Dear Partners in Ministry:

June has been a whirlwind. Where did it go?

As I sit back and look, there was a trip to Bangkok each; a visit from Dema, Carolyn and family; a number of projects worked on; people visited; trips taking people to the doctor; some lesson plan revisions completed; and a whole load of interruptions:

What now!
“Jan, can you tutor some kids for a test?” resulting in early morning sessions at school.
“Larry, my rice seedlings flooded,” resulting in Larry’s helping with replanting.
“My printer isn’t working,” resulting in ink all over my hands and a printer that still doesn’t work.
Multiple power failures, resulting in early nights (with no fans).

New Kids on the block
It was good to have our colleagues, Dema and Carolyn, up here for a week.  In the end we were unable to get them a year-long visa, so they had to return to India, where they will take a vacation and return here on July 25 with a new visa, giving us three months to work with the education department here to get them a work permit and a visa.
 
While they were here they followed us around, getting acquainted with the area, and Dema observed some English lessons.  Grace turned seven, so we had an impromptu party where Cow Port, our three-year-old neighbor, jumped the gun and blew out the candles before the birthday girl got a chance.  Whoops!  They were quickly relit.

Leadership training is an ongoing process.  We had another day this month, and it is good to see some progress in terms of knowledge and understanding, but we still feel a frustration as the progress is often slower than we’d like.

Worlds Apart
Inn continues to teach others about Jesus.  She was teaching Yot and Bua Gao about the lost sheep.  “What’s a sheep?” Well, Inn didn’t really know either, but they discussed some of the qualities—knows the master’s voice, doesn’t like strangers, and is valuable to the owner—and decided it was more like a dog than a pig.  Yot was happy with the analogy and learned something about our relationship with God.

Ministering to the Whole Man, Creaky Knees and All

A new project for our village resulted in us getting fourteen toilets for different families.  These were “sit-on style” to replace the squat toilets they already had. This project was actually requested by some people in our village and was directed at households that had elderly people in them.  Sometimes, when one gets older, it is hard to get up from a squatting position.  Pregnant ladies have also told us that a higher toilet seat is appreciated.  We were able to buy the new, higher toilets locally because wealthier people are starting to use them.  Some families kept their old squat style for the younger members of the family.  Some families added a grab rail along with the higher toilet for extra help.  Everyone likes to help the less able of our community, and it was good to be able to partner with our village to help the older members.

So it has been a busy month, but we have seen God working, and we trust that you, too, have known his presence.

Thanks again for your partnership.

Jan and Larry

 

Prayer and Praise points

Praise God that Dema and Family received a new 3 month visa and please pray that the schools here will help us get all the required paperwork in order.

Pray for us as we prepare for a short Home assignment in the states. We are leaving in 6 weeks time and there seems a lot to do.

Pray for Inn as she teaches others, pray for Yot and Bua Gao as they learn and grow in Jesus.

Up and coming events

July 11 - we both have meetings in Bangkok – it will be fun to travel together.

July 28th - travel to Chiang Rai for annual Medical exams. Not a favorite!

If you would like to support this ministry you can do it through the IM web page at www.internationalministries.org/missionaries/76