Kim and Anchalee:
Hi we are the parents of Glowing Hearts Children’s Home. Anchalee is from North Thailand. Anchalee spent 10 years working at a children’s home on Thailand before we met and married in 2004. Chalee as her friends call her, is the expert in child care, as well as being an awesome cook and preacher too.Kim is from Canada. He has been in Thailand the last 7 years. Previously He was helping Al and Terry Purvis with their ministry in Chonburi (link). But have now been released to follow their vision. Previous to his missionary career, Kim was a commercial photographer in Calgary, Canada.
Anchalee and I are very blessed to have this oportunity to minister and to bring a new future to kids that have started out their lives with great disadvantages. God is faithful and we are surrounded by great people who helped us to step up to meet this destinty.
Our Children
Koko
Koko is 6 years old and comes from the same village as Anchalee. Koko’s mom has a very serious health condition which has made it impossible for her to take care of Koko. Koko’s father has never been a regular part of his life. He would show up occasionally, violent and drunk, koko seems to be very afraid of him.
Koko’s grandmother was the person who was raising Koko but it became too much for her. Because of this, Koko was not going to school, and was left to run around and to do as he pleased. When Koko first arrived at our home he had a lot of problems to work through. Now that he has been here for several months Koko is starting to show some real improvement. He is catching up at school, he is learning a little English, and he does his chores and homework without any complaints. He still has a long way to go, but we are really proud of the progress he has made so far. He is quick to smile and he enjoys good ole Thai style slapstick comedy, and anything to do with robots.
Koko plans to become a pilot someday
Genesis
Her name means beginning, and we feel that Genny has a beautiful destiny ahead of her. Genny is the daughter of two Burmese field workers that had escaped the poverty of Burma only to find that illegal workers in Thailand are treated just as badly as in Burma. 1 dollar a week was all they received for a year’s work. A new baby was just impossible to accept in this situation.
It is such a blessing that we heard about this hardship in time to make a difference. Now Genny lives with us, and she is real sweetheart. She just loves to be around people, she is strong and a real talker. We have no idea what she is saying, but she talks most of the time she is awake.
She is 4 months old now, and she is rolling over, and we know she will be moving around the house real soon.
Gideon
At the time this picture was taken Gideon was 10 days old. Gideon (Mighty Warrior) is the youngest of 5 children belonging to a very sweet couple in a city called Hot. This family already has adult children, and because they live in extreme poverty, the thought of starting all over again was a serious problem for them. They are a Christian couple, but they have no property of their own and the dad has to wait for seasonal work in order to make a living.
These hard conditions made this couple consider having an abortion, even though it is against their beliefs. We were very grateful to be able to offer them a better solution. We said that we would raise the child in our home, and give him the best future we could.
Gideon is doing very well now, he has a really big voice and lets you know when it’s time to eat, but for the rest of the time he is quite peaceful. He doesn’t really know much about his future, but we believe that he will reach far beyond his humble beginnings, just like Gideon from the book of Judges.
We are so grateful to help him find the way.
Ying and Pat Yapaa
Where would we be without Ying and Pat? Ying is Anchalee’s youngest sister and she is our only official staff member. Like Anchalee, Ying has spent many years working in a children’s home. The best part of that is Ying specializes in the care of infants and toddlers. Ying has been an enormous help to us. Neither Anchalee nor I had any experience with newborns, Ying has helped us get through it twice so far, and she is such a big help every day. This October Ying was married to Pat and after the wedding they came to live with us. Pat is an unexpected blessing. He comes from a large family, and really has a gift for working with kids. He has a fulltime job in Chiang Mai, but when he is home he is a full part of the team. I am so happy that God has given us such capable people to help us change the world, one child at a time.
Canada:
Back in cold Canada Anchalee and I have a wonderful international family. (Couples left to right) Mike (Canada) & Esther (China),Their Daugther Jesse, son Lou Jie (China), Mom and Dad, Patrick (Canada) & Patricia (Peru) Their son Matthias, and now Lucas who was just ready to be born in this photo. Anchalee (Thailand) & Kim (Canada).
We only get to see them about once a year, but it always feels like home when we get there. We are hoping someday they will come and visit us and skip part of that nasty winter.
Thailand:
In Thailand our family is all Thai, actually Karen Thai to be more specific. Getting them all together for a picture is difficult as they work in different parts of northern Thailand. We will try to get a picture up here soon. Our Thai family members are Som Chai (dad) Bua Gaow(mom) Choom (brother) Ying (sister) and a long line of uncles, aunts, and cousins.
Pictured here are aunts and cousins and one uncle from Anchalee's mothers side.