Dear Friends,
Christos Anesti!!
Happy Easter. I hope you had a good time celebrating the holidays with your family and friends. The last few months here have been exciting and eventful. On February 23, my colleagues and I received an email from Charles Jones, the acting Executive Director of International Ministries. He shared the good news that it will not be necessary to recall any IM missionaries from the field for 2005!! Praise the Lord. What a blessing and an answer to many heartfelt prayers. There were many complex factors contributing to this decision. One factor was that regular attrition, combined with the sacrificial spirit of some missionaries who opted to take voluntary recall alleviated some budget stress. We experienced the sad loss of eleven staff at Valley Forge who were laid off last year. Salaries have also been frozen for some time and many missionaries and staff gave generously and pledged to continue giving a portion of their monthly salaries. Board members have also given generously. But the single greatest factor affecting this decision was the tremendous outpouring of prayers and support by individual Christians who believe in the work of International Ministries. You rallied to our side! Your giving to World Mission Offering increased by almost $700,000 from last year. Look at the miracles God can do when the church comes together and raises it's mighty head in support of the global ministries of Jesus Christ! Wow. So the work will go on as we continue to rely on God to guide and empower our work together. Thank you so much for your love and support. And I look forward with great joy to seeing what God will do through you again next year.
Last week, I went to a very special event. Every year, the Christians in the Lahu tribe gather together from all over Asia for a 4 day revival meeting. They set up tents and tarps and bamboo platforms. They dig latrines, and dam up a stream. People drive and even walk for days to get to the event. The day before I was to head up there, I heard news that they had had a rain and hailstorm which blew down the tents - very unusual for this time of year. So I was a little apprehensive of what I might be in for! I started driving up the mountains on red dirt roads, and discovered that the previous day's streams had made very pretty patterns in the road! I began to wonder if my little Toyota Soluna would make it. But first gear got me there safely with most of the engine intact! Once I arrived, I found that the food was tasty and everyone was showing off their tribal colors. Crowds of people were very festive in their intricate patterns of red, black, teal and purple. Silver baubles and bells jangled as they walked. Kids ran around, playing hide and seek in their bare feet between the stalls of fresh fruits and vegetables. Motorcycles kicked up red dust behind them, but no one seemed to notice. There was an atmosphere of friendship and gaity. The Lahu leaders provided a nice mat for me to sleep on in a building that even had running cold water. Quite a luxury to be able to shower! I was set to preach on Tuesday morning, and just about had a heart attack when I looked out over the almost 4,000 people in attendance. My heart was racing, my stomach was in knots! It would even be broadcast over loudspeakers to reach those who might still be in their tents. Help!... I was there with one of our NLC staff named Nitaya. I preached in Thai, and she translated into the Lahu language. It was encouraging to have a friend with me. We got up, smiled at each other, took a big breath, and off we went. Gladly, God was merciful. The Spirit somehow anointed the words, and they came out of my mouth much more smoothly than the jumbled mess in my mind. So praise the Lord for small miracles. After the message, I also had the honor of participating in the ordination of 3 new Lahu pastors. And that evening, a group of our NLC girls performed a play and a dance. They did a fantastic job. So I was grateful for the chance to join in with my Lahu brothers and sisters in this great celebration.
Right now, at the New Life Center, things are getting quieter. Most of the residents have gone home to visit their families during this 2 month hot-season break from school. Many of them will help their familes by working in the rice fields, or looking after the water buffalo. Some residents remain at the NLC during this time. These are girls who don't have any family to go to, come from abusive homes, or have been trafficked from another country. Some of them have found jobs in town. Others will work on making NLC handicrafts. I am also working hard with the handicraft staff during this time. We are organizing, streamlining and restructuring the program, reviewing product design and packaging, etc. It's fun to work with these outstanding leaders to help them do even better. Karen and I also have lots of meetings to attend and guests to receive during this two month period. Exciting stuff, but sometimes it's easy to get meeting-ed out! Please pray for Karen and me and the New Life Center. We are in a position of making many crucial decisions in the life of this ministry. We are particularly concerned about trying to figure out the best educational options for the girls as the government adult schooling program is closing. Also pray that God will protect and guide the girls during this time that they are home with their families.
Another accomplishment of the last few months has been the publication of a new New Life Center brochure. I have designed and layed out the new brochure with pictures I took over the last year and a half. Karen and I worked on the text, editing and reediting. And after hours of blood, sweat and tears, we got the thing off to the printer. Then I dealt with some glitches at the printer's for a month. Welcome to Thailand!! Finally, the brochure is now hot off the press and ready to go. So, if any of you would like to receive the brochure, please email me at kitripley@pobox.com with your name, and snail-mail address. And for those who do so, you will also receive a special gift from me if you can tell me the correct reply to the greeting in the first line of this email. (If your computer doesn't have the right font, you can just use phonetics like I did!)
Many blessings to you.
Your Sister in Christ,
-Kit