March 2023 Newsletter

Dear Brethren,

February was a short and very busy month. It seems like the month just started and here we are at the beginning of March. February is always a very busy month for us because we have to turn a yearly report in to the government from the foundation. In addition to that report, we had to turn in an extra two reports and had many visits from the government. It seems that some people from China set up some foundations in Thailand to launder money. They were caught… but the government is now going through every foundation with a fine-toothed comb. We had to do reports with pictures every since we started the foundation. Each time the government officials came they apologized to us and said that they know we are following all of the rules but that they cannot make an exception for us. That added to our already very busy work load.

At the beginning of the month, we went to hold an English day at a school in Bangkok. There are about 400 students in the school we went to. We had English learning games, prizes and snacks. It was a lot of fun. We also offered two scholarships to students in the school. The teachers and principal will pick one student going into 5^th grade and one student going into 6^th grade to get the scholarships. They have to be excellent students with exemplar behavior and come from poor families. Our foundation starts helping young people in 4^th grade through university. However, I fell in love with one little girl. Her name is Thippaga. She is in 2^nd grade. She will turn 9 in July. It is my plan and intention to personally help her with her schooling all the way through university apart from the foundation. She is number 4 of 6 children. Her mother and father both work… but they really cannot make enough money to take care of their family. As a result, they do not have electric or water at their house. She really has no chance of any kind of a life without the help I am offering her. More than anything I want this precious little soul to go to heaven. There are so many just like her… we will help as many as we can. I want to thank all of you who help with the work here. Without your help, so many would not have any chance at life here or in eternity.

We are getting ready for the youth camp that we will be having in April. There are a lot of logistics to work out since the camp will be four hours outside of Chiang Mai. We are really excited. It will be the first full camp that we have had since Covid. We are expecting over 200 young people to attend. I want to thank those of you who have so generously donated to helping us have this youth camp.  Without your help, these young people would not have this great opportunity to learn God’s word. We are in the process of buying things that are needed for the camp. We will have to buy clothes for about 60 of the young people who will come to the camp. Otherwise, they would not have a change of clothes for the week. We are also having to buy pillows and blankets for everyone who is coming to the camp. In addition for transporting everyone from their villages to the school where we will be having the camp. Not to mention the enormous amount of food that will be needed for the week. We are renting the school for a full week. Most of the people will be there from Sunday till Friday. Our group of workers will be there from Friday before the camp begins to clean and prepare everything.

We have 5 more young people who will be coming to live in the dormitory here in Chiang Mai this next school year (which starts in May). The 4 young people who will be coming to the high school near us all passed their entrance exams. We were told at first that they did not have to come back till orientation in May… but that we would have to go and pay their fees and buy their uniforms. The day before we were supposed to pay they told us that the young people needed to be there when we paid. I made a flying trip to the mountains and picked up three of the girls and brought them to Chiang Mai. The fourth one lives too far away and I was unable to go get her, but they let us go ahead and pay for her anyway. The fifth young lady who will be coming will be getting an associate degree in accounting and will be working part-time with the foundation.

This last weekend, I drove 7 ½ hours one way to hold worship services in Mae Hong Son and then in Khun Yuam. I was really pleased because the young lady that we are teaching and worshiping with in Mae Hong Son invited three of her friends to come and worship with us. They all came and said that they will continue to come and worship with us. God continues to open doors and give us new opportunities. After worship services in Mae Hong Son, I drove to Khun Yuam to worship with the brethren there. Some of the people there where ill, but we still had 13 in attendance. I picked up three young ladies who worship with the church there and took them to the building. As we drove, we asked them if they had eaten lunch… it was nearly 2 in the afternoon. They said no, which started me thinking. We always carry snacks with us when we travel. When we got to the building, I gave them some snacks… which they literally devoured. As I took them home I asked them, did you not eat lunch because you weren’t hungry or because you do not have any food. They sort of laughed. I said that means you do not have any food doesn’t it. They said yes. I gave them some money… a thousand baht note, about $33 USD. I told them to buy some food and eat. They thanked me and I left. Later they contacted us again and said thank you too much. They had not eaten anything on Sunday. They then told us that they had never seen a thousand baht note before. They will use that money to have food for the coming week. Tomorrow, I will go and buy food for them. I will buy noodles, rice, eggs, canned fish and things like that. I will send it with Passakorn who will go to Khun Yuam to preach next Sunday.

There are people all around us every day that we can help. Brethren, we need to look for opportunities to help… and then help. Once again, I want to thank each of you for all that you do for the work here.  Together we are changing lives. Together we are giving them help. Together we are giving them hope.

May God bless us as we work together for Him,

—Michael