KAMLOOPS – Dave Wharf, a heavy-duty mechanics apprentice instructor who took a two-year leave from his teaching duties at Thompson Rivers University to work with orphans in Thailand along with his wife, Terry, is back in the city for a couple of months to fundraise for Thai orphans for a second time.

After a year of fundraising in 2005/06, the Wharfs, who had connected with the El Shaddai 2 orphanage, located at SiRacha, about two hours SE of Bangkok, on a previous visit, returned in September 2006 to help to finish the building and provide its furnishings. The two have been building beds, cupboards, tables and chairs, and re-building the kitchen, including purchasing a new fridge and stove suitable for 30+ children.

Dave also worked at many mechanical projects that were needed to keep vehicles operating properly for the home and other ministries including rebuilding a Jeep CJ 7 that had been apart for many years, while Terry worked in the office on many accounting projects, just getting things updated.

Around Christmas the pair received funds from Canadian supporters and local missionaries that allowed them to purchase gifts for the children.

“If not for that money, it would have been a bleak Christmas,” said Dave. “Our son, daughter and son-in-law also arrived, bearing gifts for the children from Kamloops supporters as well as a huge ham (still frozen) to add to two turkeys for Christmas dinner. Terry and I hosted all El 2, local missionaries, some El 1 kids (grown up) and whoever else we found that had nowhere to go for Christmas dinner, 56 in total.”

Even if they had the money, the children wouldn’t have been lining up for holiday sales: “The children had to go to school Christmas day and Boxing day for exams so they didn’t open their gifts until after supper,” explained Dave.

The following month saw the Wharfs providing transportation for bible college students and staff to the northwestern border region and camping in the jungle for two weeks, ministering to local villages.

“We visited one to two villages a day, many times just spending the whole day in one village. On our way home we passed a Karin refugee camp of approx 150,000 people living along the border,” said Dave.

In February the Wharfs returned to the orphanage to discover that the guardians of the home wanted to move on.

“With the lease up on the rented house and the new building still not ready, the children all moved in with us,” said Dave, adding that they had only four beds for 13 children.

“That started our duties more as mom and dad than uncle and aunt (as they all call us). We now feed, clothe, take to school, shop, do laundry, pick up from school, etc, every day of the week,” he said.

“We also had to take over the new building project in January, as the contractor ran into financial problems and walked away from the project. Terry has been painting rooms, I’ve been installing electrical panels, water heaters and finishing plumbing while the children have been at school. We all, children included, have worked on hauling concrete supplies to the roof, backfilling with buckets etc. We finally moved in to the home, still lacking screens, drapes, paint, and even some windows in mid-May. We’ll finish things as we go from now on.”

At the same time, Dave and Terry also plan to make some trips up to the jungle areas, particularly the Golden Triangle area where most of the children have come from, to find orphaned children and bring them back to the home. They’ll also be teaching the children English and teaching the villagers and older children some practical trade skills.

“When the house is finished, we’ll look at adding more children and possibly bringing some over to Kamloops to finish high school and possibly some training at TRU. This will of course take time and more supporters,” said Dave.

Dave and Terry, who are paying for all their own expenses such as rent, food, travel, fuel etc, hope to raise enough money to finish off the home and get everything running properly.

The Wharfs are interested in speaking to any organizations or service groups about their activities and experiences in Thailand. They also urge people to send donations to A&D World Missions, PO Box 26010, Lethbridge Alberta, T1H 6H4, and label the donation for El Shaddai 2 children’s home. Dave notes that A&D World Missions uses only 1 per cent of donations for administrative expenses, with the rest going directly to the orphanages. Tax receipts can be issued if donors wish.

For more information, call Dave Wharf at 250-319-7354 or 250-828-1994, or by email, Dave or Terry or visit www.terryanddave.blogspot.com to view some of the Wharf’s Thailand activities.
A+D World Missions Canada can be contacted at 1-800-958-3352