Holiday Greetings

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
Now ye hear of endless bliss:
Joy! Joy!
Jesus Christ was born for this!
He has opened the heavenly door, and man is blest forevermore.
Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!

Season's greetings and happy holidays, I trust you are doing well.

Since my last update, life for the Rutledge Family and the ministry here at Akha Outreach Foundation has been busy but also very blessed. There isn’t a week that passes without some new adventure to face or storm to weather, but we don’t despair because we cling to the promises of Lamentations 3:21-25
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“ Therefore I hope in Him!”
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.

This is the hope we find in Him. I would love to share with all that has been taking place over the past few months, but I am desperately trying to get this update posted before the turn of the New Year, so I will just share a few highlights and have attached a link to a photo journal of the past months. I trust that the pictures will be more vivid in showing you the goodness of God and how He is working in and through the Rutledge family in Thailand. Thank you for taking the time to read this update, and I trust you will join me in rejoicing in God and His faithfulness.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dan.rutledge/LifeOnTheEdge?feat=directlink

The holiday season is upon us, and though this is my favorite time of the year, it is also the hardest. I love celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years here at AOF, but I do hate being so far away from friends and family during this time of the year. Please know even though we are physically apart, you are very near to our hearts. Mam and I have been frantically preparing a small Christmas gift to share with all of our supporters and prayer partners, and trusting that they will arrive in time for Christmas. We are always thanking God for you and all you have done to bless our family, but especially during the holiday season we want you to know how thankful we are. Without your prayers and financial support our family would not be able to minister here at Akha Outreach Foundation. 100 % of our finances come from your faithfulness in giving. Thank you so much for hearing God’s call and being willing to be used by Him to bless not only our family, but also 1000 of Akha and Thai people through the ministry here. This Thanksgiving our family took time to pray especially for you and thank God for His goodness to us, which we receive through you. We have so much to be thankful for, and because of your gifts there has not be a month pass by where we didn’t have enough money to cover our needs. God is so good, and thank you for your willingness to be used by Him for His glory. Thank you again.

December is always a very busy month for the Rutledge Family. On December 5th, Thailand celebrates Fathers Day and all the schools close for the day. December 5th is the king of Thailand’s birthday and this year he is turning 81 years old. It is a special day because he has been king of Thailand for over 60 years. He has been a good and just king and all the people love him. Over the years I have learned to see the love which the Thai people have for their king, and think back to the days of King David and what a love the people had for him. I also think about the King of Kings, and how wonderful His kingdom will be, and how blessed we are to be a part of it.

On December 10th Thailand celebrates constitution day, the day when freedom came to the common people. Thailand used to be a monarchy in which royalty ruled everything. But the king of Thailand decided that democracy was best and gave up his power to guarantee freedom for the Thai people. What a beautiful picture of sacrifice and love. We can’t help to think about Jesus and His willingness to give up His supreme power and rule, to come to the earth to be born in a lowly manger, and later to give up his life on the cross for us. That is sacrifice and true love. On December 12th we celebrate Mams’ birthday, followed by mine on the 19th, then on the 25th Bratanas’ birthday and also the birth of Jesus Christ. December comes to a close on the 31st, as everyone celebrates the passing of a year and the beginning of a new one. As you can see December is super busy for the Rutledge family, but this year we decided to add a little extra craziness to our Christmas time. Every year we celebrate Christmas here at AOF will all of the orphans and Bible students. Trying to get Christmas ready for 130 people is hard enough, but this year we decided to invite the members from the 16 churches under us to join us for Christmas. We can be looking at over 1000 people staying here for a three day Christmas celebration. How we will do this I am not sure, but I know it will be a truly wonderful time as we come together to celebrate to birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Keep checking the blog, I will be taking lots of pictures and posting them.

This is going to be a special Christmas for us, not only because we are expecting to host the largest Christmas party ever, but because this will be the last Christmas the Rutledge family will be spending with AOF for a while. For seven wonderful years we as a family have been blessed to be able to live and serve here at Akha Outreach Foundation. It has become our home, and we will be sad to leave, but after much prayer we feel it is the right time to move on. We will finish out the school year, which ends in March and after that we will begin preparations for a move back to the States. Why we are leaving and what we will be doing next will be explained in more detail in an upcoming letter. I just wanted to give you a heads up, and know that Lord willing we will be spending the holidays season with friends and family in the States. It is going to be hard to leave, but we feel a peace and know God has a new road for us to travel. Please be in prayer for us, as we begin the preparations for the trip back to the States. There are many steps and many things we need to do before we board the plane to the US, so please pray that we will be diligent in doing what needs to be done, but also have quality time with all the people we work with here at AOF. We have invested 7 years into the lives of this ministry, and we want the next 6 months to be invested wisely too. I promise to update you more about our move and our future plans, but if you just need to know now, please feel free to email me and I will give you a more detailed description of our upcoming plans.

Well the time has come to sign off. Thank you again for taking the time to read this, and please do check out the web photo journal of the past few months. I trust you had a great Thanksgiving, and our family is wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I leave you with the chorus from a Christmas Carol which is not very well known, but has a wonderful message. The Wassail Song, and the chorus goes like this:

Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year

Peace and Love through Christ
The Rutledge Family

ALL or NOTHING!

Greetings from the Rutledge family and everyone here at Akha Outreach Foundation, we are currently engaged in a battle which I’m not sure we’ll win. The flu bug came to the foundation and of the 150 people who call AOF home, close to 100 people have bit hit with differing flu symptoms. I am honest in saying I have never seen a flu hit so fast and spread to so many people like this last weeks flu. It is also challenging because the whole world is worried about the swine flu (H1N1 virus), every time one of our kids get sick we have to deal with the fear factor along with the other flu symptoms. To date none of our kids have been diagnosed with the swine flu, and for that we are thankful. I believe we just got hit with a really bad flu bug, and with so many people living together, it is only natural for it to spread quickly to everyone near by. We are not the only home dealing with sick children, and as the number of flu cases increase we are seeing more and more schools closing. These are short closers, lasting 3 to 7 days in length and it is helping everyone find some time to rest and recoup before going back to school. Currently two of the schools which our children attend have closed and so we have decided to let the children return home to their villages for a week. We have also closed our Bible School for a week and will take this break to clean and disinfect the rooms and buildings. For the last week we have been working hard trying to deal with those who are already sick and prevent the flu from spreading to others, but we have found ourselves in a losing battle. For each child that gets better, we have four more that get sick. The staff have been working tirelessly to help distribute meds and care for those who are suffering from fevers. In their efforts to aide the sick, they themselves have been infected and now of the 15 person staff team that work here, 9 are sick but still working hard to care for the children and Bible students.
If dealing with the flu was our only problem, I believe we could make it through. But over the past month I have taken three trips to the hospital to deal with emergency injuries and ailments. Not only I but the staff as a whole have been pushed to the max with all of these health issues. It hard enough work managing our day to day operations, but to aid in unexpected heath issues, makes our work here virtually impossible. Nancy, the director’s wife used the example of the “Bang a Mole” game they have at carnivals. You just finish pounding one mole and then another one pops up. We have seen crazy days before, but never for as long and as consist as the past month has been. We had a girl in the hospital for over two weeks with what we thought was appendicitis but turned into be something more complicated then that. She returned home from the hospital just in time to catch the first attack of the flu bug. While she was in the hospital, we had another girls sprain her left arm which left her in an arm sling for the next two weeks. One week probably was enough, but she thought she needed it another week, so we let her wear it. We also had a boy fall off his bike while doing a “wheelie” and break his left arm. Two days later another boy fell while playing soccer and we think suffered a hairline fracture on his left arm. So for a week we had three children running around with their left arms in slings. Just as we were getting them all better, the Swine flu hit Thailand, and we began to pass out the face masks. Seeing all 92 children line up for morning prayers wearing their face masks was sure a funny sight. With all of our children home from the hospital and everyone equipped with a face mask we believed we were ready for anything. But that is when everything got crazy. We had a boy slip and split his face open, praise God not doing any damage to his eye in the process. After 14 stitches above and below his right eye he was able to return to school. Then last week we had another boy jump kick his way through a glass door. (No more action movies for these kids) He learned that jumping through glass doors will always result in one winner, the glass door. We took him to the hospital for stitches in his head, arm, hand, and leg. But if these trips to the hospital weren’t enough, the next day began the flu. One by one the schools began calling asking us to pick up different kids who were suffering from high fevers. And thus began the “kry what yie” as they say in Thai. The big flu as we would say it in English. The Thais refer to the Swine flu as the “kry what yie” but we have borrowed the term to help describe the madness which has been taking place here over the past few weeks. One by one the orphans, then the Bible students and now the staff experienced the flu which brings with it high fevers, sore throats, coughing, body aches, and if this isn’t enough, it also drains all of your energy for the next four days. We are thankful that it isn’t the H1N1 virus, but it still is a bad virus and I am sorry for anyone who gets it. Praise God there still are a few people left who haven’t come down with the flu bug and we pray that they can remain healthy. It feels like one of those “post apocalyptic” movies, where there are only a few remaining survivors left after everyone else on the earth is gone. It is a strange feeling around here right now with everyone back in their villages. We have around 20 people still here, but when you consider this morning there were 150 people here and now only 20. Strange, but quiet and for that we are thankful.
I am sharing this with you because 1st I haven’t updated my Blog in a long while and I really needed to get back to blogging. Second we are in need of your prayers, and would ask you to please remember us in your prayers for the next week. Third this is a good example of what daily life is like for the Rutledge family while we are ministering here at Akha Outreach Foundation, just incase you were wondering.
I am thankful that our family is healthy and even though I had to pick up Gracie today at school because she had a slight fever we haven’t been hit with the flu bug. I know that it is by the grace of God that we are still all well, and I know that you must be praying for us. Thank you.
Please continue to pray for all the orphans, Bible students, staff that are sick that they will get well quickly and completely during this week of rest. Pray also for those who have yet to get sick, that they will remain healthy and not have to experience the flu bug. Pray also for the 30 plus pastors and village leaders that will be attending our monthly training which starts tomorrow and runs through Saturday. Pray that they will be protected from the bug as well and that the staff will have enough strength to help minister to them while they are here with us. Pray also for the people of Thailand and the rest of the world as well as the fear of the Swine flu has struck and more and more people are living in fear of H1N1 virus. We have hope in the promises found in Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. God is in control and we can find hope and joy in this truth.
In closing I would like to leave you with a little nugget from God’s Word which I have been blessed to be studying over the past few days. This nugget is found in truth of the following two verses.
Joh 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I can sum it up in this simple phrase: ALL or NOTHING. The past few weeks have once again reminded me that I can do nothing, not some things, NOTHING apart from Christ in my life. I can’t heal these sick children, I can’t make this children obey, I can’t do anything if Christ is not in me and working through me. It is real sobering to realize that we are completely helpless. I came here to help these children, to teach them God’s truth and help them live a life for His glory. But the longer I am here, the clearer I can see that it is not what I do, but what God is doing in me and through me that is going to truly help the children here. This doesn’t only apply the 92 orphans I help care for but also my own three daughters and my lovely wife as well. The truth is that I can do NOTHING. If we were to stop here, then it would be very easy to lose hope and give up on trying. But if we look at the second verse in Philippians, we see that in truth we can do ALL THINGS. Wait, didn’t I just say we can do nothing, and now I am saying we can do all things. Check my forehead, am I hot? Do I have the fever? No, we can do All Things, if and only if we have Christ. This is the key, without Christ I can do Nothing, with Christ I can do ALL THINGS, even take care of 150 sick people if needed. God is good, and I am so thankful that He revealed this truth to me during this time of despair. I find myself filled with Joy and Hope due to the Grace of God and His Son Christ abiding in me. I do not know what may happen tomorrow, but I am not afraid, for Christ is with me and through Him I can do ALL THINGS. Rejoice with me, for this nugget of God’s truth is not just for me, but for all of us who abide in Him. Let us draw near and abide in the true vine, allowing Him to enable us to do ALL THINGS.
Thank you for your prayers and support, we look forward to updating you next week on how mightily God worked through your prayers. We are dependent on your prayers and cherish the time you sacrifice to lift them up for us. We miss you all and are so blessed to be partnered with such a wonderful group of supporters. Thank you again and remember we can always find Joy in the Hope found in the Grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen and Amen





Ps 57:2 I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.
Mt 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Mr 9:23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."
Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
2Co 6:4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,
2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Joh 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Easter Blessings

“Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.” Psalm 40:5

Happy Easter and happy Songkran from Thailand, I rejoice to report, that over the past five months, God has been doing some amazing things here at Akha Outreach Foundation. And as a family we have also been richly blessed since our last Blog update. So much has taken place over that the past five months, that it is impossible for me to share them all with you, but I will do my best to update you on what God has been doing here, and what we are trusting Him for as we look towards the next few weeks.

Let’s start with a praise report for the past months. In December we welcomed a small team from Singapore who joined us for Christmas. It was a great time celebrating the birth of our Savior with our friends. The children love Christmas and even though we usually start the day early at 5:00 AM, many of them stayed up late into the night celebrating this special day. After Christmas, it seemed like the weeks flew by and before we knew it we were heading into March and preparing for our yearly Bible school graduation. This year we had eight Bible school graduates. Shortly after the bible school graduation, all the schools our orphans attend closed for summer break and all of our children were able to return home to their villages to spend the next six weeks with their relatives. Summer time here is always an interesting time, all the staff are glad for a chance to rest but at the same time, the home here is really lonely without all the children and bible students here. Even though the children are not here, there still is a lot of work to be done, and over the past few weeks we have been busy preparing everything for the new term which starts on the 18^th of May. We also have been preparing for the youth camp which we will be hosting starting the 13^th to the 16^th of April. We are expecting around 200 teenagers to join us for this camp. Please pray that these days spent at the camp we will see those who have a personal relationship with God will grow, and those who do not know Christ as their savior will open their hearts to Him.

Today is the first day of the Thai New Year known as Songkran. It is a four day holiday where the whole country takes part in a nation wide water fight. April is the hottest month and it actually feels great to get splashed with some water, unless they have put ice into it.

Every year we hold this camp during the Songkran festival because this is the time of year that most teenagers go out with their friends and are most likely to experiment with alcohol, drugs, and sex. It is also the holiday that sees the most deaths due to motor accidents. Songkran is a fun holiday, but it is also very dangerous.

Today is not only the first day of Songkran, it is also Easter Sunday. Every Easter morning all the local churches get together at the cemetery for a sunrise service. I know that sounds strange, but after joining them, you come to see it is a wonderful experience.

Easter is a special holiday, and even though it is celebrated a little differently here in Thailand, it still is a great day to reflect on the promises we find in the resurrected life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thailand is a very religious country and most Thai’s are devoutly committed to worshipping their statues, but it is agonizing knowing that all of their prayers and devotion is for not. I pray that the truth of the Gospel message and the hope that comes through life of Christ will penetrate deep into the heart of Thailand and the Thai people. We as Christians have the promise that Christ is risen, and that our prayers are heard through His blood, and this is the hope I cling to, that our prayers for the lives of the people God has called us to serve are being heard, and He is working in their lives. I do not know when, but I truly believe that one day, the true message of hope found in Christ will shine brightly in and through the lives of the Thai nation. I ask you to please join me in praying for Thailand. Not only on Easter, during Songkran festival, or during this national crisis Thailand’s in right now. But please join me in praying for Thailand everyday. Thailand is 98 % Buddhist and that means that if Christ was to return today, then almost 100% of the Thai people would not be joining us in heaven. This is a sad truth, so please join me in praying for the Thai people.

On a newsflash, right now the capital of Thailand is in a state of emergence, as anti-government protestors are calling for the removal of the current prime minister. We are in no physical danger where we live, but as a country as a whole this is a major problem, and every four months we have a different group riot, causing the country to shut down. In December one group took over the international airport and closed it for two weeks, now it is another group. Thailand is a democracy, but it is a very fragile one, please pray that the current protests will end quickly and peacefully.

As I mentioned earlier, May 18^th is the start of the new school term, and all of our children will be returning from their villages on the 14^th of May. This year we are said to see that two of our staff are moving on, but also welcoming two new staff. We will have 93 orphans living here along with close to 40 bible students next year. As I look towards the next year I am excited but also scarred. Of the 93 orphans, 53 will be teenagers. In years past, the majority of our children were younger, but now they are grown up and we have over half of the children in their teenager years. This is exciting because with teenagers you don’t have spend as much time helping them with the little things, but it is scary because there are a lot of new areas that new to be reached. Please remember us this year as we begin down the exciting road of the teenage years. This is also our family’s finale year here at Akha Outreach Foundation. I have been serving here now six years, and I feel lead of the Lord to move on. We are sad to leave but are looking forward to taking this finale year to invest fully into the lives of the staff and the children here. I cherish each life God has entrusted to my care here, and I ask Him to continue to guide me and empower me to love each child as I love my own. It is hard sometimes, but I know God has called us here, and through His strength we can share His love with all of these children. Please pray also that as I work with the orphans, that I am able to Biblically share my love with my family. Mam is such a great wife and a wonderful Mother. Gracie and Joy are growing so quickly and this year they both will be attending school. Hope is such a blessing, and we are looking forward to celebrating her 1^st birthday with my parents when they come to visit us in May.

The summer break has been a great time of rest. I have been able to spend lots of time with my family, and feel 80% refreshed and ready for the new term. As a family we had lots of plans to go travel and spend time as a family, but that all changed because of the chicken pox virus that started to break with us. All three of the girls have now had the chicken pox, poor little Hope getting the worst. She is just now clearing up from them. It has been a long four weeks, but we are thankful this is behind us. After the camp, we will be traveling to Mam’s village to help build a new outhouse and kitchen for her parents. The girls love going to visit Grandpa and Grandma in the village. After we are through in the village we will most likely travel to Chiang Mai to meet my parents and my niece who are flying in during the first part of May. We are looking forward to spending a few days with them before the new term starts and all the children come back. Please continue to pray for complete healing for all of the girls and also for a restful remainder of our vacation. Please also be in prayer as we look towards the future and what God has in store for us following our time here at Akha Outreach Foundation. We still aren’t 100% sure where and what we will be doing next year, but we trust God will lead, and we are willing to follow.

Thank you for waiting patiently for this update to our Blog, I am so thankful for all of your prayers and financial support, and I long to share with you more frequently what God is doing through your help. I guess that could be my new year’s resolution, to update this Blog at least once a month. I promise to try. Thank you again for everything you have done to bless our family; your prayers, your letters of encouragement, your care packages full of goodies, and your faithfulness in giving. We are truly blessed by you and we constantly pray for you and your families. Joy won’t let us put her to bed without praying for our supporters. Thank you and God bless, wishing you a happy Easter and a happy Songkran from Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, and Hope Rutledge.