Dear Family and Friends,

This October was the mid-term break at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary and I was looking forward to some down time after a very busy first semester. But by God’s providence, October did not turn out as expected.

Chiang Mai Floods

As some of you might have seen in the news, there were multiple rounds of flooding in northern Thailand in September and October. Chiang Mai flooded twice. The second time was worse than the first, and the waters were higher than they had been for decades.  Most of the flooding was in eastern Chiang Mai in the area along the Ping River but we live in the southwest, so our house was spared.  But we know many people who were impacted. Some areas received more than a meter of water in buildings. 

We wanted to take a break in October but with the floods, we felt compelled to do something. The international church we attend on Sunday evenings prepared and distributed boxes of food (with gospel tracts) in flooded out areas. We help with this on a handful of occasions.  I almost stalled out the church van in a flooded street and our kids enjoyed riding in the back of a pickup truck passing out food to people.  It was a lot of work, but it was great to be able to provide relief to flood victims in some way.  As the waters went down, I (Karl) joined up with cleaning teams from our Thai church as we sprayed and scrubbed flooded houses of church members.  When the water goes down, a layer of nasty, sticky, brown sludge is left behind. Thankfully most Thai houses have tile floors and concrete brick walls so, unlike many American homes, there were no carpet and drywall to rip out. All the same, lots of people lost a lot of possessions.  After the water went down, there were huge piles of destroyed furniture, bedding, trash, etc. all along the roadside in previously flooded areas. It looked like a war zone. 

For our whole family, it was a good experience to get out and help our Chiang Mai neighbors of various faiths in practical ways, showing the love of Christ. I think it was good for our kids see the value of loving others, not just in word, but also in deed.

Dear Family and Friends,

Thanks to all of you who pray for us and support our ministry in Thailand. Please accept our apologies for not writing more frequently. From March to May was the year end break at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary, which I thought would mean time off but somehow other projects, speaking engagements, and course planning for the new school year filled the time and now the new academic term is upon us.

Lord, Give Us More Students!

I really love the ministry of Chiang Mai Theological Seminary and the great team of other teachers that I get to work with, but student numbers continue to be low.  This term I have more students in the classroom than I did last term but many are still online. And our current student body of 60 students or so is less than half of what it was before Covid.  We don’t necessarily need to be a BIG school or to compete with other seminaries and Bible colleges in Thailand, but I think we have an important contribution to make to Thai churches with our strong emphases on Bible (and solid Bible interpretation and exegetical preaching) and missions.

Karl and CTS students during Church History Survey class

Dear Family and Friends,

The cool season has now passed, and things are heating up again in Thailand. Hot season has begun, and air pollution has gone way up in Chiang Mai as smoke from burning rice fields descends into the city, trapped by the ring of surrounding hills. We’re spending more time inside now with an air purifier turned on, but life goes on and wanted to give you an update on the past few months.

End of CTS School Term

The beginning of March saw the completion of the school term at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary (CTS), and we are now on “break” until the new academic year starts in June. I am thankful for the opportunity to teach “Thai & Asian Church History” and “Intercultural Communication” this past term. My students were largely online, in part because some of them live in another part of the country. But the class sizes were small and we had good class discussions. Some of my students are in pastoral or other church leadership roles, and other are studying for personal enrichment. Either way, I really enjoyed digging into the material with them. As a faculty, we reviewed course evaluations from students, and it was encouraging to hear what they were getting out of their studies and how it is helpful to them in doing local ministry. At our most recent faculty meeting, we spent time praying for all the students by name. Some students are full-time while other study only part-time while doing ministry and/or secular work and taking care of their family. Some have a difficult time keeping all the balls in the air and balancing responsibilities. Please pray for the CTS students, that they will be able to devote sufficient time to studies while balancing other responsibilities.

Karl preaching during CTS Chapel (click to watch)