opportunity to apply for scholarships. There are 15 scholarships per year for them to be able to go to University. 20 students per year go onto do this from CDTS. This is the only school that we know of where students are able to continue their education and try to escape their world of poverty.

We had brought two giant boxes of treats for the students and handed them out during their lunch. The students were swarmed around us and all I could see were about 15 pairs of these poor little hands cupped and reaching outto me for food. This was a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I could never have dreamed that I would live this moment.

The Burmese teachers had all the students of the school gather together to say a giant thank you to Glen and in that moment, I became so overwhelmed with emotion that I broke down for a minute in Avin’s arms to hide my face.I was more happy than upset, so amazed at the reality of what we have done.So grateful to finally be here to bring it all together. 400 children back home reaching out to 400 children out here and I’ve had the luck and fortune of being able to witness and interact with both groups in each of their countries. It’s like we were all holding hands from across the world. The feeling is indescribable.

We managed to take little videos with Avin’s camera of the school, the toilets, the kitchen, the playground and I am speaking on them, so hopefully they will turn out for the final video that I can share with Glen back home.We also video taped the interview with Jim and with one of the students named Thayuhtoo. What a sweet boy he was and so, so shy for the camera,understandably.

I came to the school expecting it to be an amazing experience, but left the school feeling awestruck at how much better it was than my expectations. I was running on adrenaline in the heat, masking and repressing my empathic feelings on the inside, putting on a huge smile and absorbing as much as I possibly could in the three hours that I had with them. Probably three of the most important hours of my life that I’ve lived so far.

I can’t wait to share it all with the school; the students, staff and parents. Thank you so much to all of you who helped to make this beautiful story come to life."

Crystal