Dear Friends and Family,

Well, it's been a long time since we've chatted.  Things have not been slow here, on the contrary, but we have had a mischevious Mac and an ingenuous generic that have conspired to limit our communication.  I'm sorry to say we cannot yet send pictures.

May I tell you about last week?  We had three gents from NY come to see us.  Pastor Ed Irwin, Bob White, and Nate Palmer were here.  It was a busy time as the day after they arrived a friend of mine, Sithan, died at the age of sixty from spleen problems.  He was a local associate pastor and my language teacher.  Brethren from many churches participated in the funeral.  Pastor Ed went with me.  Later, Bob played his guitar at a pastor's meeting at the Ho Ang Restaurant. He also played at the Kampong Cham and Suong fellowships and for the children's Khmai language school.  I think I need to think through the theological implications of "Do the Hokey Pokey."

Nate said he liked the hamburger at the only foreign restaurant in town (we now have two foreign restaurants).  I didn't tell him it was a Cebu cow.  He came down with a rash while he was with us but I don't think there was a connection to the cuisine.

Ed spoke at both churches.  I told him it was a good message, but I wasn't sure it was the one I told them.  My translations are getting closer to the real thing all the time.  I told you what my Irish grandmother, Grandma Clark always used to say, didn't I? "Why ruin a good story by tellin' the truth?"  This too, may need some theological consideration.

When taking the group to a temple I offered an elderly lady a ride to the bottom of the hill.  I was a little thoughtless however when she tried to step down from the truck bed. I forgot she was still with us and almost dumped her out at the bottom of the hill.  Grandma Clark also used to say: "The good Lord watches over drunks and fools."   Actually, Grandma was a great lady of faith, but those are stories for a different time.

Some miscellaneous blessings/observations: our neighbor has a very smelly pond under her house.  She brought us a stuffed rice roll this week and apologized for the stench.

Another day, one of the little ones that come to our school, offered Srenghoot, another student, a choice of snack from either hand.  Srenghoot was very polite and took the smaller grasshopper.  She smiled as she popped it in her mouth. As the Khmai don't drink milk very much, this is a good calcium supplement.

The father of Dawee is a landmine victim.  Their shack is right next to the sidewalk.  He motioned me to come over a couple of weeks ago. He wanted to tell me something.   He was in need of a shirt.  Well, I'm smaller than he is, but Bob White had a shirt he didn't need and now Davee's dad has a long sleeve shirt.  Some of the children here still have shirts given to them by the medical team last year. 

Please pray for the folks along the river.  As the water from the Mekong River rises they have no place to put their shacks.  The land they used every year has been appropriated by the government for a building project.

There are a couple of other problems for which we could use your prayer.  Marie's grandmother is very sick. We went to see her twice recently.  This is the lady who said she hates Christianity.  She let us pray for her last week.  Her legs are swollen and she is in pain.  Marie has had to quit our development group as a result. She is busy helping the family. As she was our only seamstress after Ming Churup and Ming Aeneat found jobs, the sewing projects in Kampong Cham are on hold.

Our other request is for sister Ti in Suong village.  We are missing sixty to seventy dollars from the offering account.  She says her estranged husband came and took it, but the facts and her story don't seem to converge at all the same corners.  She was shedding some tears as we left last week.  Please keep our Suong Fellowship in prayer, too.

Yuko, Caleb, and I will be coming to Japan and the USA for furlough in the future.  We are not yet sure of the dates but will let you know as soon as everything is confirmed.  I'm looking forward to sushi and pumpkin pie, not together, of course.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We look forward to seeing you.

Love, Chris, Yuko, and Caleb 

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
Psalm 27:1