Here are some highlights from Mike and Becky's ministries in Thailand.
- Mike traveled to David, Panama to attend an intensive 5-day course on coffee processing and production with Boot Coffee Company, March 21-26.This course helped Mike bring back ideas on how to improve the Thai Highland Coffee Co-Op, Lanna Café, as well as giving opportunity to research for the decaf process. God willing, Integrated Tribal Development Program (ITDP) will be the first Non-governmental Organization (NGO) in Thailand to produce decaffeinated coffee!
- Upon arriving back to Bangkok on the 30th, Mike had about 5 hours to get ready for a news conference with Starbucks regarding the ongoing construction of a school and clinic in Maechaem district, about 4 hours drive east of Chiang Mai. This building project is fully funded by Starbucks Thailand. A water project team worked with ITDP in Ban Su Pae, a Karen village about 4+ hours drive Southwest from Chiang Mai March 18-29.
- A water project team worked with ITDP in Ban Su Pae, a Karen village about 4+ hours drive southwest of Chiang Mai, March 18-29. Becky was scheduled to go with the work team (5 from Pomona First Baptist Church and 4 volunteers from England), but unfortunately Ryan (their son) and Hannah, a British volunteer, became quite sick with stomachache, high fever and diarrhea, so the team went on without her. The water project was completed Sunday, March 27. The team returned to Chiang Mai on Monday the 28th and the Pomona team left Chiang Mai, Tuesday, March 29.
- The ITDP coffee staff are busy moving kala (unshelled coffee beans) and green beans (shelled coffee beans) to the new storage facility. They hope the rain will not come until all the beans have reached the desired dryness. With the unpredictable weather lately, the staff is working their hardest to keep the coffee process moving along, keeping them under the best conditions for shipping to their customers.
Prayer Requests:
1. For good health and safety for all work teams and staff at the villages.
2. That the teams will show God's love in the villages, and they will have many opportunities to witness to the villagers.
3. Mike and Becky's support level is critically low. Please continue to pray that the Lord will move many to respond to our support appeal letter in order to reach the 80% personal support goal this fiscal year. If their goal is not reached, they may have to resign.
Mike arranged for Bonnie and Tommy LimSan to visit a local village. Below is their report.
Blessings to each and everyone,
Mike and
Becky's Missionary Partnership Team
Our Special Experience
Spending the night at the village is an experience I will never forget. Bonnie and I had some private time with Mr. Muan Jai after dinner, about 15 minutes. He asked, through a translator, if we were Christians and we said yes. That made him happy.
He said when the concept of growing coffee was brought up to his village, he just knew it was good because it was Christians that introduced it. He told us that before they grew coffee, the village was very poor. Life was now much better.
What capped off the evening was when he asked where we were from. We said we were from the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco. Without any hesitation, he walked into his bedroom and minutes later we were pointing together with him where San Francisco and Thailand were on the globe. We were fortunate that we were able to capture the moment in a photograph. We will forever remember this moment but most of all the faithfulness of Mr. Muan Jai.
Bonnie and Tommy LimSan
Francisco First Chinese Baptist Church