The main shrine in front of the Police Station – flooded.
We’ve got good news to share – Faith (Inspire homeschool helper) arrived from California in early September! She is transitioning really well, helped in part, I suspect, by the fact that she grew up in a neighboring southeast Asian country. She has begun working with two homeschooling missionary families here in Chiang Mai, and I think she’s going to be a great blessing to them and everyone she comes across this year! Currently she’s staying with us in our homeschool/guest room as we get her acclimated to life here, but soon we’ll help her get set up in her own space for the year.
A prayer request for all of us living in this part of the world:
The rainy season here is about 3 months long and comprises most of the summer months. This year it has seen much more rain that most, and now in September we’re also dealing with the after effects of Typhoon Yagi which hit Vietnam recently. There has been bad flooding in Myanmar and northern Thailand, and it has now hit our city (which is in Northern Thailand). The police station where I volunteer each Wednesday is currently flooded about 3ft deep on the first floor, and our church on the east side of town has flood water reaching the front steps, but hasn’t entered the building yet. We’ve been able to donate money to help with relief efforts in the city of Chiang Rai (north of us), and to help the family of a local man in our neighborhood whose family lost everything in the flood and whose father is bed ridden. There might be an opportunity for us to help with sand bags and cleanup efforts downtown in the coming days; I’m hoping to get more information about it soon. Please keep us all in your prayers.
We’d also like to say another great big thank you to the individuals and church bodies who have contributed extra funds to help us meet our recent unexpected needs over the past couple months, the most recent of which was Reach BBQ event at Lakeside Church in Akron – what a blessing!
-Lance, for the Baker family