9/8/2007 –

Dear Friends and Loved Ones,

It has been a month now since Katherine and I have gotten back to Thailand. Nangsar stayed behind briefly in the States to continue receiving treatment for a sprained back, but she too safely arrived back home about two weeks ago. Since getting back to Chiang Mai, Katherine has started school again and is enjoying her classes. However, because her classmates are not all at the same level of English proficiency, Katherine is finding that she has to do more than her share of work when it comes to group projects.

This past month has been taken up with the task of settling back into life on this end. It is amazing how much has taken place during our year of absence. All of our immediate staff and our national coworkers are doing well and are in good health. The reports that we have received so far indicate that the churches out in the villages have continued to grow and expand.

As for other developments, we are hearing and seeing evidence of massive dislocations taking place among minority populations in the region. The youth population in Burma is making a concerted effort to leave the country by every means available. Huge numbers of youth are streaming across Burma's borders in search of better opportunities in more stable environments. In the past, young people came into Thailand looking for jobs. Many of them found opportunities selling goods to tourists in places like Chiang Mai's colorful Night Bazaar. The latest trend now however, is to bypass these precarious jobs altogether and head straight for the UN refugee camps that have been set up in India, Thailand and Malaysia. One day, when everything is finally tallied, the rulers in Burma will realize that their greatest loss was in losing the youth of their country. They began in the 1960's by nationalizing everything and running out all foreign companies. Then they proceeded to ransack the country and sell off every material asset they could lay their hands on. It now seems they will bleed themselves to death by disenfranchising their youth.

The one glimmer of hope in all of this is that many of these refugees are from the Christian minority groups in Burma. Who knows what God has in mind with the setting in motion of this new Diaspora made up of Southeast Asian Christian Minorities? We are hearing of Rawang, Lisu and Kachin youth being resettled in the U.S., in Canada , Norway, Denmark and Australia. God may be in the process of reseeding the world. While these developments can be chalked up as another one of Burma's irreplaceable losses, these young people will most definitely go on to benefit their host countries. One thing seems certain, the news of all this is sure to fuel an even greater mass exodus to Asia's burgeoning refugee camps.

As we begin another term of service here in Thailand, our thoughts go out to all of you who made it possible for our family to be together in the States this past year. We are profoundly grateful for all the support and encouragement we received from everyone during our sabbatical. Our prayer is that God will continue to guide and lead all of us as we seek out His counsel for both our individual lives as well as our collective ministries. God bless!