Sharon's first prayer request is pretty serious. Sharon ministers to Karen refugees that live in camps in Thailand. The Karen (pronounced car-en) are an ethnic group from Burma (Myanmar). The thug government of Myanmar has instituted a policy of ethnic cleansing against these people (link).

"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise", says the Lord, "I will set him in the safety for which he yearns."  Psalm 12:5

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

1. URGENT!  The plan of the Burmese government for 2009, from now until June, is to terminate the Karen in the Karen State in Burma.  The army's whole effort is to accomplish this evil goal before their 2010 "sham" election!  Pray that God will thwart this evil intention and protect all of the Karen who have been fleeing this evil army for 60 years in a miraculous way, that all will see His hand of protection & He will get all of the glory!

2. Please pray for De Sunshine's family - he brought them from trying to survive in the jungle to the refugee camp, where they will have education, health care, food, etc.  When he went to visit them, they had sent some things ahead & were packed & ready to go to a relocation site in Burma, under Burmese control, where there is constant persecution & oppression - they could not survive in the jungle anymore.  Please pray for their safety, etc.  We will be helping his nephews & nieces with their education in the camp. Please pray for the rest of his family too - none are Christians & survive through alcohol.  It is a very abusive situation for his younger sister, so we are praying & trying to help her by coming to Pa La U.  Please pray the Lord will help us with all necessary arrangements and permissions.  Thank you!

3. God is answering your prayers for Moe Moe Aye's eyesight - she is studying again at the Bible school, taking her exams, & finished the cross-stitch bookmarks she was making before surgery for her nurses at the hospital!  We will be taking Moe Moe Aye to see her mother, who is several hours away & in a place we have never been to before.  Her mom brought her to Thailand to get help & has not seen her since her surgery.  She was able to see her once before surgery & tell her that she had become a Christian.  She wants to share the Gospel with her mom this time, so she will be saved too.  Please pray all will go smoothly, that we will be able to see her for a good amount of time, and that she will open her heart to receive the Good News that Moe Moe Aye will share with her!

PRAISE REPORTS

1. De Sunshine/Po Rah, my youngest Karen son, has returned to the fold & is serving the Lord with us again at Pa La U!  He has taken driving lessons to help me with driving to the various ministry places I need to go, has been helping finish building my bamboo house in Pa La U, and working together in all the many ways he is needed.  What a wonderful praise to the Lord for answered prayer - never give up on praying for your "prodigal" children or family - God will answer in His time & way - praise the Lord!!

2. Derrick visited from Harvest Riverside & was a great blessing!  He helped build my bamboo house & visited Jee Lin & his family that we've helped as we can & asked what they needed.  The Lord had just blessed them with their own house after being moved around for over three years & living with another family for over two years.  Derrick looked at the situation & asked what they needed.  They needed plates, eating utensils, cooking pots, a stove to cook on, etc.  He provided all of those for them, then asked if they needed anything else.  They said they would really like to have cement around their house so Jee Lin, who is blind, could walk around without getting in the mud during the rainy season (six months of the year), and for the wheel chair for their cerebral palsy daughter, Naw Apple.  He bought all of the needed supplies, then Pee See & the students from the Pa La U Bible school went to make & pour the cement for them.  It was not only a blessing for this family, but a wonderful example for Derrick of how the Lord can use us to bless someone so much just by coming here to visit & see the needs!  

It is very hard for me to describe some things, especially how the Lord is so totally in control of all He has called me to do!  There is no way I can keep up with, or keep track of all that is needed, yet God is faithful to put it all together & remind me of critical things - like it's time to renew my visa for the next year!  After asking for prayer for the Lord to go before me to get all the things done that needed to be done in the one day I was going to Bangkok for my follow-up appointment for my foot doctor, and shared the verse in Matthew 6:8, that "the Lord knows all things before we ask Him", I looked at my calendar & saw that my visa needed to be renewed the next day!  I was already overwhelmed, so this was "over the top" because it involves going to the bank to get a letter first, then going to immigration, where there are hundreds of people waiting in line.  It is a four hour trip to get to Bangkok from Pa Las U, but the Lord provided Chris, Derrick, and Pee See to help, & all was done, with a new visa for anther year, by 7pm - we  were back in Pa La U at 10:30pm praising the Lord for His help & faithfulness!

I know all of the prayers you pray for & with us are what gets us through all situations here - I cannot thank you enough - you are a vital part of this ministry & God's precious team - thank you so very, very much for your much needed prayers to keep us strong- especially in the Lord!!!! 

By His grace for His glory,

Sharon