Dear Partners in Ministry,

We enjoyed our holidays in the US. 

Vacations these days are mainly about family.  We are hanging out with Larry’s mum in California, but we had a week in Arizona birding on the way here. The prize for the Bird of the Trip goes to the elegant trogon.  The weather is cool and crisp, and very different from Thailand’s weather.  The last few weeks before we left we experienced cool, hot, strong winds, and heavy rain.

What’s happening in our part of Thailand.

Healing slowly
Thank you for your prayers for the fellowship at Payameng Rai. Larry was able to share a message of forgiveness with one of the groups in the morning. That evening we met at a restaurant with the main players in the conflict. We had a private room, allowing us to have some fun together as we ate and giving us the privacy to share and pray together. All in all it was a positive evening. Most of the players are wanting to restore relationships. One family is having difficulty dealing with the pain, and we will be spending some time with them when we go back.

So long, farewell.
School finished in March, so we had a little teaching to do.  It was a bit sad to say goodbye to the sixth-grade kids, who will move on to high school next semester.

Excuse me!
We finished a series on Joseph with the kids at Saturday school, and it was fun to recap the story only to be interrupted because we were leaving out details. Ice, a fifteen-year- old, took over and told the story in all its glory, pointing out how even though Joseph had had some pretty miserable patches in his life, he always trusted and honored God, and God had it all planned out at the end. Ice is going to live with his mother near Bangkok next semester. We pray he will be able to find a place to nurture his understanding of God’s leading and guidance.

Ready or not….
We have been frustrated over the years because a number of people in Ban Luang have started a journey with Jesus, but we haven’t managed to get them to form a house church. We are now looking at targeting the ones who are not physically incapacitated, and bringing them together. We will meet at Dema and Carolyn’s place over a meal and have a Bible study and some fun together and hope that it is the start of a more permanent arrangement. We have heard that some of these folk joined the Ban Sra house churches’ Easter celebration.

May you know the sense of Jesus’ presence as you face your daily challenges. Thank you for your partnership.

Love in Christ,

Jan and Larry

Prayer points:

• Pray for Ice, that he understands that God has a plan for his life. Pray for him as he moves, that he will find a fellowship to be a part of that will nurture him.

• April 26 is the starting date for the Ban Luang home church. Pray for Tong, Nan Tong, Pra- kit, and Jop.  Pray that they will all be able to come and will want to share in these times of fellowship. Pray for us and our colleagues, Dema & Carolyn and Anna.

• Pray for the church at Payameng Rai, especially Derm and La-or.

Dates
• April 26  House church launch