Dear Partners in Ministry,

April means a few things in Thailand—school holidays for one.  I went to an end of year party last week and had fun sending off the sixth graders.  It also means the little girl who lives in the house behind us, will visit in the mornings.  Around 6:30 she comes over for a morning drink (milo for her, coffee for me) and a game of Go Fish or Memory.  It is also the hottest month, and this month we will be cooled off by being doused by water when we venture out in the middle of the day when the Thai celebrate New Years with the water festival.  

Free to…

School being out gives us some extra time, which is handy right now because we are fully engaged in getting the house churches functioning smoothly.  Sometimes we get a bit confused on who is teaching what, where and when.  We feel we have settled on the how of teaching, and spread sheets are in fashion as we try to teach and train others to lead and teach.

With the groups in Ban Luang we are training individuals to tell stories using a great picture set we have found and the use of a simple set of inductive Bible study questions.   We are starting by team teaching with them and then letting them do more and more as they gain confidence. We are amazed at some of the things the group members are learning as they discuss Bible stories together.

This morning Larry spent time with Oo going through a Bible study while Jan worked with Paan and Supun, who will team teach.

Working together to make it happen

Paan and Supun have been working together for years, so when I suggested that Supun help her husband teach, it seemed natural to them.  Paan is unable to read, so Supun reads the story to him and has the prompt sheet for the questions.  They practice together, first with me and then together.  When they team teach, he will teach but she’ll pick up what he misses and will prompt him if he has trouble remembering the details.  It seems to work quite well.

Because of the distance to Ban Sra we will continue to work with the leaders of the two house churches as a group twice a month.

Out with the old and in with the new

As Anna leaves, Petina arrives to be part of what God is doing in Ban Luang.  She is currently in Chiangmai getting some language and cultural understanding but will be out in the sticks with us soon.

After much prayer and discussion we have also decided that this will be our last year in Thailand.  We will be resigning from the mission as of the end of August and, after a short home assignment in the USA, will go to Australia to live.

Planting and harvesting

Nothing much is going on in the fields right now.  We are between seasons, and it all seems dry and barren, but we have had some touches of rain, and we know that the rains bring hope of another farming season.  We pray that you have felt the refreshing of God’s touch recently.

Thank you again for your continued support and encouragement.

As always,

Larry and Jan

Dates this month

·         4-7       Petina will visit  Ban Luang

·         13-17   Songkran water festival (New Year)

·         17 -18 Anna’s farewells

·         18-20   Easter

·         21-24   a few days with Jan’s brother

Prayer and praise

·         Pray for Anna as she leaves and Petina as she comes—both are facing major changes.

·         Pray for house church members as they develop skills in facilitating worship and Bible study.

·         Praise God for constructive meetings and seminars.

·         Pray for Petina as she prepares for the move to Ban Luang in May.  Pray for her as she develops basic language skills and learns to live in a different culture.