Friends and Family,

Happy New Year!  Isn’t it hard to believe its 2018? For most of us the focus of the holidays is Christmas.  However, for the Karen, an ethnic group from Myanmar, their New Year is the largest celebration.  The Burmese militant power has persecuted the Karen people for generations and forced them to flee their homes.  Many of them have lived most of their lives in Thai refugee camps.  Boise is home to a large Karen community, many of whom are Christian.  Karen New Year is also celebrated on January 1st.  This year it was a three hour celebration that included speakers, adult and youth choirs, and of course food!  They encouraged one another in keeping Karen traditions and thanking God for the year past and to come.  To finish they sang the Karen national anthem, inviting even the English speakers to join in! 

Glocal happenings:

• Planning 2018- We just finished our ministry plans for the year.  Thank you for your prayers!  We were able to set goals, plan key events, and get creative with how to engage and connect the church and refugees. 
• Friend Team- Introduction of another friend team from Homedale to a Syrian family.  I’m always amazed at God’s providence in these pairings! For example both ladies of each household shared a love of sewing.   
• New Family- We celebrated a recent arrival of a Rohingya family from Malaysia.  They are a family of four, with two daughters, age 11 and 17.  The Rohingya are from northern Myanmar and sadly are one of the most oppressed people groups.  Over the past year, there has been mounting evidence that they are suffering mass genocide by the hand of the Myanmar government.

I’m continually amazed at your generosity!  Currently I’m at 80% of my monthly support goal. You have blessed me beyond expectations!  As soon as I reach my financial goal I will make the switch to part-time with Glocal.  Some of you have asked how long I’ll work with Glocal.  I’m not signing a 2 or 4 year term, as is traditional with some mission groups.  As long as the Lord leads and the work is there, I’ll continue for an indefinite amount of time.  So excited to see where the Lord leads in these coming months!