It has been an exciting time for us as we have recently participated in some of the most important days of some of our friends and their families.  Education is so important for the future of the children and young people we work with here.  Many children of Thailand, particularly among the ethnic minority hill tribe people groups, have had inordinately difficult circumstances to overcome in order to receive the basic opportunities for schooling that we often take for granted.

As the Chiang Rai International Christian School, which follows the international calendar, makes final preparations for a new school year to begin, it seems an appropriate time to focus on the successful completion of studies for a number of students this past spring.  These students have been supported in their educational pursuits by STEP funds (Student Tuition Expense Program – an educational support program of American Baptist International Ministries for those in grades K-12) and/or are those who have received help from individuals for their post-high school studies.  Let me introduce to you a few of them:

Prasit recently completed 9^th grade at the Sahasartsuksa School in Namlat, a Baptist school founded 55 years ago by Cecil Carder and Rupert Nelson and 3 fine Karen leaders for children from the ethnic minority hill tribe groups who had no opportunity for schooling.  Prasit is the youngest son of six children, and had a very difficult time in his local village school which was not prepared to help him with the special attention he required.  We celebrate with him and thank Jan and Alexis who have supported him for the past 9 years in order to have this opportunity to complete Thailand’s requirement for 9 years of education, and give him the possibility of work and a much better future.

Akala was a small Akha girl, destined to stay on the streets of Chiang Rai, selling flowers for her mom and little sister, if it had not been for Ana, from Brasert Village, who brought her to our attention.  Her father had abandoned them, and her little sister was only months old.  Akala was 8 years old.  Coming to us as a 4^th grader, without a lot of support, it was a huge achievement to see her complete 12^th grade this year!  She plans to do something with accounting and now has the tools with which to do that! Thanks, Dan and Jennifer, for making this possible!

Miju lives with us and was the beneficiary of help through the New Life Center and sponsorship by a family in Ohio to go to Payao Bible College.  She is one of 9 daughters, 2 of whom left to work in Pattaya years ago.  Their parents have struggled to make a living, made more difficult by their on again/off again involvement with opium.  Having graduated 3 years ago, Miju came to work with us as our Administrative Assistant.  While living with us, she has also helped to support 3 of her 8 sisters with their education, along with help from sponsorships provided by friends in the USA.   Ann has been living at the New Life Center, and celebrated her graduation from Achiva with her Associates degree.  Amphai and Suda have been attending the Sahasartsuksa School, and we celebrated with Amphai, as well, as she graduated from high school this year.  Suda has one more year to finish 9^th grade there.  Ning, a fourth sister, also came to Chiang Rai to celebrate her graduation from college as a New Life Center scholarship student.  Thanks to Ed and Rita, Kathy and Doug, and many others, for helping these young people achieve their dreams.  What a difference God and these educational opportunities have made in their lives!

Linchee came to the Family Learning Center of Chiang Rai (FLC) in 2002 as a 7^th grader, barely able to handle English.  She had completed 6^th grade at the top of her class in the small Karen school she attended in her village.  Our international home school co-op gave her the opportunity to come to study here.  After graduating from high school with a 3.8 GPA, she was able to enter the Maefahluang University with the help of a sponsor who committed to helping her through all four years there.  How exciting it was to witness her graduation from the university, along with three others from the FLC graduating class of 2008!  They represented the first graduates from the FLC to graduate from a Thai university—quite an accomplishment!  Linchee now has a full-time job at the Chiang Rai International Christian School, and is able to support her family with her income.

We are grateful to see how education is making a difference in the lives of these young people.  Their opportunities, combined with their knowledge of and relationships with God, are creating futures for them that they had never imagined!  While graduation marks closure on one phase of these students’ lives, successful completion of their education creates a new beginning for each of them.  Many thanks for your prayers and financial support which have helped to make these opportunities possible.