lum yai

The crowd went wild after cell group tonight, when a friend brought in four grocery bags of lum yai, a sweet Thai fruit. We filled up the garbage can with peels and pits, and left the zone smiling!

Meet Nok

I'd like you to meet my good friend, P'Nok!

Nok is a Christian who usually worships at the Payap church on Sundays. We met through my friend, Gade, who thought it would be good for the two of us to spend time together and study English. I've been really blessed with Nok's expressions of faith in our lessons. She is filled with love for the children she works with at "House of Love" in Chiang Mai, an orphanage for children with HIV. It's a difficult and wearing job, but Nok finds refreshment in her journey with God, an encouraging testimony to His presence that others in Thailand need to see! Please join me in prayer for her endurance and rest in the Lord.

send offs

It's been the season of farewells lately.

I said good-bye to Amy, Melody, and all of our other Chinese friends last week. They left from the Zone early on the morning of July 5th. It's been surreal. Whenever we turn the corner on campus coming back to the Zone after lunch, we expect to see our friends in uniform buying fruit or bread on the corner...then we remember they're in China again. We are so thankful for the time we were able to spend with them, as well as for the time they are now able to spend with their families and friends in China.

Here's a picture of the students leaving in red taxis from nearby the Zone. We miss them! Please pray for our friends with us, for the seeds planted in their hearts and for God's message of love to continue to reach them in China.

Mit, one of the Malaysian interns, left on Monday morning to prepare for attending university in Singapore soon. He is such an inspiration to all of us in how fervently he loved people, studied language, and spent time in the presence of God. He truly shines in so many ways and we are excited for him to be salt and light in Singapore! Mit is the first to head home of our team of nine...

...and Grace, from Singapore, is the second. This lovely, talented, natural leader leaves to spend time in America with friends before also beginning university in Singapore. It's been my absolute joy to be her roommate during this time, and am amazed at how much I've learned from from her. She is wise, motivated and talented.

The rest of the interns (five from ACU/Harding, one from Malaysia, and an LST team of three) have just about a month left, with plenty of parties and other activities planned in that time! Thank you for remembering us in prayer!

Meet Melody and Amy

I would love for you to take a minute to become acquainted with two of my very dear friends, Melody and Amy. They are both Chinese, and have just completed a program studying Thai at Payap University in Chiang Mai. In the nine months they were here, they came by the Christian Zone for many parties and activities and built relationships with our intern team, Robert (the missionary at Payap) and christians and non-christians that spend time at the Zone.

Melody has a beautiful spirit. She was always asking me how I was doing and sharing food or sweets she bought from the street-side vendors. She's had a really difficult childhood, struggling to survive and manage a household in the absence of her parents, who had to move to the city to work and support the family. This picture was taken at her birthday party last month, the first party she's ever had on her birthday. Although her circumstances have been incredibly difficult, she is a deeply joyful and resilient woman! I have learned a lot from her strength, independence, and positive attitude. She learned a lot from her LST teacher Phil, and continued those discussion in classes with me. She connected with the idea that God is our father, as she really misses hers and longs for reconnection.

I share a heart with Amy. We connected over and over again in our reading sessions, and I was awed to watch her emotionally and intellectually connect with what she was reading. She wonders why, if God made her and loves her deeply, that she is just hearing about Him now. She, Melody and I watched a movie from the gospel of John together, and I deeply enjoyed watching her have "wow" moments, particularly when Jesus fed the 5,000 followers and when he washed the disciples' feet. Amy says she doesn't know about becoming a christian, what that will mean for her life and if she can commit to it, but she wants to think about it.

Would you please pray for my friends with me? They are dear to my heart, and my attempts at contacting them in China have not been successful. I realize we may not be able to have free discussions about subjects regarding faith, but just to talk to them would be sweet.

Thank you.