Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Dec. 17, 2008
Greetings to all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and our eternal King. We are sending you our love and best wishes for the celebration of Christmas and remembrance of our Lord who came to the world and die for us on the Cross. By Him and in Him we have hope for eternal life. We would like to Thank each one of you for praying for us and we especially thank you for praying for our country as we have faced some political conflict in our country. We were concerned that our brothers from Michigan would not make it on time for Northmen meeting, but they made it earlier than the original arrival time. We have been blessed so much with their visit. We had a good Northmen gathering. The messages from all seven speakers were great. There were five American speakers, two Lisu, and one Hmong. We had 50 people all together. Most of them stayed the whole time, some had to leave earlier. We are very thankful to you all for praying for us and God was so good to us in making every possible for His children to live in peace and security. Right after the Northmen, we had a big thanksgiving feast waiting for us. It was so good to have many friends in the village come to participate in this service. The Ahka and the Lisu in the village and a nearby village and some people came up from Chiangmai to celebrate with us. Yabota, Ahlu, Nana, and many other friends from the Night Bazaar came up for thanksgiving. This was very special. We were so happy that they came to hear great sermons and great songs.
We were very busy and the Northmen team worked very hard. We got a new door and stairs to the learning center. Nick and Norm took a special trip up to Ahlemi’s village to see her parents and got the wedding lined up. Many people came to the wedding. Ahlemi was very beautiful and Nick was very handsome. As parents, Leah and I were overwhelmed with joy to see them in their most happy time. Leah worked very hard in the kitchen and make sure everything would turn out perfect. Ahlemi's mother was happy that Leah was there to help her. I could not sleep for many nights. I was so excited for their wedding. We helped the two line-up their honey moon trip to Huahin beach in Southern Thailand. On their way back, they will go to the American embassy to get their marriage certificate so Nick can get a Marital visa. Please pray for them as they travel back to Chiangmai.
We took a quick trip to KhunKlang. Xai Xong called us to come to help him get some warm clothes to Mae Vark village. The Hmong villages were having difficulty with the cold winter. We got several boxes of used clothes. It took us about 3.30 hours for 19 kilometers of road. Scott could not go because he was still sick from the previous village trip when we went to Lishiya's village. The road to Lishiya’s village was much better than the one to this Hmong village. It was good that Scott did not go. Xai Xong's clinic was good place to rest. There were no roosters to bother him. (Mike said that one night at Xai Xong’s he was getting away night from roosters but they ran into scooters running all night.)
Dennis and I took the Northmen team from Michigan to the airport yesterday morning. It was very difficult for us to say good bye. The kids did not want them to leave. We stayed with the team till the last minute before the boarding time. When we came home we felt very strange. Everybody was very silent. When the smaller kids came home they also were quiet. Some came to me and threw their arms around me and told me how much they missed Papa Mike, Papa Norman, and pee Scott. Once again the kids have to adjust their emotional volume.
Dennis is going to leave on December 21. As for now we do not want to think about his leaving. It is hard to handle this. Dennis is working hard to finish the left over project of building the scoring stations. We finished painting the door and the stairs today. They look very good. The color is attractive, a Chinese favorite color (Red). We wanted mahogany but it turned out a little red. This is fine for us.
The kids are practicing songs and dancing for the Christmas gathering. They look forward to this event. We also plan to have a special party for the kids on December 31. Lishiya and the folks will come down to join with us if there is no other problem to interrupt the plan.
The brothers in Myanmar are going to have an all Churches of Christ and Christian Churches convention in Rangoon on December 21. I was invited to come to this gathering but I cannot go due to the work at the hostel and the trip that we have to make to the Lisu Christian Christmas convention at MaeKon village. I was invited to come to this one. The headman and leaders asked me seriously to come because my father and I helped them found the village way back in the 80’s. Saitun from the Golden Triangle also asked us to come to his place to speak. Please pray for us that we will be able to do everything for God's glory.
30 sets of water purifiers are on the border ready to ship to Yangon for the Nargis victims. Please pray that we will be able to send them over to Jay and help install them for the villagers.
Praise the Lord for Vilailuk and Praiwan that they make decision to join with Christ in baptism for the remission of sin. Pray for them as they are growing in Christ. Praiwan is a good boy and very active boy. He loves sports. He will have a contest in track tomorrow. Vilailuk has very good voice and she likes to praise God and lead the singing.
Pray for Nick and Ahlemi as they are travelling back home from their honeymoon.
Pray for Ahtapa and Leah. We plan to take a trip back to USA in May if God provides the funds for us. We would like to be with Christopher for his high school graduation. We also would like to visit our friends and supporters.
Pray for our school and our plan for relocate at Zion hill. Things are looking very positive. Right now the kidney bean is about ready for harvest. We will harvest next week. Brother Norm Miller showed us how to find water. There was water on the property but we did not know how deep and how much water is down there. Please pray that we will have funds for all the transition and for water drilling.
May God richly bless you and grant you joy as we celebrate Christmas and we pray that God will continue to keep your cup overflowing with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
In Christ,
Ahtapa and Leah
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