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