Dec09 Web Newsletter

IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK THESE DAYS THERE ARE PEOPLE TRYING TO BUILD THEIR OWN KINGDOMS. They erect monuments to themselves, manipulate to control others and continually crave power. As I travel the world I constantly see this in governments, organizations and even within the Church. As I have been reading the book of Daniel, it puts it all in perspective: The only kingdom that will stand is God’s Kingdom. There is only one Lord and Savior and that is Jesus Christ. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. While men may vie for positions and power and try to manipulate others for their own purposes, we can rest knowing that God will have the final say. This gives me comfort in a world that has spun out of control. Although the Moslems and Communists try to advance their kingdoms, only one kingdom will stand forever. Everything we do should be to further God’s kingdom; to see Jesus Christ exalted in this world, because that is all that will last. It’s a reminder of my responsibility to be about the Father’s business and to seek His will, plan and purposes, not my own. On our last trip to SE Asia this reality was brought back to me. We were blessed to be able to deliver several loads of Bibles to our contacts in closed countries. It was encouraging to see the tribal pastors from remote villages that receive the Bibles from us, and hear their stories of how the Church is growing. Yet there is a great need for many more Bibles. The joy on their faces as they receive the Bibles makes the whole trip worth it.

IT IS ALWAYS AMAZING HOW GOD GETS THE TEAM THROUGH CUSTOMS. When you have a large team like we had, everyone has a story. Some walk right through without being noticed, while others are stopped, their bags searched, they are questioned and then God miraculously intervenes. Others testify of distractions the Lord provides so the materials can be safely delivered. No matter how much you try to prepare the team when the moment of truth comes, it’s them and Jesus and they have to depend on Him. He is always faithful!

The team was able to travel to Northern Thailand and visit the Karen refugee camps. It was a life-changing experience. I was shocked to see how close the Burmese border is to the camps and to see where soldiers patrol and have occasionally shot at people by the riverside. We were warned not to wander down to the river. We visited the camp and met the Karen pastor. He greeted us and began sharing his personal

refugees who keep arriving. Children were given a bag of rice and when they had to flee with just the clothes on their back, they would at least have something to eat as they fled. When the people are captured by the Burmese army, men and women are forced to become porters and carry supplies. Men are made mine sweepers which usually results in death. Some children at the orphanage think their parents are still alive, but they have been killed by the Burmese army. One child’s mother was shot dead by the Burmese army. The father was burned alive in front of the child. The child was found grieving beside the body of the father and taken to an orphanage. The Buddhist army is attacking the Karen and the Burmese army is backing the Buddhist’s up. They want to wipe all Karen especially the Christians off the face of the earth. We have heard reports that 60% of the Karen are Christians.

testimony. He was an 8 year old boy when he fled Burma to live in the jungle with his mother and 12 year old sibling. Through broken English he communicated how they lived for years in threat of attack from the Burmese Army. He said how difficult it was for them just to survive in the jungle – thrashing through it to find a safe home and food to eat while continuing to hide from the Burmese soldiers. You can tell he loves the Lord Jesus and is devoted to his congregation. The team distributed candy to the children as we walked to their church building. The church was a tall rectangular hut and you could easily see through portions of the walls. Many of the team members began unloading and sorting donated clothing. The service began with about 75 men, women, children, and infants in attendance. Through a translator the team performed a short program. The people who gathered for the church service seemed shy and reserved. Only a few smiles appeared on their faces. It seemed like our joy and light hearts were out of place there, but I noticed that during worship the heaviness lifted a little; people’s spirits opened up. Their worship was so tender. We then prayed for these precious people individually. It is a comfort to know that even though we do not understand each other’s language God still hears and He answers prayers. When the rice bags were distributed to each family, often only one child comes forward. In these instances we are left to wonder if they are the only one left in their family. Several families did not attend the service for fear of being detected while our team was there. One young man we met was blind and has no hands. I was told that Burmese soldiers handed him a grenade and said that if he could make it not detonate that he would be allowed to live. They laughed as he tried frantically to make it not blow up. The grenade exploded in his face, blinding him and blowing off his hands. He works now as an evangelist to his people winning them to Christ. The 200 families in the area have built huts of wood or bamboo with thatched roofs. They lack basic necessities, and many will starve if help is not given. Some were forced to come here when the camp they were in came under rocket and mortar fire. Many fled in the rainy season and there were many leeches. Three families in the village take care of the

IN 2010 ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD, SO ATTACKS ON THE KAREN HAVE TRIPLED. The Burmese army has burned the Karen rice fields. They are capturing the men and boys and making them their slaves and porters. They rape and kill the women by setting them on fire. One young boy inside Burma was not doing will emotionally. The Christians were able to get him out of there. His mother had been gang raped, burned alive and left for dead in a rice field and it traumatized him. The Christians are trying to get the most traumatized kids out of Burma first. In Thailand it is not legal to have a refugee camp. The people in the camps have no identification, and therefore cannot get help from the Thai government. After the Christians got the little boy to Thailand, they needed to get him into the refugee camp orphanage. As the Christians took the little boy through a gated area, the soldiers never saw him as he entered. The people, especially the Karen orphanage, need to be moved to a safer area farther away from the Burma border. Please pray as land has been provided and almost all funds have been raised for them to begin construction of a new facility; only Thai government approval is needed. Our contact in Thailand is presently meeting with Thai officials to get them to this safer area.

THE THREAT OF THE BURMESE ARMY ATTACKING IS STILL VERY REAL. Three Burmese soldiers were seen the night before our team arrived prowling around on the Thailand side of the border. We were told to get out of the area before dark as the Burmese soldiers come at night, stop cars, steal the valuables, and rape the women. The road was close to the river, and just on the other side was Burma. Testimonies of the people, even the children, broke my heart. Soldiers plant land mines around the villages. Once a snake just ahead of a man touched off a land mine and saved his life. The Karen had farms, but now they are starving because they cannot get food. The Burmese army has ruined their rice crops. They are dependent upon the food supplies they receive from our contact to survive. Only a few people are protecting the villages. One village, which was full of women and children, was attacked six times. Every child in the orphanage has a different story to tell of bombs, shootings,

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rape, torture and murder. One girl was gang raped and hung upside down. The children are afraid of men in black. The Burmese soldiers make a game of tossing babies in the air and seeing if they can spear the falling infants on the end of their bayonets. Thousands of people are fleeing. Many are fearful and hiding in the jungle. The villagers have no weapons for defense and the few soldiers guarding them are Christians. Thai soldiers heard about a foreign woman who was teaching the children and came to arrest her. She surrendered her life to God. They looked all over for her, but did not find her because the only area they did not check was the building and very room she was in. But the Karen persevere in God. The children at the refugee orphanage are up at 4 am and have devotions for two hours. Then they clean their living area. They get two meals a day. In the evening from 6:30 – 8:30 pm they have worship. As we have witnessed, these precious orphans worship the Lord with all their hearts. Patrick Klein and staff

As we have witnessed, these precious orphans worship the Lord with all their hearts.