Dear Partners in Prayer
 
Greetings from Ban Luang.  It’s either hot or raining this time of year, and we’re not sure which is better.  The seasons come and go, and our lives seem to ebb and flow with them.
 
What now!
School has started, and even though we don’t teach all day every day, we do have commitments at schools and have to fit other things around them.  Some days it seems we are managing interruptions.  This morning, for instance, we had visitors at 6 a.m. who dragged Larry out of the monthly village meeting and Jan out of the bathroom.  “You have to be at the house opening at 9.30!” was the demand.  We looked at one another; we were both supposed to be at different schools at that time.  How could we manage this? 
 
It was important that we be there because we had helped finance this house through your gifts.   We had originally been told that lunch time would be a good time, but now it seems that it wasn’t.  They felt they couldn’t move in if they didn’t do the ceremony, and we needed to be there.  The rains have started and their old house isn’t waterproof.   We decided that with a bit of shuffling Jan could be there at 10:00 and Larry by 11:30.
 
Real estate business
Jan got there just before 10:00 and was quickly told that she had to sell the house to Yot and Bua Kaew before they could move in.  So a little ceremony was done at the front door.  They gave us the equivalent of a dollar and Jan quickly asked if she could say something.  A one-minute talk on God’s compassion being worked out through people was followed by a prayer asking God’s blessing on the household.
 
Because of Jesus
Inside Jan was invited into another ceremony, and this time she was invited to pray a blessing from “her” God.  During lunch she overheard two ladies talking and they said, “They did it because of Jesus.”  Yes!  They are beginning to understand!
 
Thank you for what you are doing “because of Jesus” both here and there.  You are an encouragement to us.
 
Because of Jesus,
 
Jan and Larry
 
Prayer points
 
Praise God for the house opening and the opportunity to witness to God’s goodness in a public way.
Pray for the people in the community as we continue to visit and share.  May they know Jesus.
 
Praise God that Bus, a three-year-old with cerebral palsy, has made some improvements.  Pray for him and his family.  He and his mother will go to a center in Chiang Mai for two weeks of intensive therapy.
 
Praise God that we were able to take a trip to Payameng Rai to visit our old church.  Pray for them as they face some leadership changes in the future.
 
Praise God for Inn—her face lights up when she teaches from the Bible.  Pray that others will join our group on Friday nights.  Pray, too, about Inn’s ongoing health problems. She seems to be getting physically weaker.
 
Special Things Happening This Month
 
June 5-8    Meetings in Chiang Mai
June 12 & 20  English Days in Ban Luang and Ban Sra
June 23   Jan takes Bus and his mom to Chiang Mai.
June 27  We will go to Bangkok to share in the anniversary    
celebrations of the Chinese Baptist churches.