Another school year has come and gone. Actually, I (LaMon) continue to teach in the international program, but the Thai program is over. The final event of the school year was the annual work camp followed by a commissioning service for seniors.

Pat is studying a new language – Karen. So, she was unable to attend the work camp. Pray for her as she tries to learn this language which will help our work here and also enable her to assist churches and organizations in the States who are helping with the resettlement of Karen refugees.

I did go to the camp and as always found it a wonderful experience. 60 or more of us left Monday morning (March 10) and drove several hours into the mountains of Northern Thailand where we had planned to help a church lay a cement floor for their new church building.

As in the past, we divided into four teams. The three smaller teams were responsible for cooking, visiting homes in the village, and working with children in their morning school. The largest team by far was the team working at the church. I was part of that team most of the time, though I did help the cooking crew buy supplies one morning in the nearest food market -- an hour’s drive from the village.

The work consisted of forming lines which passed buckets back and forth. Some were buckets filled with sand, others with rocks. These were filled (shoveling from sand and rock piles respectively) and passed to the old cement mixer. When the mixing was complete, the cement was poured out on the ground, shoveled into buckets and passed along a line to be poured out on the dirt and rock floor of the structure. We did this for about 6 hours a day until the job was completed.

Every evening after a long day of hot, sweaty work, we would gather in the old church building for worship, which was always led by students, with preaching by one of the three professors who attended – two Thai and me.

There was a first, for me, at a work camp: I accidentally stepped on one of the village dogs and was nipped. Yesterday, I had my third of five rabies shots.

I am attaching three pictures from the work camp. They are pictures of some of our seniors. I would like you to pray for them. The first is Supatra. She was on the cooking team and is heating water. Academically, Supatra is the best student in the class. However she is not sure what God wants her to do in the future. She has said she needs to know herself better. Pray that God will lead her into a Christian ministry that fits her talents and gifts.

The second is Sunisa who is working with kids. I suspect they helped her paint those nails! Sunisa wants to be involved in some kind of social work like helping prostitutes or children with HIV/AIDS.

The third picture a photo of the some of the cooking crew. It includes a missionary from the Netherlands, who came up for a couple of days. His name is Karsten. Sunisa is also in the picture. The young man on the left (with the little beard) is a Karen student whose nickname is Top. Top is married and has two children. He will be pastoring a church upon graduation and is a fine student and young man. Pray for this ministry. He also hopes to do further education.

The other student next to Karsten is Chatri. He is one of the rebels. Every class seems to have one or two or three. He has a great personality. He is a talented guitar player. However, he seems pretty much adrift. Pray that he will find his way into a ministry that will serve God and bless the people of Thailand.

Let me add one point of emphasis. Our prayers can make a difference in the life of these students. Four years ago, I asked you to pray for another student who did not fit the mold. Today, Surapong is a pastor. Last month he baptized 5 young adults. This is not unusual for this new pastor and the church. Pray, my friends, pray.

May God bless you all,

LaMon and Pat