Larry and Jan Martin
International Ministries,Ban Luang Thailand.
November 2005
Dear Partners in ministry,
Can we change our “rat” stories to “cat” stories? We are now the proud owners of two cats who are both earning their keep. We got them as kittens and they are no more than 6 months old but one has already caught 6 rats (3 in one night in our bedroom). The other had just produced a parade of frogs, lizards, and insects brought into the living room for our inspection, but last week redeemed itself by bringing in a small rat. The cats are still smaller than the field rats but big enough to catch the smaller ones in our house. So once again we are entertained by watching small mammals run around in the house at night but the kittens are much more comforting to watch than the rats.
October was school break here and so we grabbed the opportunity and did some short English Camps. It was also an opportunity as we had Larry’s niece staying with us for a month and have 3 volunteers from Australia staying with us for 2 months. They are young Christian women from 18 to 26 and the students enjoy having teachers closer to their own age. We had English lessons, sang songs, did crafts and made snacks together. They were mostly the same students that study with us during the school term but this was a chance to deepen the relationships.
In the break we also went to a missionary conference for 4 days. It was good to meet missionaries from other missions and exchange ideas and strategies. There were missionaries from at least a dozen other countries including large groups from Germany and Korea. This reflects the mix of missionaries in Thailand.
In November we will have a festival where the people make small floats and put candles on them and float them down the rivers. It is one of the major festivals in Thailand and we are trying to work out how Christians will participate in the festival in a way that will witness to their relationship with Jesus Christ. There are elements of forgiveness, cleansing and hope for the future in the symbolism of the festival, all things which come from a relationship with Jesus.
The rice harvest is starting. We have been out a few times to help neighbors with their corn but the rice is just starting to turn yellow. A few families have harvested but most will do it later this month. It looks to be a good year and we can thank God for his generous bounty to our community. We look forward to a time when the people here will know and worship the Lord of the harvest.
May we all know the joy of living with Jesus and sharing Him with others.
Thank-you again, for your partnership
Love
Larry and Jan
Prayer points
Give thanks to God for the rain and pray for a good harvest.
Pray for 3 interns as they come to the end of a 2 month practical experience with us. Pray for God’s direction to be made clear in their lives.
Pray for discernment as we look at how to use the Float Festival for God’s glory.
Posted by Valerie at November 1, 2005 05:19 PM