From: Gloria Drahn
Date: Sunday, October 7, 2018 at 10:21 AM
September 2018 Gaanyahyone 2561
Greetings from Nahm Hoo, Pai Thailand. It has been a very full month. Lots of Rain..leaving everything so colorful. Marigolds- 4 feet tall! Every time I take the 3 hr van drive to Chiang Mai, I remember why I love Thailand. The rich green and variety of very tall trees of every description and the deep blue skies with intense white cumulus clouds. It is beautiful here…..a little bit of Heaven.
I love the written Word of God. . I am generally familiar with it. Since my Baptism in the Holy Spirit about 50 yrs ago, I have read through it at least 13 X ( Once a year at 3 chapters a day). Perhaps because I cannot seem to memorize verses, I believe that is why God gave me a unique gift. During my quiet time He will just drop numbers, then books into my mind for me to search out. I call this my “Treasure Hunt,” which I continue to access with the thought that with disuse, I might lose the gift. When I returned to the Christian community, the verses, which I memorized as a child were just words without any connection to anything. These daily “drops “have become diamonds, precious jewels which usually speak to me about personal needs or current situations. Today He gave me a lot..more than usual. Connections were obvious. So if you feel led, check them out. Psalm 23 (which I did remember because my grandma taught it to me before I was 5 but I thought that 2 nice ladies, Shirley and Mercy were going to follow me all the days of my life.) Psalm 43, 41, 16 and,3; John 3:20; Is. 3:13; Jer.5:12(11-18), Hosea 8:8. J
PTL: Saturday English Classes are halted until school vacation is over the first of Nov. Saturday I tested the classes and was amazed at the ones who have actually learned some basics. It has been a very full month. With contributions we have purchased T shirts, 5 skirts and 5 dresses so that the worship performances are very attractive. Malee is a great choreographer and does English songs as well as Thai. While collecting the offering the children sing “thank you thank you, Jesus” in Thai, Lisu, English, and Chinese. (Northern Thailand is next to China and there are Chinese migrants, and families in the Lisu tribes.)
PTL: The very day our last letter left in the mail requesting prayer for a badly needed truck to transport the 25 children to and from 4 schools daily, Pastor felt led to check out a new truck in CM. After prayer and consideration, they decided to commit to purchasing a new one. So he, one of the girls and I went down to CM to pick it up. I stayed a few days while they returned to Pai.
RE: money. Thank you for your gifts last month. After we finished getting the shirts and dresses to present the worship songs, we were able to fully cover 7 of the children who have had no relative’s support for food etc. (1000 BT $30)for each of them. Malee hopes the relatives will either bring food or contribute $15/mo. for the child left at the Church. In Thailand a child is considered an orphan when his/her father dies and basically that is true. The mother either has to work( often with no skills) to provide or to quickly remarry. The mother of the 3 with us this vacation has been through 3 marriages so far. Very unsafe place for a teenage girl who is valued as a servant to help mother with the new baby while schooling is not important. Or in a divorce when neither parent wants to take the child, they are left with older grandma, or aunts or uncles. One young child was left with an aunt and uncle who then divorced and he was then left with the alcoholic uncle. A few of the children are with Nahm Hoo because they live far in the mountains where education is only available up to the 4th grade.
Besides the colorful outfits your gifts have made possible, we have been able to help install 2 large septic tanks (Badly needed with 27 people using one small one and having to empty it 2X a month PU! And still we had a few $ left to give toward a wall. Money goes a long way in Thailand.
PTL: And thank you… for the 10 small Gideon English New Testaments with Psalms. They will be used.
PTL: The mornings that Malee is free she comes and we pray and study the Bible in Thai and English. With 25 children she stays pretty busy, needless to say. When I think of her, I think, “there was an old woman who lived in the shoe, She had so many children she didn’t know what to do..?” What did she do..I am not sure? spank them all and put them to bed??
PRAYER: First on the list are the children returning to “homes” less than ideal and usually not Christian. The positive thing might be that a child who has accepted Jesus will be able to lead/ influence or be an example to unbelieving adults. The negative: we pray that they are protected and have angelic protection when needed.
PRAYER: Of the 10 new students, at least 4 are not on board. One serious obstacle is that negative influence is being fostered by the pastor’s own son.,8 yrs. Feeling left out of the “loved circle”, angry, mean spirited. He is very bright but he either isolates himself, stirs up trouble, or assumes privileges not shared by all and all his behavior seems to go unnoticed. Today I think I angered Malee by swatting him as he was refusing to co-operate in prayer time. Earlier I had removed a nail clip with a knife inside which he had pointed at one child, then at, himself and then begun to dig at the grout in the tiles. Even in school he seems to see himself “Less Than”. I’m going to begin to proclaim the scriptural promises over him that I do my own sons. Nothings too hard for our Father. A year ago he was involved with Pokémon toys. I tried to bring that problem to the parent’s attention, but it is almost like that spirit is operating. Prayer is. Family leaves for the mountains to be with Malee’s parents for 3 weeks that the parents will shower genuine love and affection on both children and observe and put boundaries on him… A time of healing/deliverance for him.
PRAYER: That I stick with my physical therapy exercises till fingers respond properly without pain.
PRAYER: I will have 3 of the children visit me daily this week and then the final 4 days after I return from my week vacation in CM. Prayer= It is a fun and learning experience for all. These three have been here from the beginning and are fun kids. I really would like to a) teach them how to journal an b)I’d like to learn the Lord’s Prayer in Thai. Besides having fun that it is a learning experience for all 4 of us.
PRAYER: Continue praying for the 3 without papers. While in Chiang Rai, I learned that if in school a child can have a 10 year “documented citizen card”. Malee said the oldest one had one, which I accepted but then discovered it could only be used for school activities with her present teacher. So we are back to the drawing board on that request.
Happy October. God is still in charge!!! J I have a rt ticket at a great price. Arriving in the USA.. SF Dec 14 and leaving Feb. 16. Hope to see some of you then. XXO
Send any checks in my name to Sunny Drahn 1660 Wynoochee Way, Petaluma CA 94954. While I’m home we will be looking into using the internet for her to deposit them. Not ready to do my banking like that. I just figured out how to look up my balance. Sorry I am technically handicapped.. from the “Typewriter generation” God Bless! GWD
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