Another year has flown by and Rick and I are still continuing our outreach to the Karen refugees on the Thailand/Burma border. My first trip to the Karen refugee area was in 1993. I am now 6 months into the 21st year and God is graciously allowing us to continue bringing aid and the Good News of Jesus Christ to these wonderful people. We had a very productive trip to the refugee camps in January and February. Our complete trip summary, along with great pictures, is posted on our web site. Seeing the pictures of these precious children and their families tells a much better story, than just reading about our trip.

We now have 684 refugee children registered from 2 camps. 272 of those are being actively sponsored, leaving 412 waiting for sponsorship, some of whom have been waiting as long as 5 years for a sponsor. A dear Karen friend of mine had a heart to help the orphans and vulnerable children living in the refugee camps and we were able to work with him for many years. He went to be with the Lord 2 years ago. Since then we have been able to continue to reach out to these children as part of our ongoing outreach to those still living in the refugee camps. My dream is to have all of our children sponsored. Donations for 2013 as of 12/05/13 have totaled $46,238.00. Our disbursements to the children have totaled $36,708.00.

Because of Rick's total knee replacement surgery, we are not going to be able to travel to Thailand this winter. However, we have two American friends who live in Thailand and they have offered to go into the camps for us. Rudy and Mark will deliver the year end disbursement money and food to our camp contacts for the sponsored children. They will also be taking in the gifts and clothing that has been donated for our children. They both will spend a day getting new photos of our children. We are very disappointed that we are not able to go, however we are thrilled that the children will still get their gifts, food and money. We are constantly reminded that God is totally in control of this ministry and we are only being given the privilege of being ambassadors for the Karen children and their families because of His great love and compassion. We know that without God in control and our sponsors' commitment to the children, this ministry would not be successful. A huge thank you to all of you who are committed to our outreach. It is our hope that you all have a very blessed Christmas and Prosperous New Year.

Rick and Betty