"Well may we rejoice to 'talk of all His wondrous
works,' and show how practical a thing
it is to trust in the 'Living God.'"
Dr. William M. Bergin
"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11
Hello once again from the Rutledge family and Akha Outreach Foundation. Each day offers something new here, and today was no exception. Today I found out that cat tastes a lot like pork. Yep, in fact I am just finishing chewing up my last piece of Cat Kebob. I knew the Akha ate dog, and I have come to enjoy the juicy flavor of dog meet, but I never knew they ate cat that was until tonight. I guess when you eat a lot of dog, eventually you will crave cat. MAYBE! Anyway, a stray cat was killed by one of our dogs, and instead of throwing away perfectly good meat, the Bible students started up the grill and we had some cat kebabs for an after dinner snack. I have to be honest with you, it was rather tasty, and it did taste a lot like pork. So now you can say "Cat" the other white meat.
Well with that said, let me welcome you to another issue of the Rutledge Review. I am sorry for the delay in its arrival. Much is going on here, and it is hard to decide what to share with you. Praise God all the Rutledge family is healthy and even the new little one that we are expecting in January is doing great. All the orphans, Bible students, staff, and village churches are doing well, and they send their greetings. The past two months have been so blessed; and I find it so difficult to adequately share all that God has done. Here are some highlights from the past two months; I pray that you are blessed as you read them.
"Planting the Rice"
A lot has taken place here at Akha Outreach Foundation over the past two months, but by far the most exciting event was the annual rice planting. For the past two years, we have planted our own rice in hopes of helping to cut down the food expenses for the facility. This year, was no different and everyone was eager to being planting the rice. In rice planting, you fill the patties with water, then you till the patty using a big rotor teller, and following that you hand plant the rice seedling, three seedlings at a time. It is hard, back breaking work, and when you think of planting many acres at a time, the task is impossible. But the saying, "many hands make light work", is true and with over 100 people working side by side, the entire field was planted in just a couple of days. We could have probably finished the work sooner, but it was too hard to pass up the occasional mud fights that took place. And even though everyone worked hard, we also made sure that everyone played hard too. One of our main goals at Akha Outreach is the help install into everyone who lives here a good work ethic, and making sure that they see hard work as something to be enjoyed. I still believe that rice planting is the hardest work I have ever done, but it is also some of the most fun. When you're standing bare foot, in knee deep muddy water with a bunch of 12 year olds, and you think about all the crawly things that are around your feet. And then you hear someone yell snake, and as quick as can be everyone is out of the water, only to see that it was a twig. You can't help but have a good time. But sometimes there are snakes, and I have included a picture of the one, my boys and I killed while we were planting rice. One snake verses eight 12 year olds and one white man. This snake didn't stand a chance. Everyone had a good time, and we are thankful for the chance to plant our own rice. We are trusting God for a fruitful harvest come November.
Before I came here, I had done little farming, and since I have been here, there have been many passages from the Bible that have come to life as I have been working with the land. As we till the ground and get it ready for the rice seedlings, making sure that each seedling is placed gently yet firmly into the prepared soil. I think of how the Holy Spirit works in and through us to help prepare the soil of many lives. Also how the seeds of God's Words are gently yet firmly placed into each prepared heart. But that is not where the work ends, you have to daily watch over the field and weed out anything that is not rice. So in our lives we have to weed out the things that choke out the seeds that God is growing. And then when it comes to harvest time, and you see the fruits of all your hard work, you feel so thankful and can't help but be overfilled with joy. Come November and harvest, I think of the lives here that we have been investing countless hours in, trusting that one day, through the mercies of God, these lives will be a fruitful harvest for the Kingdom.
I wish you all could be here to take part first hand in the planting of the rice fields, but I want to thank you and remind you that you all are currently taking part in helping to prepare the harvest of many young lives. Thank you for your continued financial support and prayers. One day soon, we will be witness to the greatest harvest the world has ever seen. What a day that will be when Jesus comes back to gather his precious seeds.
"A Typical Day"
The question I have asked of me most is, "What does your typical day look like?" I usually begin my answer with a chuckle and smile as I say that at Akha Outreach we don't have typical days. Everyday is unique and you never know what is going to take place. It keeps us on our toes. But, for those who still are eager to find out what a typical day looks like, I will share with you what last Saturday was like.
First I work up at 4:00 AM, and drove 15 minutes into town to take one of our children to his school. Santie and three of his classmates were going to a scripture memory contest in Chiang Mai. Following taking him to school I returned home just in time for all the other kids to get up and prepare for the work we had planned for today. Saturdays, everyone works from 8 AM to 11 AM, and in the afternoons from 1:30 to 3:30 everyone has studies Thai, Math, Akha, and English. Today I was teaching the teenage boys how to rotate tires on the ministry vehicles, and about 15 minutes into work time, we had to rush one of our 6 year olds to the hospital, he had put a battery into his ear and couldn't get it out. It was a watch battery that he found in the trash and he and another boy decided to put it in their ears. The first boy got his out, but A Kow didn't, and we had to make a quick run to the hospital. Shortly after one of the staff left to take him into town, some of our boys were using a wheelbarrow to move some weeds and ran into the corner of one of the buildings, breaking of a big piece of tile that covers the base of the building. While we were dealing with this accident, another one of our boys drove a different wheelbarrow through a sliding glass door. This all took place before lunch. Following lunch, one of our teenage boys, who had been having back pains, suddenly couldn't move because of the pain, and off to the hospital we went again. They couldn't find out what was causing the pain and had him admitted to stay for further observation. At the public hospital, you have to provide your own blankets and anything else you might need. So this meant that we had to drive back to the home and get his blanket, tooth brush, change of clothes and anything else he might need, and take it back to him that evening. It is only a 20 minute drive from our home to the hospital, but when you do it three times in one day, it seems a lot longer. The day ended with me crawling into bed around 12:00 AM, eager to hear the early morning wake up call which was coming in the next 5 hours.
Praise God though that even though this was a difficult day and at sometimes seemed to be spinning out of control. Still He was with us, and we could thank Him for this day that He had made. Santie the boy who took part in the scripture memory contest got second place out of 56 schools and 72 different teams. The contest was over the whole book of Acts, he memorized the whole book and was able to answer whatever verses the judge asked him. He got second, WOW!!!!!! Also on Monday we were finally able to get the battery and lots of other black stuff out of A Kow's ear. He was complaining of having troubles hearing, but now we understand why. This is his first year with us, and I think is the first time his ears have been cleaned. Also Tawee, the teenager with the hurt back, was able to return from the hospital on Tuesday, and the doctor says that he just needs to rest and not over work and his back well heal by itself. Praise God for His mercies which are new everyday, even typical days.
PRAISE AND PRAYER: Praise Report:
1. Praise God for the rain and the completion of our rice harvest. We are trusting Him for a fruitful harvest and a continual provision for all of our food.
2. Praise God for the 24 lifes that took part in the baptism service we had three weeks ago. There were 7 Bible students and 17 children who received baptism. It was special because we were able to have the service in our newly planted rice field.
3. Praise God for the continual growth in our church plant ministry. Currently we have 13 churches registered under our foundation, and during our monthly training of church leaders we have over 50 people attending. These men and women are hungry for the Word, and we are thankful that we have the opportunity to be used by God to feed His truth.
4. Praise God for the completion of the JESUS Film for children in the Akha language. We are waiting for the test copy to come back for approval and following that we will have another tool to help reach the Akha for Christ through the Akha.
Prayer Requests
1. Thank you again for your willingness to partner with our family as we serve here at Akha Outreach foundation. Your prayers and your financial support are true blessings, and I am so thankful for you. I do ask that you please continue to pray for our personal support. While in the States, I was blessed to speak with many of you who were willing to be a part of our ministry, and I am so thankful for those who have given so faithfully over the past three months, but I noticed that our current support is way below the needed amount. God has been faithful and has provided, but it makes me sad that there are many who are missing a wonderful opportunity to be a part of what God is doing here. If you are giving or praying, thank you for your gifts, and if you haven't but would like to, remember these are gifts that last for eternity. And if you know someone who would like to become a part of our support team or find out more about Akha Outreach Foundation. Then please email me. I would love to share with them more of what God is doing here. One of the biggest ways you can bless us, is in aiding us in finding new people who are willing to be a part of what God is doing here. I can't afford to fly home every few months to raise new support, but through your aid, we can continue so build our support team and share the wealth that is found in giving. If you have lost the information on where to send the money, you can make your checks payable to UBC Worldwide Ministries and send them to (University Bible Church Campus Box 8133, Pocatello, ID. 83209.) We are thankful for the chance to serve the Akha people for Christ, and thankful to have you joining us in this services. Thank you.
2. Please be in prayer for Mam and her pregnancy. She is in charge of the kitchen this year, and has been doing an amazing job cooking for over 100 people. But she is now into her 5th month of the pregnancy and is starting to slow down. We are making sure to help her as much as possible, and giving her time to rest, but it is still hard sometimes and she gets worn out. She is an amazing wife, mother, and cook. And I am so blessed to be with her. The doctor says the baby and Mam both are doing great, and we are looking forward to our school break in October so that Mam can rest. If I can save up some money, I may sneak Mam away for a couple days rest and relaxation at a nice hotel, where she won't have to worry about anything but resting. Thank you for your prayers and we are looking forward to sharing with you more news as the new baby develops.
You have been a true blessing to our family and the ministry here at Akha Outreach Foundation. I want you to know that I am eternally grateful for all you have given, and for your willingness to partner with me in reaching out to the Akha with the message of the CROSS. Thank you for your prayers, and please know that you are always near my heart and in my prayers.
Your fellow servants in Him
Dan, Maam, Garuna, + 1 Rutledge
"He that is blest is himself a blessing. Let us wish
that for each other and be that to all those for whom
we work and for whom we care. That someone should be a
blessing to others is the greatest thing of all isn't
it? Not just a helpmate, or a companion or a friend,
but a blessing." Dietrich Bonhoeffer
--
Your Fellow Servant in Him
Dan A. Rutledge
