Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Philippians 4:4-5

Wow, I am astonished how fast time flies. I guess when you keep busy, it speeds everything up. The last time I wrote it was mid September and our family was getting busy ready for our upcoming trip to the States, now it is mid November and we are busy getting ready for Christmas and the New Year. Our family has been back in Thailand now for two weeks, and I am afraid that if I don’t write you right now, it will be 2009 before I get another chance to write. The past few months were busy and full of many blessing, I know that the next few months will be busier and I trust that they will be blessed.
November is a month that we take time to remember all our blessings as we celebrate Thanksgiving. Since being in Thailand, I have come to see that we don’t and shouldn’t wait until November to count our blessings. We should daily be thankful for ALL that the LORD blesses us with. Thailand doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving as a holiday but as a family we still try to set aside some time to reflect back over the past year and thank God for all His blessings. This year we have so much more to be thankful for, we may have to take a whole week to celebrate God’s goodness.
I know we all are thankful for Moetana Hope, our third daughter and such a blessing to our family. I have been richly blessed with four lovely ladies to daily share my life with. They do keep me on my toes, and challenge me to be a better husband and father everyday. Moetana will be six months old this month, and we are so blessed to have her in our family. As a family we are also thankful for the opportunity to live, work, and minister together as a family. It is hard sometimes, living at your job but it is also very rewarding to be able to be a family serving others together. We are so thankful for all of our health. The past year we caught a few small colds but nothing serious and for that we are so thankful. We are thankful for the changes we are beginning to see take place in the lives of the orphans and Bible students we work with. God is at work in their lives, and it is great to watch them willing submit to His direction and watch them grow in their relationship with Him and with each other. We are also thankful for the way God is working in our lives, I have great joy hearing Bratana ask to pray before we eat all of our meals, and if she doesn’t fill like the first prayer was enough, she won’t eat until we pray again. It is a blessing hearing Garuna and Mam sing praise songs before bed time, and also seeing how God is working in my life and Mam’s helping us to become better partners and parents through His Spirit. God is so great, and He blesses us with so much, it is hard not to be thankful. I believe sometimes we all get too busy to stop and really look at what God has been, is doing, and will do as we live our lives through Him. We are so blessed, and I can’t write all the things we are thankful for without including YOU. YOU being all the people who help make it possible for us to live, serve, and thrive here in Thailand. Your prayers, financial support, goodie boxes, emails of encouragements. All of these things that seem so simple truly impact us in a huge way. We couldn’t be here without you, and that is the truth. You are what helps make this ministry work, buy helping us you are blessing every life that we work with everyday. We are so thankful for all of you, and we are extremely thankful for the time we got to visit with most of you during our recent trip to the States. It was great to be back in Idaho again, to see the fall colors and the purity of fresh falling snow. It was the first time we had taken a big trip as a whole family, and even though it was challenging sometime, it still was well worth it. Our one regret is that we did not get to spend more time with you. Two hours for dinner isn’t enough time, and if I could have I would have loved to spends hours sitting and talking with you. For those who took the time to meet with us, thank you so much. You blessed us with you homes, your food, and especially your willingness to let us share how God is working in and through us here in Thailand. Our daughters loved spending time with your children, and it is such a blessing that so many of my friends have kids too. I could write for hours sharing with you all the blessings that we received during our trip but instead I would like to take this time and personally thank each and everyone who took the time to meet with us.
1. Kasey and Suzy and family: Thank you so much for rescheduling your time with us and giving us an opportunity to share at your church. Your family is precious and such a blessing to spend time with. The girls love their bracelets and I loved the apple pie and cigars. Sorry we couldn’t stay longer and have a second piece of pie, it was good. Thank you.
2. Darrin and Sunny: Wow Darrin it was great to meet your new bride and she is a great girl. Treat her right or I will come back and pound on you. Thanks for getting together and for letting me invade your evening just to use your internet and printer. Thank you and if you are every looking for a good place to vacation, please know you are always welcome at our house.
3. Justin and Trish and family: Thank you, thank you so much for opening up your house and your home to us for a week. Sorry we were messy; we are trying to master this living out of a suit case routine. Sorry also that we couldn’t spend more time with you, but know we love you and our girls are so thankful your children took the time to help them build a snow man. Thank you.
4. Mark and Christy and family: Your family is always there for us and such a blessing to our daughters and to Mam, thank you for letting us crash at your house and also for all the wonderful food we enjoyed while staying with you. Thank you so much for all the clothes you passed onto our girls, they look so girly in all their new clothes, thank you.
5. Dave and Alyson and family: You guys are awesome, and thank you so much for the truck and car seat that you let us borrow the whole time while we were in the States. Thank you also for helping get to and from the airport, and for taking the time to have us over for lunch. It was so nice to talk to you and let our families play together. We pray that one day we can return the favor. You guys are great and we love you, thank you.
6. Chris and Chrissie and family: Thank you for taking the time to schedule a special meal with us. It meant a lot to spend that extra time with you and also with the Jenkins family. We are sorry we couldn’t spend more time together, but we are thankful for the time we did spend for it was truly blessed. Thank you.
7. Gary and Judy: Thank you for the car seats that you let our family use while in the States, we are sorry that it didn’t work out to get together with you for a meal. We would have really loved to visit with you, but due to sickness and fatigue, we had to take a few days rest at the end, and we just ran out of time. Thank you for the car seats and for your willingness to share.
8. Thank you Emma for taking the time to have breakfast with us on a very early and cold morning. It was nice to meet with you and the girls loved spending time with you. Thank you for your prayers, they are so precious to us.
9. Thank you Mr. Dean, for the time you took to hang out with us, and also for the wonderful meal you made from Pizza Hut. Joy loved that pasta meal so much and it was fun hanging out with you and seeing you again. Thank you
10. Thank you Pettit Family for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be with us. Thanks Kevin for the time at breakfast, it was great to have some good man time and talk about life. It was also great to see your family and hear how God is working in and through your family while you serve Him over in Asia. Wow how your kids have grown.
11. Thank you Pastor Mike and everyone at University Bible Church. Thank you Pastor for taking the time to meet with me and talk about future plans and also keep me accountable in my personal walk with the Lord and my time with my family. Thank you for all your words of wisdom and the wonderful 2 foot burrito we shared with the guys. Also for everyone at UBC who have been supportive of us and our work her. It was great to see and visit with many of you, I wish I could have stayed the whole month fellowshipping with you all. Your prayers and support are so wonderful and we are so grateful for your willingness to be used by God. Thank you.
12. Thank you Dave and the mission committee at UBC: Thank you Dave for being so faithful in helping manage our finances and support. It is such a joy to see your heart to serve, and please know you are a big part of our ministry here, without you, we don’t know if we could continue as productively as we are. Also for the mission committee, thank you for taking the time to meet with me and hear how things are going. Thank you for your faith in our family and enabling us to serve here in Thailand. We do pray that one day soon you will be able to come visit us. Our home is always open.
13. Thank you Linda Rankin for setting up the time to share at your church and to meet with us. Sorry it was so short we wish we had more time. Your heart and love for our family and ministry is such a blessing. Thank you.
14. Thank you to the Myers Bible study group and their willingness to listen to what we had to share about what God is doing here. Thank you for being patient as our daughters adjusted to your little white doggy. The food was great and we were blessed that you opened your house to us. Thank you.
15. Thank you to all of you from Twin Falls Reformed Church who took the time to have dinner with us. I am sorry that Mam and the girls could not make the dinner, it just means that you will have to come back and visit us soon here in Thailand before they all grow up. The food was amazing, specially the Idaho potatoes. Funny it is the simple things that you find you miss when they aren’t around. Potatoes are what I miss. Thank you.
16. Thank you Ken for taking the time to come visit us briefly before we left Twin Falls. We do wish we could have seen your whole family, but we understand. It was great to see you again and great to hear that God is still working through you.
17. Thank you Ken and Grace Young for the wonderful home made chocolate chip cookies and the little cherry tomatoes. The girls loved them so much, it was also great to hear how God has blessed your family and to just rejoice together as we watch God at work. Thank you for the afternoon you spent with us, and we pray that your house will sell soon. Though we will be sad not to be able to visit you anymore in Pocatello, we will just have to take a little longer road trip.
18. Thank you big sis Catherine, Carl, and Hannah for inviting us to your wedding and do so much to help make our stay with you fun. The girls loved the pumpkin patch and Mam loved all the color of the leaves that were changing. I loved being able to see you all again and meet your new husband. He is a good guy and I am happy for you. Hannah, wow you have grown up so much, please do come and visit us soon, you are always welcome.
19. To the Alexander family. Hey there guys what can we say. We always loved visiting you in Bangkok, and even though now you have moved back to the States, it was still so great to spend time with you. We miss you guys, and trust we can see you again before too long. The girls all say hi, and Matt, thanks for the golf game, even though you beat me, it was still great to get out and swing the clubs. Thanks guys we love you.
20. To Mitch and Becca: Thank you for having us over for dinner, Joy and Gracie loved it, I too really enjoyed it. Thanks also for inviting so many people to come and hear about our ministry and how they could be a part of it. We wish we had more time to spend with you guys, your daughter is absolutely lovely. Congratulations and thank you again.
21. To the Shoemakers and Ayabei Family: Thank you for having us over for dinner and taking time to hang out. Again we are sorry that the girls couldn’t make it. They would of loved playing with your daughter, next time for sure. The food was great, but the fellowship was out of this world. God is so good, and it great to see how God is blessing your two families. Thank you for your prayers and support. Kelly and Jaqaie your boy is so handsome, congratulations.
22. Brandi, thank you for taking to time to meet us for dinner. It is always great to see you and hear how God is working through you. Keep up the great job and thank you for your prayers.
23. James and Rachel and family thank you for dinner, I had no idea you had a little girl, wow she is so cute and your family is so sweet. Thank you for dinner the food was great. It was great to spend more time talking with you and hearing how God is working. We will continue to pray for you.
24. To the Michaude family: Wow we almost missed you, thank you for taking the extra time to get together. We would have been heart broken if we didn’t get to see you guys during our visit. Your family is growing and is such an inspiration to us and so many others. It was great to see you, and even if it didn’t work out to stay with you, we still enjoyed our time greatly. God bless
25. The Pollock family; we are so sad that we missed you, we understand the busyness and we are so grateful for your willingness to still try and meet up with us. This time it didn’t work out, but next time for sure we will get together and Lord willing we can get together with Ben and his family too. You are such a blessing to us, thank your for your support and prayers.
Thank you Maxine, for taking the time for lunch, it was great to visit with you and hear how God is working in your life, thank you for your prayers and support.
27. Thank you to all of our other supporters who so faithfully give and have blessed us so much over the years. We wanted to visit with all of you, but lack of time and finances just made it impossible. Know that we love you all very much and are so thankful for all you have given.
28. Joel thank you for taking time off of work to have lunch with us. It was great to see you again, and we hope to see you next time we are through the Boise area.
29. Pastor Matt and everyone at Riverside Community Church for allowing us the opportunity to come and share with you what God is doing here in Thailand. It was a blessing to come and fellowship with you and she how God has blessed your church. We will keep you in our prayers and thank you again for the opportunity to come and worship with you.
30. Finally, thank you Dad and Mom. Truly the main people we wanted to spend time with while home was with you guys. Sorry you both got so sick and also we were so busy all of the time. I look forward to spending more time with you in the near future and letting our girls get to know their grandparents better. Gracie and Joy still ask about you and really miss the raspberries, any left? Mam loved driving the car and I loved just hanging out with you. We love you and thank you for sharing your time for us to visit friends and supporters. We miss you and are looking forward to visiting you soon. God bless.
Our time in the States was rushed and it seemed like most of our time we spent driving, but it was still a great time to visit with many friends and family. We also we blessed with some time to just get away and be a family. Most of that time was spent in the car but still we had a great family vacation. The weather was lovely, Mam got to see the autumn leaves changing, Gracie prayed for snow and God blessed her with two days of beautiful snow. Joy fell in love with Macaroni and Cheese and was able to eat it a almost every restaurant we went to. Hope just loved being held buy everyone and spending time napping on Grandpa and Grandma’s shoulder. I enjoyed visiting with so many dear friends, and of course filling up on Mountain Dew and all the beef I could get. God blessed us with safe travel, wonderful accommodations, and almost perfect health. We only had four weeks in the States, and I feel like we were able to complete three months worth of work. We are thankful that we are back to work now, and look forward to the next trip stateside possible in summer 2010. It is in the Lord’s hands.
I will bring this post to a close, thank you for taking the time to read it, and remember that we don’t have to give thanks only on Thanksgiving day, it should be something we do everyday. God is so good, and we are so richly blessed. I pray that you and your family have a happy Thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season. Your prayers and support are so welcomed. We had a goal of raising $1000 more a month for our support, we aren’t sure if we met that goal or not, we will have to wait until I we look at this month’s giving. If you are or would like to support us, could you PLEASE email me and let me know how much you will be sending, so I can make a correct budget for the upcoming year. Thank you again for your willingness to give and for the time you spent with us.
May God continue to bless and protect you, and remember to always allow God to work in and through you daily for His glory!
Your fellow servants in Him: Dan, Mam, Garuna, Bratana, and Moetana Rutledge

"Enjoy your flight"

Greetings once again from Chiang Rai, Thailand, were the Rutledge family is busy making final preparations for our upcoming visit to the States. It is amazing how much work goes into preparing for a four week trip. We have been busy getting passports for the girls, a visa for Mam, plane tickets for all of us, and lining up places to stay once we arrive in America. Mam is busy sewing lots of cool things to give out to supporters and friends, Garuna and Bratana are working on their English, and I am trying to put together a prayer card of our family and a short video about the ministry. Lord willing come September 30^th we will have everything finished and be able to truly enjoy our visit with you. For those who haven’t heard of the latest schedule. Here it is one more time.

We arrive in Boise on the 30^th of September and will be in the Boise area until the 6^th of October. Then we will drive to Pocatello and be there until the 13^th of October. We will drive back to Boise and on the 14^th of October we will fly to Michigan for my sisters wedding. On the 19^th we will fly back to Idaho and drive to Twin Falls. We will be in Twin Falls about two days and on the 21^st drive to Hailey. We will be in Hailey until the 22^nd or 23^rd and then we will drive back to Boise. We will be in the Boise area until the 28^th of October when we fly back to Thailand. It is going to be a busy time, but we are truly looking forward to visiting as many of you as we can.

Please continue to pray for guidance as we firm up travel dates and complete all the necessary preparations for the trip. We are thankful that over $2000 has come in to help cover our air expenses. The total cost of our tickets is $5800 so we are trusting that the rest will come in soon. Also we have been so blessed with many offers of places to stay. Thank you everyone who so willingly offered the use of their houses during our visit. What a sweet aroma your gifts are to God. Thank you. We are still looking for a vehicle to use while we travel. Please pray that we will come across one that will help transport us during our travels to Pocatello, Twin Falls, and around the Boise area. (Praise God, for He is so good, as I was writing this letter, I received an email from the Stauffer family offering us the use of their vehicle while we are in the States. Thank God for His answered prayers and for everyone’s willingness to be a vessel of service for our King).

We have been busy getting ready for our trip, but that has not stopped us from having lots of fun here over the past two months. Since my last update we have been planting rice, husking corn, pulling teeth, and doing everything else that needs to be done to keep this huge family running.

This year we were blessed with an abundant amount of rain, and so when it came time to plant rice, we almost had too much water. But God is so good, and the week we started planting rice, the rains stopped and helped us be able to get all the paddies planted before it rained again. The price of rice has almost tripled and so if we have a good harvest this year, that will help cut done on the expense for next year. We also planted a huge field of corn and for the past two weeks, everyone has been working hard to husk all the corn. Not shuck, but husk. That means taking each and every kernel off of the husk. It has been fun sitting around with a bunch of kids on a big pile of corn working our fingers to the bone, literally. We all have nice blisters on our thumbs and palms after husking corn for hours. Our meeting hall is full of corn, and with so much corn around it is hard not act “corney”. Ok bad joke, I am sorry.

Right after our rice was all planted and all the corn harvested, we had a team of dentists come to do a yearly check up on all our teeth. Dr. Luce has been offering his dental skills to Akha Outreach Foundation for the past five years. Each time he comes, he spends the week; filling, cleaning and pulling teeth for all the children, Bible Students, staff, and even pastors and church members from the village. He has established a portable dentist office, and each year he comes back he adds to it. He also adds to his staff, last year he brought two assistants with him, this year he brought a group of nine, included was an oral sergeant. During their one week here, they divided into two teams, one traveling to a village and offering basic dental care. The second group staying here at the foundation checking on all the children, and Bible students, both groups together did more work then we could have accomplished in a year of going to the dentist. On one after noon alone I assisted in pulling over 18 wisdom teeth.

Growing up I was not a big fan of dentist, but after spending time with Dr. Luce and his fellow dentists, I have become a huge fan of dentist. In fact I am a huge fan of anyone willing to use the skills God gave them to serve His Kingdom. We all don’t have to be dentist’s to serve God in big ways, just being willing to offer your self to serve others, as Christ offered Himself for us, this is what the world needs to see. If we as Christians would live our lives for this, then we would begin to see people longing to know more about Christ.

Thank you all for your prayers and for your servants’ hearts. So many of you give so freely of your time and finances to help our family be able to live and work here at Akha Outreach Foundation. Your partnership with us is such a blessing and we do look forward to sharing with you how God is using YOU to reach the Akha with His hope. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, and we do look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible once we reach the States.

God bless and protect you, and remember that we are daily thanking God for you.

Your fellow servants in Him

Dan, Mam, Garuna, Bratana, and Moetana Rutledge

The Magic Number Three

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13

Greetings once again from the Rutledge family, God has so wonderfully been working in and through our family over the past few months. There are so many exciting events that have taken place since I last updated this blog, and I am looking forward to sharing them with you, so without any further delay let us begin.

As a kid, I remember one of my favorite TV shows was the cartoon School House Rock. I used to love watching each episode eager to hear the songs which they used to help us remember important facts. We all can remember the song “I’m Just a Bill.” or the “Conjunction Junction.” But my all time favorite song was about the magic number 3. Yes, most of us can sing at least a few lines from this song:

“Three is a magic number,
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number.

The past and the present and the future.
Faith and Hope and Charity,
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three as a magic number. ”

Will as I was thinking about what to share with you, this song popped into my head. It seems like over the past THREE months, everything has been happening in THREE’S. So without further wait let us look at the magic number THREE.

First off, on May 16^th our family celebrated this special day for two occasions. First it was Garuna’s THIRD birthday, and we also welcomed into the world our THIRD daughter MOETANA HOPE RUTLEDGE. She was born at 1:42 PM and weighted just over 7 lbs. Garuna and Bratana both were very excited to welcome their new sister, and we were thankful for a healthy baby, and a healthy Mommy. Moetana in Thai means “Rejoice or thank you”, and we truly are rejoicing in the Hope we find in Christ. Moetana is a month old now, and is growing very quickly. Garuna and Bratana are great helpers for Mommy, they are always eager to bring pampers when their sister is stinky, and they love to give their little sister a kisses all over the face. At least once a day they ask Mommy if they can hold their sister, and love to sing to her when she is awake. I have been truly blessed with four women all with a quiet spirit and the gift of patience. Moetana hardly cries and the first night she slept in the room with us she slept through the night. All THREE of my daughters have their Mother’s spirit and for that I am so thankful. Having THREE children, even if they are good, still is a full time job, and we have been ever so busy keeping up with these three. Garuna started school last month and goes THREE days each week. She really loves her teacher and each day has a new song to teach us. Bratana is growing so fast, and loves her older sister so much, she always wants to follow Garuna everywhere, unless the Baby is awake, then she wants to be with the baby. Both of them have amazing vocabularies for their age and freely use all THREE languages: Akha, Thai, and English. In no time at all they will be better then their parents. That is a scary idea. Maam is doing great, and sends her wishes. She is an amazing Mother and the THREE girls love her so much. There is so much more I could share with you, but life here is not just about our family, God is doing so much more here at Akha Outreach Foundation.

THREE months ago the schools started again following a two month break, and we are thankful that all of our children returned safely from their villages. We also took in 13 new children bringing our number of orphans to 92. When you try to imagine raising 92 orphans plus your own THREE children, it looks to be an impossible task. Trust me it would be if not for the help of a wonderful staff team, and the constant help from God. We have eight people who faithfully serve these children 24hrs a day, and without them this ministry wouldn’t survive. I have the awesome responsibility of leading this team and all of the orphans in our day to day activities. By God’s grace we have been able to continue on. There are days, that it seems like we can’t continue, but God is there to pick us up and lead us further on. This is the hardest work I have ever done, being a Father to 95 children, and also disciplining and leading the children’s team. It is the hardest work, but it is also the most enjoyable work. I do not have any trouble falling asleep at night, because of the exhaustion of a full day of work, and the peace of knowing that all I accomplished was for the furthering of God’s kingdom. These two factors are better then any sleeping pills.

I ask you to please continue to pray for God to continue to watch over all the lives here. Last week I killed THREE snakes in one night. Two of them were very deadly and were near some of the rooms our children stay. Also last week I witnessed THREE accidents involving motorcycles and other vehicles taking students to and from school. I have become the ultimate Soccer Dad, for each day I take THREE trips taking the children to school and THREE trips picking them up. One trip is for Garuna but the other two trips I am using the 6 wheeled truck to take all the children to school. The first trip leaves at 7 AM and I go to four different schools, dropping off 30 teenagers. This usually takes 30 minutes and then I come back to pick up 56 elementary students to take them to their school. Following this trip, I switch vehicles to my truck and drive into town to take Garuna to school. In the afternoon I do it all again. If I add up the time, I typically spend THREE hours a day driving kids to and from school. It is a good thing that I like to drive. Please pray though for our safety as we do travel to and from these schools.

Finally I want to give you a heads up, that in about THREE months the Rutledge family will be traveling back to the States for a month long visit. We are looking at coming during the Thai school break in October and will try to stay for about a month. We will be spending most of our time between Caldwell and Pocatello. We also hope to visit the Hailey area for some camping (if the weather is good), and the Twin Falls area. There are so many of you who have faithfully supported and prayed for us, and we are eager to meet with you. Sadly though I am not sure if we can meet with everyone, but we will try. I am giving you a heads up, for THREE reasons. 1) If you would like to meet with us and hear more about what God is doing here, then you can contact us and we can schedule a time to get together. 2) If you would like us to share at your church our Bible study group, then we can schedule a time that works for you and your Church body. 3) You can begin to pray that God will provide the needed finances to cover all the expenses of the trip. The price of airfare has increased and with five people flying we are looking at around $5500 just for the airplane tickets. We also will need a vehicle while we are traveling and if we look at renting one it would be close to $1000 for the whole time we are in the States. If you have a vehicle that we could rent for the four weeks while we are there that would be a huge blessing. Also while we are visiting Pocatello, we are looking for a place to stay. It would be for about two weeks at the most. Please pray that God will provide lodging. Also we are putting together a DVD to share with you about the ministry here, and we are looking for a lap top computer to borrow while we are in the States. Or if you have an old computer that you would be willing to donate to our family, that would be a huge blessing. We also are in need of raising some more support. You have been so faithful over the past years, and we have never been in need, but our family is growing and it is time to increase our monthly goals. We know that you give sacrificially already, so we are looking to finding some other brothers and sisters to join our support team. So if you know of someone who might be interested in hearing about the ministry here, or joining our support team, could you please have them contact us? Both your prayer and financial support has blessed us with the opportunity to live and serve here at Akha Outreach Foundation. We miss you all and are looking forward to visiting you in October. Please join us as we beseech God for the financial means to cover all of our needs. We truly miss all of you and are looking forward to introducing you to our THREE daughters and to share with you personally what God is doing through your prayers and support. Thank you so much, and we look forward to hearing back from you. May God’s continual hand of protection and provision rest bountifully on you and your loved ones.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Your fellow servants in Him

Dan, Maam, Garuna, Bratana, and Moetana Rutledge.

Our Quiver Is FULL.

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Philippians 4:5

Wow, how has time flown by. My last update to you was five months ago. That is almost half of a year, where does the time go. As I get older it seems like time if passing so much quicker, but maybe that is because I am busy. Let me give you a quick update on what has happened over the past five months, and also share with you what is planned for the next few months.

I guess the best place to start is right where my last Blog left off. It was mid school break in October, and almost all of the children and Bible students had gone home for vacation. Maam, the girls and I were traveling to Bangkok to spend some time with my sister and her family and take some time to rest and relax before the new school term started. In my last Blog, I had mentioned that Maam and I were planning on coming back to the States in March of 2008 for a visit with our church, family, friends, and supporters. But during our stay in Bangkok that all changed, we found out that Maam is pregnant again. Yes that is right, we are expecting child number three sometime in mid May 2008. Right around the time Garuna turns three. It was a very pleasant surprise, and we are thankful that God has blessed us with another child; we were just really surprised at the timing. So following upon our return from Bangkok, we started to make plans for the upcoming year. Sadly we won’t be able to travel to the States in March 2008, but are currently praying about coming around December 2008. It is sure to be a challenge traveling with 3 little ones: Garuan will be 3, Bratana will be close to 2, and the new born will be 7 months old, but it would be special for our family if we can make it back to spend Christmas with them. Nothing is set in stone, and we are still praying for wisdom on how and when to travel back, but please know we do miss you all, and Lord willing are looking forward to getting back to the States sometime this year.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalms 127:3

The news of the new baby was the highlight for our break, and we returned to Chiang Rai rested and ready to start a new school term. From the first of November to the end of February I don’t really recall all that took place, but it sure was busy here. Here are some of the highlights:

October 31^st: All the schools open and all the orphans are back in School.

November 1^st: A team from Colorado arrives to spend a week helping out here at Akha Outreach Foundation. Their main focus while here was the painting of a beautiful mural in our meeting hall. The team was a huge blessing and everyone loves the mural they painted, we are already making plans for our other rooms in the meeting hall for future paintings.

The rest of the month of November was full of New Rice festivals in many of the villages. Sometimes we would be traveling to 3 to 4 villages a week, and with all the yummy food we were eating, the whole staff team put on a few extra pounds. November passed so quickly that we didn’t get much time to prepare for December.

I John 4:19 We love because He first loved us.

December 8^th we hosted a wedding celebration here for a good friend of the ministry. After the wedding, everyone worked extra hard to prepare for the arrival of our Christmas guests. This was going to be a very special time because we had a team from Singapore come celebrate Christmas with us. A very large team, 51 people total. This is the largest team we have ever had, and they were such a blessing to all the staff and everyone here at AOF. They gave us a very big Christmas gift too. A six wheeled truck with a covered back that we use to drive most of the children to school each day. We have 53 elementary students studying at the same school. In the past we had to take three trips to take them to school, but now we can do it in one trip. It is a huge time savor and blessing to all of us here at AOF. In order to drive this truck, you need to have a special license, and so the few months before the team arrived I was busy preparing for the test for my new driving license. The questions were easy, but it was all in Thai, and so I had to study extra hard and on the second attempt, I finally passed. So now I am the ultimate soccer mom. Everyday I take 53 kids to and from school and also to their special school activities. It is fun and all of the children love the new truck. The Singapore team was a huge blessing and we do look forward to their return next year.

December 25^th, the Singapore flew back home, and we celebrated Bratana’s birthday. It is hard to believe that she is already a year old. Both her and here sister are growing so fast, it is hard for their mother and I to keep up with them. Bratans was walking by Christmas and always wants to follow her sister everywhere she goes. They both keep us very busy, but they are such good daughters that we don’t really mind. They are such a blessing, and it is nice to come home each night to such cute smiling faces.

January was slower then the previous three months, and it was a great time for us as a staff team to rest and get caught up on some of our work. Towards the end of the month we hosted a women’s retreat, and like every year, it was truly a blessed time for all those involved. This year 95 ladies from 18 different villages joined the retreat. There is a change blooming among the families who have become Christian. Both men and women are learning about God’s love for them and the importance of each individual in the family. We know that villages can’t change except through the positive influence of the church, and the churches themselves can grow only as the family grows according to its God ordained roles. We are looking forward to a men’s retreat later on this year, and also a children’s camp in April. God is at work, and even though the churches and the members in them are very young in their relationship with Christ, there still is a strong unity and desire to know God more and to allow Him to work in and through their lives for His glory. Please continue to lift up our church bodies as they grow in the love of Christ.

February we welcomed a team of 16 people from Idaho. This is the third year in a row that we have hosted a team from Idaho, and it is truly a blessing to be reunited with fellow Idahoans. I might be biased, but I believe that our teams from Idaho are the best. They came to help build some shoe racks to help hold the 150 pairs of shoes that we have to deal with every time we enter a meeting. They also made some storage shelves and helped with some much needed painting. They spent a couple of days pouring cement at one of the villages were we are building a new church. It was a beautiful picture, watching the villagers, Bible students, orphans, and the team work together building a church. The church truly is the body of Christ, and this was a wonderful example of each member of the body working together for the building up of the church. The team also raised some money and spent some time building a prayer garden in memory of Manoon, the teenage boy we lost last September. We are so thankful for their help and their thoughtfulness for everyone here. We are already looking forward to their next return, and if you would like to possible join them next year, then please email me and I will give you their contact information. They mostly come from Twin Falls/Buhl area, but would gladly welcome anyone who has a heart to come. On this trip they brought a special guest. A young man aged 86 joined them, and was a huge blessing and encouragement to all of us. We are never to old to do the Lord’s work.

Also in February, we were able to attend the graduation of our nephew Naroong. He has been living with us for the past four years, and there were times when we weren’t sure that he would make it to graduation. But by God’s grace and a lot of patience, he has finally graduated from high school and is now trying to decide what is next. He wants to be a solder, and is also looking at studying to become a police officer. We are proud of him and eager to see how God uses his life in the future.

This now brings us to March. March is always a very busy month for us, because we celebrate endings but also new beginnings. All the schools and Bible school close during March for a two month vacation. Also we host a graduation celebration for all of our Bible student graduates. This year we have a special class graduating. Three years ago, we started to invite our pastors from our newly planted churches to come down for three days once a month for Biblical training. We have 13 churches under us but currently we have close to 50 people attending the monthly training each month. We found out that many of the villagers also wanted to attend the training and now we hold the training for anyone who wants to come and learn. After three years, they will receive a certificate and will officially graduate from the Biblical training program. This year is the first graduating class, we have close to 30 pastors and church leaders who will be graduating along side our Bible students on March 8^th. We are preparing for a festive party, and have three pigs that we have raised over the past year that will help feed the expected 1500 people who will be attending the graduation celebration. It is a lot of work, but we have many hands and lots of practice, so we are looking forward to a fun, festive day on the 8^th. Also starting on the 5^th and going until the night of the 7^th, we will have a revival meeting for all who want to attend. The theme for this year is “Rise and Shine”. We have special guest speakers from America and also some of the Akha leaders sharing with those in attendance. On top of all these meetings and celebrations, the schools that our orphans attend are also closing this month, and we are busy closing out the school year and preparing for the next school year that starts in May. March is a very busy month for the childrens’ team, because we have to manage school closing and also applicants for next year. This year we had over 40 children apply to come and live here. After lots of prayer, and many hours of visiting villages and each applicant, we have decided to take in 12 new children next year. Originally we were only going to take in 10, but there were 12 children that desperately needed a place to live and so we decided to increase to 12. Please pray for these new children and they prepare to come live here next year.

The finale school closes on March 14^th, and almost all of our children and Bible students will return to their villages to spend time with their relatives. This gives the staff team a chance to rest and refresh. Originally we were planning on traveling back the States during this time, but because of Mams pregnancy we can’t travel, and so we will most likely stay here and spend some time together as a family. My sister and here family are coming up for a few weeks in April, and that will be nice. Schools start in mid May and so we have almost two months to rest and catch up on different work projects. Mam, was hinting that she would like to paint some of the rooms in the house, so that might be how I spend most of my days, we will have to wait and see.

Thanks again for your patients and your prayers. The past few months have truly been busy and a times very stressful, but by God’s grace we have made it through, and now look forward to the next couple of months for some much needed rest and relaxation. You are very near to our hearts, and each night before bed Garuna says a prayer thanking God for you and asking Him to protect you. We do miss you all and wish that we could have visited you in America, but we trust that God will bring us together when His timing is right. Maybe in December, we will have to wait and see. Until next time, God bless and protect you and your loved ones, and once again, thanks again for your prayers, and your support. We would not be here if it wasn’t for you. THANK YOU.

Praise Report:
1. Praise God for another year of being able to live and work here at Akha Outreach Foundation. By far this has been the hardest year, but also the best year ever. We were saddened by the loss of Manoon, but rejoice that this year we didn’t have any of our orphans leave AOF. Our goal as a children’s team at the start of the year, was not to have any child live, and by God’s grace we made it. Thank you for your prayers.

2. Praise God because I am a millionaire. Yes you heard me right, I am one of the richest men in the world. It seemed like every month I received at least 1,000,000 in the mail. So many of you blessed our family with small care packages, and in each package were at least 10 bars of 100 Grand candy bars. I never thought that I would ever be a millionaire, but by your giving I am now the richest man in Thailand. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our blog and to send items mentioned on our wish list. We may not be rich financially, but in terms of friendship and generosity, we are truly rich. Thank you from all of us, Garuna especially loves the Apple Jacks. She sends her special thanks.

3. Praise God for the special donations people gave to help pay for our insurance bill. Through you special gifts and a very special donation from a man in Indiana we were able to pay for our insurance bill in full. The total price was $3250, and that is exactly how much we received from you all. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out, for up until the last day it was due we were still $3000 short, but there were some friends of a friend of mine who came to visit for the day, and before they left one of them offered to pay the whole amount. God is so great! Thank you for your prayers and your giving.

4. Praise God for child number three. This was a very big surprise, and God must like to keep us on our toes. We aren’t sure what the sex is, and are thinking about waiting to find out. We do need help again with names, and so if you have some good boy and girl names, please email them onto us. The baby is due in mid May, and both the baby and Mam are doing great. Garuna and Bratana are eager for their new sibling, and we are trying to decide how we are going to fit all three of these into the bedroom, and the car. Thailand doesn’t have Suburban, so maybe if we keep going we will have to look into a mini van. But that is in the future. I don’t want to think about that right now. Please pray that Mam and the baby continue to do will, and that Daddy will have enough strength to keep up with Garuna and Bratana while Mommy is busy with baby number three.

Your Fellow Servants in Christ

Dan, Mam, Garuna, and Bratana Rutledge