Dear Friends,

Hello. Hope you are enjoying some nice summer weather.

The most exciting news of late is that I had my appendix out on May 30th. I had been having stomach pain which was slowly growing for about 5 days. So I went to the hospital on Sunday evening. A doctor diagnosed me with "dyspepsia" and sent me home with some medicine. So I took the meds on Sunday night, Monday morning and Monday afternoon to no avail. So I went back to the hospital and saw a different doctor. I complained to him that the meds I got the day before weren't working. So he poked around a little, and sent me off for an ultrasound. Once the report came back he said, "Well, I hate to tell you, but it's your appendix. How about if I meet you in the operating room in about an hour?" So off I went to be "prepped". It was quite a shock to have arrived at the hospital at 3:30 and find myself in the operating room by 5:25! The funniest thing about it was that my colleague, Karen Smith, had just had her appendix out 6 weeks before I went in! She went to the same hospital, saw the same doctor, and stayed in the same ward. And I took care of her for a few days. I was so glad to see the same doctor, a very kind, gentle man. It turns out that he is one of the top ten doctors in all of Asia for internal medicine, which was comforting. The nurses on the ward had a good laugh when they saw Karen there to take care of me! She took such good care of me, that I was released from the hospital after just two days. I went home to rest and now, a month later, I'm feeling back to normal.

Earlier in May, I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Lou de Baca speak at the U.S. Consulate. He is a senior prosecutor in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He also serves as the Involuntary Servitude and Slavery Coordinator for the Civil Rights Division. It was fascinating to learn about his experience in prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking, especially in cases of prostitution slavery, as those issues are pertinent to our work at the New Life Center. And I was particularly interested to hear how the U.S. has cooperated with legal entities and NGOs in other countries in the prosecution of traffickers who transport people across national borders and coerce them into exploitative labor. He spoke about the "Three 'P' Paradigm" of Prosecution, Prevention and Protection. This approach has been in force in the U.S. since the late 1990s. In comparison, Thailand has many good laws in place to prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking. The next step is to work on better enforcement of these laws. Thailand is also working hard to prevent further abuses in the future. But the protection of victims is still weak, and victims are sometimes treated poorly at the hands of law enforcement in Asia. So it was helpful to hear what kinds of laws are in place in the U.S. to oppose human trafficking, and assist victims. In my work at the New Life Center, I am continually learning more about the issue of human trafficking and the effect on victims. We cooperate with other NGOs, Thai legal agencies and law enforcement and the U.N.. We are also working to prevent the trafficking of tribal people from northern Thailand through education and training of people in rural Thailand, China and Burma. This year, we are working on planning a trip to Laos to educate people about HIV/AIDS and trafficking. I believe that the New Life Center is particularly well-positioned to do this kind of prevention work because some of our residents are victims of trafficking and labor exploitation, and they can speak from their personal experience. I pray that some day, there will be no need for the New Life Center to receive and care for victims of human trafficking. But until then, we will stand in the gap. And I will continue to learn more about how God is calling us to minister to the "least of these".

Please continue to keep me and the work of the New Life Center in your prayers. Also, in a few weeks, I will be taking a trip to Birmingham, England, to go to the Baptist World Alliance's 100th Congress. Karen will also go with Nitaya who is the chaplain at the New Life Center, and serves as the Associate General Secretary of the Lahu Baptist Convention. Please pray for the travel of all the delegates, and the fruitfulness of the conference. Karen and I have been invited to speak about the work of the New Life Center in a focus group. And we look forward to meeting Baptists from all over the world.

Thanks so much for your encouragement, your prayers and your financial support.

Your Sister in Christ,

-Kit