Dear Friends,

December is always a flurry of activity at the New Life Center. The residents continue to attend school, but all the tribal churches and organizations have special Christmas services, parties, and times for caroling throughout the month.

This past December, however, was extra special for us. The New Life Center was able to sponsor a Vacation Bible School and Retreat for all our staff and residents, from December 5 through the 8th. Both Nittaya and Marisa, (New Life Center chaplains) and our current Bible college interns, spent months planning for this event.

We were honored to have Professor Somsak (a leading Thai evangelist currently teaching at Phayao Bible College) lead the sessions for our Thai-speaking residents. We were also honored to have both a Lahu and Akha evangelist teach the Bible to our residents who do not yet speak Thai. Bible teaching sessions opened and ended with lots of singing and prayer. We played sports and shared meals together.

But the best part for me was the baptism ceremony. A total of 27 girls accepted Christ and were baptized.Included in this group were the girls that I wrote about in my last journal- girls who had come to the NLC from a horrible brothel last April. Also included in this group were girls who had come to us from a variety of other emergency circumstances last year.

We praise God that He reached down and literally saved each and every one of these girls. We praise God that He led these girls to us after they were rescued. And we praise God that they now know the God who saved them!

Psalm 18:

"The danger of death was all around me; the waves of destruction rolled over me…
In my trouble I called to the Lord; I called to my God for help.
In His temple He heard my voice; He listened to my cry for help…
The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me; He pulled me out of the deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies and from all those who hate me…

He rescued me, because He delighted in me."

I pray that each one of you will know the saving power of Jesus Christ in your life this year, and that you will know the One who delights in you!

Thank you also for your prayers, support, and love for us.

Karen Smith