December 2011 e-newsletter

Dear Family & Friends,

This is the time of year for Christmas letters telling what has happened over the past year. We will only be covering the past 6 weeks. If you have missed any newsletters this year, you can find them on our website.

CULTURE CORNER

We had a special worship service in Ban Gao to coincide with the ‘harvest holiday’ in Thailand. Pastor John came with some of the members from the Mae Sot church and gave the message. The service was followed (of course) by great food and fellowship! The five oldest Home of Hope girls got a special treat. They went with us to Tak to go shopping in the new Big C and Tesco Lotus stores there. Big C is like K-Mart and Lotus is like Wal-Mart. We have a small Lotus in Mae Sot that sells mostly food but there aren’t any other large department stores.

DIANA’S DELIGHTS

It’s also that time of year here that the Christmas Carolers make their rounds. We had a group of young girls from ELPIS lead by the Philippinas last Sunday night. They were wonderful and sang many songs in English, Thai, Burmese, Karen, Spanish (Feliz Navidad) and the Philippinas sang one in their language.

The Friendship Bridge between Burma and Thailand is now open. We were able to be there to see the first Burmese come across, the first vehicle to cross to the Thai side and the first foreigner to go to the Burma side. A lot of media were there to talk with the Minister of Foreign affairs and his entourage. This should help business pick up in Mae Sot and now foreigners can make their visa runs in Mae Sot again.

NEILL’S NOTES

A couple of weeks ago we joined Pastor John and some of the Mae Sot Foursquare Church members to deliver four pickup loads of goods for flood victims in Nakorn Sawaan and Lop Buri. We left at 5:30am and were back home at 10pm, helping about 300 families. In Lop Buri it was especially devastating with the flood over 3 meters (10 ft) high and washing away many, many homes. They had temporary shelters (tents) set up along both sides of the main highway. The flood victims were very grateful to receive blankets, cooking utensils and other things they lost in the flood. Please continue to pray for them as the waters have not receded completely.

There are many people who are suffering around the world with natural disasters and financial problems but this is an opportunity to reach out to them with the message of Christ, especially at this time of year. So we want to wish you all a "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and a "HAPPY NEW YEAR" and thank you for your prayers and financial support for us and the Home of Hope kids, too. We couldn’t be here without your support and who knows where the children of Home of Hope would be. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Love & Prayers,
Neill & Diana