Kim’s work includes overseeing five Christ-like ministries for tribal people who are coping with the problems caused by AIDS, disabilities, and migration from their traditional villages to urban slums through the ministry of Integrated Ministries for Ethnic Minorities Foundation (IMEMF)

Kim writes: I am back in Chiang Mai, home after 3 months in the U.S. visiting churches and friends in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.  I returned to Chiang Mai in the midst of a flood!  My own home was flooded and I had to go from the airport to the House of Love (HOL) because the roads in town were closed.  (thankfully, my housekeeper was able to move most items up before the water came in).  But it turns out that our HOL property also was flooded—not by the river, but because water was released from the dam into the canal that flows along the back of our property—and the water came in.  Our rice fields were decimated, and we will need to restock our fish ponds.  But we are so thankful that no water came into the home—which happened at the old place in 2005.

I value your prayer for us each month—and I like having new items to bring.  But I would like to ask a special prayer request from now until the new year.  Most of the residents at the House of Love are no longer children.  They are teenagers and young adults. Traditional Thai culture would treat all of the residents as though they were children; but the young people are living in a changing and, therefore, a confusing culture.  They need skills that will allow them to make wise choices for their future as they transition from childhood, through their teen years, into adulthood. They will need the support of adults and of a program at the House of Love that will allow them to grow spiritually, to practice their independence, to learn from their mistakes, and to grow in their self-esteem.  Would you pray for me and the others at HOL as we work out how to train these young people to be Christians in this Thai world?

Praise and Prayer Points:

• I thank God for the 26 years I have been friends and colleagues with Khun Amnuayporn.   We started off as nurses together in the Baptist Maesariang Hospital, and we are finishing as co-directors for the IMEMF.  It is time now for Amnuayporn to retire, and we will be having a worship service and special meal together to mark the event.  Please pray as we go through this transition.
• You are probably aware that the House of Blessing (HOB) families live life on the edge of poverty, and to experience flooding like we have had in Chiang Mai is devastating.  Please be in prayer for these families and their communities.
• The students at the CDPD will be enjoying their October school break this month as well.  Please continue to be in prayer that the building will be completed on time.
• Thank you for praying for new jobs for the Health Project (HPTP) staff who finished their terms with IMEMF.  I am happy to report one is now a full-time pastor, another one is working for Compassion, International, and the third one is working with the district government.