Dear Partners in Ministry,
 
Party Time
There is nothing like a good party, and in Thailand April is the water pouring, party month. We had a special add-on: a party to celebrate life in Christ.  We gathered one Saturday at Nuek’s house, where we meet for church and then went five kilometers up the road to a mountain pool.  There Inn, Lamut and Tuk were baptized.  We then went back to church for a special service involving prayer, teaching, communion, and a traditional string tying ceremony, where we tied strings around each others wrists and prayed individually for the people baptized.  Food and drinks were served in the traditional Baptist tradition.  It was a special time for celebration, and there was a great sense of joy and thanksgiving.
 
Taking the Reins
We are also thankful that old-timers Long and Nuek are taking a bigger role in the leadership of the fellowship. Long joined the others in the water and asked the questions about belief, and Nuek prayed a prayer of blessing for the three of them as they left the water.  In fact, back at the house, Lamut led the service, Inn taught the lesson, and Long led communion.  We are excited by the way that God is growing the fellowship spiritually.
 
We were to have a leadership training session on Sunday but have postponed it to the 8th of May.  These sessions are both for teaching the leaders at a more intensive level and for giving them practical skills.  At this session we are also hoping for some input on preferred language terms as we get the lessons into a standardized format.
 
We have started a lesson review and see it as a long-term project.  As we look at old lessons and talk them over with the leaders, we are seeing ways to improve them and make them easier to use and understand.
 
Good Things Happening Elsewhere
We are excited that there are others here with a heart for the Northern Thai.  We met with a group of folk from other organizations, and were shown a couple video tracts that have been made for the northern Thai and the rough cut of a short movie.  The quality is good and we are planning to use them soon.  We extended the trip and spent a couple extra nights away and worked on the lesson review in air-conditioned comfort, away from the myriad of distractions and interruptions at home.
 
Hope for the Future
The intensive “English at the Hospital” course went well.  Not a big attendance but enough to make it worth while, and we will continue to teach there once a week.  We had opportunity on the last evening to share something of our faith and the peace we receive from Jesus.  We pray that there will be more opportunities as we go back each week. 
 
Back to the Classroom
School starts again the middle of this month. We teach on rotation and manage to get to eight schools in our area.  We split up to maximize our efforts and use the same lesson plan as we go around, minimizing our preparation time.   I will continue to visit and help with exercising the children with handicaps, and Larry will continue looking after the fish, frog and chicken projects.  
 
So life is full and busy. God gives us reasons to smile and praise Him. We trust that in your busy-ness you, too, know that God is working in you and through you to see His Kingdom come.
 
Thank you again for your prayers, support, and encouragement that enable us to be here.
 
In Christ’s love,

Larry and Jan
 
 
Upcoming Dates
 
• May 6-7     Meetings with Church of Christ in Thailand

• May 8        Leadership training day
 
• May 19      School starts
 
• May 20     Visa renewal in Bangkok

Prayer and Praise
 
• Praise God for Inn, Lamut and Tuk.  Pray for them as they continue to walk and grow with God.
 
• Praise God that people in the fellowship are taking on leadership roles.
 
• Praise God for the videos that are being produced.  Please pray that they will touch the hearts of those who watch them.
 
• Praise God for the time at the hospital. Please pray that the conversation may continue.
 
• Please pray for a work permit for teammates Dema and Carolyn. Pray for Larry as he coordinates the process with a local school.
 
• Please pray for teammate Anna as she returns to commence ministry here in Ban Luang after a leave of absence to look after her sick mother.
 
• Please pray that our visa renewal will go smoothly.