I have been asked to give an update on what everyone is up to again. So, here it goes!

I don’t get to hear from Ben very often since his computer crashed, but he did call me last week and he told me that he has taught himself how to do computer programming. He was interested in that subject, so he bought a good book, studied for a few months, and then wrote a Karen typing program. One night he got so into his programming that he forgot to go to bed, and was surprised by the bell calling the students to class the next morning. Only then did he remember that he was supposed to have gone to sleep! Ben found a creative way to get around his rice problem. He found that the mountain people grow millet to make beer out of. It is not like the millet that you are used to, it looks a lot like rice actually. So, he cooks that up and eats it just like rice, and most people cannot tell the difference. He also planted a huge sweet potato crop, and is looking forward to a big harvest this year. The Karen, who look down on eating anything but rice, are facing wide spread starvation this year, since the rain came too late to be able to plant the rice fields. They had enough water for about 1/3 of the fields, so I am praying that the Lord would increase the yield of those fields by 3! I am also hoping that they notice the fact that Ben is eating well, even though he cannot eat rice.

Andrew is here visiting right now, but he has to go back to Cambodia this weekend. He is still teaching at Wat Preah Yasu, and really enjoys it. He is a natural at teaching and he really enjoys the kids. He told me that sometimes the kids like to take his backpack that he keeps all his teaching stuff in. So, for a punishment he gives them an extra math problem. It is always the same math problem also! It is: student + teachers bag = 0 score x 10! He says that the students always seem to be able to solve that problem really fast by depositing the bag back on the desk where it belongs! Andrew has gotten really good at computer stuff, and if we have any computer problems, like virus’ that wipe out the whole system, Andrew can fix it really fast, and make it run better than before. Needless to say, Roy was quite impressed since Andrew was able to fix his after it crashed at Faith Camp.  My students were thoroughly prepared by Travis to meet Andrew. He had told them all about his short, fat brother! When they met him, they were confused at first, since Andrew is anything but short or fat! But everyone had a good laugh. (Andrew had put himself on a budget that made him lose 15 pounds, which he could not afford to lose! )  Now they all just refer to him as Mr. Talkative. We sure are going to miss him when he goes back.

Jason is teaching English at the Sunshine Orchard Children’s Home and Learning Center. He teaches 7 English classes per day, which is a lot for someone who uses words as sparingly as Jason does! He also helps with the orphans, and medical work when necessary. Jason loves to be useful, so he is enjoying it immensely. The other night, Paul was taking care of MemeWah at the hospital, when she started having difficulty breathing. He called the nurses, but what they did was not helpful, and MemeWah continued to have trouble. So, the school was called and ALL of the students prayed from 1 a.m. until morning. Jason did more than pray. He jumped on his motor bike, drove the 2-3 hours to the hospital, and spent the entire night doing hot and cold fomentations on MemeWah. Then, he jumped back on his motor bike and got back to school in time to teach the next day. That is just the way Jason is. (the fomentations helped her a lot, and she is doing fine now) Yesterday I gave a sad update on MemeWah, but it appears that I might have spoken too soon. When Jason came to help take care of her, she began talking! She can talk just fine, although somewhat quiet. Jason says that she is also starting to lift her head a little. He thinks that she just did not talk since nobody there spoke her language, and she was weak from lack of food. Before going to see her, Jason cooked a bunch of food, and took it with him. She was THRILLED! They had kept her on a liquid diet for a long time, and she was starved. When Jason called, he was feeding her, and she kept eating and eating and eating. Then he called back several hours later, and she was eating again, and asking him to go and buy her some corn! And the good news is that Micah has agreed to come and teach English for Jason for a couple of weeks so that Jason can take care of MemeWah until she is stronger.

Travis is my head teacher here at the training school. We just made a new schedule, and he is busy from morning until night. He teaches English and Math and piano and typing and art! Plus, he does a lot of work around the place, and he is learning Karen much faster than I am. Several weeks ago, we lost one of our students since his Dad came to get him. It turned out that the village that Travis had been teaching in is now being threatened by the Burmese army. The principal of the school decided to get her son from us so that if they have to run to the refugee camp, he would be with them. I am just so thankful that Travis is already back at home and not having to dodge enemy snipers! God was looking out for Travis even when we did not understand the danger that he was in.

Roy is also busy. He is in charge of the work program, and spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to make nice things out of practically nothing. He teaches bible each evening, and conducts all the worships. He also helps with the students and our little girls, which can be a full time job when I am teaching. He does bible studies on different subjects with the students when he notices a need. He also spends a lot of time planning how to lay out the grounds, and making long range goals. His favorite responsibility is probably play time with the kids! It doesn’t take much arm twisting to get him to go and play soccer or volleyball with the kids. It didn’t take the students long to learn to love “Daddy” as they call him.

Me?  Well, I don’t have a lot to tell you about me. I just teach, and plan, and change diapers, and wipe noses, and listen when a listening ear is needed. Then, I write and tell you all about it.