Dear Brothers and Sisters in Cherith,

How are things back home? The mission presentation to the Singapore Baptist Church went well, I suppose? Richard, his wife and Ming Xing are in Penang doing their theology course on cross-cultural missions. Any news from them? I have put together some of the things happening here, as I see it. Pray along with us, as you read about the following news; and do click on the pictures to get a fuller picture or bigger view than the ones here.

It has been a week since I arrived here, and it has been raining for the five days out of seven. It is the midst of the rainy season, so the rain is hardly surprising; however, the locals tell me the rain has been more "fierce" than previous years. Indeed, the rains were often accompainied by lightning, thunder, and strong wind. Thank God for the new cement buildings, for I am sure if it had been the old grass-roof bamboo building, the roof would have been gone by now. Even so, the rain was so heavy the flood waters took away a great chunk of our toilet foundation. The soil was all gone, with only the cement top left over.

If the physical weather condition is bad and hostile, it seems there is also an undercurrent of turmoil in the church, barely surfacing. A few families are experiencing crisis. Church leaders are under pressure, and perhaps accounting for some irrational behavoirs. I am barely a week here, so I do not have much grapse of the problems, just sensing them. Prayers are much needed for the church here. Pray that it may unite and march forth despite problems. One thing good about rainy season, though, is that we get fantastic sunset from time to time.

Pastor Joseph has returned from his trip home to Burma; He went back with his whole family, wife and all three children, and they are all taking turns to fall sick with fever. Anyway, he is now still taking charge of the Mae Mong Ho congregation, as well as the Akha congregation at Lu village. Pastor Anuthai, the Yao tribe bible woman that Cherith is supporting, is in charge of the Chinese and Yao congregation in Richard's absence.

Mae Mong Ho Church Project: The kitchen and auxillary building for Sunday School class rooms etc construction will begin this week. Pray that the project will proceed smoothly despite the frequent rain.

People come and go! For the past month at FHL, we had three inmates that ran away after one month of rehabilitation! Still, there were quite a few addition when I got back here. The new inmates are :

Tu Shi: From Yang Village, this is his second time here. Got proud after graduating from FHL two years ago, and started smoking cigarettes, despite repeated admonishments; one thing led to another and soon he was onto opium again. This time, he actually ran away during acute phase of withdrawal, and had to be chained to the pillar for seven days. He has now past his one month mark. Has an elderly mother who has to live alone now, for the time being.

Ah Hai: From Lu Village, this is his second time here. He was the first inmate in FHL to have ever learnt to read the bible during rehabilitation when he was here the first time. We still have hopes of training him as a future leader so pray that he will really find new commitment to Christ here.

Zhao Xiang Qiang: He is the son of brother Zhao, who is already into his third month of rehabilitation. Although only 18 years old, he got addicted with heroin due to influence of friends. He has passed his three week mark. Father and son are now undergoing rehabilitation together!

Ca Heh: A new Lahu inmate at FHL. I was told when he came here, he had only a pair of unzippable pants barely hanging on to him; such was the poverty and neglect from his drug habit. He has passed his two weeks mark and looking much better in proper clothings.

Ah Sia: He is old! Sixty three years in age, and already helping out with the field work after two weeks. He is of the Wa tribe, but we are able to minister to him because he understands Yunannese. I hope the language gap is not too wide for him to understand the Christian faith!

So we have, in addition to the two other inmates who were already here when I left for Singapore, a total of 7 inmates during the present time. There are two other couples, one Yao and the other Akha wanting to come in, which we will most probably accept next month. The only problem is, these couples will be bringing their young children along and we need wisdom to know how to handle them.

Yang San has high blood pressure: Brother Yang San, our cook at FHL, has had a persistent headache for the past one month or so. On a hunch I sent him for a blood pressure checkup and horrors, he had a frigthening high blood pressure of 190/120 mm Hg! He has now been started on medication and his condition is under control. Thank God for His timely intervention, for brother Yang could have suffered a stroke anytime. Pray for the Lord's healing touch on him.

Na Teh and Lao Dah have a lovely daughter, named En Mei. En Mei had an episode of jaundice shortly after birth and had to be re-admitted to the hospital for observation last month, but things have cleared up now and both mother and child are well.

BTW, for those of you who are aquainted with, our dog Ah Huay has ended up on the dinner table because it ate our neighbours' chicken. This is the unpardonable sin for which there is no forgiveness, nay, not even a second chance! This was unfortunate, as I could vouch that it understood human language, and was intelligent. I could not bring myself to eat it and skipped two meals.