Progress Update
 In January we set out to see all our funding pledged by June 2008. At the rate the Lord has been bringing in our support, we will not make it. I said then we could not extend the deadline. I still believe we need to keep to that. The cross-cultural training starts on June 7th, so we need to know by then.
So, if you were waiting for the right time to communicate something to us, its now. If you have made a decision and were waiting to tell us, wait no more!
What happens if we don't make it? I don't know. We will be talking with our support coaches and our Directors both here and in Singapore to determine the best course of action for us. Please pray for wisdom for us--we need it and God promises to provide it (James 1:5).
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Country Focus: Thailand
(Next Month: Indonesia)
 Did you know that Thailand is called the land of smiles? Anyone who has spent time with a Thai person knows that their smile is the most important thing about them. A Thai person can be having the worst day in their lives and they will still smile. I remember returning to New Zealand after my first trip to Thailand and smiling at everybody in the Thai way. The dour Kiwis soon set me straight on that!
But behind the smiles are needy people. It has been estimated that the sex trade in Thailand is worth more than US$4 billion or 3% of Thailand's economy. It flourishes because of an emphasis on tolerance, and because Thai men of all levels of society, especially government officials, actively protect and promote the sex industry. Hit hard by a tsunami in 2004 and a coup in 2006, the Thai economy has struggled to revive itself.
Theravada Buddhism is central to a Thai person's identity and practice-95% of Thai's are Buddhist and less than 1% are Christian. This makes conversion to Christianity very difficult. Students who convert are ostracized by their families and face a tough life. But Thai Buddhism does not bring relief; instead it is a daily effort to appease certain "spirits" or "idols". A friend serving in Thailand told me the biggest need for a Thai non-believer is to know that Christ is more powerful than their "gods/idols". Thai Christians need to know that Christ is real to their daily life.
But good things are happening. As relief poured in following the Tsunami in 2004, Thailand Campus Crusade for Christ discovered an unreached people group of Sea-gypsies. They have seen a few hundred of these sea-gypsies receive Christ and have helped plant a church among these people.
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