Dear friends:

And so all things come to an end.We have just a few more churches to go and our time of deputation is finished.We are saying another set of goodbyes and readying ourselves for travel.We are once again packing up a house and boxing everything and getting ready to move.June 2nd we are scheduled to return to Thailand and don't know where we will live.

Actually we know the district and probably the village that we are going to be concentrating on but our first priority on arrival will be to find a house to rent.The district is an area with about 20,000 people living in it but has no, as far as we have been able to find, no Christian fellowship or witness of any kind.

We have appreciated meeting many of you for the first time as well as renewing old acquaintances.Churches everywhere are in transition and we will be praying for you as you seek to witness to the community that you are in and adjust to the changes that surround you.We talk about the unchanging Christ in a changing world.We are sure of Christ's love and we are sure that the world is changing.With the number of moves and changes that we have been through we have learned to trust more and more on Christ's unfailing love and assurance.

When we return to Thailand we will move to a new area just South of Chiang Rai.Chiang Muan is an isolated rural district where most people will be subsistence farmers but it will still have a hospital, a high school and government offices.We will probably do some English teaching, cooking classes and income generation projects like we did before.We also plan to put into effect some of the things we have learned about Thai life, culture and religious practices.The dialect will be the same as we have used the past 4 years and we think most of the culture will be similar.We are counting on the Holy Spirit to work a change in the hearts of these people that we will be ministering with.We are also counting on your prayers and support.We believe that God has called us as a denomination of American Baptists Churches and individuals to reach out with the love of Jesus Christ in this way.If you would like to be more involved please contact us or International Ministries.

Prayer Points

• Please pray for safety as we travel back to Thailand, especially with the SARS epidemic growing in Asia and around the world.
• Please pray for God's leading in finding suitable housing that will be both appropriate for witness to the community and for our ministry.
• Please pray for the Holy Spirit to move in a mighty way in Thailand and that many Thai will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Larry and Jan Martin