Before I discuss things going on here in Thailand, I want to tell you about when I will be coming home to the U.S. I will be landing at LAX (Los Angeles) on June 9, 2012 at 6:50pm. It is amazing to have an official date for the end of the Race. I guess it makes it real that this journey will come to an end but hey, it just leads right into another journey right? I look forward to seeing you all!
Ok. Now for Thailand:
We arrived in Chiang Mai early on Monday morning and we have had a couple of days to rest and see some of the town before we go to the border town of Mae Sot for 5-6 days. It is there where we will jump into ministry by interacting with the Karen people group from Burma. We could be doing anything from helping the locals with projects to playing with the kids at their refugee children’s home. All of us men are looking forward to learning these people’s stories and encouraging them with the love of Christ.
After our time in Mae Sot we will return to Chiang Mai for a couple of days and then head to the town of Mae Sariang. I am not sure how internet will be at those locations but I hope to update you as much as I can. Below is a little more information on the Karen from our ministries website. I hope that it will provide you with a better understanding on the situation and who we will be working with this month.
Many Karen people have migrated over the years in to Thailand from Burma. The main reason so many have moved into Thailand is because of the genocide and attacks of the Burmese military government. It has been stated that the goal of the government is to exterminate or assimilate the Karen and other ethnic groups by the year 2012. This tyrannical regime goes into villages and kills, rapes, steals, and kidnaps children who often are forced into the military. The Karen and other people groups are herded and hunted in many ways. The regime seeks to dominate, and relocate the mountain people, and find it difficult to tax and control them. Many Karen consider it civil disobedience to maintain their way of life in the remote areas where they have lived for hundreds of years. It is difficult for agricultural villagers to defend themselves and their families against the military regime that spends 70% of their tax revenue on arming the military which has no external enemies. Karen villagers often only want peace and to be able to raise and educate their children in the village. Please pray for Karen families who are run out of their villages with gun fire at their backs looking for a safe place to live. Many villagers have no choice but to cross into refugee camps along the Thailand border.
Please be praying for us and our interactions with these people. Pray that God’s presence will be felt and that many will find their peace and rest in Him.
On a lighter note, on our day off here in Chiang Mai, us men were able to visit a waterfall in the Thai jungle. We had lunch, climbed the falls and watched Josh get bit by a tree viper. It was a fun day and we made a quick video of the experience which you can watch below. What isn’t told in the video is that the snake was not actually dead until we killed it again down the road. We realized this when it started slithering on the floor, lol. We promptly pulled over and I smashed its head with a rock thus making it officially dead. And that is just the beginning to MANistry.
