History : Chapter 1 :The Dilapitated Shophouse

Over the weekend, while the rest of the kids went out to play in the the waterfalls, I decided to stay back in the office just in case David comes back. I did not want him to come back to an empty home and feel that we have left without him, so there I waited.

The day soon turned into night. Along with the dimming of the day was a dimming of hopes of our boy returning. The cool silent night in the village brought back nostalgic memories of pains and joys when we first rented a run-downed shophouse which later birth forth the STREETKIDS! work.

While we wait & pray for David's return, allow me to bring you on a journey. A journey 3 years back in time when RADION was in our infancy stage and our focus was bringing aid to the Hmong Lao refugees.

3 years ago, this runned down shophouse was all we could afford to rent. A full month of rental costs hardly more than 1 night's stay in a 4-star hotel in Bangkok. We had to save every single cent we could, providing milk & biscuits to hungry children in the nearby refugee camp was a big deal. We has very little funds and  seeing all the pain amongst the refugees locked behind barbed wires, we couldn't bare to spend more while seeing people suffer.

The shophouse was the cheapest. It came with no furniture only 2 tiny rooms and a non ventilated basement. What it did come with however were dirt stained walls, cobwebs, algae coated floors and 2 slimy toilets which were home to maybe a dozen species of insects ranging from massive centipedes the length of your arm, lizards and spiders.

Despite this, we were grateful for what the Lord has provided and having a very basic shelter over our heads. It became the place of prayer where every week, we will wait in anticipation to go up into the refugee camp to see the little ones and bring them the much needed food supplies.

Though living conditions were rough, bathing in muddy water was a daily affair. But just the thought of being able to tell 3500 refugee children that God loves them, was enough to spur us beyond the hardships. After every refugee outreach, we would come back sun burnt, at the brink of exhaustion and many times cut, bruised & bleeding but yet with every opportunity, we would be up in the camp giving out reliefs and playing with the children.

It was the time of my life and nothing in my life has been more meaningful than this ! I could do this for the rest of my life, i thought !

But suddenly the situation in the refugee camp took to drastic turn.....