Jan 8 update - - 8:30 pm Thai Time

 

I returned home Friday night, just in time for our Family-Pizza-movie night tradition. The last couple of days back in Phuket were hectic as usual. It was good that I got away for a day just to clear my mind a bit and get a renewed perspective on things.

 

The first day I was supposed to meet with a Denver Post team to do an interview but got caught up in helping to finish up with our data collection centre in Phuket. Our group was asked by the International Disaster Victim Information (DVI) team to pass on our data to them as well as being collecting similar information from another group of volunteers in Krabi province.

 

Two of us were flown by a Navy transport plane over to Krabi to meet the Krabi team who had been working non-stop and were exhausted. They were happy to hand over their work and we coached them on closing their operation well. We organized and ran debriefing time with a professional counselor for that evening. Many of them had been spending hour after hour looking at very gruesome pictures dead bodies trying hard to match missing persons.

 

While we were there we were asked for help in locating a psychiatrist for a volunteer who had lost his mind that night. He he had been riding his motorcycle back and forth to the temple morgue all night long trying to "deliver souls to the right bodies". He was very disturbed and was often completely disconnecting from reality. We finally were able to get him help through a connection at his embassy.

 

Once I returned to the central disaster headquarters in Phuket I was amazed to see the change. What had been a beehive with thousands of people running around and the helicopters roaring overhead had grown quite calm. Things are changing rapidly from the initial shock and disorganized frenzy to a stage of planning long-term relief and development. Groups are now looking at the job of rebuilding families, homes and lives.

 

There are very many hurting people here. Even those who have not lost a home or family members have often lost their means to earn a living. Keep praying for the whole region at this time.

 

Our Chiang Mai team needs to get back to work here in the north. We left a brand new office in the middle of renovation and with a training school starting in just days from now. I feel that we were able to successfully pass the baton on to the development team that is forming in Phang Nga. This whole thing is stuck in all of our hearts and I wouldn't be surprised if our team continues to be involved quite a bit in the months to come.

 

For now, as one of the leaders of the Chiang Mai location, I need to focus on what has piled up here in Chiang Mai and getting this new ministry up and running.

I will keep you all posted as we move forward.

 

Blessings,

Allan Brown

Chiang Mai

Thailand