The following is from Shepherd's Staff Missionary Sharon Porterfield. Sharon serves Karen refugees in Thailand...

This is a report from the southern Karen area that I have asked you to pray for – please pray fervently so the spiritual & physical enemies cannot win & the Lord will be glorified! Please pray for the captured villager to be returned safely, & for the Lord to protect all other villagers. Thank you!!

Burmese Army burning paddy and capture villager

On 25^th March, 2009, Burmese army from LIB (Light Infantry Battalion) # 557 with 25 troops led by battalion commander colonel Min Thu Soe attacked Lahaylu IDPs hiding site and shot 35 years old IDP Saw Bu Lah and is wounded then captured later. BA also burned down three paddy rice barns that are including over 200 basket of paddy rice. The captured villager is not released until the information is sending out.

Lahaylu IDPs hiding site is situated in the east of Tenasserim River bank, west of Suang Phuang district, Rachaburi province of Thailand and in Tenasserim Big River area, Tenasserim division of Burma. The hiding sites is closed to Thai Burma border and closed to the Burmese Army's border out post. Most of IDPs in this area are villagers from Tenasserim river bank villages such as Kasehta, Tapelayko and Mehngaw village.

These IDPs are fled and hiding in this area since 1997 when the Burma Army launched major operation to Mergui-Tavoy district. Later on because of the Burmese Army's activities they crossed and lived in Thai side illegally in Karen villages, Pongheng, Bakohta, Suang Phung district along Thai border since 2000 and become Externally Displaced Peoples (EDPs).

Map showing incident site

Porterfield Missionary Page

Prayer Requests

"Is anything to hard for the Lord?"  Genesis 18:14

"Ah Lord God!  Behold, You made the heavens and the earth by  Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for You."  Jeremiah 32:17 

1. URGENT!  The plan of the Burmese government for 2009, from now until June, is to terminate the Karen in the Karen State in Burma.  The army's whole effort is to accomplish this evil goal before their 2010 "sham" election!  Pray that God will thwart this evil intention and protect all of the Karen who have been fleeing this evil army for 60 years in a miraculous way, that all will see His hand of protection & He will get all of the glory!

2. Daniel Zu, Beh Beh, and the Karen refugees have sent me a ticket to visit them in several cities in Australia.  Please pray that I will be a blessing and encouragement to them, and that I will be well and strong.  Thank you!

3. Carol has had successful surgery for her cancer (Praise!), and begins five weeks of radiation next month.  Please pray for this treatment to rid her of all cancer in her body! 

Praise Reports

"Lo, I am with you, even to the end of the age.  Amen."  Matthew 28:20 

1. Thank you so much for praying for safety and God's protection for the Karen.  I believe the Lord is hearing our cries and prayers for them!  Please continue praying! 

2. Moe Moe Aye is doing great - we were able to take her to see her mom, share the Gospel with her and the Thai she works for, and pray for them!

3. Praise for the Lord's provision for me to visit long time Karen friends and students in Australia, and for my two granddaughters, Kelsey & Kiana, who are coming to visit me in June for three weeks!

I keep thinking every month can't be as full as the last, but the Lord continues to move and bless so much that I can hardly keep up with Him!  Wonderful blessings from the Lord, like the PLU Discipleship School graduation & alumni reunion, Moe Moe Aye's baptism & visit to her mom, Dove's dedication to the Lord, fish faithfully provided for the refugees in Tham Hin & Ban Don Yang camps, celebrating Lay Lay Sha's birthday and the wonderful vet who saved her cat through I.V. drips & surgery, a family day at Pa La U waterfall, the Lord's provision for a more efficient water system at PLU Center & a truck for taking the children to school & evangelism outreaches, to His provision of guests coming to bless the Karen in so many ways!

Diane & Christy came because other friends of theirs couldn't host them & asked if they could come visit me.  Of course I said "Yes!".  They blessed us in so many ways - preaching at church & Sunday school, sharing the Gospel & giving 'salvation bracelets" to children and adults.  It turns out that Christy lives in Portland, OR where many Karen refugees have resettled, and she & her husband are excited about ministering to them there!

Dr. Wolfgang and Dr. Mikel faithfully return to bless the Karen medically.  Dr. Wolfgang performing eye surgery in the south this year is an answer to years of prayer - thank You, Lord!

I met Meg, an Occupational Therapist, on a Joni & Friends team two years ago & invited her to come back to see the handicapped people in the southern Karen area.  The Lord answered my prayer and she came for two weeks!  She traveled to many places the first week and helped handicapped children and adults in Tham Hin and Ban Don Yang camps, and also Bongti and Huay Mah Lai villages.  We "rested" her second week in the Pa La U area, where she traveled to seven villages to help the handicapped.  It was such a blessing to watch her in action with the children & elderly.  I wish I could put about 100 photos in this update so you could see what a loving & gentle person she is!!  She is from San Diego, CA, where there are resettlement refugees she's been fellowshipping with.  She shared with me that she has taught them songs and scriptures at Sunday School there, and what a blessing it was to do the same at the Pa La U Sunday school half way around the world! I wish I could express what a blessing and answer to prayer she was, but words are not adequate! 

I pray you can see a sample of all your love and support has provided, both physically & spiritually.  May you be blessed abundantly as you have blessed us through your love, support and prayers!!

By His grace for His glory,

Sharon

Porterfield Missionary Page

Sharon's first prayer request is pretty serious. Sharon ministers to Karen refugees that live in camps in Thailand. The Karen (pronounced car-en) are an ethnic group from Burma (Myanmar). The thug government of Myanmar has instituted a policy of ethnic cleansing against these people (link).

"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise", says the Lord, "I will set him in the safety for which he yearns."  Psalm 12:5

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

1. URGENT!  The plan of the Burmese government for 2009, from now until June, is to terminate the Karen in the Karen State in Burma.  The army's whole effort is to accomplish this evil goal before their 2010 "sham" election!  Pray that God will thwart this evil intention and protect all of the Karen who have been fleeing this evil army for 60 years in a miraculous way, that all will see His hand of protection & He will get all of the glory!

2. Please pray for De Sunshine's family - he brought them from trying to survive in the jungle to the refugee camp, where they will have education, health care, food, etc.  When he went to visit them, they had sent some things ahead & were packed & ready to go to a relocation site in Burma, under Burmese control, where there is constant persecution & oppression - they could not survive in the jungle anymore.  Please pray for their safety, etc.  We will be helping his nephews & nieces with their education in the camp. Please pray for the rest of his family too - none are Christians & survive through alcohol.  It is a very abusive situation for his younger sister, so we are praying & trying to help her by coming to Pa La U.  Please pray the Lord will help us with all necessary arrangements and permissions.  Thank you!

3. God is answering your prayers for Moe Moe Aye's eyesight - she is studying again at the Bible school, taking her exams, & finished the cross-stitch bookmarks she was making before surgery for her nurses at the hospital!  We will be taking Moe Moe Aye to see her mother, who is several hours away & in a place we have never been to before.  Her mom brought her to Thailand to get help & has not seen her since her surgery.  She was able to see her once before surgery & tell her that she had become a Christian.  She wants to share the Gospel with her mom this time, so she will be saved too.  Please pray all will go smoothly, that we will be able to see her for a good amount of time, and that she will open her heart to receive the Good News that Moe Moe Aye will share with her!

PRAISE REPORTS

1. De Sunshine/Po Rah, my youngest Karen son, has returned to the fold & is serving the Lord with us again at Pa La U!  He has taken driving lessons to help me with driving to the various ministry places I need to go, has been helping finish building my bamboo house in Pa La U, and working together in all the many ways he is needed.  What a wonderful praise to the Lord for answered prayer - never give up on praying for your "prodigal" children or family - God will answer in His time & way - praise the Lord!!

2. Derrick visited from Harvest Riverside & was a great blessing!  He helped build my bamboo house & visited Jee Lin & his family that we've helped as we can & asked what they needed.  The Lord had just blessed them with their own house after being moved around for over three years & living with another family for over two years.  Derrick looked at the situation & asked what they needed.  They needed plates, eating utensils, cooking pots, a stove to cook on, etc.  He provided all of those for them, then asked if they needed anything else.  They said they would really like to have cement around their house so Jee Lin, who is blind, could walk around without getting in the mud during the rainy season (six months of the year), and for the wheel chair for their cerebral palsy daughter, Naw Apple.  He bought all of the needed supplies, then Pee See & the students from the Pa La U Bible school went to make & pour the cement for them.  It was not only a blessing for this family, but a wonderful example for Derrick of how the Lord can use us to bless someone so much just by coming here to visit & see the needs!  

It is very hard for me to describe some things, especially how the Lord is so totally in control of all He has called me to do!  There is no way I can keep up with, or keep track of all that is needed, yet God is faithful to put it all together & remind me of critical things - like it's time to renew my visa for the next year!  After asking for prayer for the Lord to go before me to get all the things done that needed to be done in the one day I was going to Bangkok for my follow-up appointment for my foot doctor, and shared the verse in Matthew 6:8, that "the Lord knows all things before we ask Him", I looked at my calendar & saw that my visa needed to be renewed the next day!  I was already overwhelmed, so this was "over the top" because it involves going to the bank to get a letter first, then going to immigration, where there are hundreds of people waiting in line.  It is a four hour trip to get to Bangkok from Pa Las U, but the Lord provided Chris, Derrick, and Pee See to help, & all was done, with a new visa for anther year, by 7pm - we  were back in Pa La U at 10:30pm praising the Lord for His help & faithfulness!

I know all of the prayers you pray for & with us are what gets us through all situations here - I cannot thank you enough - you are a vital part of this ministry & God's precious team - thank you so very, very much for your much needed prayers to keep us strong- especially in the Lord!!!! 

By His grace for His glory,

Sharon

Prayer Requests

"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise", says the Lord, "I will set him in the safety for which he yearns."  Psalm 12:5

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3

1. URGENT LIFE & DEATH SITUATION - NOW!  The plan of the Burmese government for 2009, from now until June, is to terminate the Karen in the Karen State in Burma.  The army's whole effort is to accomplish this evil goal before their 2010 "sham" election!  Pray that God will thwart this evil intention and protect all of the Karen who have been fleeing this evil army for 60 years in a miraculous way, that all will see His hand of protection & He will get all of the glory!

2. Juty and Htoo Gay - please pray for God's perfect timing of the birth of their son, and a healthy baby boy!  I have a follow-up doctor's appointment in Bangkok for my broken toe during her estimated delivery time.  Please pray she will not go into labor while I'm gone.  Also, please pray she will give birth before February 17th.  There are several guests coming from that date, through the rest of the month.

3. Carol - From her email....."The Oncologist will contact the surgeon for the next step. She thought I could do the surgery in about a month as my body recovers. Then right before surgery they will take me off the blood thinner. They will take a look at the original site of the tumor to see if there are any cancer cells left. They will also take a look at my lymph nodes. That is step 2." 

4. Please pray the doctor will give me a good report - that I can shed my special "shoe"I can start walking on my foot & traveling again - thank you!

Praise Reports

"Bless the Lord, all my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies."  Psalm 103:2-4 

1. Moe Moe Aye - is finally safely back at the Bible school in Pa La U - what a joy to see her smiling every day now! Jo Mya - another clear CT scan & blood test - still in remission!  Carol - This is an excerpt from her email to me...."I just read in His word this morning the sentence that "The Lord gives strength to his people"!  That He does. I am so grateful to have taken my last chemo yesterday!~ My blood counts were low - but acceptable to do the chemo. No more.  Yeah!"  Praise the Lord for His answers to our prayers for Moe Moe Aye, Jo Mya, & Carol!

2. The Lord is continuing to bless me with people coming!  I met Mardee about four years ago for a few minutes, but we kept in contact and she just came to the Bible school in Pa La U to teach "Storytelling in the Bible", and a course on forgiveness.  The staff & students loved it, and the Lord really blessed it.  The last class was writing their hurts down, nailing them to the cross, then taking them from the cross & burning them!  There were lots of tears - first of pain, then of joy, that only the Lord can give us!!  Derrick, from Harvest Riverside, is at the Bible school now, willing to serve in whatever ways the Lord has called him to do.  He gave his testimony at chapel this morning & blessed us all!

3. Law Mu is a graduate of the Bible school at Pa la U & has been a pastor of a church in a small village for about two years.  I thank the Lord for the privilege of being able to know and see His fruit!  It was such a blessing to visit him & see him serving the people. There are only a few Christians, so it was a special privilege to be there when a Thai (outreach of the Karen!) was baptized by Htoo Gay, communion was served, and a couple, who already have a child, married in Christ!

I've always put my praise reports first, because I love to look at my previous prayer requests and thank Him for His answers, but this time I put my prayer requests first because the situation is urgent and we need your fervent prayers urgently!  It has been said, that the Karen IDP area in the south is the target from now until June, when the rainy season starts. Please pray that this is the time the Lord has promised to "arise to help the oppression of the poor, & the sighing of the needy - to set him in the safety for which he yearns"!  They need your prayers urgently - thank you!!

On a smaller note, we are all thankful to the Lord that the doctor gave Moe Moe Aye permission to return to Pa La U!  I also thank the Lord for His provision of His two "angels", Thoo Lai Paw and Izumi, that took care of Moe Moe Aye her last week in Bangkok so I could get caught up on my work & get some rest with my Karen family, since I was incapacitated with my broken toe!

"So our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us.  Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!"  Psalm 123:2 & 3

Thank you for your prayers for God's mercy on the Karen - may He have mercy on all of us!

By His grace for His glory,

Sharon

Porterfield Missionary Page

A few days ago, Sharon sent us a prayer request. She sent the following update:

Moe Moe Aye went in for surgery at 8:30 am, and returned from surgery and recovery a little after 5:30 pm!  The resident doctor said the surgery was a success - praise the Lord!!

There was no need to go to I.C.U. yesterday & she is in a room near the nurses station.  The first 24 hours is critical - please pray for no complications - thank you!

Because the surgery was so long, they didn't take a bone from her rib to put in her frontal skull.  Will let you know more as I understand more.

Meanwhile - thank you so much for your prayers & please keep praying!!

Thank you on behalf of all of us here with her!

Sharon

Praise Reports

1. Abundant CHRISTmas blessings!  Htoo Gay & seven of the Pa La U Bible school students returned safely from their IDP (Internally Displaced People) evangelism trip - all came back tired, but rejoicing in all the Lord did & wanting to return! My IDP trip was postponed, but one of my former students and one of my Karen sons are going to bless and encourage them. And many are taking the blessings prepared for them!  I'll send photos next month!

2. Jo Mya's CT scan results are benign & only dead tissue!  We prayed for wisdom for Moe Moe Aye's doctors - after they put her to sleep & partially shaved her head, they discovered an infection in her nasal canal.  If they had not discovered it, it would have gone straight to her  brain!  I fell & broke only my little toe - though "dangling", at least it was not my knee or hip!

3. Jesus' birthday was celebrated at the Family Home through the care & help of Htoo Gay & family, Htoo Wah & family & Chris (I could not go because of caring for Moe Moe Aye & my broken toe)!  Christmas Day was celebrated at the Chappell's home (where the Lord has provided for me to stay when I need to be in Bangkok), with many others from their church, & Moe Moe Aye!  Talking to my family in the USA on Skype - a conference call to California, Oregon, & Michigan!  No Skype photo of Brad & family because their computer was down, but it was great to be able to talk to all of them together!

Prayer Requests

"from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body......in love."  Ephesians 3:16

1. Please pray for complete healing for Jo Mya, Moe Moe Aye, and my toe!  Jo Mya's dark spot on his CT Scan turned out to be dead tissue - please pray it is completely gone on January 20th, when he has his next CT Scan.  Moe Moe Aye has remained in the hospital & had her nasal canal drained daily to clear up the infection.  It is now clear - please pray the infection will not return.  Her surgery is now scheduled for January 8th - please pray for no more complication and a successful surgery! Please pray my toe will be completely healed - It was completely severed from my foot & it is not healing in alignment with my foot  - hence the above Scripture - God wants our bodies joined & knit together into a whole body - both spiritually & physically :-)!

2. An IDP trip the last week of January - please pray the IDP's will know  we are loving them in Jesus' love & His love will become their own!  Please continue to pray for all of the IDP's - attacks continue daily, and the plan in the next few months is to attack and take over all of the southern area! 

3. Carol - Feeling good - two more chemo treatments - keep on praying for complete healing & strength - your prayers are being heard & answered!!

A very strange month for me - I don't think I have ever spent so much time in one place in the last 23 years, except while in Thai language school, and that was in Bangkok too!  While in language school, I met Carrie, the wife of the Calvary Baptist Church pastor in Bangkok.  She wanted someone to drive with her to school to lessen the stress of driving in the traffic.  I was walking to school every day, so it was a blessing for me too!  Now the Lord is using her & her family to bless me by opening their home to me whenever I am in Bangkok, which, needless to say, has been a huge  blessing - especially right now as I'm needing to spend more than a month here for Moe Moe Aye!  She's also gone on an IDP trip with me, and is taking me to the doctor for my broken toe.  I love the way the Lord brings blessings and friendships into our lives as we live for Him!!

I praise the Lord for His faithfulness - He even blessed me with a Karen Christmas in Bangkok!  And I thank the Lord for your faithfulness - your prayers, without which none of the praise & prayer requests written could be fulfilled!  Keep on praying so we can keep on praising the One who hears and answers our prayers!  Praying you all had a wonderful day filled with Jesus' love, comfort, peace, & joy as you celebrated His birth for you, & praying your new year will be filled with many more blessings of His love and grace. 

I thank the Lord for His gift of you in our lives - may the new year fill you with thankfulness for His blessings in your lives!!

Sharon, on behalf of all of the Karen who are blessed by your prayers

Porterfield Missionary Page

Praise Reports

"Come and see"  John 1:39 and 46

Spoken by Jesus, Phillip, and what I've been saying and praying for over 20 years, and people are now coming - praise the Lord!

1. Lots of people & traveling in a short period of time, filled with many blessings - the Lord answered our prayers for many fruitful times & open hearts for helping Karen through Jack & Lindsey, Sarah & Hannah, Katherine, Mark, Astrid & Julie, who came to visit, pray, seek, serve & provide - praise the Lord!

2. Klee Moo Gay, Law Wah & their daughter, Deborah, have joined the Bible school staff in Pa La U!  Klee Moo Gay was head of the girl's dorm before she married Law Wah 6 years ago - now her whole family has returned!  Deborah just recovered from being in the hospital with dengue fever, & both Klee Moo Gay & Law Wah have suffered with health problems for years.  It is a joy & blessing to be able to take them to specialists to research their situations now!

3. Celebrations of God's goodness & life - Juty & Klee Moo Gay's birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!  Thanksgiving & Christmas celebrated early because most are gone on evangelism trips during the traditional dates!  Klo Thaw's revival trip was a praise to the Lord - thank you so much for your prayers!!

4. A new bamboo house at Pa La U for the coming hot season - Pee See & all the staff & students are helping!

Prayer Requests

"Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him....pray....."  Matthew 6:8 & 9

1. Please pray for Htoo Gay & the Bible school students, who are on their IDP evangelism trip now, and for my upcoming IDP trip.  Please pray for the southern Karen state - the news is they plan a full on attack in the summer (the next few months).

2. Please pray for the health of all - many of those left at the Bible school are sick, including the children.  Lay Lay Sha just finished an I.V. because of dehydration from vomiting, etc.; Klo Thaw & Joy Christi's son was in the hospital with dengue fever, along with many others, & their village pastor's son died from dengue fever.  Please also pray for healing of Klee Moo Gay & Law Wah's health situations.  Please continue to pray for Carol through December - she is doing well in her chemo treatments & they cannot feel her tumor anymore!!

3. Please pray for a successful surgery for Moe Moe Aye on December 4th - it is major & complicated!  I've been told her situation is like spina bifeda in the USA.

4. Please pray for Katherine - for the Lord to guide and direct her on how He wants her to serve the people of Burma.

It's been a great month of introducing others to the Karen & their plight - all have been very encouraging and generous in giving of their prayers and resources - PTL!

Thanksgiving Day was spent with Paw Lu Lu, Nandoe, their family, and all at the Children's Home and Home for the Elderly.  We had a wonderful time thanking the Lord for all of His many blessings in the midst of their continuous struggles!  I especially thank the Lord that even though Nandoe was sick in-between, the Lord gave him strength to teach at the Bible school in the morning (even though he called & said he couldn't make it), and join us with lots of thanksgiving sharing in the evening.  The Lord gave him the strength he need for what He wanted him to do - PTL:!

The next day we were blessed to meet the children at a new IDP school for whom Paw Lu Lu is seeking support.  They are precious - please pray for the Lord's provision - thank you!  

Many ask how I do everything I do - all I know is everything is by God's grace & strength, and the results of your prayers!  Your prayers are what keep me going and I am so thankful for each one of you!  Praying you had a blessed Thanksgiving Day and will be totally blessed by the Lord as you celebrate His birth and life for you!!

By His grace,

Sharon

Porterfield Missionary Page