anderson dwain becky 1985 thailand

13
News From DWAIN & BECKY ANDERSON Christian Ambassadors to Thailand Field Address: Mr. and Mrs. Dwain F. Anderson P.O. Box 74 Chiang Mai, 50000 Thailand Forwarding Agents: Bill and Margaret Ettling Rt. 2. Box 360 Jackson, MO 63755 Phone: (314) 243-8825 Sending Congregation: First Church of Christ State Street at Marshall FIdorado, IL 62930 aafcaegaffl=gaaafcaafcat=flaaa?Make checks payable to: Christian Ambassadors to Thailandt2:^t=Q=ft3Q:^i=t2=9»£3£:j£:j^=i£fi=&:^- January-February-March, 1985 We're in Thailand! On February 26, after a one-month delay due to visa problems, we arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. How glad we are to be here at last! Esther and Virgilio de los Santos met us at the airport and took us to the-home of David and Deloris Filbeck, where we are staying until the house we plan to rent comes open around April 1st. We want to say thank you to both of these families for their help so far in getting us settled in. James and Virgilio de los Santos, and Dwain and Mark Our first few months will certainly call for Anderson eating in the "night market." making some adjustments and there was one adjustment which started the instant we stepped off the plane. When we left Illinois the weather was very cold with snow on the ground. Thailand, on the other hand, is just beginning the hot season and it was about 95° when we arrived! Our Activities Already we've been keeping busy. We must have looked at 10 or 12 houses before we settled on one. Then there was getting our Thai drivers' license which required two trips to the American Consulate, two trips to the photographers, a trip to the hospital for health certificates, and three trips to the district police station. They tell us that other things such as getting work permits are equally as time consuming. Last weekend (March 10 and 11) I (Dwain) made my first trip to Bangkok. Our shipment of house hold goods from Hong Kong was coming into port and it was necessary to go down to do the

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Page 1: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

News From

DWAIN & BECKY ANDERSONChristian Ambassadors to Thailand

Field Address:

Mr. and Mrs. Dwain F. AndersonP.O. Box 74Chiang Mai, 50000 Thailand

Forwarding Agents:Bill and Margaret EttlingRt. 2. Box 360Jackson, MO 63755Phone: (314) 243-8825

Sending Congregation:First Church of ChristState Street at MarshallFIdorado, IL 62930

aafcaegaffl=gaaafcaafcat=flaaa?Make checks payable to: Christian Ambassadors to Thailandt2:^t=Q=ft3Q:^i=t2=9»£3£:j£:j^=i£fi=&:^-

January-February-March, 1985

We're in Thailand!

On February 26, after a one-month delay due to visa problems, we arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand.How glad we are to be here at last! Esther and Virgilio de los Santos met us at the airport and tookus to the-home of David and Deloris Filbeck, where we are staying until the house we plan to rentcomes open around April 1st. We want to say thank you to both of these families for their help so far ingetting us settled in.

James and Virgilio de los Santos, and Dwain andMark Ourfirst few months will certainly call forAnderson eating in the "night market." making some adjustmentsand there wasone

adjustment which started the instant westepped off the plane. When we left Illinois the weather was very cold with snow on the ground.Thailand, on the other hand, is just beginning the hot season and it was about 95° when we arrived!

Our Activities

Already we've been keeping busy. We must have looked at 10 or 12 houses before we settled onone. Then there was getting our Thai drivers' license which required two trips to the AmericanConsulate, two trips to the photographers, a trip to the hospital for health certificates, and three tripsto the district police station. They tell us that other things such as getting work permits are equally astime consuming.

Last weekend (March 10 and 11) I (Dwain) made my first trip to Bangkok. Our shipment of household goods from Hong Kong was coming into port and it was necessary to go down to do the

Page 2: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

B

Above, our new home, Risht, Sara and Mark ontheir luav to school.

paperwork for it. The two most common ways tomake the trip is by train and by bus. The trainswere all fully booked already, so the other optionwas the night bus. The bus left Chiang Mai at 9 p.m.and arrived in Bangkok about 7:30 the nextmo'rning. The bus was non-stop, so believe me, Iwas ready to stand up a while by the time we got toBangkok! The paperwork all went smoothly, so Icould return to Chiang Mai on the next eveningbus. Our things should be through customs and upto Chiang Mai by the time we move into our house.P.T.L.!

Above, enjoying a snack ofwatermelon after a service in aThai home. Right, the choir ledby Esther de los Santos at theChiang Mai Christian Church.

We praise God that as soon as we arrived, opportunities for service came to us. Becky began teaching anEnglish Bible school class at the Thai church we've beenattending. Last week she had 13 students. I have been ableto preach one time using a translator, and have been askedto preach twice for a youth retreat and also for an EasterSunrise Service in April.

April looks to be a busy month for us and we arelooking forward to it. Several other missionaries haveextended invitations to us to come to the villages wherethey work to see what is being accomplished. We plan tovisit as many as possible. Also, there is a ChristianConference in another province near the end of themonth, and we plan to participate in that as well.

Page 3: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

Truck Purchased

Our decision to stay in Chiang Mai meant that we needed to purchase a truck right away. Somefunds had already been given toward a vehicle, but not enough to pay cash. In checking out thepossibility of borrowing the balance of the money here, we learned that the interest rate would beabout 25-30% per year! We knew that wasn't the solution! We'd like to thank Becky's folks, Claytonand Eleanor Kinsey, for helping us out of this bind. They took out a loan for the purchase of the truckand now we will pay it off in monthly installments.

The truck we purchased is an Isuzu diesel.It has a double cab which means the children

can sit inside. It is a two-wheel-drive ratherthan four-wheel-drive. After talking withsevered others, we decided that for the presentthis was the best (and by far the cheaper) wayto go. In a few days a camper-like top will beadded to it which will allow for the storage oftools, first-aid equipment, etc., and for thecarrying of four to six more people.

The total purchase price of the truck was$7,925, of which $6,500 was borrowed. Thenote is for a period of 3 years, but we reallyhope to be able to pay it off more quickly thanthat. Please pray with us that funds for a

Our new truck. speedy pay-off of this loan will come in.

Thank You

We know that God answers prayers, and we'd like to say "Thank You" for your prayers on ourbehalf. So many of the prayer requests in our last newsletter have already been answered. We praiseGod for that! Please pray with us that God willhelp us make all the adjustments we need to make here.Also that more opportunities for sharing His Word will come and that in sharing the Word it will bearfruit.

For being able to be in Thailand, we are thankful. For the task we have been given, we are thankful.We're thankful, too, that our Father continues to meet our physical needs, and that He does it throughHis people. We want to say thanks to you for your part in that as well.

Please notice our new field address on the heading of this newsletter. If you have any questionsabout our work, or if you just like to write letters, please do write to us. An airmail letter takes abouttwo weeks each direction, so we'll try to answer each letter just as soon as we can. Thanks again! Andmay God bless you as you serve Him.

In His Service,

Dwain & Becky Anderson

Page 4: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

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Printer's note:

Learn more about our world-wide

missions by attending the

38th National MissionaryConvention

to be held September 25-27, 1985 inOrlando, Florida. This can be workedin to a wonderful vacation time for the

whole family in the Orlando area. Makeyour plans now!

For further information, contact:Convention, P.O. Box 11, Copeland,KS 67837; or call (316) 668-5259.

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•=>"! 'NVlSdVO P^irew

38th NATIONAL MISSIONARY CONVENTIONS FLORIDA CHRISTIAN CONVENTION

I WILL DRAW ALLMEN GNTO ME

SEPTEMBER 25-28, 1985

ORLANDO/ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER

ORLANDO. FLORIDA

Page 5: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

News From

DWAIN & BECKY ANDERSONChristian Ambassadors to Thailand

Field Address:

Mr. and Mrs. Dwain F. AndersonP.O. Box 74Chiang Mai, 50000 Thailand

Forwarding Agents:Bill and Margaret EttlingRt. 2, Box 360Jackson, MO 63755Phone: (314) 243-8825

Sending Congregation:First Church of ChristState Street at MarshallEldorado, IL 62930

checks payable to: Christian Ambassadors to Thailandi£gafc?fc3a£aMt=itefeii=ffgBBat

April-May-June, 1985 fDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, fciL a#-

Greetings from Thailand!Since arriving in Thailand in February, we have learned many new things

and have had many exciting experiences. We've also been keeping very busy. Inour last newsletter we mentioned that we planned to do some traveling andvisiting of other mission works during the month of April. That we did and we'dlike to share a bit about our month with you.

A Busy AprilApril's work began with preaching on the fourth and fifth for the two evening

services of a retreat for Thai young people. The young people were fromchurches that Virgilio and Esther dc los Santos work with here in ChiangMai and in a village a few miles away called Mecajun. The first evening's servicewas held here in the compound where the de los Santos family, David andDeloris Filbcck and ourselves live. The next day the group traveled to alakeside campground several miles from Chiang Mai. We were not able toattend the whole retreat because we were also moving into our house duringthose days, but we enjoyed the part we were able to attend.

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The seventh of April was Easter andthe day was celebrated with an EasterSunrise Service held in a park halfway between Chiang Mai and Mecajun. About 25people attended the service whichwas followed by a meal. I was asked to preach forthis service and Becky sang a special forit.

The middle two weeks of the monthSara and Mark were out of school foi^--"hot season" vacation. The hot seasonhere runs from late January through earlyMay at least, and April seems to be thehottest time of all. The sun shines hot and

Easter Sunrise worshippers. April 7, 1985. bright every day without athoughtofrain.By mid-morning the temperature ap

proaches 100® F. and it stays that way until late evening. The school buildings do not have any air conditioningso a vacation is declared. The vacation time is also over the Thai New Year celebration called "Songkran", or"water festival."

This year we used the time to go over to Pua in Nan Province, which is a 7-hour drive from Chiang Mai.Thisarea is where David and Deloris Filbeck and also Imogcne Williams work. The Filbecks had invited us to comesee their work among the Tin people and also to participate in a special two-day service being held in a nearbyTin village for new Christians over the water festival holiday.

Visiting these villages, meeting the Christians there, and participating in the services was a real eye-opener.It was also a real blessing. While we were in the villages we visited in the peoples' homes. We also shared mealswith them after the services and ate what they ate.

I found myself praying a lot more out there. Like the time when I first saw the villagers put that big "wok" fullof water buffalo on to cook for the approaching meal. And then again when I saw the water buffalo and themountain sticky rice all set out ready to eat. You have the doubt of whether the food is good, or ifit willkill you,even though you know you will eat it even if it does kill you.

I prayed too, the first time 15 or 20 people all loaded into the back of the truck (withS or 4 of them standing onthe bumper), prayed that the truck would hold the weight and that the bumper wouldn't fall off! Those are themore humorous times, but I also prayed when for the first time, I cleaned and bandaged a bad burn on a littlebaby's leg, prayed that I knew what I was doing. Also, when I watched a new Christian Mom and Dad cut theBudhist charms off the necks of their two sons. We found this to be a time when we looked to the Lord forstrength (and health) and He did not fail us.

Page 6: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

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Aboveleft you see a mountainvillage near Pua, and above center, a typical homeofthe Tin tribal people. Above right, a mealofwater buffalo, cabbagegeng, andsticky riceeaten in Northern Thai style on the floor! Below left and center, David Filbecktranslates as Dwainpreaches for a specialservice, and Beckyand Deloris Filbeck leadsongsfor thechildren. Far lower right, David Filbeck converses with one ofIheleadersof the Tin church in Bak Lang.

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Becky, Sara and Mark returned to Chiang Mai with Deloris Filbeck on the 15th of April and then DavidFilbeck and I came together on the 16th. The time we spent there had been good.

Sara and Mark had to return to school on Monday, the 22nd, but on that day I set out again for Pua. Thistime two truck loads of us went to attend and participate in a preaching conference held in Pua at ImogeneWilliam's youth hostel, for all the Christians in that area. This conference was quite a large gathering with peopleof several tribal groups as well as Thai people attending. On Friday afternoon Deloris Filbeck and Becky, Saraand Mark surprised us all (a very pleasant surprise to David and I), by coming over to Pua. Our family thenstayed over an extra day so we could once again visit in the area villages and attend the worship service in theTin village of Bak Lang.

On May 2nd, Becky and I both started studying the Thai language here in Chiang Mai. We expect to bestudying for the next several months. Our studies are going very well and we're certain that having studiedCantonese with its sounds and tones and "strange" grammar has helped a lot.

So far, we have had many opportunities for serving here in Thailand. We have participated alongside othermissionaries in work they are doing, and we have seen fruit come from those labors. Over the next few monthswe hope to visit more areas and more of the works others are doing here. During this time we willbe searching,seeking, and praying that God will lead us to the exact place He wants us to begin to work. Please pray with usabout this. Pray that the Lord will open our eyes to the needs in various places and help us know where Hewants us. Pray too, that He will continue to use us now by providing opportunities to work alongside themissionaries here.

We are so thankful that we came to Thailand and we know for sure that we could not be here without the

prayers and financial support of people at home. Thank you for your part in making it possible for us to be here.It is our prayer that God will use us to proclaim His Word and His love in this place. Please pray with us to thisend.

In His service,

Dwain & Bcc/cy Anderson

Page 7: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

News From

DWAIN & BECKY ANDERSON

Christian Ambassadors to Thailand

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Mark, Dwain, Becky & Sara Anderson

Field Address:

Mr. and Mrs. Dwain F. Anderson

P.O. Box 74Chiang AAai, 50000 Thailand

Fonvardlng Agents:Bill and Margaret EttlingRt. 2, Box 360Jackson, MO 63755Phone: (314) 243-8825

Sending Congregation:First Church of ChristState Street at Marshall

Eldorado, IL 62930

checks payable to: Christian Ambassadors to Thajland9HHE3H«MMS35355SHc3HS35

July-August-September, 1985

Goals MetSeveral of our short ranged goals have been realized these past three months, and we praise the Lord for it One of

the things we had wanted to do was to see some more of the works outside of Chiang Maiof our fellowmissionarieshere in Thailand. In early August Dwain spent a weekend in the village of Hui Tat where Sammy Yangmi serves theLord. This is a Lahu tribai village and going there gave him the opportunity to meet several families in the \rillage,see thework being done and also to preach for the Sunday morning worship. In mid-September Dwain went to the village ofWing Heng with Paul Lang. Paul and his wifeCathy serve in this village along with Walter and Jeannette RIdgley. Theirsis a relativelynew area of semce so this trip gave him the opportunity to see and hear about the beginning of the work aswell as to meet some of the new Christians. During that same trip Paul took Dwain to the village of Bing Long whereAlan and Janet Bemo labor among the Chinese. All of these works make use of agricultural programs to help thepeople and so seeing these projects was particularly interesting to Dwain. These trips also gave him a chance to seeand hear how each different missionary presents the gospel message, how they use agriculture and other programs tohelp the people, and how they each have met and overcome obstacles and problems.

Language Study ProgressesOur goals in language study are both short term and long term. We praise the Lord that Dwain has already

completed the printed course work from the language school here in Chiang Mai,which was a short range goal. He hasnow contracted a tutor. They study together three hours per day reading the Bible, learning to tell Bible stories and alsostudying the Thai elementary school reading books. Becky took the month of August off from studying so that shecould be home with Sara and Mark during their summer vacation. She continues to study now at the language schooland will complete the major portion of the course there in a few weeks. We are both grateful that the Chinese studies wehad have been a big help in studying Thai.

More Trips To PuaDuring the past months we have been able to make several more trips to

Pua in Nan province along with David and Deloris Filbeck. Every visit therehas increased our knowledge of the area and people in and around F\ia.Daily life here in Chiang Mai is quite different from lifein the United States,but life in Pua is even farther removed yet! There are times when we canhardly fathom the contrasts.

David and Deloris have made good use of color visual aids andflannelgraph to teach the Bible stories. The village people will set "glued" toa flannelgraph presentation in much the samewaythatfolksinthe U.S.canstay "glued" to an exciting TV. program. July 5-8thwe took along crayonsand copies of a Bible picture to color as well. Although coloring is a

Sunday school children and adults coloringat the church building in Baa Klang near Pua.

Page 8: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

commonplace activityfor kids inthe States, thiswas a real treat in Baa Klang! That Sunday wepassed out crayons and 60 copies of a pictureof Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus to go alongwith the Christmas story. Even some of theadult men wanted to color and did! When everyone was finished we let them show off theirwork. On later trips to Baa Klang we saw thesepictures tacked up to the walls of their bamboohouses. They may have been onlya crayonedpicture but ^ey added a lot of color to theotherwise drab home.

We were so happy to have Jean Montgom-eiy, missionary from Hong Kong, spend 2weeks with us in September, and of course wewanted to take her to see Pua as well. On thattrip, Jean, David Filbeck and Dwain went to seea piece of land some new Christians had purchased for a new village. Dwain tells the story-We rode by pick-uptruck out of Pua up intothemountains for 40 minutes. Then, parking thetruck and leaving some young boys with it towatch it, we began the trip down a mountain tothe site which is beside a river. The beginningof the downward trail was cleared and markedbut the farther we went the worse the trail got. Inthe end we were crawling through the bamboothickets making a trail as we went. The junglewas wet and there were leeches too. Finallyafter about three hours we reached the river,had a quick lunch of stickyrice and geng, andthen went to see the land. The new Christians

met us there so David led in a short dedicationservice. Prayerswere offeredfor the land andfor the families who will make their homes there" that God will bless them with health, prosperityand a greaterknowledge of Him. Weprayedalso that God will make that village to be abright light shining in the jungle for Him.

After the prayer service it was time to startback up to the truck. Wetook a better but longer trail on the way back. Just about the time westarted up it began to pour down rain and Itrained on us all the way up the mountain. Thetrailwas running full ofwater the wholewayandit was slippery. Ittook about 31^ hours of huffing and puffing to reach the truck. For us westerners vJio are accustomed to riding around inour trucks, this trip was quite an experience. Butfor the p>eople who live in villages scatteredthroughout the mountains it is everyday life.Even though daily life is very difficult for thesenew Christians, they have frequently made theeffort to come together with larger gatheringsof Christians. They continue faithful to Christand it is a real encouragement to us in the work.

They are proud to show us their rinished pictures.

Singing during Sunday school at Baa Klang.

Children from Yat Doi, a village near Pua

Our Isuzu diesel double-cab pickup truck.

Page 9: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

A recent fellowship time in the Filbeck's home Left to right - Becky, Dwain,Esther & Virgitio de los Santos. Dauid & Deloris Filbeck

Mark beside a saam-loh (tricycle taxi) loaded with fried banana chips near ourhouse.

Sights Set On PuaWe have been praying specifically about

where to locate and work here in Thailand thesepast several months and have asked others topray with us about it as well. We have visitedseveral areas here in the North and there aremany places that need workers. One waythatwe had prayedisthat Godwouldshowus whereto go by sending us an invitation to a specificarea. God has answered that prayer by givingus invitations to work in and around F*ua fromthree different people in one week's time. Weare thankful for this answered prayer and areexcited about the many possibilities for servicein that area. At this point we plan to beginspending as much time as possible in Pua whilecontinuing with our language studies here inChiang Mai. We want to find a house to rentnear Pua soon so that we can begin to make ahome there and also be able to spend someweekends there as well as the Christmas andhot season school vacations. Then, when Saraand Mark finish their school term here in

Chiang Mai in June '86, we will move over toPua to work there full time. Please pray with usthat God will provide a good harvest of souls asa result of our service there.

Praise, Prayer, and Thanksgiving• Praise the Lord, because of special offerings, wewererecently ableto payan extra $2,500.00 on the loanforour

truck, over and above our regular monthly payments. At the time of purchase of the truck in March we borrowed$6,500.00 in the Statesand set up a 3 yearpaymentplan. The balanceofthe loan nowisabout $3,000.00. Wewouldliketo be able to pay off the balance of the loan early. Please praywith us that God will provide the extra funds needed todo that

• The unsuccessful govemment coup attempt here in Thailand on September 9th has made no perceptibledifference in our daily lives, in fact our families and forwarding agents in the States knew about the coup activitiesbefore we did here in Chiang Mai. Please pray for government stability here and peace along the borders as well.

• We are thankful that our health as a family has generally been good. Please continue to keep our health in yourprayers. Several other missionary families here have recently had health problems, among them hepatitis, dysentery,haemonhagic fever, and malaria.

• Sara and Markare settled into their routines for a new school year and are enjoying their studies. We are thankfulfor this and give God the praise. Sara is in 3rd grade and Mark in 1st grade. Afterour move to Pua nextsummer Beckywill be teaching the children thru a correspondence course. Please begin to pray for Becky and the children now, thatthe transition to the new study routine will go smoothly and that their schooling thru correspondence will be successful.

• Praise God for our progress thus far in language studies and continue to pray that our vocabulary andunderstanding of Thai will continue to grow. Learning a new language is a never-ending process.

• Pray for our future home in Pua. We want to have a room to receive visitors there and stock it with Christianbooks and tracts, scripture tapes and Christian music in Thai and Northern Thai languages.

• The Christmas season, in fact the entire month of December, is an importantwitness and fellowship time for the

Page 10: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

Christians here. Rease prayforthe Christmasprograms and activities inand around Puaand inand around ChiangMaialso.

• As we move to l?uaour own personal expenses will not go up any great amount, but the needs in the work itselfwill be great The Lordhas faithfully taken care ofus and metour needs. Please praythat Hewill continue to do that andwill provide any increase we will need for the work.

• We want to thank Carol Small and the rest of the folks at Capstan, Inc. for their four years offaithfuland excellentservice to us in printing and mailing our newsletters. They are unable to continue that service for us now and we aresoriy to lose their good help. From this issue on our newsletter will be printed by the folks at Mission Services, whopublish the monthly missions magazine HORIZONS and we're thankful for their help as well.

Thank you for your share in the ministry here with us thru your prayers and support

In His Service,

Dwain & Becky Anderson

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Page 11: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

Mark, Dwain, Becky & Sara Anderson

News From

DWAIN & BECKY ANDERSON

Christian Ambassadors to Thailand

Reld Address:Mr. and Mrs. Dwain F. Anderson

P.O. Box 74

Chiang Mai, 50000 Thailand

Forwarding Agents:Bill and AAargaret EttlingRL 2, Box 360Jackson, MO 63755Phone: (314)243-8825

Sending Congregation:First Church of Christ

State Street at MarshallEldorado, IL 62930

checks payable to: Christian Ambassadors to Thanand3gs5CT:^>=g=g:^P^T:^ay:^p=g=g:4y^

October* November* December* 1985

Duringthe past few months wehave had many reasons to praise God and weare seeing more opportunities forserving Himherein Thailand all the time. We have been able to make several more trips to Pua, an average of about two trips per month, and witheach tripwe see more possibilitiesfor preaching and teaching there. We'd liketo share some ofour experiences, ideas, and prayerrequests with you.

DORMITORY PROJECTSince about September wehave been involved inan on-going project to buildand furnish a dormitoryforboys in the "Tin"village

of Baaklang. Baaklang is near F\iaand has itsownelementary school. Manyofthe ullages inthe surrounding mountains, however,have no schools at all or have very poor ones. The Christian men in the church at Baaklang decided they wanted to help thechildren of their relatives and brothers and sisters in Christ to get an education and so came up withthe idea of having a small dorm

in their village. One of the men, Mr.&u, had an old building on a concreteslab which could be repaired and used for this purpose. We have beenhelping them to do that Part of Davidand Deloris Filbeck's program is tohelp with the regular expenses of sending young people to school. Wewere able to help with this particular project by providing the funds torefurbish the building, providing the funds for and supervising theinstallation of electricity, and purchasing materials for beds, cookingutensils, etc. On Januaiy 1st, 1986 a dedication service was held for the

'David and Dwain sharing a meal vrith the *Tin' Christianswhile woridng on the dormitory."

"The boys who will live in the dorm, Mr. Sau, Mr. Lot, DavidRlbeck and Dwain at the dedication service."

Sombun, a Bible school studenL putting the insulator on an electric pole for thedormitory."

"Suan and Sorasak, Bible school students, wiringthe hxays' dorm in Baaklang.'

Page 12: Anderson Dwain Becky 1985 Thailand

new dorm withVirgiiio de los Santos preaching and now the dorm is home to five boys. ByAmerican standards this dormitory isvery humble indeed. Itis made ofbamboo and thatched roofingmaterial -- verysimple •• but our prayerIsthat Godv/ill use itto bringmany of the "Tin" people to Himself.

We praise God forthis opportunity not onlybecause we could help bysupplying the funds and supervision needed but even moreso because it is a result of the faith and vision of the Christians in Baaklang.

NEW VILLAGE

In early December the Rlbecks and ourselves made a six day trip to Pua. t/j rpifiiBoth December 5th and 10th were Thai holidays so itmeant we could stay jflfcUlonger and Sara and Mark wouldn't need to miss that much school. We chose oHHthis time because the mountain roads were beginning to dry up and we couldget to places that we hadn't been able to get to earlier. On Saturday morning 1^.. BDavid, two "Tin" Christian men, Mr. Sau and Mr. Lot, and myself went to thevillage of Mesanan. None of ushadeverbeentothisvillagebefore. Infactonlywithin the past few months has the village even had a road going to it- and thisroad isn't much more than a path. f V I

As we pulled into the village it seemed as if God was leading. Immediately 7 .4upon arriving in the village we asked for the headman, which is the customaryand proper way to enter into a new village. The people told us that theheadman was oif up the mountain helping to bring a sick man back to thevillage. From where we were standing we could see the group with the sickman coming down the mountain over a mile away so we went to bring themback to the village in the pickup truck. Thisgaveusanopportunitytohelpthevillagers, meet the headman, and win a favorable hearing for \N^atwe had tosay. it seemed as if God had opened that door especially for us! . . ^

Most of the people in Mesanan had never heard about Jesus. Iasked one the Tin^anguage"°'̂ ^^^^ ^ ospe o mmanif he knew about Jesus and he said. "No, who is he?" We spent severalhours that day \^siting and teaching in the homes of the people and prayingwith the sick man and his family. David and the Christian men with us also handed out some copies of the Gospel of Mark in the"Tn" language for them to read later on. Our prayer is that God will bless the seed which was sown that day and that many peoplefrom Mesanan will come to Him. Please keep this village and these people in your prayers.

CHRISTMAS 1985

Christmas this year was very busy for all the workers here since the celebration of our Savior's birth is stretched out over a twoweek (or longer) period. The church here inChiang Mai had its main program on December 22nd with a dinner,specialworshipservicefor vhich Iwas asked to preach, a specialmusic presentation bythe students ofthe Bible Institute along with the missionarywives directed by Esther de los Santos, a play by the students, and finally a gift exchange. We had a good evening with an

0WS.'I91

"The Bible Institute Choir singing at Mecajun."

L'S.

"Singing 'Deep &Wide' during a worship service in a Christian home atYawt Doi,"

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attendanceofabout 80. On December26thand 29ththe groupfromChiangMai made tripstothevillages ofMewan andMecajunto celebrate Christmas there, in both places there was a meal along withspecial preaching and a musical presentation bythe BibleInstitutestudents. Estherand Virgilio de los Santos have works inboth of these villagesand the special Christmas services were wellattended. Programs like these make great opportunities for reaching out into the community.

On December 30th three truck loads of us, about 20 people plus baggage inall,made the seven hour trip to Pua. We leftChiangMai in the moming and arrived in Pua by mid-aftemoon. Afterwe unloaded the trucks and freshened up a bit we allwent to theMongtribalchurch in Baaklang for a special presentation bythe studentchoirand players. Weweretreated bythe young people ofthe church with a meal before the program. Thatevening the students played to a fullhouse - infact thewhole church buildingandabout halfthe church yardwerefull of people. On Mew Year's Evewe had a specialallevening program at the "Tin" church inBaaklang. We began at 6 pm witha meal, then had singingand the playbythe students and then finishedup byshowingthe movie"Jesus" inThai to a huge crowdinthe yard beside the church building. To these folksprograms such as these are a realtreatandare veiywell receivedand attended. Theyare a great opportunityforteaching about the one true God and HisSon Jesus Christ Wehad intended to have a special program up at the villageof YawtDoi on January 1st, as well,but partly because we couldn't find aworking generator for electricityand partlybecause we were advised against drivinginthe mountains late at night due to possiblecommunist activity, wecouldn'thave the program. Instead, Davidand 1went up to Yawt Doiduring the daytime to visita bitand thencame back down to Pua before dark. There were many rumors going around about trouble and the Thai army had set up a newcheckpost on the road to Yawt Doi so there must have been some truth to the rumors.

In ail, we had a great Christmas season. We praise God for theopportunities for teaching and presenting the Gospel throughsong and the movie"Jesus." There is so much to be done! Pleasekeepthese things inyourprayers. FYayespeciallyforcontinuedstability in the area around Pua that we may continue to travel and teach freely.

BITS, PIECES, AND PRAYER REQUESTS

• Somewhere, somehow, in all our travels and special meals over Christmas, 1(Dwain)ended up withTyphoid Fever. 1wassick for several days but, praise the Lord, am doing fine now.

• We believe that the purchase of a small generator, film projector, and sound system would be a good tool for evangelism.There are several Christian mo>^es in Thai and there are some films on health and hygiene which would benefit the people as well.Films alwaysdraw large crowds in the mountain villagesand are good chances to preach and teach. Please praywithus atoutthedecision of vdiether to make this purchase or not

• We have been searching for a house to rent in Pua. So farwe have not found onethough there are some possibilities. Pleasepray that God will lead us in finding the right house.

• Very shortlywe need to make a final decision on exactly v^at correspondence course to use for Sara and Mark for nextschool year. Please pray that the Lord will lead in this decision.

• Both Becl^ and 1will continue to study Thai for the next three to four months. Praythat God will help us to leam the thingswe need to leam to communicate well with the Thai people.

• Pleasepray, too,forthe gospel seed sownduringallthe Christmas programs. FYay that the Lord will bringforth a bountifulharvest from the sowing of His word.

• A complete financial statement for 1985 will be sent out shortlyto allour supporters. Anyothers interested in receiving acopy of the statement may do so by contacting our forwarding agents. Bill & Margaret Ettling.

We are veiy thankful that we can be here in Thailand. We thank God for allowing us to be here and we want to thank you foryour part in our work, too. We covet your prayers.

In His Service,

Dwaln & Becl^ Anderson