April 2024 Newsletter

Dear Brethren,

This month was very busy.  There was a lot of work that had to be done to prepare for the youth camp. It is only a week away as I write this report.  I am writing this report from my bed. I have strep throat. I have been on heavy medication and bed rest for the last four days. The medicine gave me abdominal pain and I had to go back to the hospital to get my medications changed. On the bright side, I am starting to feel better. Tomorrow, brethren from America will be here. The next morning, the brethren from Laos will be here. I will drive with the group on the 4th to the camp to start getting everything ready. The camp is about four hours from Chiang Mai. I will drive back to Chiang Mai on the 5^th to pick up the brethren from Singapore from the airport. We will worship here in Chiang Mai on Sunday and then head to camp. We will use Monday morning to drive and pick up young people. On Monday evening the Camp will begin. Please keep us all in your prayers.

At the beginning of March, we worked to help the young people study and get through their end of year tests. One of our young ladies, Frame, graduated from High School. The graduations here are a little strange to me. The families stay outside and wait for their children to come out with their diplomas. The young people are met by the younger students of the school and do a “boom”.  They gather around the students who have just graduated and do a cheer that ends with them all yelling “Boom”.  Then it is over and everyone leaves.

When school was out, we took all of the young people who stay at our dormitory in Chiang Mai home for a visit. Some of them will stay till camp. Others stayed a week and then came back to Chiang Mai to help prepare for Youth Camp. The young men came back to practice their lessons and learn what they will be responsible for during the camp. We spent three days interviewing new students before coming back to Chiang Mai. That is always exhausting both physically and emotionally. The young people who come to us for help have very sad lives. One young lady told us that her dad, who was Thai, passed away. Her mother who was Burmese got sick and had to return to Myanmar. She is here alone. She cannot return to Myanmar because of the civil war that is raging there.

Preparing young men for camp.

We are preparing for the upcoming school year which begins in May. I am sorry that I have not been able to get information out concerning the young people who are being helped. We will get that information out as soon as possible, but I am not sure when that will be. We are updating the information and the turnover of students. Those who will not be helped in the coming year and those who will be helped. Most of the students that were being helped last year will being helped again this year, but not all. Some have finished the program. Some have opted out of the program. Some have been removed because of grades or behavioral problems. We are adding new students.  If you are going to continue helping sponsor a young person, you will continue helping that young person if they are still in the program. If for some reason the young person you are sponsoring is not in the program this year, we will be giving you a new young person. If you are going to continue sponsoring a young person, please begin sending the money to sponsor them. Mark the money for student sponsorship. If you can go ahead and send the money it will be a great blessing as we have to buy many things before the school year begins… uniforms, school supplies, ect. Thank you for the help that you give these young people. If you would like to begin sponsoring a student, you can email and I will send you the information.

We helped some of the students here get registered in their new schools. It is quite a process when they leave sixth grade and move into seventh.

Registering students.

We also started transporting things to the camp. We have blankets and pillows and much more that has to be taken to the camp each year. Remember it is a four hour drive one-way. This takes a lot of time and energy.

Moving things to camp.

Most of the young people who will be coming to camp have little or no Bible knowledge. This is a great evangelistic effort that just begins with camp. We will spend months following up with these young people and their families. This year there will be kids from 32 villages scattered throughout the mountains who will be attending camp. Please pray that we will be able to plant many seeds in the hearts of these young people. Pray that we will have the energy to water and wait for God to give the increase.

May God bless us as we work for Him,
Michael