Pray for Jomar

Hi everyone!

This is a quick email, but my main purpose of this email is to ask for prayer for Jomar!
I also have a friend very knowledgeable friend who is wanting to do some documentary screenings about human trafficking (in Lincoln, Omaha and Seward).
Read below for more info:

#1. I have a little boy whom I have sponsored through compassion for about 8 years. When I returned from Thailand I had received 3 letters from him and his mother in the meantime, talking about their brother who is in poor health. I inquired through compassion about his situation. This is an email I received from them this morning:

“The Project Director said that Christian’s brother has SUBACUTE SCLEROSING PANENCEPHALITIS. His present condition as of now is that he cannot walk/ stand and is very thin. He is taking some medications now said his mother but his doctor recommended bringing him to Manila to further check-up/treatment. However, the family does not have enough money to do this. The fare alone cost more or less than Php4000.00 (US$88.89) per person. The cost of the accommodation and hospital expenses is not yet determined.

As of now, the PD said that his condition is not good. According to her, his condition started to worsen in February this year when his mother reported to the ICP that her child was admitted in the hospital.  The family only rely help from the DSWD (Department of Social and Welfare Development). The ICP is also able to assist with the medical expenses of the child through the CIV medical reimbursable fund. They are still helping the family in looking for help to travel the child to Manila. The PD is in contact with their Partnership Facilitator to ask advices on how they should address this concern.

Please help us pray for God’s provision for the family especially the healing of this child.

His name is Jomar Igot and he is only 14 years old.”

Please join me in prayer for Jomar!
I am very concerned about him and will be sending a large part of my paycheck this month. If anybody wants to assist monetarily, please let me know in the next 2 days (because I want to act quickly).

#2. I have a friend who is fighting human trafficking in Mexico City, her name is Ann. She is doing great work and I can't say enough good things about her! She is stateside for a little while and is wanting to have some documentary screenings, one in Omaha, one in Lincoln, one in Seward and a few small house screenings. "The purpose is to educate people about the roots of the problem (abuse in the home primarily) and what they can do, but also to bring people together who are already involved/want to be involved." The dates she is looking at are Sept 5 6 and 7. Please let me know if you are interested in hosting/attending, and I'll forward it onto Ann!



As for me, life feels like a whirlwind right now. I'm back in the states and I've been fighting for my quiet time with the Lord, it has been a struggle. Trying to hear God's voice and am trying doing the best I can with what I have. I think this time is for important preparation work for what is next in my life -- I just don't know what that is yet! Haha. Will keep you updated.


God Bless,
Amber

Home.

I just wanted to post an update.

I have been home for one month now and life feels like a blur. Things I have re-gotten used to:
1) not having ants swarm *everything*
2) being COLD at night
3) driving on the right side of the road.
4) the lack of Asians in rural Nebraska.
5) understanding what people around me are saying (no misunderstandings! wow..)

It's been strange. Lol.

I miss the kids and the Thai people. It is weird to think that school is still happening, but thankfully I am connected with many friends from the school who send updates.

I like being with my family. And I like the open skies here at home.

Life has been a whirlwind and since being back I haven't had any time to breathe. I look forward to resting and spending time with God. While I was gone my parents emptied out a room that will eventually turn into a workout room, but for now, they said I can turn it into a prayer room. I am very excited about this. It's nice because it's just *space*--there is something about having space. You don't feel constricted I guess.

As for my future plans, I am planted until God moves me. Right now I am at home being kept very busy with work, weddings, friends and family but am praying for leading. I hope to return to Thailand soon, but am not making any plans until I have further guidance from God. Trying to live in the moment :) Something about myself I really want is for people to see Christ shining through me at all times. You know, I have been attending a church since I have been back that reaches out to addicts of mostly drugs and alcohol. Most of the people who attend the church are recovering addicts (truly, that's what we as sinners are, right). It amazes me that many of them just seem to know that I have never been addicted to either of those things without hardly even speaking to me. I only tell you this to explain my point. In that same way, I want people to know it is Jesus shining through me without knowing anything about me. Does that sense?

Well I need to go. Good night! I do plan on posting on here but probably not as often as before.

Christs Love,
Amber

In Seoul!

We had quite an excellent send-off!
Saturday night our neighbors took us to eat salads (very interesting salads! Delicious though) and we also had some of our favorite dishes: Som Tum (Papaya Salad) and Pad Thai. A roi! They took us to pick up a few souvenirs and then for some warm milk and toast slathered in cream corn. Haha.

Yesterday (last night? errr...traveling...)  was a slow day, we finished packing and tying up loose ends.

Over the course of the past month we have learned a bit more about the new guard who has been at our gate. We have two guards: a day guard and a night guard. The day guard works every day of the week from 7am-7pm. He is from the Lahu tribe! Mackenzie and I knew he was a Christian because he is always reading his Bible :) He taught us how to say "Pra Jaao Ooi Pong Ka" (God Bless You).

Last week Pat spoke with him in Thai and found out a bit about this mans life. He has 5 kids and they are struggling. We went to visit them 3 hours before we needed to go to the airport.

13 people live in this abandoned house - grandparents, parents and kids. Maybe a few other extended family members. It looked to me as if people began constructing and stopped before it was completed. They were essentially squatting -- living there for free. Between he and his son (the only people able to work) they make about $500 / month to provide for 13 people. They have been told they will need to move soon. The father has stomach problems because he used to work as a farmer and he was inhaling a lot of fumes and chemicals, so now he cannot work as hard as he used to. He was not educated or given a chance to learn how to read or write, but he is learning how to read now by reading his Bible. He cannot go to church because he works all day on Sunday. His son has a rare blood disorder where when he is cut, it takes a very long time before it will stop bleeding called Hemophilia. The Grandmother is recovering for an eye surgery.

So, we prayed for these people and this family for the Lords favor and health. I felt like the Sun was blazing for them -- not like it was rising but that it was already blazing with love.

Then they prayed for Mackenzie and I in parting. And they sang Amazing Grace to us in Lahu.

It was all very beautiful. I am thankful that there are other Christian believers I know who can continue building a relationship with them and updating me so we can continue to pray for them.

Please pray for them as they are really dependent on the Lord right now and we are trusting in Him for breakthrough.

---

Our wonderful neighbors took us to the airport! Oh how we will miss them.

We are currently in Seoul Korea, headed to Texas in a few hours.

With Love,
Amber

Time in Thailand has quickly come to a close.
We will fly out tomorrow night.

Sad to leave all of our new friends and family members.
Happy to see family and friends from home.

My next plans? Planted til God moves me...

I wanted to show ya'll what I've been working on these past few weeks!
The new Hope International Schools webpage AND the new School of Promise webpage:

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE ACTUAL WEBSITE!

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE!

We're slowly getting ready to go. We want to leave well, and not in a rush missing important goodbyes. We're disconnecting slowly. :(

A kitten and Bob

A few things!

Today, we were given a kitten! They sort of -- didn't give us an option, although, we are glad to have him. He's super cute. We named him Bless. We are leaving Chiang Mai in 7 days and are praying for a family that will want him.

Last week I took a day off from school and went on a prayer walk. It was -- awesome. I just prayed for people and thanked God and worshipped Him in my spirit. In the afternoon I met a man who needed a lot of help -- he had just arrived to Chiang Mai and his debit card was stuck in an ATM machine. He was in Chiang Mai to get his teeth fixed, and didn't have any other cards or ways to get his money. It was a God thing -- I just knew as I walked up to him that he needed help. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting it sorted out. We were able to get an emergency debit card issued. Thank you God!

An Update on June

If you'll remember, I posted several times about a woman name June (the pseudonym I gave her!) Here are the blog posts in case you are interested in reading:
http://amberkonz.blogspot.com/2012/02/god-is-good.html
http://amberkonz.blogspot.com/2012/02/some-updates.html
http://amberkonz.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html

She is not doing well. She is in stage 3 of liver cancer and the doctors have given her 2 weeks to live, so now she is back in her village waiting to die.

Faith (also a pseudonym) has been specifically told by God *twice* to go somewhere where this woman was, unknowingly. God is obviously -doing- something in this situation. The thing is that June is terrified, and does not want any part in Christ, because the demons tell her not to. However, we know that as Christians, we have authority to cast demons out in Jesus' name. Demons have no authority whatsoever over us.

Yesterday, Junes relatives came from the village (about 4 hours away) to seek her out. You see, Faith was in stage 3  cancer, about to die several years ago, but now she is a living, breathing, breathe of fresh air and so full of joy. It is amazing to see. The relatives wanted to know why.

Faith and a few others want to go and pray for June at the village, but are praying for an open invitation -- they do not feel right about showing up uninvited, especially due to Junes fear. Please pray for the doors to be open, and for June's salvation, her families salvation and a miraculous healing. God does not want sickness in our world.

I have a dear friend who is also in his last days due to cancer.
He is a Christian!
I also know that if God wanted to, my friend would be healed, no matter what the doctors say.
But if not, He will be in heaven, because he has given his life to Christ, which is better than anything.
Could you pray for him and his family too?

Love,
Amber

It seems like every month here is different! Honestly, completely different schedules, paces, people...

Here is a quick list, if you recall:
January: adjusting to Thailand, lots of Graphic Design work.

February: lots of graphic design work, the textbook project (! huge), Inessa, the LIBRARY, tutoring computer stuff, getting to know the kids. Friday bible study starts up. Break my leg.

March: Broken leg, the textbook project and SUMMER SCHOOL BEGINS - teach the kids about Christ. I finished the Bible all the way through. Laos, Udon to visit our wonderful family,

April: Summer School (aka, no sleep). During our breaks for Thai holidays, I was able to meet a lot of tourists and tell them about Christ and we were able to spend lots of time with our neighbors.

I think the most consistent thing has been spending time with our neighbors on Wednesday nights!

May: Is it May already? uh, yeah. It's nearly June! School has started, and since then, life has significantly slowed down. I have been working primarily on the 2 websites, which are *nearly* ready for deployment. I get to hang out with the kids a lot during breaks and just hug them a lot. Especially the first graders. They are adorable. I think my brain is still a bit fuzzy from the busy-ness, but with the extra free time I have been able to spend a lot of time in the word and worshiping God - it has been so good!

Mackenzie and I have 2 weeks left here in Thailand. I am sad but am confident the Lord is using me wherever I am, and am hopeful to come back to Thailand within the next 1-2 years.

My new favorite photo

These kids had the funnest time putting flowers in my hair...

Human Trafficking Nebraska

HI everyone!

I just wanted to share with you some articles regarding human trafficking cases that came out recently in COLUMBUS, McCOOK and LINCOLN NEBRASKA.

http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/article_24a348a4-9a14-11e1-bfa8-0019bb2963f4.html


http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/fourth-man-charged-in-child-sex-investigation/article_c85bce28-9f76-11e1-91e9-0019bb2963f4.html

The ages of the young girls who were victimized is disturbing.
Please pray for healing and restoration in Jesus' name.

These past couple of days have been very reflective for me, mostly because we began our last month in Thailand about 4 days ago. God has taught me so much, but it's not from being in Thailand, it is from a desire to know God more. I am looking forward to the next step and just praying He will lead me along the BEST path for my life. Oh, God is so good, isn't He? He never gives up, never fails. He is perfect and good, just and forgiving. What a God we serve.

Last week I was thinking about singing this coffeeshop that I like to sing at in Lincoln called Cultiva, and right as I was falling asleep I thought "I should email Joe and set up a show sometime...". The next morning I opened an email from Joe asking me to come and play on June 13th (the day after I get back from Thailand). So I said yes, after praying and gaining access to a keyboard. I think God has a purpose in it. So...you are all invited :) Please come. I'll probably be jet-lagged. I'll post the time later -- my guess is the show will start around 7, but there are two other acts on the bill, I don't know the lineup yet. I'll probably tell some stories.

We went to the sea with our neighbors last week. You know, I really love them. Mackenzie and I had a wonderful time. We drove about 2000 miles (I got a lot of Bible reading in! It was so refreshing), had the best tour guides ever :) saw monkey's, dolphins, jellyfish and stayed with some really nice people along the way.

Here are some pictures of our trip, compliments of Mackenzie and her Ipod:

I wanted to share a short story about a conversation I had with Kitichai (Dtoi).
Mackenzie and I had our Bibles in the seats with us and we kept getting in and out of the vehicle. Somewhere along the line, Mackenzie's bible was placed on the floor of the vehicle. Kitichai saw it and sat it on the seat. Later, he asked me, "Why do you put your bibles on the floor?" He was curious, because this absolutely would not have happened in Thai/buddhist culture. The question took me so off guard, I did not even really know what to say! He told me about how the Buddhist books (bibles?) are placed on the highest shelves above your head out of respect, because in Buddhist culture, your head is the holiest part of your body, while the feet are the dirtiest. Therefore, putting a Bible where your feet are is very disrespectful and neglectful. I thought this was an interesting conversation showing a Eastern/Western mindset. I love my Bible! It teaches me about God. I take care of it -- but it is also a part of my life. I think having a bible is quite a bit like owning a camera. If you have a camera,  you coddle it quite a bit at first and are very protective of it, but eventually it simply becomes a part of you. You climb mountains with it and sling it around your back and you use it, alot. What is the point of having a camera if you don't use it? You know? I can absolutely see how placing a bible on the floor can be seen as disrespectful though. (But Jesus, He knows my heart.)

Our new housemates have arrived! Caleb, Tracy and Geshem :) I don't even have a picture yet! Soon. It has been such a joy having them here. They are full of life and the Holy Spirit. We haven't had a whole lot of time together (things have been so busy!) but it is certainly great getting to know them.

Our friend Bethany went home on Sunday :( We'll miss you! We should've taken a group picture, but we celebrated her presence with us, and Lucy's birthday, by having ice cream! Here we are (sort of):

School started TODAY, oh it's going to be a good year!  We.have.a.bus.driver. It is a blessing. 15 new kids, 45 total. We still need a few more English teachers, so pass the word on to your friends! You do not have to have a college degree, but it would be a year commitment.

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post.

I don't have much time, but wanted to send a quick update.

>We have 3 new housemates!! It's certainly great having them here.
>Mackenzie and I just got back from the sea with our neighbors!
>We made them an American breakfast today :)
>Tomorrow I am going to visit an orphanage.
>Schools starts up again on Wednesday! Yay!

I want to elaborate on all of these things, but maybe later.

Love,
Amber

We wanted to share some exciting news! Mackenzie and I have a couple of very generous supporters, and yesterday we received an email that they are sending us $1000 ($500 for each of us) simply to give and bless people with!!

We are so excited about this opportunity to bless others financially! We will be praying about where this money will be given, and sharing some of the stories with you (if not all, but we will use discernment in the situations).

-------

Summer school has finished and now we are on a two-week break from school. My 'graphic design' role has already kicked back in as I am already redesigning a website AND helping redesign a storefront. Pictures will come as soon as the projects are finished!

---

Here are some pictures from the summer program:

This is a craft I did with the kids (craft was my favorite thing to teach!)
To my Chrysalis friend: These say "Fly with Christ" !! :)
The kids all did such a good job.

Poom is back at school! He is doing so  much better.
Praise God, for saving this boys life!
AND he will be attending regular school with us in May.
I am so excited to see how God continues to work in his life.

Ohm, the boy from my last post -- the reader!

This is a craft I did with the kids during the first week
(and Emma...pointing... :)

Leap Frog!

A craft Mackenzie did with the kids!
Most of these pictures are compliments of Bob Bowling (THANKS BOB)

This girl LOVED Mackenzie.
She has signed up for regular school as well!

We took the kids to the pool twice a week for an hour.

Snack time!

TRACY AND CALEB! I WILL SEE YOU SOOO SOOOOON! Caleb is coming to teach at the school in about ***15 days!*** (can you believe it?) and am so looking forward to that!

Also, our lovely friends, Peg and Terry, were here in Chiang Mai for exactly 3 days, and we were able to have dinner with them one night (before whisking away to the hospital! Ah--no worries though, our roommate Emma was just having a check-up after a recent virus)

It was so nice to see them both and catching up, a breathe of fresh air, and so odd--I'm used to seeing them in Iowa and Nebraska. Now--Chiang Mai Thailand? What could be next? Morocco? the Alps? Worms, Nebraska?

That's all for now, I need some SLEEP!

God Bless,
please keep us in your prayers!
-Amber

Things are just as nuts as usual here. We have been running a summer program for about 60 kids in the community (and it's been tough) but it's also been really good. I love the kids, even if I stink at discipline.

There is this sweet boy named Ohm who is really smart and funny, but he is pretty shy and doesn't know very much English. Over the past 3 weeks he's opened up quite a bit, and yesterday I helped him read a book! Today, he started reading "Green Eggs and Ham". I don't know what he is comprehending, but we are working on pronunciation and he is doing so well. I am so proud of him.

It gave me flashbacks because that is the first book I ever remember reading by myself (the first book of many!), sitting on the our living room floor  (green fuzzy carpet) with the rest of the family watching something on TV, and mom doing laundry. I'm going to guess  there was popcorn involved. It was quite monumental for me, I remember.

Anyway, there are so many kids I've fallen in love with here. 

-- 

I have a huge praise report -- remember a couple of weeks ago when I shared about the boy who was falling asleep in class and was taken to the hospital? He had surgery and HE IS BACK! He has made an outstanding recovery. He has visibly lost weight, and is breathing normally. He is much more focused and retentive AND active -- he's been running around with the kids and laughing. Praise God. This is overwhelming to me. 

--

Please pray for us because we are going to Laos in a couple of weeks to renew our Visa's, but we will be staying longer with our friend Pat to share with those that we meet. We, really need your prayers in this.

--

I ... played frisbee last week :)

and then...I was sore for 7 days (still recovering)

my muscles are really out of shape --

it felt so good to run again.

--

We met a lady named Tuu who is from Laos and were invited back to have dinner in her dormitory with her and her friends! We will be going back each Saturday, she will be teaching us some Laos, and we will teach her English. None of them are Christians. Please pray that the Lord would provide opportunities for us to share with them.

--

Friday night prayer meetings have been somewhat postponed due to the holiday season, but hopefully they will start up again this Friday. Please continue to pray for this group!

--

A dear brother in Christ gave me two beautiful gifts.

The amber stone in my ring fell out several weeks ago, and he took it and fixed it for me. This ring is symbolic of many things in my life and my identity in Christ and I was so sad that it was broken.

He also gave me a new Bible (because I gave mine away). Now I have the word of God. How can I explain how wonderful of a gift this was? 

I cannot explain to you the gratitude in my heart for these two things, so please excuse the emptiness in my words.

God, thank you for putting loving Christian friends in my path, and teach me more of you and your love so I may be a light and a blessing to those people who's paths you place me in.

--

I wish I had pictures to share with you but I haven't been taking my camera anywhere! I'll try to post some soon.

Love,

Amber

I have so many things to share! I may need to split this into several updates for the sake of *post length* . Maybe I'll just mince some words.

A couple of days ago I made a new friend. We had a really in depth conversation about Judaism and Christianity.

He was the first practicing Jew I've ever met! I was so excited when he told me he was a Jew, because --I know the Jewish history according to the Old Testament, and feel a kinship toward them.

He was a very pleasant, intelligent man, and I hope to see him again, however, I was discouraged by his faith. While he is a practicing Jew and knows the Hebrew Bible (Talmud? Is that correct?) it seemed to me his beliefs were very universalist. I am saddened by this, mostly because Jews are people I have associated with a very deep faith and belief in the same God I serve.

This has become somewhat of a theme. Many people I speak with have had a similar mindset.

We spoke at length about the Messiah and who he thought the Messiah was (not Jesus, what a heart-wrenching sadness) and about the New Testament. He said that when he read the New Testament he was very very impressed, yet sad, because he had always heard about how Christians were hypocritical (he had never met a Christian) yet when he read the New Testament he saw what Christianity was supposed to be. And he said he felt sad because -- we are family, but our faiths took two separate paths.

Yesterday I met a Thai couple who spoke fluent English. We talked a bit and I told them I am a Christian and they asked me about that, so I was sharing the Gospel. I asked if they were Buddhist, and they said Yes. Then a little bit later he said, "I go to church!" and she said, "I studied at a monastery with the sisters for a little while!" (they were nodding as though what I was telling them was familiar) and I said, "but you are Buddhists?" and they both said, "Yes" at the same time.

I'm praying for these three.

**

I attended a worship/prayer time yesterday evening. It was good. I felt welcome and want to go back.

*

Today I will play my first frisbee game since breaking my leg! You have no idea how excited I am.

Gotta run (slowly, hehe), more later.
LOVE,
Amber

Prayer Requests

Hi everyone!


You know, I have two friends from home who are very ill.
Leroy and Mark.
Please pray for them.
I have not asked for their permission to share, so I will only give you their names, but I really wish I could be with them both to encourage them -- but I cannot in person, only through prayer. Please join me in this.

Also, if I could ask, will you pray for my Grandma Konz too? Not because there is anything wrong, I just love her :)

Today two exciting things happened:

1. WE RECEIVED A PACKAGE!!!! (Thanks Mom and Dad. We will have sugar to last us for quite some time, and the kids will love it too. Really, THANK YOU)

2. I made another friend! Her name is Alice. She is from Switzerland and spoke 4 languages, something I'm finding is quite common among Europeans/Asians-- I am struggling with 1 1/8 (the 1/8th being a probably too highly estimated amount of Thai that I know, but it's coming along!)

We spoke for a long time, because we were both waiting for a shop to open, so we chatted for about 3 hours, and it was nice. She is quite the historian! I learned a lot from her, and I got to listen to her cool accent!

We spent a significant portion of our time talking about religion. It was an interesting discussion about Jesus and aliens and giants.

You know, so many of the foreigners I have come across here in Thailand are *searching* for something, and they do not know what, but they have a lot of thoughts and ideas. I am finding a lot of false theologies and pseudo-Christian (cultish) grips on people, and a severe lack of knowledge of the word of God among people who are not Christian who claim to know the Bible. This makes me very sad, and makes me want to study the word even more. The biggest thing I have noticed regarding this is people have a tendency to read scripture and pick out the things that suit them, rather than take the Bible as a whole that points to Jesus in all things. 

I am so thankful to not be an aimless seeker. I am a daughter of God, redeemed from my wrongdoings by the blood of Christ. I have already found the meaning of life! Now it's focusing on the goal...

*********

Did I mention we have awesome neighbors? They took us on a tour :) There are a lot of pictures on facebook, but here are some highlights (compliments of Dtem and Dtoi *aka Kitichai*, they took all of the pictures):

Ice cream sandwiches. Please notice the normal looking BREAD
the ice cream is encompassed by.
Oh, Thailand. I love how literal you are.

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil!

We went to another waterfall the following day with our friends Lucy and Jo (from Scotland, and the UK), but we didn't bring our camera! The waterfall was made out of limestone, and you could just climb right up it, hence the name "the sticky waterfalls". It really was amazing, not like anything I've seen or experienced in my entire life. 

Tomorrow: Zip-lining through the jungle. (We have a week off from school because it is a Thai holiday called SONG-KRAN, which I'll tell you more about when I have some pictures)

my friend IB

I have a very exciting story to share with you!

Yesterday was Good Friday, and it WAS a very good Friday indeed!

Mackenzie went to Lampang with our neighbors (we had Friday off of school). Emma and I were simply exhausted and wanted a restful day so we stayed home, although going with the neighbors anywhere is always really fun, we just needed a break (it's been a crazy couple of weeks). SO I decided to go visit a waterfall and read the Good Friday story from the Bible -- it was fantastic, and a good place to recharge and be with the Lord.(and, I was perfectly able to climb through some pretty treacherous terrain, thank you GOD for healing my leg!)

On my walk home, God had set up a divine appointment for me :) I was walking one way, and Ib, my new friend, was walking toward me. I was JUST about to cross the street to have some lunch at coffeshop across the street, and we met exactly there, Ib thought he recognized me, we started to chat and we decided to have coffee together.

He is a very kind, friendly man, but has gone through a rough time these past couple of years. He told me he is at a crossroads and in a crisis and is really seeking something but he did not know what-- he told me several times he was about to lose heart. He told me he was considering helping out and learning about Buddhism from the monks. Ib is a Christian, but has fallen away for quite sometime (it seemed to me) and shared with me he was really turned away by "Pharisitical Christians" (if you know what I mean). I shared with him my faith and -- Jesus is so good -- Ib said I must be an angel sent from God because what I was saying is exactly what he had needed to hear and that he had "forgotten all of the things I was saying". I am rather overwhelmed, and so grateful to have been used this way. God is so good. He sent me here from Nebraska to Thailand to share the gospel with a middle-aged man from Denmark over coffee (among other things, I'm sure) and I am so grateful that the Lord has taught me so much thus far and am excited for what is next.

Will you pray for Ib?

I gave him my Bible.
We are now Pen-pals.
I thoroughly enjoyed his company, he is a gem of a man.

God is...so good.

I also wanted to share with you that we went to visit a beautiful lady named Dang (which means the color Red!) and were able to give her 5 Bibles that people from her church were in need of:

Pii Dang has a desire for LIFE. She has MS but is dedicated to live and wants to serve the Lord for as long as she can. Please pray that the Lord would grant her healthy time. Also, she has a prayer request -- she is requesting more money from the government to help her pay for her medicine, but has not heard back in awhile. Please pray that the government would grant her request.

AND: My friend I mentioned in a previous post is currently in a communist country distributing bibles to those that need them. Pray for safety of this person and the people in this person's company. Thanks.

Amen.
And HAPPY EASTER TOMORROW!!!!

this past month

Whoofta!

Things have been *so* *so* busy.

For those of you who have sent me messages that I have not responded to, and people I have not called, I sincerely apologize, thank you for your grace. I have a week off  from summer school starting Friday. You will be my priority :)

As for this past month, what a whirlwind!

We went to Laos (had a few minor problems with the Visa situation, but it should be okay). Visited our lovely relatives, whom I already miss (I will post some pictures of this soon and tell you more about them, because I love them), and then we got back and started summer school the very next day.

I put together a portfolio and resume last week (thanks Dad) because I am applying for a job in Laos --I'll tell you more about it as time transpires :)

Summer school is a tough one for me -- I love love love these kids and being with them is a blessing, but I am really struggling with this whole *teaching groups of kids* thing. Please pray for me. I've cried a lot. It is embarrassing, and I know the kids have noticed. Apparently God has a purpose in it. This is certainly *not* in my comfort zone.

One little boy, his name is Poom and here is his picture (Shayne I hope you don't mind! Pat emailed it and I swiped it!).

He is really funny, and we all love having him around. God loves him so much. On the very first day of summer school we noticed something wasn't quite right because he fell asleep nearly right away in the morning of the first class and it took way too long to wake him up. It happened again a few days later, and his breathing was really labored. We called Pooms parents and they came and we told him he needed to go to the hospital. I heard there was a lot of crying -- when they were told he was falling asleep, they said "he always does that!" He has been to the doctor several times, but apparently he was mis-diagnosed. God had a purpose in sending Poom to our school. He was sent to a better hospital and he went into surgery. He has been in ICU the past week, but is home today. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.

There are so many kids here that need a lot of love.

Tomorrow we have a big meeting regarding our textbook project. It is a textbook integrating Christianity into Thai Social Studies. It is a project that God has placed specifically on Joel's heart (our director of the school) and I am confident the Lord will continue to orchestrate the project. I have done all the design work thus far, and we are going to present it to a group of representatives from Thai schools in Chiang Mai tomorrow. The meeting will be about "How should we do Christian ministry in our schools?" and hopefully people will want to come on board and help us with our textbook, because right now we are shorthanded.

Last night Pat, Dream and I went to a store and bought bibles. $300 were donated to the bible fund I mentioned in the previous post, and $150 was donated to Pat, so we were able to buy 25 bibles (about $15/piece)!!!! That night, I went a long with them to Mae Wang, a village, and joined them in a bible study with people from that community. We were blessed to give out 2 of the first bibles to two young girls who asked for a Bible a couple of weeks ago. They are not Christians yet, please pray for them. Their names are Prae and Fai.

Many of the bibles will be given out next week, because somebody I know will be going into a communist country soon to give them to people who cannot get them. Please pray for this person's safety and God's guiding hand.

The Bible is the living word of God. It is such a precious gift. Sweet as honey. Sharper than a double-edged sword. Please do not underestimate yours, and if you have not read it yet, please do.

Okay! I need SLEEP!

Oh yeah, and my leg is doing great! Thank God. I can walk nearly normally, I can put all of my weight on it, and am beginning to be able to jog a teeny bit (not very quickly, and only for a few paces, like, to catch toddlers about to walk into dangerous territory...). Am really looking forward to running again.

Goodnight, I love you all.
Amber

Bible Fund

Hi everyone!

This is a QUICK QUICK update, but I just spoke with my friend Pat -- he says he knows of 5 people who need Thai Bibles. Anybody want to donate to a Bible fund?  The money comes to me, I give it Pat, he buys the Bibles and gives them to the people that need them. If so, you can just mail a check to my home address (which I don't want to post here. Send me a message on Facebook? If you're reading this, you probably know how to get a hold of me...but if not, leave a comment)

Also, please pray for
1) Summer School that starts up tomorrow
2) A group of boys from the detention center are being baptized on Tuesday! Pray for them.

THanks! Love ya all --

In Christ,
Amber

A Baptism

One of our little girls, Naam-fone, was baptized today :) :) :)

It was very special day. We went to a big waterfall.

This is Naam-fone!

This is the view out her back door! (So beautiful)

"I want to be baptized because..."

Love this picture! *taken by Brittany Gray