Funerals and Ghosts

I'm down to two weeks in Thailand. I have been reading the blogs of all my fellow community development interns and laughed at how so many of them said how fast the summer has gone and how they will miss it. I laugh because I have been thinking the same thing. This week, I have thought a lot about what I want to do before I leave, and found I want to do a lot more than I can in the next two weeks. I have had to set my priorities. So here they are:

Step Ahead Internship Work
1. Start Implementing Loan Performer into Step Ahead's program.
2. Show Pi Tun, Pi Golf, and Khun Sai how to use Loan Performer so they can continue what I have started.
3. Write a short handbook for loan performer to leave with Step Ahead.
4. Write a three year scenario projections report for Step Ahead based on Microfin findings.
5. Write a short handbook for Microfin to leave with Step Ahead.
6. Write three more weekly logs, two research reports, a research design critique, and a final

Time Off Work
1. Spend as much time as possible with Chai Yo, Pi Kung, Pi Noi, and Tallia Klung Toei Church.
2. Spend at least two or three more nights with Jonah and Chris.
3. Go to Kids Club the next two Saturdays.
4. Teach English at Tallia the next two Sundays.
5. Shop for gifts for people here.

This is a ridiculously crazy list for two weeks. Please be praying for me to get everything done and to be helpful for people.

Ok so your wondering why I labeled this blog Funerals and Ghosts. Tuesday, Chai Yo's grandfather died unexpectedly. I spent Wednesday night with him and went Thursday with him to the funeral. Chai Yo's dad is the pastor of Tallia Church. The death was especially hard for the family because the grandfather is not a Christian. When pastor Suwat was a kid his dad was Christian. His dad even sent him to a Bible College in Korea where he received the call to be a church planter and pastor in Klong Toei. After that, the grandfather turned to drinking and bankrupted himself. In the face of starving he became a Buddhist monk because Buddhists give food and money to monks. That is when he died of a heart attack. Please be praying for the family as this is hard, because they know the grandfather will not be in heaven waiting for them.

Wednesday night when I was talking with Chai Yo about anything but his grandfather, he gave me a history lesson of the church. Two years ago Tallia moved to a new building. The building had previously been owned by the mafia and had a spirit house in it. When Christians buy a new house there is usually a spirit house in it. The Christian buying the house gathers some fellow Christians and they break the spirit house to pieces. Then they fast and pray in the house praying that God will cast out any demons that are in the house. Pastor Suwat did the same thing for the new church. (Pastor Suwat and his family live in the church.) Inspite of their prayers, the spirits in the spirit house stayed in the home for one year afflicting the family. There were times when Pastor Suwat was held down by four "baby Ghosts," and once he was confronted by a "big ghost with flames coming out of it." Utty, pastor Suwat's youngest son, could not go to school that year because he was made paralyzed. Chai Yo could not sleep at night because he was always very hot. During this time Pastor Suwat and the whole church prayed like crazy that God would cast these Ghosts out. Finally after a year of affliction pastor Suwat got some oil and drew crosses on every window in the church, declaring the house for God. Everything stopped. The ghosts left.

Ok so that's my crazy stories and weeks ahead of me. Its time for me to get back to chopping away at that list of things to do. Until I return pray for my endurance, diligence, wisdom, and love. Especially love. If I get everything on my list done and see many women delivered from moneylenders and have not love I am only a resounding gong. (I praise God he can even use the resounding gong I often become and can transform this resounding gong into an instrument of love for others and Him.) I have discovered the greatest love story ever and found I am in it.

Back in Bangkok

My time in Khoa Lak was so good. I feel so rested and ready to take on my last three weeks in Thailand. Wow. Three weeks. Where does time go? I will miss this place, and I have so much to do. Pray I know how to prioritize my time, and that I will be able to get all my work done. I would like to take some days walking through as many slums as possible and I would like to go to Mae Sot one more time before I leave. Pray God will show me if I should go to Mae Sot or not.

Right now I am talking to one of the servers at a coffee shop about Buddhism and Christianity. He seems so excited about the new things he is learning about Buddhism now. He wants to share them with me. We are having a deep discussion about the meaning of life, the existence of pain, and why it is that him a thai and me an american would meet right now to talk. Please pray for us.

When One Life Ends My Week Goes On

Sunday night I took the night bus to Khoa Lak. There are three types of buses in Thailand: VIP, 1st class, and 2nd class. VIP night buses cost 1000 TBH. There are only three columns of seats in the bus and lots of room to fully recline. The 1st class night buses are 550 TBH and about the equivalent to a normal bus in America. The 2nd class buses cost 400 TBH. There are four columns of seat with the rows so close your knees touch the seat in front of you and the AC may or may not work. I was recommended to take 1st class because its not to expensive, but also is comfortable; so that is what I got.

The bus left at 8 pm from Bangkok. I fell asleep at 9 pm. I was woken up by a load crashing noise and us coming to a screeching halt at 10 pm. Confused at what had just happened I looked out the window with the rest of the people on the bus. I could make out a broken motorcycle on the other side of the road just behind us and pieces of the bike lying on the road. We sat there for 10 min as I tried to process what just happened. right before we left, it hit me to look for the driver. As I looked only to see something farther behind us lying motionless on the road. And then to my horror, as we were pulling away, another truck came by and ran over the seemingly mangled body. At 12 am the bus stopped and everyone had to get out. Another bus arrived at 1am and we all loaded up to leave. Five minutes later we stopped at the same place as before, were told to get out again, and waited another hour for another bus. At 2 am we loaded up on a 2nd class bus and traveled the remaining 9 hours in that.

All in all I left the bus ride very tired, soar, emotionally drained, and dreading my ride back to Bangkok Friday. In all of this what haunts me the most is that our bus driver killed a man. We were late, because we killed someone. I know it was not my fault, and I know I could not have done anything to help, but the fact that the bus I was on killed someone is...heavy. And I can't believe the bus driver didn't even have the decency to pull the body off to the side of the road.

So now that I have dropped a heavy story on you, I am going to share what I am doing in Khoa Lak this week. If it feels odd reading about the lighter parts of life that I am about to share right after reading about someone dying, then you may feel something of what I feel living it after experiencing a life lost.

I will be in Khoa Lak until Friday. Each day, I will be teaching English with two other instructors to 25ish students for 1 1/2 hours. I will be visiting Step Ahead's four preschools, homestays, and Thai Totes projects. I was told there was a lot of manual labor planned for me to do as well but it has rained a lot lately inhibiting me from working. The rain has been a blessing from God because it has allowed me to get a lot of much needed R&R. Tuesday I hiked through the jungle to a small remote beach with some friends. We made our own track an field competition where I made first in the shot-put and runner-up in the long jump and the 100 meter(ish) race. Today I rode an elephant. I have also had some time to sit and read. It is so nice to have that time. John John is letting me borrow a book called Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. It is a must read for anyone who has ever asked the question, "What does it mean to be a Christian?" or "What is it that God wants a Christian to do in life?" or have thought, "I know what it means to be saved, now I want to know what it means to follow Jesus."

Please pray for the driver of the motorbike and his or her family and friends. Also for the driver of the bus. I can imagine it would be easy for him to let the guilt of hitting the motorbike haunt him or to completely write his actions off as no problem at all. Pray he finds the proper middle. Life is short and you never know when it is going to end. Nothing in life is safe, so live recklessly for God who is eternal and whose rewards are eternal. We all have to suffer someway, I choose to suffer for God. We all have to die someway, I choose to die for God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour I know I will be raised from the dead so what should I fear in life. Nothing and no one can hurt me unless my Father wills for him to. So if Christ is for us who can be against us.

Khoa Lak

An update for all those following my time in Thailand. I will be leaving tomorrow night via night bus to Khoa Lak. Khoa Lak is a beach city 12 hrs by bus south of Bangkok. Step Ahead has four preschools; English, German, and Computer classes; and a purse manufacturing ministry there. I will be going to learn about the different development techniques and to help with the different ministries. I am not sure yet what I will be doing, but I have been asked to come and help for 1 week. I am looking forward to getting out of Bangkok again. With last week traveling to the mountains and this week traveling to the beach I will be well refreshed to finish my last three weeks in the office strong. Pray God will use me in Khoa Lak: That I will be given the words to speak, will do the activities I should do, and meet the people I should meet.

Friday was a momentous day for my internship because it was Timmy's, my fellow intern, last day of work. We were able to get the business modeling system up and running for modeling before he left, which was a huge answer to prayer. Now I will be modelling different scenarios for Step Ahead and writing reports on them for future planning. When I return from Khoa Lak I will begin transferring accounting and loan tracking data from the old system to the new one I have been working on. Please pray that goes well and is successful. Pray these programs help Step Ahead sustainably help the women and men in the Bangkok slums.

Finally for this post, tomorrow I will be sharing with the international church I went to Mae Sot with about our trip. Please pray that God would give me wisdom to say what I ought to spur fellow believers on to the future actions they should take to minister to the refugees in Mae Sot. After that I am teaching English at Tallia as usual and then headed to the bus station. I am not sure when the bus leaves; so pray it leaves after 7 and that I can buy tickets for it as late as 6:30 tomorrow. I really want to teach English all the way to 5 when the class ends and then it is about an hour drive to the bus station. Pray I get on a bus, and can sleep during the night.

True Faith: A warning to a theological church

James 2: 14-26 says:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1:27

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" - Jesus (Mathew 7:15-23)

Brothers and sisters let me warn you. God is not impressed by our knowledge of Him and of scripture anymore than he was impressed by the Pharisee's knowledge. "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." What God desires from us is to care for the poor and oppressed. "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Jesus says those who will be allowed into his kingdom will be those who take care of those in need. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." There will be many who knew the right things and even said the right things, but did not love God and others in action who will be cast into hell. "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

I share this with you, because I don't want you to labor in vain. If you are laboring to know the "right stuff" or to know the "right answers" or to do the dos and not do the don'ts you are missing the point. Jesus wants us to "love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all of our soul and with all of our mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40)." We can not show partiality when helping our neighbor. James 2:1-9 We must not choose to surround ourselves with only rich friends. Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24)." When you have earthly possessions you become attached to them. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This is why as a Christian we are constantly putting off the things of this earth and storing up treasures in heaven via good deeds. "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mathew 19:24)." In order not to serve money we must get rid of it via using it for good works. That is the only way to free ourselves from serving it and begin to serve God.

Let me encourage you brothers, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead...press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13b-14)."

No Man's Land: A life of unseen tears

The much belated is finally here: an update on my trip to Mae Sot.

First, let me set the stage for my trip. Mae Sot is a large city located on the Thai side of the Thailand Burma border. The city is the most trafficked land bridge between Burma and Thailand. For those who do not know, Burma (Myanmar) is run by a military dictatorship who took power 20 years ago when they ousted the newly elected prime minister. The prime minister won the free elections by a 70% margin. Since the military took control they have ruled with an iron fist. The government has waged war against the minority groups (most of whom live in the Southern mountains). Because of the genocide facing the Karen and Burmese, they are fleeing to the boarder. Mae Sot has a population of 120,000 and an estimated 100,000 refugees. The Thai government is not granting the refugees legal status; instead, they are turning a blind eye. They have set up many check points around the city to keep the refugees from traveling further into Thailand.

This has turned Mae Sot into a forsaken city. Its residence have fled Burma for their lives and are now living in a city ignored by Thailand. This has provided opportunity for black market trade to become rampant. Among the things smuggled across the boarder are drugs and people. Refugees in Mae Sot have no government over them. They are truly in no man's land. Because of this there are no medical institutions, schools, jobs, or law enforcement agencies for them. NGO's have begun to step in and provide basic medical treatments, food, schools, and law. I worked with two organizations while in Mae Sot. One was providing free primary education and free lunches to about 80 Burmese and Karen refugees. The other is providing law enforcement for abused refugee kids. They take kids away from abusive families and provide safe houses for them to live in.

An overview of what we did:

Friday
We facilitated arts and crafts with the kids at the migrant school until lunch.
After lunch we built up the schools road with 2 dump truck loads of dirt, because the road was a mud trap for cars before.
I dug out the dump truck after it beached itself on the dirt it just dumped.
We built portable wall partitions to separate classrooms in the one room school. (The school teaches 1-6 grades!)
We walked through the refugee villages giving out box diners and ice cream.
Returned to the hotel for some rest.

Saturday
Worked at Compassio (the safe house for abused refugee kids) building an outhouse around a toilet behind the safe house.
We had five guys building the walls with cinder blocks.
On the second level of cinder blocks Chris asked us how the kids were going to get in the bathroom.
We took down the second level and made a door.
At lunch we hopped on two motorbikes to go to a near by restaurant.
Kevin informed us he could drive one of them.
I hopped on the back of his bike, and he began to go.
We both crawled out from under the bike after he ran into a pile of sand. Luckly the sand pile cushioned our fall. (No worries, I didn't even get a scratch)
At 4 we quit building and went to Compassio's head office where we grilled out for the Compassio kids and staff.
Later that night we had a dance party with the kids for 45 min.
They played No Body but You by Wonder Girls for the whole party. (A Thai favorite)

Sunday
Worshiped our God with the team on the top of a hill overlooking the Burmese mountains. It was quite surreal.
Went back to the migrant school to build more wall partitions and a bench.
We brought out the paints again and let the kids paint the wall partitions.
Te Te, one of the kids, painted a picture of Jesus on the cross on the top of a mountain. Their was one person bowing before Jesus and one person standing pointing to another mountain in the distance. It was pretty touching because the school isn't a Christian school, and even while the kids were painting they had to stop because some Buddhist monks came.
At 1 we left for Compassio's baby house where we picked up 15 kids to go swimming in our hotels pool.
At 4 we packed up and headed out.

During the trip I was able to spend myself doing manual labor outdoors with kids. Exactly what I love to do. I didn't realize how much I miss doing that kind of stuff. The past few summers I have been able to do some combination of outdoor labor and youth ministry. This summer, I spend so much time in the office pouring over a computer. It was freeing and rejuvenating to pour myself out physically and emotionally for kids who have seen so much that no one should have to see. Please be praying for these kids. I have a few days built into my trip to vacation with. I think I am going to plan another trip up there to work with these kids. They are truly the people no one sees or cares about. They are the least of these. The kids at Compassio have fled their country because their own government wants to kill them. They are living in a country that wants to pretend they don't exist. And they live at Compassio because their parents beat them, starved them, and forced them to beg on the streets. And in the midst of all of this, Compassio stands for these kids, to give them dignity, a home, food, an education, love, and best of all Jesus.

Everyday, hundreds of Burmese and Karen people are displaced or killed by their government, because they are different. They either speak a different language or are a different religion. Christians are being targeted by the Buddhist. I talked with one Christian Karen woman who had just visited one of the Mae Sot hospitals. She told me all Karen have been targeted by the government for extermination. Recently the Buddhist Karen people sided with the government against the Christian Karen. "I don't understand why they kill us. We are the same as them. We are Karen. Why do they kill us? When I was at the hospital there were Buddhist and Christian Karen soldiers in the same hospital. I brought them gifts, and I gave the gifts to everyone, to the Christians and the Buddhist. I did it because I love them too. They need to know we don't want to hurt them. We are brothers."

One more story:
On Sunday I talked with Sia, one of the Compassio staff. All weekends I had noticed she looked tired, so I asked if she was tired. "Ya" she replied. I asked, "Is it a lot of extra work when teams come to help?" She answered, "A little, but I always stay busy. Even when there's nothing to do, I find something to do. I work myself a lot." I thought about what she said. On her wall I noticed a picture of her weed eating. I thought about what she said. On the way back to Bangkok, everyone was sharing stories and it came up that one of the kids at Compassio is Sia's brother. Someone asked how that could be, and Nate responded: "Her dad had many wives. Sia is mixxed up in much the same stuff as the kids." It all made sense. She pours herself out to the point of exhaustion because she loves the kids. She chews Nate out for bringing us to the grill out 20 min late because she loves the kids. She cries after chewing Nate out because she loves the kids. She risks her neck for the kids because she loves them. Do you love anyone like that? She is doing all she knows to do to help the kids. Interestingly, I saw the same characteristics among the refugees in every older sibling for their younger siblings, in every older kid for the younger kids, in every adult for kids, and in every adult for fellow adults.

Mae Sot

I know I just posted a lengthy blog yesterday, but I could use your prayers.

In a few hours I will be leaving Bangkok for Mae Sot. Mae Sot is a border city to Burma, six hours north of Bangkok. I will be going with a team of 10 people from one of the international churches I am involved with. We will be in Mae Sot today through late Sunday/early Monday. Pray our travels are safe. We are taking a van there and back, driving through the night both ways. Pray the drivers stay awake and aware.

While there we plan to do a lot of construction as well as spending some time playing with the refugee children. The team lead (a friend and mentor of mine) has been heavily involved in the work in Mae Sot for the past few months. About two months ago he took a team to do much of the same things. Pray that he has wisdom in the leadership decisions that fall upon him. Also pray for our team. We don't know many details about what our living and working situations will be like when we arrive. And, pray for the hearts of these Burmese refugees. May God grant them hope and salvation from the hell they now live in.

A Memorable Day of God's Grace

Yesterday was a day full of God's grace being poured out on me. I went to Din Dang to work on Microfin with Timmy at a coffee shop in the morning and to visit the Thailand Bible Society. Three friends joined Timmy and I at the coffee shop limiting our work productivity, but definitely making the time more enjoyable. After lunch, Timmy, Dwight, and I traveled to the Thai Bible Society where the Bible and Christian literature are translated into English. The building doubles as a Christian book store where I found a manga of the gospels and Acts (A manga is a Japanese graphic novel).

Timmy had some work to do there, so Dwight took me to the Bangkok Refugee Center (BFC). Dwight is an English teacher in Bangkok and has organized and run many philanthropist projects in his spare time. He told me how he has developed relations with many projects in Bangkok and a website where he connects volunteers to those organizations. This only further confirms my suspicions that many Christians do not suffer from an inability to help people but low expectations and apathy. Dwight uses all of his spare time to help people through the skills he knows, and he started by finding those in need. We believe as Christians we should help the poor. When we don't see any poor around us, we say God hasn't put anyone in my life to help. No! That is not the case. The truth is as Christians we have to seek out those in need of help. That is the first instrument of grace you show to those you help: that you sought them out just like God sought us out and saved us.

In any case, Dwight showed me around the center and introduced me to a Sri Lankan refugee who shared with me the hidden life of refugees and asylum seekers. This conversation opened a whole new world to me that I didn't know exists. I will have to do more research on these people. Maybe you too will be moved to do the same. What I found out is that those who have to flee their countries because of persecution are considered illegal aliens in the country they flee too. The UN has a system worked out where refugees can apply for refugee status, which doesn't make them legal in the country they fled to, but does qualify them to receive aid from the UN. That aid includes food, medicine, special skills classes, and access to a social worker. The social worker works with the refugee to help them find a country who will give them legal residency statues. Until a country gives them legal residency status they are illegal aliens in the country they have fled to. They legally can't take a job, and are always in jeopardy of being arrested and deported back to their country. The Sri Lankan man I talked with was the chef at the refugee center. He shared that the people in the most need are the asylum seekers. People can stay in this stage for years because of bureaucracy. Asylum seekers are illegal in the country they are seeking refuge in and are not receiving aid from the UN yet. The Sri Lankan man shared that these people are starving. He gives them the leftovers from his restaurant each day, but it is not enough. He asked Dwight to focus his next project on helping that group of people.

After visiting the refugee center, I went with Timmy to a printing shop where a Christian Thai track Timmy had was printed. We wanted to see if the printing shop had more tracks we could distribute, since their aren't any tracks for sell in Bangkok. The address was all we had to connect with this place. It was hard to find, but we found it. Turns out the printing shop is owned by a Buddhist couple and run by their Christian son. The son (Phom) uses his own money to print the tracks and sells them at cost. When we asked them about the tracks and expressed our desire to have some literature in Thai to give to the Thais round us, he insisted we take a pack of every type of track he has for free. I told him I wanted to pay for them, but he insisted we take them free of charge. As we made our way to leave he asked where we were headed. I told him, and he told me he was going to drive me there. I told him it was no problem for me to walk, but he insisted he would drive me. He asked me where I am from. I told him America. "You have travelled a long way, probably spending lots of your money, to come here to share Jesus with us. Let me do this for you. There will plenty of opportunity for you to walk later." Wow. Please pray a prayer of thanks for this man. His faith and kindness will not go unnoticed by God.

Wow I have so much more to say, and I am realizing how much I have said already; so, I will brief you on the rest:

On the way back I took a motorbike part of the way. The motorbike drivers pegged me as a tourist and asked me for 50 B for the ride. I told them the ride was only worth 20 B and that is what I would pay (I was right. I was not trying to cheat them). The bartering continued until I settled for 25 B. The person who took me volunteered to drive me when I raised my bid. When I arrived at home, I handed him 25 B. He told me no, and handed me 5 B back. Wow. If you know motor bike drivers, you will know how crazy this is. They usually try to rip you off as much as they can. Please pray for this man a prayer of thanks giving, that God saves this man, if He hasn't already, and that God provides for this man's needs.

Later that night I went to Kung's house for dinner. The motorbike driver I used turned out to be a member of Tallia, and was the first motorbike driver to tell me "God bless you." Another amazing blessing from God.

While eating with Kung, I asked him how he became a Christian. He shared how his mom dedicated him to God when he was 10 months old. He had gone to church his whole life, but it was all head knowledge and not reflected in his actions. He had a wife, a street business, was a leader in the Mafia, and was a moneylender who beat his clients (ironic). Four years ago he was arrested, lost his business, and his wife left him. The courts told him he was going to have to go to jail for 7 years. He and the whole Tallia church prayed to God for grace and that he would not have to go. When he went for sentencing he was told he was free to go. No jail at all. He dedicated his life to Christ then and is now training under Tallia's pastor and planting a church in Lummoo. It was amazing to hear what God is doing and has done in his life. It is scary how much of his story reflects that of mine. I have not told him yet, but I think I will soon.

As always, if I can be praying for you in anything please let me know. My heart is with everyone near and far. God bless you for your prayers and encouragement. He is encouraging me.