It has been pretty hectic getting adjusted and everyday has been an adventure thus far. We scheduled to sublet a house until end of August but on the day of checking in, we were told that someone else was staying there and we cannot use the place. So, we got a guest house nearby but the place was like a jungle with no internet in the rooms and bad breakfast not to mention mosquitoes. Anyway, we started to look for housing and didn't know where to start. Someone suggested to drive around the neighborhoods that we wanted to rent and look for rent signs. So, we hired a taxi to drive us around all day and looked at houses. This was a bad idea so I searched and found a real estate agent who spent couple of days showing us some places. We found 2 that we liked but chose the one that was closest to kids school. But since it wasn't ready for us to move in, we booked a hotel this time until Sunday or Monday 8/16. Kids school starts on 8/16 and we had orientation, luncheon, testing, uniform buying, etc.

Mosquitoes love Kido and he scratched so much that he got infected in 2 places so he is on antibiotics right now. Everything is pretty hard. Opening a bank account and internet connection was an all day adventure. Soon we have to settle into our new house and work on visa. I am not sure if we are going to buy a car anytime soon. I am going to do some research before buying anything. But I think I will get a scooter soon. So, that is our update so far.

We really felt your prayers this week especially in our search for rental house. God provided such good people who went out of their way to help us and we found a house which was perfect for us. Reasonably priced, 3 blocks away from kids school, which my wife liked. We talked to some newcomer missionaries at kid's school and they all seemed to have similar stories and are still looking for housing and were asking me for advice!

Me and Soo had our first fight b/c we were so tired that we got into each other's nerve. But we worked it out and feel better about it all. Kido and Kiwon kidnapped a gecko from the "jungle" hotel to be their pet and when it died the same day from their mis-treatment and had to put it in the toilet (proper burial or not), they were crying hysterically.

Next week Pastor Peter Yi (Pastor from Toronto) and his family is coming into Chiang Mai for 4 days.

Thanks for all your support and prayers.

Danny Jung
Global #: 847-250-7088
Skype: dannyjung15

Below is a letter from Anthony - Sunflower Orphanage, Vietnam



Dear Danny,
 
Thank you very much for your email and I am glad to know that you got home safely.
 
I would like to answer the questions you have asked:
 
1. Yes, this license is good indefinitely. We don’t have to renew it every year because it is a long term permission (there is no time limit unless we do something that is wrong, illegal, or against government’s rules then they will take the license back and close the orphanage). However, the government requests us to up date or renew our program and purpose according to the information and guidance given by the Social and Children Department of the government.
 
2. There are some clear advantages of being officially recognized such as we now can start the process of applying for birth certificates for the kids. This means that without the license we have no legal way to register the birth certificates for them. Imagine that if our children have no birth certificates then they cannot go to school and we have to pay for the medical fee when we they need to go to the hospital. With their birth certificates, we don’t have to pay for the hospital fee until they get to the age of six years old.
 
Moreover, being officially recognized, we now can welcome any guests to visit without fear or worry about the government. Another word, this license seems like a drive license for me. I can drive a car without the drive - license but I have a lot of fear such as something happens to my car especially an accident. I will have a big trouble if I am stopped by a police for any reason and asked for the drive-license. It is the same thing to our orphanage if something wrong happens to one of our kids such death, we will have a big trouble. The first question we will be asked: “Who allow you to keep and raise these children?” Therefore, the license is the most important for us now and thank God and Elijah Foundation we have it.
 
Once again, thank you and have a good day.
 
Peace,
Dai - Anthony

We have spent many days to completely change our Elijah Foundation website and a working model has been uploaded and is live at our web address: www.elijahfoundation.org.

Although many tweeks and modifications will be necessary in coming days, all of the pages are working and can be managed in house by our staff. We are very happy to be more "modern" with "blogs" and "flickr" photos and other designs that are more up to date with today's standards of internet users. We also changed our donation system by using PayPal which is recognized and accepted all over the world. You don't have to be a member or subscriber of PayPal to use it. All you need is a credit card and it can be processed through PayPal without joining PayPal. Using PayPal, we are able to accept one time donations as well as monthly sponsorship.

EF

Announcing New Partnership With the Ratanak Foundation:

Elijah Foundation is pleased to announce a partnership with the Ratanak Foundation- a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to bringing Christian hope to the Khmer people of Cambodia by rebuilding social and medical services. In previous attempts to build partnerships with like-minded organizations in Cambodia have led to disappointments and dead ends. In January of 2009 God provided an opportunity for EF to attend Ratanak Foundation's Third Seek Justice Conference in Toronto, Canada. There, God opened opportunities for EF and Ratanak Foundation to join in the spirit of unity and work together to accomplish His purpose for Cambodia. With this partnership, EF is able to tap into all the ministries that Ratanak Foundation is already supporting in Cambodia. In return, Ratanak Foundation will get a partner in USA who will act as a liason for Ratanak Foundation’s US-based donors and expand the organizations support and awareness in the US. We are looking forward to see what God can do through our partnership!

Information about Ratanak Foundation:

The Ratanak Foundation is named after a little girl named Ratanak who, in the late 1989, passed away in a hospital in northwest Cambodia. While her illness was curable, no medication or medical equipment was available at that time to save her. To prevent similar situations, Ratanak Foundation projects have focused primarily on rebuilding and improving health care services in Cambodia such as shipping medical supplies, building hospitals and clinics, developing immunization programs, and supplying ambulances. In crisis situations, the Ratanak Foundation has funded emergency food distribution efforts and a variety of community-based food-for-work programs. Also, the plight of orphans and abused and exploited children led to the development of schools, orphanages, and rehabilitation centers. Finally, social service programs, such as literacy and sanitation programs, were developed in local communities and prisons. All projects are designed to be self-sustainable. With years of experience, the Ratanak Foundation continues to support rural and urban projects in many provinces and is privileged to assist in changing thousands of lives in Cambodia. For more information, please visit http://www.ratanak.org.

Elijah Foundation is committed to supporting the following projects with Ratanak Foundation:

* Chab Dai
* Daughters
* Hagar International
* New Song Project
* Prison Fellowship International
* AIM 4 Asia - Rahab House
* TASK Ministries
* YEJJ
* IJM Cambodia

Dear Danny/EF,

I am unhappy to inform you that we lost another baby who died two days ago in Ho Chi Minh City (in the hospital) and was buried yesterday in Nha Trang..

Over a week ago, at the hospital in Nha Trang, the doctor told me that one of our two babies (who had been ill and stayed in the hospital from the day they were born) could go home. However, the heath of another was not improving. He suggested me to transfer this weak one to the hospital in Ho Chi Minh City where I could find a better specialist and they would pay for the transportation (they used the hospital’s ambulance). I agreed with the doctor’s suggestion and we left Nha Trang on the next day. I had always been with the baby in the hospital during those days. Two days ago, the baby passed away at 4:15 AM in the hospital. I took the body of the baby back home in Nha Trang at the same day and buried him yesterday.

I am quite tired today and decide to take 3 days off to stay away from work in order to recharge my battery and to refill my energy. The rest of our babies and staff at two places A and B are doing well including the one who left hospital a week ago. We now have 49 babies. Today is the last day of the year. I sit down and look back over the year. I would like to give God thanks for all blessings that our babies and I have received from God, and all support, love and care that we have received from you and EF whom we believe God has sent to us. I could not imagine how the lives of these abandoned babies would be like if I didn’t have the chance to meet you and the Foundation. I strongly believe that it is God’s providence. I am sure that you and all the members and benefactors of EF are remembered in my daily Mass and prayers.

Thank you very much my brother. May God continue to bless you and all those that you love and that work with you.

Truly Yours In the Baby Jesus,
Sunflower Orphanage, Vietnam.