Two Weeks Til Take-Off!

Dear Friends, Family, Supporters and Prayer Partners,
It's hard to believe it, but 2 weeks from today our mission team from Concordia University Chicago will be leaving for our 18 day mission trip to Thailand! Our team of 17 includes students from CUC; Sarah, Paige, Carolyn, Jamie, Scott, David, Kyle, Josh, Meghan, Jordan, Kayla, Ben, Elizabeth, myself (Deaconess Betsy), my parents David and Mary (returning to Thailand for a second time) and my nephew Marshall. We are so excited for this opportunity to be able to serve the Lord and His people with the Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation-Thailand and we can't to see what He has prepared for us.

During our trip we will be visiting the Concordia Daycare Center and other Lutheran mission organizations in Bangkok. From there we will travel to Chiang Mai to work at the Concordia Learning Center as well as a local school and the Hmong village of Maesa Mai. The Concordia Learning Center is a hostel for Hill tribe children who come to the city from their rural communities to attend school. This gives them an opportunity to receive an education while living in a safe and Christian environment. During our time in Chiang Mai, we will also participate in Thailand's national holiday Children's Day in the community of Maesa Mai.This is a very brief glimpse of all of the things we will be doing during our time there. Please follow our blog during our trip to keep up with our day-to-day experiences. We hope to include pictures of our work and perhaps an elephant or two!

Most importantly, please pray for us as we prepare to travel and while we are in Thailand. We hope this is an opportunity for all of us to learn and grow in our faith and to be encouraged by fellow Christians in Thailand. Please also pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who we will have a chance to meet and learn from while we are there. May our work together bring glory to God. Please also pray for the work of the Gospel in Thailand. We certainly hope that we will have the opportunity to share the message of Jesus Christ with the students at the learning center, at the school and in Maesa Mai village and we pray that that Gospel would bear fruit in the hearts of those who hear it.

Blessings to you all this Advent and Merry Christmas! See you in 2 weeks!

~Deaconess Betsy Karkan