Dear Partners in Ministry,

Greetings from Ban Luang, one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Happy but Sad

As I was writing this yesterday I got a call asking me to go get Bua Gaew and take her to the hospital.  To cut a long story short, this child of God is now with her heavenly Father.  Bua Gaew was one of the first people we met through the Uplifting the Down Trodden project and has been a follower of Jesus for a number of years.  While I was driving she was talking to Jesus, and at the hospital when we were describing her future with Jesus as being one with no sickness or crying, she gave us a beautiful smile.

Now it is all about the funeral.  The local way takes a number of days and can be draining for all concerned.  This morning I sat by her coffin and read scripture for a while and prayed.  Her husband Yot sat with me for a while, and others came and sat and listened for a bit too. 

A number of things need to be done, and everyone seems to know what to do.   The machine has been set in motion and will culminate with a cremation this Sunday.  We pray that there will be time to share with individuals the hope we have in Jesus.

Ban Luang is Beautiful

That’s what our visitors are saying and we aren’t arguing.  Right now with the rice in and some cloud on the mountains the views are pretty special.  We have hosted a number of groups lately and are geared up for one early this month. While they find the views fantastic, the accommodations are something else.  One lady recently thought she had a rat in the bed and was much relieved to find that one of our cats had joined her.  The cat was allowed to stay, maybe as protection from the rats.  The next team was not so excited about the cat being in the bedroom and tried to cat proof themselves.  Evidently the process took quite a while, and cats were not the flavor of the month.

We find it a privilege to speak to the lives of others, sharing what God is doing and challenging people about life style and commitment to God’s kingdom.  The teams continued to help with teaching in schools and visiting people in the community. 

Change at church

Larry came home from one of the house churches recently with a big grin on his face.  “Church was fantastic!” he said.  The locals had outdone themselves with a well prepared lesson and had illustrated it with original drawings.  Larry had taken an activity, and even though he hadn’t planned it to fit with the main lesson, it did, and the leader was able to use it as an illustration.  Last week we both went, and a couple of people who haven’t been coming returned, saying they had heard that church was better these days.  

We are grateful we walk through the good and the bad that we do it with Jesus.  Thank you for being in all of this with us.

In Jesus

Jan and Larry

Prayers and Praise

• Pray for Yot and his family as they continue without Bua Gaew.  Praise God with us that she is with Him, free of pain and worry.     
• Pray that local leaders are encouraged by the response to their efforts and that they will continue to prepare well.
• Praise God for the teams that visited, helped, encouraged and learned..
• Pray for the people who are listening to the MP3 players. Many enjoy the Christian programs.
• Pray for a home school teacher(s) for Dema and Carolyn’s children, Grace and Daniel.

House church meetings: 

Every Monday, Friday and Saturday

.