Greetings!

(On the way to the village)

Hello everyone! Praying all is well back home. I just got back into Chiang Mai and wanted to write this blog while everything is still fresh...there is much to write about so I apologize upfront for such a lengthy review.

(The first rice-shoots are starting to emerge this month)

Titus and I headed out Friday morning anticipating a seven hour drive to the village in light of the clear skies. However, while we were driving a small motorbike got into an accident right in front of our jeep: A group of wild dogs ran across the road giving the man little time to react. He soon hit one head-on...the dog wrapped completely around his front tire and was tossed about twenty feet into a ditch, while the man was ejected from his bike and rolled/skidded over 30 yards. Thankfully, we were the only ones on the road so he was not hit by oncoming traffic. When we got to his side he was bleeding from his chin, stomach, and legs, however, he was conscious and was able to stand up not more than 10 minutes later. When he took his helmet off we discovered that he was one of the Hill tribes missionaries and was a close friend of ITDP. Since there are no tow truck or ambulances out that way, we paid a passing truck driver to take him to the nearest hospital. I am happy to report that he is doing well and only needed stitches!

(One of three Sunday services in Ma Oh Jo Village)

(Village food..pig and snake!)

Needless to say the whole event changed our schedule, so we slept at a local Pastor's house and finally arrived in Ma Oh Jo Village the next morning. Our time was mainly consumed with working on the school building. Every morning we woke up early and drove two trucks to a local river where the Karen have been gathering sand and rock for us to transport back to the construction site. The roads to this area were particularly difficult...especially with a full load of rock in the truck-bed! At one point we discovered that some of the piles of rock had been gathered about 100 yards from the road, next to the river...this meant we had to drive the trucks through the river to gather the materials...thankfully the river was only a couple feet deep in that area! At this same location I was shoveling rock and unknowingly stepped on a poisonous snake...luckily it was small and was just as surprised as I was! Not five minutes later my good friend Titus saw another small snake and curiously picked it up...when the villagers saw this they quickly shook it out of his hands...apparently it was one of the more deadly in Thailand...needless to say we will be more aware of the wildlife out here:) During the nights we went to each of the five villages and continued a survey for the Child Sponsorship Program (ages 9-12) which added another 40 children to our list. Praise God for continuing to provide students for the new school!

(View of the new school)

As you know, one of the key elements to the school's success are the financial contributions from donors in America. I have been praying that God would bring these people forward in large numbers for some time now, so that each child might be sponsored to attend school. Originally, I thought that these people would come from the small network of churches in Southern California that are currently involved with ITDP and the Karen people. However, this week a man named Mark Lambert (a pastor/leader of Transformation Ministries in California currently on sabbatical until September) traveled to the villages to see what God is doing among the Karen. He soon came to appreciate all that was being done and felt that "something big was going to happen" among these people in the coming years...and he wanted to be apart of it. So his way of contributing will be by promoting the Child Sponsorship Program through Transformation Ministries where he serves as one of the Directors to over 100 churches! What a confirmation that God is listening to our prayers and has His sovereign hand upon these people.

(Bringing coffee to the villages!)

I have three main topics which could use your prayers: First, there are many sick people in the villages right now. Two of them were serious enough that we took them to the hospital in our truck. There names are Luku and Jae Da. Luku is about 40 years old and has been helping on the school project these past two months in addition to his daily work in the rice fields. He is extremely strong, yet, the pain in his stomach and kidneys was so bad that he has not worked for four days (very uncommon...usually the villagers work no matter how they feel). We think he may have kidney stones or that it is related to opium/alcohol usage. Jae Da is about 9 years old and has had all the symptoms of malaria for over a week (high fever, severe headache, etc.). Both villagers come from extremely low income families and are Animists.

(Transporting supplies to the school)

The second stems from a conversation Mark and I had with the village leader of Whualo. During our time together we asked him about his beliefs and what he thought about God...if you want a summary of what I heard read Romans chapters 1-2...never have I seen a passage of Scripture so clearly illustrated. During our time together he told me that he believed that there was one God that created the world, and ultimately has dominion (however, he also believes there are lower gods that govern each region). He explained to us that as village leader it is his duty to offer animal sacrifices once a year on behalf of the village to please the gods and atone for their sins. We asked him if he had ever heard about the God of the Bible and he said "yes, but very little." Somsak (Thai Evangelist) then briefly explained the Gospel to him, and at the end we all prayed for the leader and his family. He thanked us for coming and invited us to come and talk more about our faith! I'm planning on going next week with Titus so please be in prayer that God would do a work in his soul.

I'm not quite sure how to write about the third because it is indeed new to my life's experiences. This past week Titus and I encountered a very dark side to this culture as we traveled to completely Animistic villages. I won't go into too much detail but I strongly believe we have been both spiritually and physically encountering demonic influences. We are not fearful in any way and trust the Lord's protection. However, the villagers are clearly distraught by these events which occur to them on a daily basis...they tell us that this is the very reason they worship these spirits....because they are afraid of continued harm. As the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:19-20: "What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to become sharers in demons."

Thank you for your prayers and know that God is answering them daily. I look forward to fellowshiping with you all in the coming months!

Your Brother,

Daniel Lamm

Prayer Requests:

1) For the souls of the villagers

2) For Jet's wife (Jet is one of the missionaries) who has been in the hospital for four days with respiratory problems. For years she has worked in a small shop on the side of the road where the smog is extremely bad.

3) For the villagers who are sick (Luku, Jae Da)

4) Safety as we drive

5) Mark Lambert as he travels to China after Thailand

6) That Titus and I would continue to grow closer to God and in our friendship.