We haven’t seen much of Bill and Venie lately as they’ve been off on their own adventure.
It’s rainy season here and we’re told that it’s very dry compared to normal years. Some people around here are beginning to prepare their fields for the rice crop. The rice is started and the baby plants are put out in the fields. Rice planting is a busy time here. By the way, rice production in Thailand represents a significant portion of the Thai economy. Thailand has a strong tradition of rice production. It has the fifth-largest amount of land under rice cultivation in the world and is the world’s largest exporter of rice. A little significant Thai trivia for you.
Here at EOP we have two new staff members. Janton is our gardener and a hard working man, and his wife, Wandee (pronounced Onedee, emphasis on the dee) does cooking for the dorm and helps as house mother, especially now while Thamla is at Aenon in Malaysia doing medical missionary training for one month. After she returns Pastor Phamor will be holding a medical missionary training course here which will run for four weeks. Our ELS (English Language Studies – they chose to name themselves!) girls will be participating, along with young people from the neighboring countries of Laos and Myanmar. Some of the American missionaries here in Thailand are expected to be attending too.
This school year we have enrolled five new girls in our dormitory with ages ranging from 9 – 11. They are all attending the local Adventist Academy. Our ELS girls are my students, five in all, and I have the delight of spending several hours a day with them in the classroom. We concentrate on grammar, reading, pronunciation, Bible and spiritual reading and later we will introduce health topics. These young people are enthusiastic and eager to learn new skills. We are currently working together on building a website for EOP, which will give information on the students at the various schools that are under the EOP umbrella. The girls are currently translating from Karen and Thai into English the profile sheets to be transferred to files for the website and letters to the sponsors that will be sent out to the various people who are helping us financially. Pastor Phamor and Thamla visited the schools before Thamla left for Malaysia and got the children to fill out a profile sheet each. Then Thamla took all of their pictures. So translating all of these profiles and letters is a big job but they cheerfully help and never complain.
These precious youngsters have become a major focus in our lives. As we lay our lives before the Lord each day and ask Him to guide us and direct our steps, we see that He has placed us here in this little part of the world to be representatives of the king of the Universe; ambassadors, if you will. People need to see what Jesus is really like and the only way this can happen many times is by what they see in us. So I encourage all of us who have given our lives in service to the King of Kings, that we honor Him with our humble and faithful service, giving thanks in all things.
Another thing I have realized since I’ve been here is that my definition of a missionary spirit has been very limited. I believe that a missionary is one who gives their lives 100%, nothing held back – no matter what, to Jesus for Him to put you to service whenever, wherever and however He sees fit to do so. All missionaries don’t live on foreign shores but they all have one thing in common: Dedication to the service of their Lord and a longing desire to see others saved into the Kingdom of love, and last, but by no means least, a heart yearning for Jesus to come back and put an end to the reign of sin. I would like to say here, that if any of you feel that God is encouraging you to participate in sponsoring a student or a teacher here in the EOP program or if you would like to help with administrative costs, please e-mail me at
wendy@jfathailand.org for details. The EOP foundation is helping young people, not just to get an education, which keeps them out of the “flesh markets” here, but more importantly, they are introduced to their Saviour and given the opportunity of being set free from the darkness of spirit worship.
Thank you so much for your prayers and for your support. May God bless you all.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
The time flies by; where does it go? It doesn’t seem to spend very long passing through here. My friend Annabelle and her family are already back from their furlough in Canada and school has been back for over a month now. 