Amulets – the Latest Fad

In Thailand there is an amulet called a Ju –tu- kam Ra-ma-thep that is extremely popular. It is the talk of the country. The Jutukam sells from $1 up to hundreds of dollars each. The Jutukam is worn around the neck similar to a pendent. This amulet comes in various sizes along with big promises to bring wealth to the wearer as well as protection from stray bullets, disease and harm if in an accident. In the southern Thai city of Nakorn-Sri-Thammarat, an incantation is recited over the Jutukam by a Buddhist monk to give it power (supposedly). The city has become very prosperous since first selling the amulet last year. Hotel rooms are booked solid. Thousands have been sold. The odd part is that the clay image (sometimes painted with gold or silver) encased in glass and plastic is Hindu! The popularity of the Jutukam is another reminder of why we returned to Thailand. As Paul says in Acts: “… we bring you good news that you should to turn away from useless things and trust in the living God.”

Praise and Prayer Requests

PRAISE !! We will now be able to move up-country because we passed level 5 in language proficiency. Richard did his tape on the elderly and Linda’s tape was on revenge. Before leaving Thailand 4+ years ago, we had reached a level 7. That will be our new language target after we move from Bangkok.

Please PRAY:
1. There is a contract on our house in Newport News,Va. The official closing date is on Aug 1. Pray that all goes well.
2. We must decide on where to work in south Thailand after leaving Bangkok. Please pray for wisdom in making the right decision.

BSC

Mr. Pairot, a 60 year old man who practices English with Richard at the Baptist Student Center in Bangkok, has lots of knowledge about God. Please pray that Mr. Pairot will soon believe in Jesus as Lord of his life. He attends many classes and programs at the BSC.

Health

Both Richard & I have had ongoing intestinal problems since returning to Thailand. Several weeks ago Linda was admitted to the hospital with food poisoning. Please pray for us to have strong bodies which remain healthy as we work in Thailand.

We saw SI

Some of you will remember Si, the Muslim girl, who was persecuted by her family for becoming a Christian. She took out an education loan years ago to finish college. The education loan was called due. Her father generously offered to pay off the loan if she would only return home and become a Muslim again. Si adamantly refused this offer! Her Christian employer intervened and paid off the loan. Now Si is paying her employer back. Pray for Si as she studies to prepare for mission work.

Annual Meeting

Last week we attended our annual meeting for the Pacific Rim. 100+ members of Brentwood BC in TN came to lead worship, and do camps for our children and youth. It was great to worship and sing together in English. We saw many friends serving in different countries and saw three special Thai friends. An auction was held at the meeting and $40,000 was raised for Lottie Moon.

Driver's License

Richard finally got his work permit - Because of this we were able to apply for our driver’s license. We went with our arsenal of documents – passport, international driver’s license, work permit, medical certificate, certified letter from the US Embassy and the IMB guaranteeing that we were who we said we were, our old Thai license and pictures of ourselves. At first we were told that our medical certificate was over a month old, so we quickly went out and got new ones. We had to take tests for color blindness, peripheral vision, depth perception, & reaction time. Then we got to watch safety videos in Thai for about an hour. Finally we were sent downstairs to get our 5 year licenses. All this took 3 ½ hours!