The mann girls tour is coming to an end...

Hello readers. Aww so as I thought would be the case the blog entries have become further and further apart as the trip has gone on and now we are at end!But hope you have got a little idea of what's been going on out here, and thank you most of all for praying for it! So it's been as always a mixed few weeks, including all sorts even a ride on an elephant! The nursery has been quite a sickly place to be lately. A lot of the children have been really poorly and it's meant that it hasn't been the place of fun like it usually is. However after insisting on visits to the the doctors and a fair few spoonfuls of paracetamol, they are all so much better and today the nursery was louder than ever! I love it. One child called Guy needs your particular prayer. I wanted to take him to a private hospital as he has deteriorated a lot over the months I've been here and he needs a check up and a proper diagnosis. I will attach a picture! He is 3, but is tiny. However I was told that he has no identification papers as of yet and so it's nearly impossible to get him decent healthcare. Please pray that the social workers that are in charge of his papers get them done ASAP (this would be a miracle in Thailand!) and that in the meantime he doesn't get any worse but gets happier by the day, which this week he already is! We ended the week with trip to the theatre which was great! I took Fah, the only girl in the nursery. She is one special and hilarious lady. She cannot speak in words just sounds (last week she put her all into praying at lunch time, We didn't understand but we gave a massive Amen. Amazing), but is so clever and I love communicating with her mainly through action and then laughter! It was lovely to do something normal with her and to mix with other children and adults. Although it became apparent that the Thai view of the disabled is still completely a miss, and it reminded us that for the most part the reason we work with disabled orphans is because people believe these children do not have value. We called 3 taxi's before we found one that would take a disabled child. We are praying that God transforms the people of Thailand to display love and acceptance to this precious people group where there is currently misunderstanding and neglect. Last week was also my last day on the girls sick ward and I had to say goodbye to Nurse Po which very sad. However due to a generous donation from the UK I was able to give her medical supplies and also an observation monitor which brought her so much Joy! Although this will not cure their conditions, I hope it leads to the government taking these children's health more seriously now they have numeric evidence that the child is very poorly. One girl who they have previously said is fine, had oxygen levels of 69%. I have never seen this level before. She has a heart condition, (I knew that from just hugging her and feeling her completely irregular and pounding heartbeat) and I pray that they put her on medication for this, if nothing else to make her more comfortable. But as I left I knew God hadn't left. He stays with those children. Thank you also for praying for Por. He is making a good recovery. However he still has 3 pressure sores that need care and new colostomy bags to get used to. So as I leave in a few days, please pray his carers will have wisdom and love in caring for him now and that things we started with is care will continue. He has been a model patient!

Last week we also visited an organisation called night light. Check it out. But to cut a long story short we heard of the horrendous prostitution and trafficking business that is so prevalent in Thailand. An eye opener to yet more in justice in the world and it broke our hearts to hear the stories of these women. There's only so much you can have your eyes open in one day. However God knows this. And in his gentleness that day he spoke to us once again, and reminded us that he is the God of LIGHT. In him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1 v5) And he has shown us the darkness here so we may know the overwhelming need for light. Complete and perfect light. And such perfect, transforming, all consuming light can only come from God. And here is the mind blowing part! He has made this light shine into our hearts and captivated us with the truth of who he is (2 Corinthians 4) and we are to display this light to others, changing darkness to light. What a life we have in him.

So off to say more goodbye's I go, but I'm so excited for the up and coming Hello's. We finish in three days and then we are off for a bit of beach time. We have no idea where, probably should of planned this a little earlier! But as we have sun, sea, sand, a fan and ice cream, It will be great and your pretty much guaranteed to find that very easily in Thailand!.... So in case we don't get to the blog before...See you all VERY soon! In the meantime if any of you want to adopt a child do let me know and I will try to get it sorted/ smuggle them in my case!

p.s-Whoops, so we didn't get chance to send this update few days ago, so here it is now. Its the weekend and we have officially finished at CCD. This week has actually been so much fun and our wonderful Thai friends have made last days here so special. I miss the children already, but I know I leave them in the care of incredibly loving people, and most importantly in the care of their heavenly Father. Our God has been faithful to the end, We praise him for the way he has used us, and used you to encourage us along the way. Thank you so very much. See you in the UK! Love Nic xxx

Hey UK! I'll follow from Nic's and won't talk about the nightlight stuff but she is so right, gosh it was REAL, God had stirred my heart before at home about it but seeing girls who it's happened to, mindblowing. So much injustice in this world. I also got to go to the Theatre and took Dok who I mentioned in the last blog. It was incredible taking her out, but strange as the whole theatre was full of children and parents and you just wonder what she thinks about all that but she was glued to the play but when she got all comfy and cosy in her jumper she fell asleep on me! I had to drop her back to the ward after and all the time i'd had her ward clothes in my bag and had to put them back on her and take the lovely little dress off her, felt so very wrong and sad. And i'd never seen the orphanage at night before and never want to again, very eerie. I say that but these children are in it everyday!

But work at Rachawadee is as fun as ever! So the day after I wrote the blog saying how I don't really want daycare to go back to normal and would miss the wards and stuff..welll we unpacked the CCD block and then soon got back to normal...and i've been loving it! I see now how daycare is so much more beneficial for the girls, especially CP ward and we still take outside Pink ward in the afternoons usually, so Praise God for revealing that to me because I was pretty anxious. God knows what He's doing with His girls!! Things have been positive (well as positive as they can be in the situation!) and that's an answer to prayer. We really prayed that our final week would be filled with joy and things would kind of naturally come to closure for us and this week has brought girls along that I've really wanted to see and also the staff are just brilliant and have had fun with them! Took them to the cinema last week which was an experience! It was an English film in Thai but totally got it, a bit of lip reading helped, still don't know if some characters were in a relationship or family though ha! And today Pi Wee put on a lunch for us as she wanted to teach me Thai ways so bought a kit along and we had a FEAST! Best lunch i've had out here (apart from McDonalds....) bless her, she's a wonderful woman of God and the work she does and the love she has for the girls, so beautiful to see! I know I'm leaving Rachawadee in awesome hands! A sight that really encouraged me today, one girl called Bee from CP ward who we knew had a Dad (but i think I heard they are poor and cannot look after her) but at the end of work the last thing i saw was Bee in her Dads arms both giggling away and he was taking her out of the ward for a bit..so great!! Praying she'll one day be able to leave Rachawadee for good and be back with family permanently! Would appreciate prayer for Green ward though as they've had an outbreak of chickenpox and have closed the ward so I haven't seen those girls for nearly two weeks, so prayer CCD can get back in there and healing would happen and as you know we leave on Friday so would love to see them and say bye if I could, will leave that one in God's hands.

( It was my fault the blog wasn't posted, I never finished my update and now we've actually finished work! Apologies!) So yes, work with CCD is now over, petty strange feeling but have taken time to think and reflect and pray and I just know God is BIG and he loves each one of those girls and will never leave them! It was a weird day though because it was Fathers day out here so alot of the girls were brought out the ward and sang songs and did some dances, felt odd, but I guess it's a tradition for them. So that was a lot of the morning taken up but then brought CP girls back to the CCD block and I did some balloon modelling with them, great fun, but the pump kind of broke in the afternoon, which was quite good actually because I didn't want to do it for the whole day, I wanted to just hang with each girl. Then all the staff had lunch together, they cooked some thai meals,yummy! After that we had Pink girls out which was beautiful!! Really strange saying bye, I don't think they totally got it but I got to say it so that was good for me. Then went round each ward after work and said goodbye, the ward mums were so kind too. Very emotional but God answered prayer big time, I got to see Op from Green ward who I haven't seen for over 2 weeks and we had like a run up hug, praise God!!!! And girls who were ill in the week seemed to be getting better. A very different day, but looking back I see God in it all and he's reminded me he always will be. Flip I'm going to really miss that place, the girls, the staff. Maybe i'll be back one day :D Never want to forget the lessons i've learnt been here, never want to forget the power of prayer and He's incredible strength and grace. This has been the most amazing 3 months!!!!!! Now got to pack up and rest really and on monday were heading to an Island for a little holiday before coming back to see you lovely people!!! Thankyou again for your prayers and love and support, your prayers have been answered in awesome ways! SOOO much to tell you all, a blog is never enough (and the mann girls aren't the best at doing it!), but hope you've had a bit of an insight, but maybe you should just come and check it out for yourself :D

Not long now till we'll be freezing our bottoms off in the UK, oh gosh we're not going to know what's hit us, I woke up and had to put a jumper on last night, got a bit chilly :S Mum and Dad get thermals at the ready ahaha! Ooo can't wait to be back for the next chapter, very excited! Thankyou guys, so much love!!!!!! X x X

Children are GREAT! (they are particularly great in Thailand) !

Hey peeps! Sooo this is a pretty late blog update, but my oh my how time goes on by (boom) and how much has gone on! I'll header this one so I don't repeat or merge everything in to one long shpeel. It's steph by the way!

Work Update :

Work at Rachawadee, everyday, is full of joy!! Even in times where things are rubbish and unjust, God pours out joy, whether that's in the form of one beautiful girl beaming, seeing the girls playing like children, His voice, cuddles, laughter or ice mocha lady at lunch......always joy!! We are still on the wards and daily take out some Pink girlies in the afternoon (apart from Tuesdays which is music therapy and Thursdays which is tak pak) which is just so great. I can't remember a normal week since this whole flood situation! A few weeks ago i found myself making up food boxes for flood victims, crazy! It's a miracle that we haven't been flooded, God loves these children!! I know he loves all the children but so beautiful to see his protection over them :) Being in the wards is amazing, tough and full on, but amazing! I get to see all the girls, the ones that usually can't come to daycare, and can do the rounds on CP ward. It's tiring and can be overwhelming sometimes. I can't sit still for too often and think because it gets too much to handle, and i know God doesn't want me to do that whilst I'm there, these girls need some loving and God wants me to give it while I can! He blesses us with the evenings to chat over stuff, and i can write things down and have a think! But whilst I'm at work i know i can pray and i know God is there!! I don't think things will go back to “normal” before I leave so will be on the wards etc. Bring it on! Love the guys that i work with, such lovely women! I feel I can ask them anything and they have a laugh while I try and pick up Thai and get me to try weird and wacky food :) As schools are off because of the floods It's pretty busy at Rachawadee and Pi Wi's daughter, Nana, comes to help everyday. She's my little buddy and she's taught me Thai numbers.. so now i can do more bahtering on the markets :D Ooo and Rachawadee has a little puppy, he's called Mocha (wonder who called him that??) and the girls love him, maybe a bit too much bless him! We've done different things with pink ward, face painting was on monday and last week we did actual painting. Have had a huge clean up of CCD block and didn't realise how many toys they actually have so doing a lot of rotation. Having a big craft afternoon soon, how exciting! Just a little story about one girl too... Dok is fairly new to the orphanage, she came soon after i was here. Two other girls were new too so we took them out for lunch one thursday. We got out colouring books and found out she is incredible at colouring, perfectly in the lines, she must be about 6. She must have been at school before coming to the orphanage, we just don't know her story bless her. But a few weeks in she became very quiet, and moany but clingy too. She doesn't know what she wants and is just so confused by the whole situation. Pink is a tough word, i've experienced the most joy and the most heartache in that ward. But I formed a bit of a bond with her really and even though she moans and grumps, she's just a bit stressed out bless her and needs some loving! So we were colouring one afternoon and the next thing I know she's wrote in english on this paper :O It didn't make sense but it was definitely english letters, so then i wrote my name and different words and she copied them perfectly!! Then wrote cat in thai and did some drawing!! This girl is clever!! But with pink we've bought them outside and play in the playground lots and do some activities but she's been really closed off recently and doesn't want to do anything. So I've been praying and this week decided to take her to one side, just me and her and do some colouring and writing, got her her own book and pens and as soon as she opened it she started writing english again!! Capitals, spaces, fullstops (not making sense but stilll brill!) and she was smiling away and chatting :D So beautiful to see her come out her shell again! And just today i saw her and she motioned to me that she wants to draw again and i've let her know it's her own special book and stuff and we'll do it tomorrow! Dok has massive potential, i just pray she can get to a school.

Today has been a hard day, would appreciate prayer for me to be able to remember the things I've seen but for it not to weigh me down and stop me being able to do stuff but to strive me on to more and to see change!! Gosh it hits me sometimes that this is crazy, just the whole situation. The way these girls are treated, plain wrong. But God reminds me of his faithfulness and that CCD is having a huge impact on the girls! Praise The Lord for that!

I really am loving it here, through good and bad, God's on the move and working in my heart!

Rest!!

God is very generous to us and the weekends are just incredible! We've been to Nichada a lot recently for chill time and air con time :) They are lovely lovely people who want us to come whenever we can really so we've jumped on that one! It's a relief to get out the house sometimes and escape at the weekend!! Also about 3 weekends ago we went to Koh Samet on a long weekend holiday, wow, it was paradise!!! So bizarre going from Pakkred to there but God blessed us with it and he wants us to rest (it just happened to be in paradise...) so we LOVED it and made the most of it by sunbathing and swimming and eating and drinking. Apart from my silly body decided to get a cold for the whole weekend, i was streaming, but rather be there with a cold so I was still loving life :)

Want to tell you everrytthingg but it's too much and we'll be back soon to have major catch ups :D

Thankyou for your support and prayers, you guys are just great and I can't wait to get back soon and see what's next for me....exciting stuff!

Catch you later, Loves x

Nic's work update!

Again so sorry this is late but here goes. It has been a crazy few weeks of tears and laughter. Can't begin to explain but will give you a very little low down. Firstly, I know many have you have been praying for Por (said Bor, spelt Por!). Praise the Lord he is getting better. Saw him yesterday and going again tomorrow. I have agreed to regularly pop my head in to check the infection and just to ensure the care is okay. It's not UK standard by any means but he is on a high dose of IV antibiotics and his wounds are being dressed regularly so I'm a happy nurse. Every time I see him he is brighter and more and more of a laugh! A lovely boy, there's a picture of his gorgeous smile below! We also get the privilege of praying for him every time we visit which is amazing. Please pray that his condition continues to improve, that he is suitably entertained and doesn't get too bored! Sadly he is not being moved to a private room, so prayer that God would shield his eyes from the suffering and pain that is going on around him and that he would not be traumatised by this hospital stay.

So the nursing role has gradually become bigger while being out here which is incredible. Although It's a whole different kind of nursing than I was trained in! But I absolutely love it. It's amazing to don the latex gloves and get my hands doing something practical even if it is tummy turning stuff most of the time. I have learnt to remember in Thailand everything, including nursing, is same,same, but (very) different! I have had to just grit my teeth, pray like crazy and get on with it using the best stuff available. The things that I witness on the ward are shocking. It never ever fails to shock me when I walk in to orphanages. Some of these girls don't look human at all. They are tainted by abuse, covered in sores and all sorts of weird and wonderful infections. The pain that they are in must be hideous. And despite this these girls rarely complain. They sit there and take whatever comes there way, but this is just as tragic as seeing there sickness. That they would except that this life is just the way it is. What hits me before I even enter the ward is the quietness. These children don't know what it is to play or to have fun everyday. So therefore it has been my absolute privilege and joy to spend time with them and to have some much needed laughter! They are great. They totally entertain me once you get them started! They provide me with so much Joy in the midst of that awful place, if it wasn't for their laughs I'd be constantly in tears. They keep me going. And then there's my favourite place of all time. Baan fung fah Nursery, which without doubt holds the greatest children I have ever met! It can be tough to find motivation for work in the mornings and yet as soon as I see these children I'm filled with so much energy, love and Joy. I'm now feel like a fully fledged member of the team. I love the staff and they are so appreciative of all I do. Today they explained to the children that i was leaving in 3 weeks. It was so so sad. I will miss these children and staff unbelievable amounts. I didn't even know there names a few weeks ago and now they are huge part of my life, and have had profound influence on me in so many ways.

And finally thank you for praying for me last week. I really can't thank you enough actually. It was the toughest day I have ever had to face. HOWEVER our God is an awesome God. He didn't just squash my emotions and make me respond to what I saw with a short cliché christian answer. In his grace he let me shout and grapple and lay all of it before him, and then in his perfect timing he beautifully spoke to me with his truth and enabled me to carry on cause there's lots of work to be doing! 'So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is seen is eternal' 2 Corinthians 4.

All parts of Thai life are great. Wont bore you with all the details, but we find enough time to sunbathe don't you worry! Love that we have beautiful places to rest here, we are mega blessed in so many ways. And we haven't been flooded which is unbelievably great, and even greater, the crocodiles and deadly mamba snakes that have escaped from a house in our area haven't made an appearance yet either!

Sorry that I can't reply or talk to you all as much as I'd like, but no every bit of communication we receive from you all in the UK is SO appreciated! Love to all xxx

Prayer request. Proper update to come soon!

Hello guys, so sorry this is a slightly rubbish and short blog update (secretly your all probably relieved!)....We would just love to ask you if you would be able to pray for us tonight/today your time. Today, I (Nic) was asked to visit a goverment run hospital where one of the orphans who is usually based at Rainbow House (CCD's resedential home) was staying. He was admitted last week with awful infections in places i wont go into because you still haven't had your tea! Poor boy; but they wanted a nurse to go and check him out and see if the care he was receiving was adequate. Needless to say it wasn't, and he will probably be moved. Please pray for him. His name is Boar. He is 12 years old, and he is the bravest boy I have ever met or treated. Although carrying the responsibility of that child's next step of care was quite daunting, the real challenge came when I took a look around the rest of the ward. The hospital is divided into 2 sections. Orphans on one side, children with families on the other side. It is utterly heart breaking. And for the 2 or so hours I was with this little boy I was surrounded by children in bed's by him who were unbelievably poorly. Dying, with no-one there to show them love. It was an image of suffering and injustice that I had never witnessed before (the orphanage wards I work on are dire, but the children are less critically ill). At the time I coped and put up my nursing front, but it has become clear since coming back home has incredibly affected me and left me in a state of shock. I would just ask that you would pray that me and Steph continue to push on in boldness and might to do the work that we have been given to do here. We acknowledge that this might and strength can only be provided by our almighty God so prayer is so appreciated. Also, that what we witness here in Thailand, would not crush us, or leave us in despair, but build us up as we remind ourselves again and again of the truth that God is love. And one day because of his incredible love he will wipe every tear from these children's eyes, and there will be no more pain or suffering. Guys, for all you prayers and readers your legends! Thank you so much xxx

A note written from one of the very few dry spot's in Thailand

Nic: I loved the weekend...so fun to celebrate with Steph in another country and have a bit of luxury without breaking the bank! After 6 hours of market shopping and some lovely things later, I worked out I spent a grand total of £12! Thailand is a bargain hunters dream. Fung Fah Nursery has been a little different this week. Due to the floods the whole nursery has been taken off the floor and put on shelves, and because we are still unsure as to whether it's going to hit they are reluctant to take all the stuff down. So that means the kids haven't had chairs or tables, or very many toy's. This hasn't seemed to stop them having fun though, they are literally the most easily entertained children I've ever met! Sadly it means that the staff have asked me to sing a lot more this weekend, which I really don't enjoy as it's previously been a one man show, but some of the kid's have now learnt my actions and join along which makes it more enjoyable! Sadly though the annual rainbow camp which was happening next week has also been cancelled due to the floods. However me, and the other volunteers plan on loading the pushchair's and going on a few after nursery trips with the children to make up for it!

This week has just been a continuation of building relationships with the children and the staff. The children know me now, and the staff include me in all they do as a team which is so wonderful. I feel at home at work, I'm so grateful for that. The physical side of the job has felt easier this week, as there has been less equipment to lug around and we have skipped shower time a few times as the towels were too high up! But the emotional toughness continues, and it always will. Everyday I see things that are absolutely wrong. Children mistreated. Tied up. Not fed properly. Not changed. Not loved or respected. It's hard to deal with at the time, and also hard to process when you leave. It can be frustrating when the Thai's show no emotion ( they believe showing emotion encourages evil spirits), and you feel like an emotional wreck ready to explode at what you are witnessing. I now know these children personally, and I know what gorgeous kid's and incredible potential they have, to see them stifled is awful. However I just have to give them my best when I get to look after them, and I'm thankful that they are looked after by such beautiful staff at the Nursery. I've also had amazing news today. Tomorrow I go to work as a Nurse in the sick wards. The Thai goverment have let me in. So excited and so terrified all at the same time! Have no idea what to expect. Will keep you posted!

Me and Steph are generally doing well, but we both had to have the day off on teusday, along with our room mate Karen! We all had different sickness, but think it was a result of being close to burning out. Thank the Lord for rest though, we haven't burnt out and as always God gives our bodies and souls rest when we ask for it. We also just popped to our local market for dinner, and things were put in perspective. They have moved many truck loads of people in to the cinema complex down the road as they have lost their homes and have nowhere else to stay. Please pray for the flood situation, we never know what's going on really, but prayer that it will not get any worse here and that aid reaches those who need it would be great. I really hope you are all well, and that the U.K isn't too chilly! I would complain about it being too hot here, but know that wont get us much sympathy! Love to all, Thank you so much for your lovin' and support xxx

Steph: Hey guys! I'm going to be honest and say last week was a tough one. Physically and emotionally i was a bit drained. Rachawadee girls is still all off the floor due to potential floods so it's been in the wards everyday for us, which has been beautiful as we've got to see so many girls but so hard as well, it's so intense and just hard to get your head around! The things i've seen are just not right, don't think i can explain it all really, but there have been absolute times of joy in amongst all the sadness and i daily hold on to them! There are 3 new girls in Pink ward who really need prayer, they are in shock basically and are petrified of anyone and we just don't understand why they're in that ward, they should be in school, but it's been amazing to show them love and them just sit and cuddle for an hour, they're not scared of us which is good. God has just reminded me in the last few days that all the girls in the wards have Him as their Father, what a truth and comfort!! I see every day God leading me through this and teaching me all kinds of stuff, I was so apprehensive about being at Rachawadee to begin with but now I know that's where God wants me!! So work is going well, feel out of my depth a lot of the time but i'm learning a lot and picking up more Thai which helps! I'm getting on really well with the staff and Julia is a big blessing. Quite looking forward to daycare being back to normal again as it really is lush bringing the girls out of the wards instead of being there.

It was my birthday on Sunday so we had a fun packed weekend! On friday night we went to a christian guesthoue for the night in Bangkok, it was so cheap and such a lovely place! Fried eggs and toast in the morn...yes! Then literally spent 6hours in this market,chatachak, and we think we covered about 2/3 of it! So big! Got some goodies with birthday money, stuff is so ridiculously cheap! So feet were killing at the end of the day so chilled and watched a film. Then in the morn got woken up to a birthday breakfast the girlies had made, pancakes, crumpets, eggs, ORANGE JUICE, wow! They really went all out bless them! Got some b'day parcels as well so was lovely opening stuff from home :) Then had church, a big baptism service so was a bit of a celebration, and then we all lazied by the pool in the afternoon getting a pretty good tan!! Not often i'll be able to say i got a tan on my birthday. After that we went for ice cream in Central Plaza (a huuggee shopping mall) then skyped in the evening! Was busy but lovely busy! As Nic's said we had the day off on tuesday, I didn't want to burn out and woke up really early with a cold so we rested up. Good decision!!

Tomorrow after work we are off to Koh Samet as we have monday off so will be on a beach for the weekend, the Thai's think we're crazy for doing this because of the floods but if they come they come, we know God will protect us and keep us safe! Do keep praying for the situation though, gets a bit more real when evacuation stuff comes close by!

Really missing just getting in joggers and a hoodie, me and Nic have to have like one second cuddles, what's that about?!! I know you guys will be like, whatever we want heat, but honestly when you have a shower then step out and need another like an hour later, not so great. And there is a silly “no showing your shoulders” rule in Pakkred, we think CCD made it up as nearly all the Thai's show theirs, which is a bit frustrating when it's so hot! But this weekend the shoulders will be out, we don't want to be getting a farmer tan :)

Miss you all so much, I think of home quite a lot!!(but in a good way as I know being here is right!) Chat very soon, we're up for skype dates if any of you are free sometime! Loads of lovin, Steph x x x

How Thai time flies...

Hello reader, so sorry for delay in update. Here goes. So we are now in the swing of work, and the early mornings are becoming more normal! I will take you through a few things that have been going on here. So last weekend was a pure relax, and boy do you need it here. Me and steph splashed out (£2) on using Nichada's (the mini American village that a lot of wealthy expats live in, which holds our church) Olympic sized pool!...Nice very very nice. Topped up the tan too which was fortunate because doesn't look like we will be seeing a lot of sun for awhile. The floods are really bad here. A lot of Thai people are scared as they are a lot worse than usual. We are in a 'state of emergency' here, which is quite dramatic but  basically means we have to move our sofa's upstairs if it gets a bit damp! But prayer that wouldn't happen would be great, and more importantly that the staff of CCD who live in the rural parts don't get stranded, a lot of them are wading to work....

So last week at work was a toughy! It was bound to hit us at some point, and for me last week was it. The reality of what goes on here, and the overwhelming scale of it can hit you very hard sometimes. Also we were all feeling absolutely shattered. Thought I'd be used to it after my nursing training, but no, it's very different! The days are very demanding, and the children require a lot of attention. You have to do things that sadly you don't wanna do, that are dirty and often turn your stomach! Therefore, I have had to pray myself through this week...and God has reminded me of a lot in these tricky times. My life is not my own. I have given it to my Father, and my creator in order to best glorify him. I am to like Jesus to these children, the most sacrificial human being that ever lived. So sometimes that means you don't always have an easy ride...BUT you always have his help, and he promises to do more than you could ask or imagine! (Ephesians 3. How amazing is that!). And hallelujah when we prayed for strength God absolutely miraculously gave it and empowers us to keep going. He hears our prayers, fact. So despite the hard bits we had a lot of fun this week too! Began teaching a little boy (Deo) to swim (i pretty much chucked him in as i thought he had swam before, but when i got back to the nursery it turned out he hadn't. Ha, He's a natural!). Spent two days in rainbow house too (a residential house for orphans) where we had the Thai equivalent of cadbury's come and give out free food and play games(amazing advertising for the company, amazing way for CCD to get there name out there. win- win) . It was literally the most mental two day's ever. Thai's don't do organisation, and try to contain 150 disabled children in a small space, while they are being fed fizzy! It's hard. But we had such a laugh with the kid's, I do love them so much. I live for the beautiful moments I get with them every day. Whether it's getting a cheeky laugh, rocking a baby to sleep (love this one!) , playing a new game, seeing children with autism engage and have fun at nursery not just running away (we found one child (Somsak) in a near by field! ha. The nursery would be closed down in England) or speaking to them in Thai and actually getting somewhere! Sadly though, still no nursing. Although a letter has been sent to the government asking permission for me to work. This would be the most amazing and most terrifying opportunity, Will keep you posted!.....We have just finished the most beautiful weekend of rest and fun. Got spoilt with masses of food and luxury in an American's posh pad! (helps to know people who live in mini America), including taking  dip in her pool before church on sunday and then we celebrated Canadian thanksgiving (another posh pad in mini America), with more food. Incredible. And then we went into Bangkok for wedding of one of the CCD staff! Amazing night. And so lovely to see the staff outside of work, they are the lovliest ladies (and man) i have ever met. All in all one of my favourite weekends...

It's now monday here, just finished work, back to the real world! Had a great day hanging out in the wards with the little ones today. Although i always dread feeding time, as these children should not be fed orally as there swallow is totally unsafe. My worst fear happened today as a boy chocked on chicken. I was so scared, poor boy was wacked so much but it wasn't moving. In the end, my fingers had to go in and praise the Lord I got it out before he went even more blue. Next time, he has having mushed chicken!! This week's activities will all depend on the weather, but we will bring English optimism to Thailand, Less sun; more fun! Thank you once again for your love, messages, skypes and prayers. So appreciated :) Love to the UK! Xxx
I'll add a wee bit to that maahussivvee speech from nic mann bout Rachawadee girls :D I just need to start by saying...what a weekend!!! It's so lovely having lots to look forward to on a friday at work when energy levels are flagging big time! The weekdays are totally brill, still loving life with the girls and seeing their smiley faces everyday! It's great now because they recognise me and are used to me so the laughs are rolling and the cuddles are a coming! As Nic said, last week was a tad mental, lots of not knowing what was really going on but learnt to just go with the flow and kind of  be spontaneous and just look after kids that needed it! Such a blessing all the volunteers were together at Rainbow house Thursday and Friday, would have been lost otherwise! Earlier in the week we did music therapy (brilliant) with the girls, teaching them some classic moves and them teaching me a few (don't think i'll be bringing them back to the UK though ha) !! And have done the usual daycare with different wards, it's tiring but so great to get them out of the wards. Think that's why i struggle in the mornings to believe that i can face the day, the wards are just so close together, really claustrophobic, but then actually i'm like..these girls live in these wards, day in day out, not much going on, not much positive stuff anyway! And God daily (and hourly) needs to transform my attitude to be less selfish and commit all my energy and my love to these girls!!! It's pretty cool actually that God wants to show his love for these girls through us, his children, and i hope that encourages everyone reading that God has chosen you to be placed with the people you've met today and the people you'll meet tomorrow! So yeah, these girls are worth it, love them to bits! We took two on a little trip today for icecream, below is a piccy of them both, Aratai and Kik, in our macs because the weather was pretty gross...cuties! It's my birthday this weekend and we were hoping to go to the waterfalls but can't now because the weather's meant to get alot worse :S so might splash out on a meal and maybe go to a hotel which will be lush! A little bit of luxury aka AIR CON! Bring it! We will update again very soon, apologising again for the lack of update, the evenings just go and before we know it it's the weekend and they get filled too! But thankyou for your prayers and lovin, you guys are great!!! Loves, Steph X x X

 Aratai And Kik! In mine and julia's mac's, what legends!

 At the wedding!

 Lotus, the coolest kid in Thailand

little update!

Steph's bit; It's just over a week now that we've been in the big T, and what a crazy week it's been!! We're both settling in to the Thai way of life and slowly picking up the language, just about enough to order a meal...but have now started basic lessons so hopefully they help! By friday last week we were exhausted after working just a few days, but it was a lot to take in in such a short amount of time.
Work has been tough at Rachawadee, nothing could have prepared me for what I'd see. Everyday we either do day-care, so collect girls from the wards(about 6), or go into the wards and do music/dance therapy or sensory activities and pampering sessions! The wards are shocking. Literally can't believe and really struggle at times to understand how it's possible to let children live like they do there. The wards are basically white wall rooms with metal bed after bed and matresses with 3 children to a bed. The government staff literally do the rounds of feeding,changing and showering. No stimulation so children only get worse, minor disablities turn into major ones. I'd say that animals get treated better in England than these girls do here. It seems hopeless, but praise God that he truly loves these children and i can trust in Him knowing one day all this brokeness will be made whole, all the pain and suffering will vanish! Stepping into the wards with that mindset and asking for Gods strength to face each day and show his love gives me so much joy when we get to work with them! Haven't seen smiles or heard giggles as big as theirs before!!! CCD are incredible, without them I dread to think of how much worse the childrens situation would be. There are different wards depending on disability and age so we have a variety each day. Some have physical disabilities and others mental disabilities so what we do differs. God is so faithful, everyday he has given me energy and has answered prayers! I know that being out here is going to change my life forever (and i know i'll be back!! :D) We've taken some girls out for icecream last week and next week we're going swimming with another two which will be great!! We've also gone on trips to a few international schools, one of which was on my first day with Julia(another volunteer at rachawadee,legend!) with 11 girls..on our own...and three of them couldn't walk,mental, but turned out fine :S thai's do things so different! Need to keep praying about that actually that i'd remember their culture is so different and i just have to accept that and do the very best i can with the girls and take hold of every opportunity and just go for it, and not get angry at the staff who are on the wards, but turn that fustration into passion for what i can do!! After work is grand, the house is lush and we can just chill and wander to the market to get dinner (for like 40p) and then spend the eve having a laugh with the girls and hang out. We're going to a church in an expat community (pretty strange but actaully a blessing having english speaking people and being able to understand stuff!) and have been invited to a housegroup on tuesdays AND THEY HAVE CAKE! Yes. I can see that the weekends are going to be well used, going to try and do tourist things and have a few lie ins! 7am start is a bit of a killer during the week!
So yea really loving it out here, missing people but i know that this is just where God wants me to be and amen for internet in the house!!! Learning lots, very humbling experience so far. Prayer life is being shaken up/woken up!! thanks guys for prayer and support, love you all, chat soon!! skype if you can :D Love you x x x
Nic's bit; Time has truely flewn! Can't believe we have been at work for a week now. Seems like we have only been here 2 minutes. Everything is so so different to the U.K, and culture shock has been pretty shocking at times. Slowly sinking in that this is our home for a fair amount of time, and we have very quickly got down to normal working life. I start work at the nursery at 8.30am everyday and finish at 3. I cycle home at record speed, as by this point in the day the only thing I want is a ice cold shower! We then busy ourselves in the evenings with either swimming/sunbathing, housegroup, thai lessons, eating out (I could quite happily sit and eat thai food all day, incredible!) and a fair few DVD's. It's pleasure to live with such wonderful girls (theres 6 volunteers in the house). When we are awake enough to talk it's very fun! So lovely to come home to some english speaking people, my limited thai gets quite repetitive! Steph might not say the same in her blog bit, but i'm gunna run the risk of being a loser sister and say i'm so so grateful for her company and presence here. God is incredibly kind to put us together. It makes the things we see easier to digest, and it also means when it all gets too much, we can have a laugh! (as you can imagine theres been alot!.
Things have definitely been difficult to digest here. The children we see are abandoned, un-loved and un-cared for. Stuck in a bizzare and difficult goverment system, which on the outside can look pretty rosy but on the inside is rotten and utterly herrendous. Children lie in lines on the floor, un stimulated and un touched. Every child is marked by a skin condition aswell as being disabled, but the wounds and disabilities are not cared for and left to spread and become incredibly nasty in some cases. I would not of believed that children lived in such conditions if i had not seen it. I actually have no idea how they do survive. As a nurse, to watch this and be quite helpless (the first aid kits have a couple of plasters and some sudocrem if your lucky) is utterly heartbreaking and frustrating. I have also visited the sick wards. I could go into the details and write you a essay of a blog,but needless to say the one nurse on that ward needs help, and i have emailed my leader to see if she can get me in. The government are pretty cagey at times, but I'm so so hoping that this plan works and i get stuck in to some nursing as soon as possible.  The work of CCD is absolutely needed and i thank God that he put such passion for children on the hearts of the thai workers here. It's a privilege and a joy to be here and be part of their work, and to have the opportunity to show love to these children, and to know that what breaks my heart, breaks God's a million times more. He is at work, even in the most desperate situautions, he is at work. Look forward to keeping you updated as we go. Can't thank you all enough for your incredible support, Big love! xxx

Address and digits

Nicola/Steph Mann (no-one write to the first mann)
PO box 47,
Pakkred
Nonthaburi
11120
THAILAND

You can also ring us on our home phone!!! It's... 029608117 (seems way short but apparently it's right!)
We are 6hrs ahead of you guys so the best time for you to ring (in GB time) is between 11am-6pm. Any other time we'll be sleeping or at work! Ooo and weekends may be cool!
Loves, Steph and Nic x