Thailand

Village Time

2011-06-08T16:54:00.001-07:00

Greetings to all!

We arrived safely in Chiang Mai on the 7th and we are getting ready to head out to the village today. God has been extremely gracious already and we look forward to His continued provision. A quick re-cap of our time thus far:

The plane ride went smoothly and we landed in Chiang Mai around 9am on the 7th. Customs was different this year and they scanned every bag we had and therefore selected several for further search... not ideal! After a chaotic 10 minutes we were through and they didn't take anything from us.

I ended up sitting next to a Christian man that was flying from Sweden to meet with the Karen Baptists leaders... needless to say, we hit it off and had a great talk. He knows Mike Mann and his ministry and we bonded very quickly. He ended up helping watch out things while customs was looking through our bags (which was incredibly helpful) and we were able to return the favor by giving him a lift to the Karen Baptist headquarters when his ride didn't show... God's sovereignty is fun to watch.

After that, we went to the ITDP offices and met with Mike and some of the staff. All is well and will be going according to the original plan:

We will leave today and get to the village tonight. It is an 8 hour drive if we don't stop, so it will certainly be an all-day event. The rainy season seems to have come early and the river we have to drive through is a bit high as a result, but they think it will subside by the time we get there. One of the missionaries called the office and requested boots for the villagers as there have been a lot of green snakes that prove a nuisance when they cut down the brush for various projects... joy!

The pastor from Ma Oh Jo is supposed to join us on this trip as well as a couple other staff members from ITDP. We will meet with the leaders tonight to go over our plans for teaching, what works best for their schedules, etc. We are planning on coming out of the village on the 21st and I fly home the next day.

Please be praying for Jessica and Mya. Mya is feeling well and adjusting to the heat, but she gets dizzy on long car rides. Pray that she is healthy and ready to translate.

Jessica has been dealing with various health issues since we arrived and needs your prayers. Her feet were severely swollen from the plane ride and heat and it kept getting worse so that walking was a bit difficult. We took her to the hospital to make sure there were no blood clots, but an ultrasound showed that there were not, so she is fine to go to the village. This morning, her fibromyalgia started bothering her some more, but she was able to take some pain medication to help her through the day.

I am feeling great and would just like your prayers as I teach and try to lead the team. Pray that I am understanding to everyone that is here and that I have wisdom as difficult situations arise.

I will be posting an update when we return from the village in about 12 days. Thanks to all for your support and prayers. We are expecting God to do great things on this trip and desire to see Him glorified and the villagers grow in their knowledge of and love for Christ.'

With gratitude,

Dan, Jessica, and Mya

2010-06-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

Greetings friends,

I am sitting in Taipei at the moment waiting for my plane to LAX so I thought I would take some time to summarize my last ten days in Thailand:

Hostel

After my time in Ma Oh Jo village, my friend Paul and I spent the night at a hostel a few hours north of Chiang Mai which ITDP is involved with. It houses around 80 students who are primarily from the Lahu Hill-tribes. They live at this hostel for 10 months of every year while they attend school because there are not adequate education opportunities in their villages.

When we arrived we had the opportunity to worship with the students and speak to them about our purpose for being in Thailand. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and I was impressed by the dedication of the staff (there are only 3) and the happiness of the children. The leaders relayed their desire for people to come work with the students and it was tempting to accept their offer right then and there. What a service these people are doing by providing a Christ-exalting home where the students can be loved even though they are away from family and at the same time grow in their faith.

Mae Long Thai

On the 3rd we traveled to a region called Mae Long Thai (also Karen villages) which is ITDP's new area for development. It is being funded by the Christian Credit Union in California and will be modeled after the work which has been done in Ma Oh Jo (water, school, clinic, outreach, etc.). I can honestly say that this journey was one of the most important times in my Christian walk and I am unsure how to properly express the needs I saw there, yet at the same time the the glimpses of the future glories we will enjoy in Heaven...

Adventure

(Mae Long Thai Village)

Mae Long Thai is quite literally in the middle of nowhere. It is about a 5 hour drive from Chiang Mai on normal roads, and another 3-4 hours on a small, mostly dirt road. We had to drive across bridges made of logs and sticks and even drive through the river as well as smaller streams. We saw what we think was King Cobra crossing the road, heard an elephant shriek like it was out of a Jurassic Park movie, found out there are tigers in the region, and met two people who had extremely swollen arms because they had been bitten by poisonous green vipers. Beyond that we enjoyed eating items like monitor lizard, wild boar, and mountain rice. The villages are all located next to a river that flows through the mountains and all around there are steep jungle covered peaks and cliffs which made for some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen in Thailand.

Work

We went to the village with only one ITDP missionary, named Pi Yut (he is Karen). He is managing the new project and we were all more than a little impressed with his vision and ability to organize. He is currently trying to gather all the information needed for the website, future school, etc. We aided him in this by traveling to some of the villages to take profile pictures as well as fill out demographic studies on the families. This was a great opportunity to meet the villagers and for them to see our intentions are good as there are very few foreigners that go to the region.

Another part of the work that was done while we were in Mae Long Thai was meeting with all of the village leaders (there are four villages) to discuss the work and continue to explain the coming projects, answer questions, foster good relationships, and make sure they are on board with everything that will be happening. This is not as easy as it sounds since most of them had no formal education and were being exposed to entirely new concepts and ideas. However, Pi Yut did a wonderful job conducting these meetings and I learned so much about how he interacted with the people and allowed them to process through everything, yet at the same time guide them in their understanding.

Hardship

These are the poorest people I have ever met. When we were filling out the surveys I would sit in their small huts and learn facts about their lives: Most of them made less than $30 per year per family...many of them made $0 per year and lived entirely off of the land. Almost all had several children who had died and the lack of sanitation in the villages was more than apparent as many of the people had some sort cold, fever, illness, etc.

I believe that every person I surveyed only spoke Karen and was illiterate. Even if a person can actually make it to a hospital in the city (remember the 60 KM trek along/through the river and how much money they make every year?) they are often discriminated against because they are from the Hill-tribes and receive poor medical treatment.

Religion

Most of the people are Buddhist/Animist in the region. However, the greatest surprise of my journey was to discover a thriving church (about 60 people attend the church) in a village called Kotah. We had the privilege of sleeping in the Pastor's hut during our stay there. The Christians in the region showed us a kindness and honor that was far beyond what we had ever earned or deserved and really left an impression on my soul. They had me give the Sunday morning message in which I spoke from Psalm 73. It was a great opportunity to encourage them to continue to pursue Christ and tell them stories of faithful people who had been through extreme hardships like my good friend Pastor William from Burma (now Pastoring a church in the US after coming here as a refugee). They also gave us Karen shirts and presented us with Karen bags during the service which their women's group had made.

At 3pm there was another service for the youth (though adults came as well) and my friends and I gave short testimonies and allowed the villagers to ask questions. After that service we walked over to another hut for singing and prayer. During the week there was also another Bible study.

The Church looks like a big wooden hut and the people sit on the floor throughout the service. There are a few different Pastors, none of which have any formal Bible education that I know of. The people tithe both money and rice and donate it to the church to give to those in need. They also sell some of the bags when enough rice is collected in order to assist people financially. They pray constantly and have a real desire to serve Christ and see others come to know Him. Singing songs like "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed" with them is something that I will cherish for years to come.

(Pastor Soy Jo and his daughter, sharing the word and praying with some of the leaders about the project)

The believers there are desperate to learn more. They know that there understanding is limited and that they need to continue to search the depths of God and His word...they just have no access to more education...yet. Some of the younger people are going to informal Bible Schools to learn more since the adults are too old...but they are also praying for outside teachers. I was amazed by their humility and willingness to ask for help in teaching and it showed the sincerity of their desire to grow in grace and truth.

Conclusion

(Passage Pastor Soy Jo spoke on in our hut our last night)

I will be back to Mae Long Thai one day, Lord willing. I saw too much there to ignore and I am excited about what God is already doing there. I already know that I have failed pitifully to relay the height and depth of what I experienced. One day I pray that I will be able to talk to every person reading this blog face-to-face about my time in Thailand. But if there is one thing I can leave you with it is this: There is a group of believers in the middle of nowhere that is praying for us right now. Praying that God would bless our church and families, and wondering if we will do the same. There are so many ways we can help these people and if you want to more know, please just ask.

(Pastor's daughter)

I am so thankful to God, and to you all for your support this summer, not only financially, but in your prayers. What a privilege we have to participate in God's global mission. From the bottom of my heart, and the Karen in Thailand, "Thank you, and God bless you."

-Dan

The Village

2010-06-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

I am back in Chiang Mai and I had an amazing one day trip (which I will write about later) in which I was blessed beyond measure. I feel like God has broken me down in so many areas but has really used the last month to build my faith and strengthen my sense of His love for me giving me a desire to see the rest of the world know this love.

I know many of you are anxious to hear how the team did in the village and what the projects look like so here is a summary that is sure to fall short of relaying the depth of God's goodness this past month:

Water Project

The first few days of our stay were spent working on the new water source for the school and medical clinic. As the school grows and the agriculture projects expand so does the demand for water. Thus, we had to pipe in a new water supply. The source we used was at least a few miles from the school which meant we had to trench and carry/lay pipe the same distance. We had to clear a path straight through the thick of the jungle and climb/balance on the side of the mountains while we worked. The distance was too far to walk home for lunch so we would have a "picnic" in the jungle with the villagers...good times. A large number of villagers turned out to help us which was more than helpful. Many of them were not Christians and it afforded the team a great opportunity to build relationships.

After a few days the pipe was laid and the tanks had more than enough water. In fact, there will be so much water that a cement fish pond was constructed as well as a reservoir for the agriculture projects. This part of the trip was by far the most difficult but God provided strength and really helped bring the team together through it. I was able to learn a lot about the building of a water system and was grateful for the experience I gained.

School Eating Area

The school is now providing an education for grades k-4 at the villagers' request. In fact, they have asked Mike and ITDP to continue to add a grade each year. This means that the school will need to be expanded. One need was a place for the students to eat lunch that would keep them out of the rain, so an outdoor cafeteria is being constructed to accommodate them all. This area will also serve as classroom space.

The building is innovative and designed specifically for the region: The roof is made out of a lightweight steal and foam composite that reflects heat and is quieter in the rain than other roofing materials. Beyond that there is a kitchen with outdoor sinks for cleanup, and the entire building is without floor-to-ceiling walls which will help keep it cool and easy to maintain.

When we started work most of the foundation was complete. The majority of our job consisted of trenching a deep gutter system around the school, grading back the hillsides and transferring the dirt into the building in order to level it out before the final slab is poured...I feel like we are dirt experts now and my hand is permanently in the shape of a hoe handle.

Part of pouring cement is gathering the sand and rock for the mix...all of this has to be done by hand in the river. Mike sent me with a group of twenty villagers one day to help keep things in order and it was one of the more memorable times in the village for me. I knew most of them from my previous trips and we had a great time working and fellowshipping together. They are such hard workers and really challenge my work ethic...I need that. We ate lunch in the jungle, snacked on berries and leaves, and drank water from a fresh water spring...what an adventure. God answered small prayers throughout the day and reminded me of the value of praying without ceasing...which I so rarely do.

Medical Clinic

No work was done on the medical clinic building on this trip. It is complete and simply needs furniture/supplies (which will be brought up after the rainy season) and landscaping on the outside of the building. The grand opening will be sometime in October we hope.

The clinic and the school now have electricity (and a phone line) which is sourced by a hydroelectric generator that has been installed on a waterfall near the village. I got to spend a little time working on it and was impressed by the entire system and the ingenuity behind it.

Outreach

This trip gave us some great opportunities to personally share the Gospel with both students and parents:

The girls taught Bible lessons through translators at the school and did projects that coincided with the theme. The students were overall very attentive and seemed to remember the stories that were taught.

On Sundays students were asked to give their testimonies in church in order to encourage the believers and perhaps witness to non-believers. This went well and we had the opportunity to hear Apichat (the Karen evangelist that was hired last year) preach. He did an excellent job and seems to be becoming more and more comfortable in the Ma Oh Jo region.

(Apichat and family)

Perhaps the greatest opportunity to share the gospel came on the opening day of school (Thai semesters have a different schedule than US schools). It was a big event and parents from all over the region came out for it. The team did a drama that displayed Christ taking our sins and dying on the cross, and I was asked to introduce and conclude the skit. I was able to spend time explaining God, creation, and the gospel. The Scripture reference I used was Isaiah 53:4-7. Many of the people there were non-believers so please continue to pray for them. Praise God for the power of His gospel.

"Remember us"...

There are so many special moments I want to share with you all but cannot...I would explain in detail the conversations I had with the various villagers, missionaries, and team members. I would try to describe to you the depth of sadness that was in the team members' and the villagers' hearts as we left the village the final day. I would tell you about the numerous prayers that were answered so specifically or how the gospel is spreading in the region...but I have time for only one important story here:

The last night in the village I went to Jo La's house to deliver a Child Sponsorship gift from a family in my church. Jo La has a wife and four small children and they are a strong Christian family in Ma Oh Jo village. We all sat in a circle on the floor and I presented them with the gift, telling them that the American family hopes they are doing well and prays for them. The children were excited and so were the parents.

(Jo La and children)

The mom began to thank me on behalf of their family and explained to me that they had been unable to buy new clothes for the kids because they were short on money. In fact, they wanted to send a hand-sewn bag back to the sponsors but could not even afford that. One of their sons had to be taken to a clinic far away because he became very ill ( he is fine now) and it cost them roughly $60...the average income for the region was around $75 when the demographic studies were done...

When she said this I began to realize that I had seen the kids wearing the same outfits most of my time in the village. Beyond that the hut they live in is small, empty, and dark, and smelled like urine. They were worse off than I had thought before we spoke. She told me that they would have liked to have team members stay in their hut, but they are embarrassed to because their hut is small and not very comfortable.

In all of our discussion I did not sense one complaint or plea for help...it was just the opposite. They were thankful. Most of what they said was praise to God for sending ITDP and the teams that built the water systems, the school, the medical clinic, etc. They explained that their lives had improved because of these things and they rejoiced over this. She told me that they pray for us always and never forget us...she and her husband both kept requesting one thing though...that we not forget them. I assured them that God would not allow that in my life, that they were too important to me to forget...I pray that continues to be true.

My point in writing this story is not to make anyone feel bad for this poor family in Thailand or to get you to send money to the mission. If anything I want to thank you all for your support on behalf of the villagers in Thailand. Their lives have dramatically changed for good both physically and spiritually and this I have seen with my own eyes. To be sure though, it will be difficult for me to return home to America and complain to a waiter at a restaurant that my chicken is overdone when I think about that night in Jo La's hut...but the most important thing I think is that we fervently pray for believers (and unbelievers!) like Jo La all over the world in need. After all, he and his family are praying for us...

(Jo La's son)

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

-Matthew 25:34-40

We are back!

2010-05-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings friends,

This will be extremely short as I am about to leave Chiang Mai for the night and head to a town about 3 hours away. We will be going to a hostel for Lahu children run by ITDP. This will be a great opportunity to see how to run a home for children and guide me personally as I am very interested in orphanage work.

As far as the trip to the village goes...it was wonderful! God answered so many prayer requests and we were able to get the water project completed, a fish pond built, work on the new eating area, provide VBS for the children, and clearly present the gospel on the opening day of school. Thank you all for your prayers and I will be posting more pictures and a full report sometime tomorrow night. God bless you all!

Dan

(new eating area and fish pond pictured above)

Greetings friends,

Dan

Off to the Village!

2010-05-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings all,

This will be a quick post as we are preparing to head out to the village...

The team just arrived and is looking healthy and anxious to start working. In two hours we will head out and make it to a half way point where will stay the night. The following morning we will travel the final stretch to the village and arrive around noon, giving the team time to settle in and get organized.

The work for this trip will include digging a trench for the pipe/laying and gluing pipe from the water source to the water tank, working on the dining area for the school, VBS, light medical care, and hopefully some team outreaches.

The roads are looking good as there is no rain...the downside is the heat...the good side is everyone should get really tan...so that's two goods for one bad!

Thank you all for your prayers. I will update this blog in about two weeks...we will be in the jungle until the 29th or so. God bless!

In Christ,

Dan

2010-05-07T16:17:00.001-07:00

I just returned from the village last night and can’t sleep right now, so I thought I would give you all an update:

We left Chiang Mai around 8 am and travelled allllll day until we arrived at the village around 8 pm. It was so wonderful to see everyone again and they all seemed to be in good health and spirits. I had the opportunity to see the medical clinic which is finished and just waiting for furniture to be put in. It looks wonderful and is much nicer than any building I’ve ever seen in the jungle!

I was so tired from the day of travel, as well as the time change, that I fell asleep without dinner. I woke up early the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for a day of work…and it was a good thing because it was one of the most laborious work days I have ever experienced.

We had to carry all of the pipe to the water source and lay it out along the trail…only problem was that it’s a 5 kilometer hike through the jungle and over a couple of mountains in the ridiculous heat. There has not been a lot of rain which has kept it extremely hot.

The rest of the day was spent gluing and pounding the pipe together. We were to far from the village to walk back for lunch, so we brought some bags of rice and pork, and canned fish. We all sat on the ground and ate together which was a lot of fun. Me being a rather large American, I drank all of my water by lunch time, so the missionaries found a fresh water source in the jungle that they said was clean…so far so good!

We finished our work mid-afternoon and started the trek home. That evening I had the opportunity to fellowship with some of the villagers, and an 18 year old villager named Wan Jon translated for me. It was such a blessing.

The next morning we started our trek back to the city. The roads were still in good shape and we made it back by 4pm.

This week I will be working around the ITDP Office helping however I can, as well as trying to learn more about the water systems. I am thinking about going to stay and hotel/hostel where I know a lot of English speaking foreigners go through…I figure it might bring some evangelism opportunities, please pray for that.

God has already taught me so much since I have been here: I was talking to one of the ITDP missionaries named Koh Win. He is an engineer, and has been on staff for almost a year. He was explaining to me how he gets lonely out in the village sometimes…even though he loves it. He told me that a lot of people discourage him from working with the hill tribes because he has a degree, and could be making a lot more money. But in the end, he knows that this is God’s work and that is what matters most. He is even considering going to seminary so that he can better teach the villagers about the gospel. I am thankful for unknown servants like Koh Win…please keep them in prayer.

Because of what Christ has done, is doing, and will do,

Dan

Look below and you will see a video link!

..............Thailand May 6th, 2010.............

2010-05-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

It is 4:34 AM right now as I type, I am wide awake, it's humid outside, and I can hear lizards running around all over the place...I most certainly am in Thailand!

I arrived in Chiang Mai around 2pm on the 4th (Thai time) and was taken straight to the ITDP (Integrated Tribal Development Program) office. I decided to just sleep here tonight because I am leaving in the morning to head to Ma Oh Jo Village. This was a surprise (a good one!) and meant I would need to finish some homework (Seminary finals are this week for me) before I left in the morning...so I have been up most of the night working on that.

Here is what my schedule is looking like:

In a few hours I will head out with the indigenous missionaries to drive to the village. No rain is expected today so the dirt roads should be passable. While in the village, we will be working on the new water source which will feed into the already existing storage tank, and fixing the waterfall generator which powers the Medical Clinic and School. Hopefully, I will be able to see the new underground water source they found, and learn as much as I can about the surveying process. Beyond that, the villagers will have started trenching the 4 kilometer distance from the source to the filtration tank, so I may help with that. We will come back on Friday, pick up some supplies, and then go back for a few more days. After that, the team from San Diego comes and I will be with them in Ma Oh Jo for 14 more days.

(Some of the ITDP Trucks )

I am feeling healthy and in good spirits right now. I am beyond excited to get out of the city and spend some time driving with the missionaries, and ultimately see my friends in the village. It has been a year since I last saw them all, and I am so grateful that God is allowing me to serve in this place once again. Do pray that God will work in the hearts of the unbelievers through the indigenous missionaries, and that I can be a demonstration of Christ's love in all that I do and say. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

In Christ,
Dan Lamm

Prayer Requests:

1) For the souls of the villagers
2) For the remaining $3,000 to come in, in order to fund the new water system
3) For traveling mercies
4) That we would be living examples of a people saved by the grace of God in Christ

Back in Chiang Mai!

2007-07-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Praying that this blog finds you well and growing in the Grace of God. It's been a few weeks since I could update you on my activities here because of continuous travel and work...so forgive me for the delay. I want to start out with a prayer request for Titus and his family. Sadly, Titus was informed late one night that his mom's cancer has come back out of remission. He immediately booked a ticket and headed back to California to be with his family during this time. Mrs. Dinkins has been a missionary in Thailand for 25 years. She has cancer that originated in her bone marrow and over the years she has taken radiation, kemo, and had a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, it has returned so she has begun radiation and will be taking new medicine that hopefully will put the cancer once again into remission. Mrs. Dinkins is surrounded by a loving family that is faithfully trusting God through this ordeal. On a personal note, my time with Titus has been productive, edifying, and uplifting. I miss him and I thank the Lord for our time together and will now join all of you in prayer for the Dinkins family. (Titus' email is tdinkins@sdcc.edu).
Many things have happened since I last wrote so I will do my best to summarize. As you may already know: coupled with the school's construction will be the building of a nurse's clinic to provide medical care for the Karen Villagers. Right now sick villagers are forced to walk about 12 miles (through the jungle covered mountains) to receive the most basic of medical care. However, many villagers die because they are too ill to make the trek or because they simply don't have enough money. Our clinic will provide the same quality of care for free, and will be located next to the new school. The nurse will be a Karen woman (already chosen) who will be trained for six months by one of the leading Doctors in Thailand. Somsak and I met with Dr. Wong last week where we discussed the training program and the type of care she will be able to provide upon completion. Needless to say, I am excited at what this will do for the health of the region and praise God for His faithful provision.

(Area where sick villagers currently have to travel)

I just returned last night from a week long trip to the villages where I completed the information gathering for the Child Sponsorship Program. My work consisted of picture taking and tying up any lose ends in the information profiles for each child. The weather was cold and rainy, which made daily work on the school nearly impossible. It also meant Somsak and I had to hike to each village because the roads were too muddy for the truck...this made for interesting walking conditions too :) However, the Lord was gracious and we were able to get everything done that we had scheduled. This trip was especially fun for me because a long-time friend from Minnesota was traveling through Thailand along with her three best friends, and they asked if they could come to Ma Oh Jo to see the work that was being done. We gladly agreed and took them on an adventure I'm sure they'll never forget. They were anxious to help wherever work needed to be done, and organized a variety of activities with the children. My friend is not a Christian and I've been praying for almost a year now that God would allow me to see her that I might share the Gospel...sure enough, He brought her along with three friends to Thailand! One day while we were finishing lunch they began commenting on the spiritual condition of the villages and how they had noticed a difference in the villagers that were Christians. This opened the door for me to present the Gospel and to answer any questions they may have...four hours later they were asking me what they must do to be saved...I didn't coax them into a premature decision but urged them to consider their spiritual condition, and to repent and believe upon Jesus Christ. I believe the Spirit has begun a work in their souls and that God brought them to Thailand for a reason...how grateful I am for such an opportunity to share God's glory in the face of Christ.

Getting out of the jungle took over six hours because of the muddy conditions. We got stuck more times than I can count and faced dangerous conditions throughout. However, the Lord had His hand upon the truck as always and guided us back to Chiang Mai late Friday night. Please be in prayer for the health of the villagers in the Ma Oh Jo region: We had to transport four elderly women out because of health problems...two related to malaria, and there were countless others that came to me suffering from fevers, etc, wanting to know if I had brought along a Doctor.

(Getting out of the Village...trying!)

I am now sitting in the ITDP offices where I just finished the final transcripts for the Child Sponsorship Program...I am VERY relieved and excited to be done early. I will be traveling around the city these next couple days with Mike Mann to meet with the coffee providers to see if we can find a better way to bring Hill Tribe Coffee to the States. After that I am off to a refugee camp on the Burmese border where I will stay a couple of days to see if there is any way we can help the Karen in that region. I am thankful for your prayers and the encouraging letters I receive on a continual basis. The Lord has stretched me in ways I could have never imagined this summer and has taught me to seek Him in all things. I have found comfort in His Word and have temporarily abandoned the reading of books...discovering that I spent more hours a day reading human authors than I did the Author of Life. I am thankful for all of you and look forward to having fellowship with you soon...

All my love,

Daniel Lamm

(Happy to get some necklaces and bracelets a group of Ladies in my church made!)

Prayer Requests:

1) For the souls of the villagers

2) For the souls of my four friends

3) For the Dinkins family

4) For safety as I travel to the Burmese border

5) For the Mann family as they prepare to head back to the States on the 24th.

Greetings!

2007-06-23T03:57:00.000-07:00

(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.

Back in Chiang Mai!

2007-06-14T02:18:00.000-07:00

(Trying on a few necklaces that some women in my church put together...I think she liked them!)

Greetings! Please forgive me for the delay in getting my post up...the day after I returned from the village I became very sick. I had a fever/flu/headache/stomach pain for about three days...I think it might have been food poisoning, but I am not sure. Thankfully I am feeling much better now and have met up with Titus to partner on the Child Sponsorship Program. The work is moving along rapidly and we are headed back to Ma Oh Jo village tomorrow to finalize the records for the region.

My time in the village was great. The villagers were excited to hear that Titus and I would be staying for the summer...they missed the American team from the water/school project! Every morning Somsak and I woke up around 6 am to go to one of the five villages which would be sending children to the new school. We had to leave early because the families have been working the rice patties from about 7am-5pm to get them ready for the harvest in a couple months. Hut by hut we interviewed families to see if they would commit to sending their 3-8 year old children to the new school, and we recorded their basic information to see if it matched the data taken last year. As you can imagine this was a great challenge because most of the the parents did not know their children's birthdays, current age, or education level. Also, all of the parents were illiterate, and many of them weren't Thai citizens, which meant that there were no records from which to take information. Despite all of this, the info was gathered and by the end of the week we had about 100 children planning to attend the first day of school on November 1st. We also had requests to receive an education from numbers of people over the age of eight...including parents! We are currently working on a plan with Mike to make that possible...please keep this in your prayers.

My time in the villages continues to bless me. As soon as I arrived the Christian villagers offered to let me sleep in their huts, and there was never a meal which I need prepare on my own. One day an elderly couple invited me to their home for lunch...they had just shot a deer! More than ten of us ate together around a mound of rice and a bowl of stew containing the fresh kill...meat here is a luxury and yet they gave so freely.

(Cooking and eating in the village)

The Lord answered so many of my prayers in obvious ways this week. The first one I want to mention was the restored health of Pae Ja. If you don't remember Pae Ja is the name of the little girl who had the serious infection in her leg, but whose mother refused to let her go to the hospital with ITDP because the family was performing Animistic rituals which they believed would "please the spirits," and thus heal her. However, one day after our team left, Pae Ja was finally taken to the hospital and had surgery which saved both her leg, and her life. The total cost came out to $38 which was covered by ITDP.

(A healthy and happy Pae Ja: Back Left)

A second answer to prayer came on a Wednesday afternoon: Around 4 PM Somsok and I met together to pray for Jet and Por who were yet to return from an 8am trip to Hoy Num Kow (generally they would do at least three runs a day). It had been raining extremely hard all day and we were worried for their safety. On our knees we prayed for three things: 1) That God would stop the rain (which was pouring down that very moment) 2) That Por and Jet were safe 3) That God would give us wisdom on what action we should take. Not a moment after we said "amen" the rain completely stopped and a woman ran up to us to report that the truck had been spotted at the bottom of the hill. Somsak and I ran down to the truck which was able to make it up the steep incline not five minutes later because of the rain's subsiding. What praises we all sang to God for His loving faithfulness! I find myself anticipating more and more difficult circumstances that God may continue to be glorified and my faith increased.

(What the roads look like when they are good :)

The third and final instance (I will write about in this blog) in which prayer was clearly answered came on my last night in the village. For the past year and a half, I (along with others), have been praying that the Lord would send someone trained in the Word to shepherd the Christians in this region, and serve as their pastor/teacher...well, it seems that this man has come! He is a Karen villager that was trained in a four year Seminary on the Thai/Burmese border. He just moved to Ma Oh Jo village and is hoping to stay there for years to come. I had the pleasure of meeting him, as well as one of his teachers and classmates during a nightly Bible study the villagers hold. There I heard them preach the Word (his teacher translated into English for me), and had a wonderful time fellowshiping with them afterwards. It turns out that this man's teacher sent him to this region because he felt (after much prayer) that the area needed a strong leader to help nurture the Christians, that they might be able to share their faith with non-believers in the surrounding area. His teacher and classmates had simply come to encourage him in this new endeavour for the Kingdom...needless to say we can all praise God for leading this man to us.

(Gathered together in a small hut to study God's Word and worship The Christ)

There are many more things I want to write about, but I'm afraid I've gone on too long already. Thank you for your faithful prayers and know that the Lord is graciously answering them for His glory. I go to the village for eight days starting tomorrow so it will be awhile before I can write again. God bless!

Your Brother,

Daniel Lamm

Prayer Requests:

1) For the souls of the villagers

2) For safety as we travel to the village on the 15Th

3) For Titus and I as we tie together the Child Sponsorship Program

4) That I along with ITDP would continue to grow in God's Word and fight the most threatening enemy...sin from within.

Back to the Villages!

2007-06-03T02:11:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Praying all is well back home. It's Sunday night and I am getting ready to leave tomorrow morning for the villages, this will be a great relief as I miss the people very much. This past week consisted of paper work and planning in the ITDP offices. Everything went well and we are ready for the task that lies in front of us. It has been raining extremely hard every day and shows no signs of letting up. This has produced some minor flooding causing my wildlife encounters to increase...I was driving a scooter to work on Wednesday and almost ran over a huuuuge python. Fortunately, it slithered out of the way...those things are fast...too fast! I've also killed more lizards than I can count who seem to enjoy my air conditioned room...it keeps life interesting.

Today I had the privilege of attending my friend Por's church. It is a Karen church located in Chiang Mai with about 150 members. A Pastor from Myanmar spoke to the congregation on the importance of spending time in God's Word throughout the day. He lives in a average sized village; yet, his church membership is somewhere around 6,000! This was encouraging to hear considering the location of his ministry and the daily conditions they must face. During the service a Karen woman translated for me and afterwards she asked me why I came to help the Karen people, along with the school team. I told her we came because we simply saw a need (physical and spiritual), and had the means to help. The conversation went on for about an hour and in it I discovered that she grew up in a village on the Burmese border, right next to a refugee camp. She recounted times when troops would rush into the villages killing people, simply because they were Karen. Her father died last year and passed onto her family a heart for helping these people...she does this by working for a government organization that builds schools for the Karen...and then she helps select Christian men and women to fill the available teaching roles, and quietly preach the Gospel. She asked if I would go with her in a couple of weeks to see the refugee conditions with my own eyes...and then tell the people back in the States of their need, I agreed.

There is a definite sense of urgency among the Karen Christians I have met. People literally line up to tell me their life stories and the struggles their relatives and friends still face today. I've been offered jobs and teaching positions, but never once have I been asked for money, I believe this demonstrates the sincerity of their heart...they simply want helpers who are educated, and can teach the Word offering spiritual relief in a pagan culture. As you can imagine this is quite frustrating for me, knowing I can never help them all.

My days here continue to be a blessing. Being alone in the rainy weather has increased my time spent in prayer and God's Word. I've also had the opportunity to finish two great books; one by JI Packer called "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God," and the other was a biography on "George Muller" written by Basil Miller...the latter is my favorite book to date. Please be in special prayer for the little girl I previously wrote about, as well as the Child Sponsorship program which will start as soon as I get to the village with Somsok. God Bless and I will update in about a week!

Prayer Requests:

1) For the souls of the people in Dae Buh Sae La Koh
2) For Pae Ja and her parents...for physical and spiritual renewal
3) For a safe Journey to Mohojo (June 4th-9th)

4) Safety for Mike and his family as they travel around southern Thailand

5) For wisdom as I begin the Child Sponsorship process, that things will get accomplished in a timely manner

What Now?

2007-05-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hello! It's been a few days since the team headed off for America so I thought I would give an update on what I've been up to...

(Having Lunch with the ITDP Staff)

The team flew home on Friday leaving me alone here in Thailand...I'll admit that it was a strange feeling being left behind...but I have now settled in and am enjoying every minute in this country! After I dropped the team off at the airport I headed straight to my new home for the summer; A one room apartment located across the street from the ITDP offices. It is small, it doesn't have a kitchen, and there is no TV or Internet...but it is perfect for what I need. I eat three full meals a day for less than three dollars. In the morning I can buy bags of fresh fruit for about 10 cents, and the rest of the day I eat fish, BBQ chicken, noodles, rice, and Pad Thai for about 30 cents...gotta love that!

(View from my Apartment in Chiang Mai)

From now on my days will be consumed with working on the Child Sponsorship program which will provide monthly income for children who want to attend the new school. Included in this cost will be funding for a teacher, school supplies, and daily food for each child (the cost will probably be around 30 dollars a month, per child, so I ask that you start praying about that now). The goal is to have this all finished by July, and for the school to be opened November 1st with fully sponsored students...I think this can be easily achieved! This sponsorship program will require me to spend a lot of time in the villages working with the families, filling out demographic reports, and organizing it all for you folks back home. I will also be planning evangelism events for this summer, a three day crusade for the end of December, teaching the Missionaries English, and helping complete the school...needless to say I will be busy!

(Working at ITDP Office)

On Sunday I had the opportunity to go to church with Somsok...what a privilege. In the Sunday school class they talked about the inerrancy of Scripture and its fading emphasis in Liberal Evangelicalism. We also went through a packet on the importance of a verse by verse, systematic study of the Bible...it's encouraging to see that sound doctrine and study methods are upheld here! The man that gave the sermon was the President of a seminary located in the jungles of Burma. I chatted with him after the service and he told me of the many problems there, some of them being...All Christians have been ordered by the government to place their names on a list (for reasons unknown). Also, many of the seminaries have been closed in his area and there is now a restricted time in which Christians can worship (anything other would be considered a violation). Finally, physical beatings, deaths, kidnappings, rapes, etc. are still a common occurrence. After hearing all of these things I was in shock...but even more shocking was that the man told me things were going really well and God was remaining faithful to those in need. A Canadian missionary to India was also at the service. Her ministry is consumed with going from church to church in India and spending time with Pastors and their families. She said they need encouragement because they are continually having to endure beatings (and worse) from local Hindus who oppose all Western Religion. It's one thing to read a report in Voice of the Martyrs Magazine about persecution stories...it's quite another to talk with the people who the reports are written about. God has been showing me the reality of the cost of discipleship and the urgency for faithful prayer.

I have a special prayer request: A ten year old girl, Pae Ja, from a neighboring village (where the water project was just put in) has a severe infection from a three inch piece of would which is lodged in her leg, penetrating down to the bone. Our team Doctor looked at it and said that it would require immediate surgery, otherwise she would lose her leg and eventually her life. We offered to transport her to the hospital and pay for the surgery, but her parents refused to let her go...they are Animists and have been performing rituals trying to "please the spirits" so that their daughter might be healed. On June 4th I will be going with Somsok to see how the girl's health is, and urge the parents to let us take her to the hospital. Please pray that Pae Ja is alive when we get there and that her parents change their mind...it's a great opportunity for these people to see the powerlessness of their gods, and the the love of ours!

Prayer requests:

1) For the souls of the people in Dae Buh Sae La Koh

2) For Pae Ja and her parents...for physical and spiritual renewal

3) That funding will come in to pay for the surgery (if needed). We are guessing around 500 dollars in total costs...

4) For a safe Journey to Mohojo (June 4th-9th)

SDCC Water/School

2007-05-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! It's been a few weeks since I last updated my blog site so forgive me as I try to summarize all that has happened...

Aaron and I spent the first week in Mohojo Village with three ITDP Missionaries trying to get everything prepped for the SDCC team arrival. Most of our time was concerned with the school project. Every day we woke up around 6 am and were at work by 7, bending re-bar, digging foundation holes, and laying out the framework for each room. The work was slow at first, because supplies were still being shipped in from surrounding villages; however, we got a good jump start for the weeks of construction to come. The villagers were extremely welcoming and gladly prepared a place for us to stay at night. Every time I returned to my hut there was a meal ready to be eaten...the family I was with had two children yet none of them would eat until after Aaron and I had finished, then they would eat the leftovers. Arriving a week early was highly beneficial because it gave us a chance to become acclimated to the weather, food, sleeping conditions, and long work days. However, the best part about my first week in the village was getting a chance to fellowship with the Christians. Mohojo village had a water project put in by ITDP three years ago, and since that time 11 of the 22 families have forsaken Animism/Buddhism and placed their faith in Christ because of the follow-up ministry done by the Thai Evangelists and the display of God's love set forth by the American team. Nearly every night we were invited to attend a Bible study/worship service held in the hut of various families. Songs were sung, the word was clearly preached, and much time was spent in prayer...but what moved me the most were the prayer requests. Not one request set forth by a villager was for themself, only for others. Some of the youth asked that we would pray for their parents who were still Animists, while others prayed for family who still had no citizenship, had very few rights, and faced possible deportation...very different than our requests in America. One evening I was eating dinner with a Christian family and the husband excused himself, grabbed his Bible, and left the hut. I asked where he was going and their son, Wan Jon, told me that many of their neighbors were still Buddhists, so his father went from hut to hut every night, explaining the gospel and answering questions about the Christian faith...and this man has only been a believer for two years...

On Sunday morning Aaron and I woke up early and rode two elephants for three hours to meet the arriving team. Our pace was sloooooow but amusing as the elephants became angry any time and unsuspecting motorbike passed by...a couple of the riders had to jump off their bikes because the elephants charged at them...I felt safe seeing as I was on top of the elephant! We met the team in the afternoon and began our journey back home. It was encouraging to see familiar faces and feed off everyone's enthusiasm.

(You can see the school on the bottom right of this picture)

Work began the next day. One team stayed in Mohojo village and worked on the school project, while another group slept in Dae Buh Sae La Ko village and built the water tank and bathrooms. On the first night one of the trucks was taking a group of team members and villagers to Mohojo when there was a gearing malfunction. It began to slide backwards down a steep, muddy hill...the breaks of no use. The truck ended up sliding off the road at the bottom of the hill injuring three people. The most serious was Alli who landed on a tree stump bruising her kidney. Mike and I took her to Chiang Mai the next morning to make sure there was nothing more serious done to her internally. Thankfully, she was fine and returned to the village a day later, though her mobility was limited. In hindsight, I am so thankful for this accident because it showed the villagers that we were there to serve the Lord, and that this mission would not be hindered. It also taught the team to persevere through trials for the glory of God. I strongly believe that God has His hand on the vehicles as they go up the hills, and even as they slide down into a ditch. He is sovereign over every circumstance and I find such great comfort in this truth.

The rest of the trip went as planned and there is simply too much to write about. I will say that everyone worked hard and stayed unified. The water tank was finished early and the school now has a foundation, roof, and the brick walls are well under way. Weather prevented the use of the new video projector and sound system by which we planned on showing the Jesus film in the Karen language. However, we had the opportunity to show one other video in Karen followed by an evangelistic message given by Somsok. The villagers fell in love with the team and the team with them. VBS had children showing up every day who walked over two hours to be there, and the team of Doctors we brought had more patients than they could handle. Fresh water has been given and now we must pray that they will drink of the Living Water...what a privilege we have to participate in Missions.

Prayer Requests:
1) That the villagers would accept Christ in Dae Buh Sae La Ko where the water project was built...right now there are none.
2) That God would provide funding for ITDP so that the ministry there can continue.
3) For safety as I travel with the staff in and out of the villages this coming week.
4) That the team's return to the United States would bring along with it enthusiasm for missions and motivate SDCC and the American Church for the glory of God.

Missions Conference

2007-05-05T04:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Today was very eventful...and rainy! Aaron and I started off by going to an Asian Baptist Convention with Mike Mann located at a hotel in downtown Chiang Mai. There were 1,700 missionaries, pastors, and church workers in attendance from Myanmar, India, China, Indonesia, Korea, and many other countries. Aaron and I helped out at a booth Mike had set up where people could learn more about his work among the Hill tribes and buy a cup of Lanna Coffee while they were at it. I was having a conversation with a Pastor from India and he asked me if I liked the conference. I told him "yes," and he said, "that's good, because Heaven is going to be very similar to this conference. It will have people from every tribe, from every nation, who have gathered together to glorify Christ in one unified body." He couldn't be more right. I also met a Pastor from Myanmar who was explaining to me the problems and persecution that go on every day in his homeland. He asked me if I had ever heard about these problems, and I said yes...and I explained to him how our college group back home in San Diego studied, discussed, and prayed for a different persecuted country every week, and that Myanmar was the first country we had ever prayed for. He was quiet for a moment, and then tearfully expressed his gratitude for our prayers. He told me that ministry in Myanmar can get very lonely at times because they are so cut off from the outside world, and they wonder if fellow Christians ever think of them...to know that they do was of great encouragement.

In the afternoon we went with Mike and about 20 missionaries from the conference to a local Karen village in which ITDP had done a water project six years ago. It was a great time and an encouragement to see how the water project, coupled with a Pastor, had transformed the village.
I have learned so much today and have seen with my own eyes the fruit of God's work through simple men like Dr. Clark and Adoniram Judson. The Gospel here is pure and sound doctrine has persevered uncompromised...amazing. I discussed the teachings of the prosperity gospel with many different pastors and they all laughed, commenting on how that type of false teaching would fall flat on its face in this part of the world. America may seem stagnant...but God's word is not returning void. It is my prayer that we can all find ways to provide more support to the missionaries and pastors around the world...or perhaps become one ourselves. Tomorrow we will be buying supplies for the upcoming trip and then we are planning on leaving for the village early Monday morning! Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

All my love,
Dan Lamm

Prayer Requests:
1) That the Lord will be preparing the villagers hearts to recieve the seed of the Gospel
2) Safety for the missionaries currently in the village
3) Safe travel for Aaron and I to the village on Monday
4) That the rain will stop and that the roads will dry up creating better driving conditions (Mike said it's really muddy right now!)
5) For Steve Jenkins as he trys to transport 33 students to Thailand next week :)

We are here!

2007-05-04T02:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Aaron and I arrived in Chiang Mai today at 9 a.m. after a 17 hour flight to Bangkok and then another 1 hour flight to Chiang Mai. The temp is only about 83 degrees but the humidity is extreme! It's been raining on and off throughout the day.
We are staying at the Downtown Inn tonight and then we are going with Mike Mann to visit a village tomorrow (Saturday). We will come back to Chiang Mai that night and finally leave for the SDCC team villages on Sunday morning, staying there until the team arrives next week. Aaron and I are excited to be here and we thank you for your prayers thus far! It may be a few weeks before I can update this blog so bear with me. God bless.

Your brother,
Dan Lamm

PRAYER REQUESTS:
1) That the Lord will be preparing the villagers hearts to recieve the seed of the Gospel
2) Safety for the missionaries currently in the village
3) Aaron and I are both feeling a little sick from the flight, lack of sleep, etc.
4) Safe travel for Aaron and I to the village on Sunday as well as the team next week
5) That the rain will stop and that the roads will dry up creating better driving conditions (Mike said it's really muddy right now!)
6) For Steve Jenkins as he trys to transport 33 students to Thailand next week :)