A visit from San Francisco based sponsor.

Yesterday San Francisco based sponsor Gilbert visited Pattaya to meet his sponsored student ‘Boss’ for the first time. Gilbert generously invited ‘Boss’s cousin ‘Toon’ along with Liz, Suky and Boonying who sported a very colourful shirt in the mood of Songkran (The Thail New Year).  The following report on the day is from Liz of MERCY……………

We had a good meeting with Gilbert yesterday. He's originally from Hong Kong but living in San Francisco, and although the Royal Garden idea seemed good when we made the plan, it didn't turn out well, really. Definitely not one for the books in future. Had we anticipated the downpour we had, we wouldn't have worried so much about trying to avoid getting soaked by the revellers, but there we are.

 

Toon's father brought the boys over to the office and we went over to the hotel to pick Gilbert up. Since it was also off Second Road, and the street was quiet at that time, we reached the Royal Garden Plaza without any problems and headed into KFC - which brought our first problem. Where were the plates and cutlery? Great consternation! You now get paper trays and plastic cutlery - AND they've added something extra to the batter mix. (The end of an era?) Boss ate heartily, but Gilbert was quite concerned about Toon, who wasn't showing any enthusiasm - although Suky hadn't had any dissent when she asked if they were happy to eat there. However, he had great fun when he went over to wash his hands and discovered it was automatic. Once Boss had shown him how to use it, he was tickled pink, and we could see him laughing away as he put his hands under the tap, then pulled them back, then put them under again and so on. He wasn't so amused with the automatic dryer though, but then are any of us? You'd have to wait until Christmas to get your hands properly dried under those things.

 

After we'd eaten we headed off upstairs Toon, less than enthusiastic, bringing up the rear. Suky knew about the games on offer and thought they'd be thrilled, but it didn't quite turn out that way. The boys were very apprehensive, not having seen anything like this before, but Suky took lots of time to explain how they worked, and eventually Boss agreed to go into the laser game with them. (You'll notice that we other brave adults joined Toon outside, and just watched.) However, it was over in a jiffy, and the entrance money allowed you to go to the (what I think we used to call the ghost train) train where you shoot the monsters with laser guns - as far as I could ascertain. However, Toon still wouldn't join in. We wondered if he was 'afraid of the dark unknown'. Boss was fine with Suky, but it wasn't until we got to the 4D cinema that Toon was persuaded to go in with Toon - and we all breathed a sigh of relief. We got to watch them on the screen outside, and they seemed to enjoy it, although whereas Boss gripped his seat very tightly as the motion built up, Toon just sat with his arms straight down in front of him. 

 

Since the haunted house and the infinity maze weren't a 'pull' either, we headed off to get ice cream at Swensons, Tesco Lotus. That was not a problem for either of the boys, and definitely not for us - great psychology, Gilbert! After enjoying a large cone with cream and a cherry, Toon perked up a little, although he was clearly not a happy camper. We finally came to the conclusion that he may have been told by his father that Boss may have to go back to his father (now out of prison), and since the boys have been together for many years he may have been quite devastated emotionally. However, that was just supposition on our part.

Gilbert had brought some school supplies and chocolate for the boys but asked if he could buy some food supplies for the family, so after ice cream Suky, Boonying and the boys did the grocery shopping, and Gilbert and I went off to try and find a supply of bubble mix, to take along to our Children's Home later. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful, but the boys had done much better and several bags of groceries were walked into the office, as Suky had asked dad to pick them up there so that she could speak with him about Toon's state of mind. The boys thanks Gilbert in the traditional way and waved happily as we drove off to introduce Gilbert to our children at Pong.

 

Gilbert had brought lots of small soft toys, fun school supplies, chocolates and crispy marshmallow treats over from the U.S., so as soon as we arrived several children descended upon him (or rather the bags), excitedly poking and prodding and looking up expectantly. After the introductions had been made Sharon gave permission for one toy and one marshmallow treat to be given to each child, and after storing the rest away for later, Sharon showed Gilbert on the computer the story of the house, from plans to the present. Having looked around and met the kids (all indoors having a snack since the rain had come down heavily) Gilbert said that what they needed was an inflatable swimming pool, so I think that's definitely in his mind for a future visit.

 

I do hope that he enjoyed his day, and that perhaps we'll have good news for him about Boss when I get to the office and see how Suky fared with Toon's father. Gilbert is a very pleasant and generous sponsor, and Boss was happy and responsive to him. I wouldn't like that to change for either of them.

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100 Years From Today

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