The FBR Ranch

Dave and Karen Eubank and their family live in a beautiful home outside of Chiang Mai. They have lived and worked in Thailand for 20 years and until 5 years ago, lived very modestly. A friend and supporter of FBR left them quite a bit of money when he died, and with it, they were able to buy 20 acres of an old 100 acre mango orchard and build their home, a care takers home and a bunk house for FBR rangers. It's a beautiful piece of land and they have access to run and wander through all 100 acres of the orchard. 

They are only here about 2 months of the year, since the rest of the year they are on missions in Burma or other parts of the world. They travel quite a bit, sharing the stories of FBR - raising awareness of the atrocities of the civil war in Burma and helping other countries form organizations like FBR to fight oppression in their own countries. 

We had all day Saturday and Sunday to rest and relax at their house. This was the highlight of the trip for the girls....they loved swimming the ponds and lake and riding the horses.

While the kids were off playing, Kevin and strolled through the orchard. Kevin's back was hurting pretty bad by this time and walking was the only thing that really helped loosen it up.

Their house has a very open main room. This is the family room / dining room area. It's really a great set up for all of FBR and all who visit. There were several FBR volunteers who would wander up to the house and interact with the Eubanks. There was another young lady who volunteers with a different ministry (Partners) in Chiang Mai who came and spent the whole day hanging out at the house. In this large upper room, Dave is able to hold training meetings for FBR staff and volunteers and can seat 50-70 people.

The highlight for the girls was riding the horses. They have six...4 of which are Thai ponies. You can see from the photos that they aren't very big - perfect for kids to ride. This is Sydney riding Ranger.

And this is Kayleigh with Arrow.

Here are some videos of Syd riding....

In addition to the six horses, the Eubank family has two pet monkeys....Wesley and Kid. Wesley is older and has gotten grumpy and aggressive. The day before we arrived, a dad and his two year old wanted to go into the cage and Wesley ended up biting the little girl on the cheek. When we were standing outside the cage, he reached through and grabbed Sydney's shirt - trying to pull her closer.

This is the younger, smaller one...Kid.

Kid thinks Sahalie (the oldest Eubank child - 13) is his mom. She has raised him and so there is a special bond and connection there.