Brethren,
Thank you for your intercession on behalf of us as we traveled 5 hours north to the Hmong refugee camp. Seven of us traveled from Bangkok and seven more all the way from Laos. We spent part of the day on Saturday and then on Sunday we celebrated Christmas with NamKhao Baptist Church. They prepared a meal for around 600 which ended up being a feast. Remember all this is done in a refugee camp! It was a tremendous blessing to say the least.

I would like to share one great blessing. As we prepared to leave, one of the leaders of the church wanted to talk. I guess this might require a little explaining, but basically after they were moved to the holding facility where they are now, we (missionaries) were no longer able to enter into that facility and visit in their homes. The only time we are able to meet with them is when the brethren are allowed to leave the housing area and go to the Church building, just outside the gate.

The leader told us that they realized they were no longer able to depend on the missionaries to help them with evangelism because of the limited access just mentioned. He said the church had talked about it and they knew the responsibility for evangelism was theirs. Their plan is to begin holding 2 evangelistic meetings each week inside of the holding center, inviting the unsaved. He said they would like to give out literature but realized that not much of what they had seen in Hmong would be useful to their situation. Therefore, they will start writing some tracts and study booklets themselves!

If they do that we are set up to print here in Bangkok! What an incredible blessing it was to hear these things. I told him that I travel literally around the world trying to get brethren to do what he is telling me they have figured out on their own! They have been involved in two translation projects in Hmong so far and it helped them to see the possibilities. I only wish Jeff Lange (who is on furlough and due to return next week) could have heard that!

Please continue to pray for the Hmong refugees. They are still under daily threats to be forcefully relocated to Laos. Pray for the brethren of NamKhao Baptist Church as they continue to be faithful to the Lord.

This is already too long, but let me also ask prayer about some meetings we have this week to make decisions about some new co-workers. We definitely need the mind of the Lord as much is at stake.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Friends,
Thank you for your continued specific prayer for the work here and for our family in it. We dare not undertake a task such as this without many standing with us in the place of intercession. The Evil one does not give up territory easily.

Over this past week, we have met with two people concerning the possibility of them working alongside us here. Please pray much about these. Both are Thai and will be very valuable additions to our staff. We are seeking the mind of the Lord in it now.

At this point, we have literature sitting on the borders of three countries as well as throughout Thailand. I will not say more now only to urge you to pray as you look at a map of the region. Work is ongoing on several more publications and in several languages for the region. Just after the first of the year we will begin implementing plans for a large project to prepare for the day that one regional country to opens to the Gospel. If you wish to know more, let me know. Communication must remain general in nature at this time.

Several opportunities to teach brethren in the region have opened up. Please pray as this is undertaken also.

We will leave Bangkok early this coming Saturday morning to travel to the Hmong Refugee camp in Phetchabun. The brethren of NamKhao Baptist Church there plan two days of meetings to celebrate Christmas. We will have a van full of co-workers to celebrate with them. Please keep on praying for the Hmong from Laos. Pray for our safety as we travel.

Our latest Prayer & Newsletter is being prepared now for mailing. If you would like to read it online, please follow the link below.

Newsletter December 2007

I have had to deal with several issues concerning my health these past weeks. Please keep praying for me to be able to get these resolved.

Krinny and I are grateful to you for co-laboring with us in prayer and finances. You are a very important part of the work. Please don't stop! May the Lord bless you during this holiday season. Merry Christmas!
For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
Thank you so much for your faithful prayer during these past few weeks. In the way of report let me say that the travel to the Burmese border I spoke of in the last update was successful and victorious. Much more could be said, but let me say thank you for praying. Our daughter and grandchildren left here on the 6th of December after a three week stay. I left hours later for a quick trip to Cambodia to deal with some publishing and printing.

Over the past month, I have had in severe pain in my heel. This is an old problem that now is much more serious and this time has rendered me almost crippled. When I traveled to Cambodia it was with a splint on my foot. On Monday of this week I was due to travel with some of our co-workers to Korat Thailand where we were to join up with a local church in outreach for the SEA Games. I was not able to go due to that problem with my foot. Our co-workers went on to the outreach and I went to the Dr again. He has me strengthening the muscles and stretching the ligament, and then surgery will be done in about one month.

Krinny and I have undergone some severe spiritual battles over the past few days. We covet your prayers. The enemy is ever vigilant to strike and it usually occurs in the hour least expected. Oftentimes it is simple discouragement he uses to set God's people aside.

At any rate, we covet your prayers as we deal with several issues and seek wisdom from the Lord. Thank you for standing with us.
For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
We have now enjoyed the visit of our daughter and two grandchildren for the past 2 weeks. It has been an incredible blessing for us, I assure you. Through a series of circumstances they will be here one more week. Krinny and I are thrilled!

Steve Sauvageau (a young man from Jeff Lange's home Church) and I will be leaving in a few hours for Chiang Rai and then on to Maisai, on the Burmese border. There we are to meet with a missionary flying in from a nearby country where he is working with an ethnic group. (Security keeps us from more details at this time) This concerns translation and revision of some literature. We actually should be able to meet with several men who are able to translate, representing several languages in the region. Please pray for these travels and for the right contacts to be made.

We have been given several tons of Bibles in Thai and Burmese. These of course need to be shipped from the USA, but first, they must be shipped from the Gulfport, MS area to Fort Worth where the container will be loaded. We are praying now for the funds to handle this shipment - around $1,500. Also the needed funds for shipping and clearing a container - around $5,000. It always amazes us to see how the Lord works out the details of providing His Word to those who do not have it.

We are also preparing a shipment of literature from our distribution point here in Bangkok to the Burmese border area. Funds for that shipment have already been given! Please pray that we can work out all the details and complete this shipment quickly.

You contribute greatly toward giving us the confidence to step forward in these opportunities. We would not want to attempt these things without you. We trust God for direction and provision, but we know that He uses His saints. Thank you for standing with us.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
We would covet your prayers over the next few days as we deal with some needed physical help for the 7,500 Hmong refugees from Laos in rural Phetchabun province. Several months ago, we handled a shipment of 10,000# of used clothing from the USA. This shipment proved to be a major headache dealing with the importation. However, when all was said and done and the clothes were distributed, it was a blessing to the Hmong. We just received a phone call from MSF, the international organization working inside the refugee camp. They were asking if we had more children’s clothes. It turns out that the large shipment was somewhat short of clothing for children and they are now in winter in the mountains where the refugee camp is located. They want to have clothes for children that they can distribute specifically to families who are in need. There is no time to deal with gathering and shipping from the USA.

We have contacted a number of Churches throughout Thailand and on last Sunday many of them announced the need. People will be gathering their used children’s clothes and bringing them this coming Sunday. I am not sure how we will get it all collected and then to the refugee camp, nor how the Thai churches will respond, but it is an opportunity for them to be involved and meet a need.

We are traveling to the refugee camp on this Thursday to be in a service with the NamKhao Baptist Church on Friday. Today we will take delivery of a Hmong book of illustrated Bible stories that some of the men in the refugee camp helped us put into print. We will be taking some of these books to the camp on this trip. Depending on the situation with clothing, another trip next week will be necessary. Our daughter and children are arriving today from Lithuania for a visit and their suitcases will be overloaded with used clothes from Lithuania! Some have asked about just purchasing clothing here in Thailand since they are pretty cheap. We are actually going to buy a small quantity from a market here in Bangkok before we leave on Thursday.

At any rate, pray for the brethren in Thailand as they help in a significant way with this need. It really is a tremendous opportunity for the churches here to be part of relieving the plight of the Hmong refugees from Laos. It will also be a huge blessing for the Hmong to know that Thai believers care about them.

Please pray for our travels over the next few weeks as we deal with these and other needs. The day-to-day work goes on; publishing, printing, and ministering. We will be taking a break from many of the responsibilities for the next two weeks while our daughter and grandchildren visit. What a blessing that will be. Grandparents will understand!

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
I would like to bring you up to date on our last e-mail update and ask continued prayer for a few things as well as praise for one.

We are grateful for the fact that the needed paperwork arrived from the USA just in time for us to get it to the US Consulate here in Bangkok and then on to the man handling our visa extension! As I said in the last e-mail, it would have been a costly venture if that had not happened. We give thanks for some faithful friends in Fort Worth, TX who searched and found this document and sent it on to us. We are also thankful for those many of you who prayed and expressed encouragement to us about it.

The needed document arrived in Cambodia also and is being processed now to clear the shipment. It is still very uncertain what will happen with the shipment, but please keep praying. As I understand it, offices in Cambodia have been mostly closed this week due to a holiday. Please keep on praying!
Also I mentioned missionary Butch Krenz in Udon Thani, Thailand needing a surgery. That is to occur tomorrow our time. We were unable to get the time of that surgery, but please pray for him. He was only home 10 days from over a three month stay in a hospital, recuperating from a fall from a ladder when he had to be admitted again. We would ask you to pray for him during these days. Here is some contact info for him as well as his home church where an account has been set up to help him.

Butch Krenz - cell phone in the hospital 011 66 87 238 2242
Home Church: New Horizon Baptist Church
13018 Highway 31 North,
Ward Arkansas 72176
Pastor Kevin Bernard
501 843 3979
keb100@hotmail.com

The Lao Hmong refugees are in the exact same status as far as the government is concerned. They are now beginning to see that things will not work out for the good for them, languishing in the refugee camp under daily threats of being forcibly relocated back to Laos. Many of them are convinced that they will be persecuted or killed if that happens, but a number of the leaders and families of NamKhao Baptist Church are now considering willingly going back to Laos, not because they think it is safe but because so many are weary and just want this ordeal to be finished, no matter what happens. They are aware of the fact that the Lord can use them in Laos to plant churches if the conditions will allow. At any rate, they are praying about it now. Please join with them in prayer. What a huge decision to make! Again for some who fled under severe persecution, it means returning to the belly of the beast so to speak. It also means taking their families back into that.

Many more things need prayer attention but this update will suffice for now. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your labors alongside the Gaudet family.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
Thank you for your continued intercession for the work here and for the Gaudet Family. We are in the midst of a couple of situations for which we would like to ask you to pray. Please forgive the long e-mail.

1. In dealing with a one year visa for staying in Thailand we discovered that we were missing a very important document from the USA. Folks at home are looking for the document among our personal items and we have also ordered a replacement. The situation is that we need it in hand here in Thailand no later than Tuesday of next week. Please pray that this can be facilitated to meet that date. To miss it will complicate things to the point that we will have to make a run across the border into Laos and start some paperwork all over again. Please pray that obtaining the document can be accomplished in time.

2. An 8 ton shipment of tracts is sitting on the Thai/Cambodian border as this is written. A key document was not sent to Phnom Penh by our shipping broker and the shipment is held up on the border awaiting that document. Once discovered, it was supposed to have been faxed this afternoon but too late to deal with today. We are not sure if they will attempt the shipment again tomorrow (Sunday) or on Monday. Please pray for this shipment to clear customs in Cambodia without undue costs. This has been a problematic shipment since we first started dealing with it. It is pretty obvious to us that the enemy does not want it there.

We are “Flat out” working with translators, proofers, and printers. We take delivery late next week of around 4 tons of illustrated books being printed now in Bangkok. These are greatly needed and we are looking forward to how the Lord will use them. Next month will be extremely busy with several visitors including our daughter and two of our grandchildren from the 12th–28th. Krinny and I are so excited about that! In fact, our Thai co-workers have caught the enthusiasm and are looking forward to it also. The day they leave I will also leave for three days in Northern Thailand. Please pray that our Lord will sustain us and bless the work. Pray for our daughter and kids as they travel from Lithuania to Bangkok.

You will remember a fellow missionary we told you about who was recovering in the hospital in Udon Thani, Thailand. He was finally released to convalesce at home and was readmitted to the hospital within 10 days with a severe internal pain. He has been given the news that a surgery will need to be done. Please pray for Butch Krenz. Most of the funds had come in to pay for his 16 week stay in the hospital for the initial injury, but he will need to see the Lord provide for this also. If you would like to call and encourage him, he can be reached on his cell phone in Thailand at 011 66 87 238 2242 (as dialed from the USA)

This bit of information may be of help to you. The US Postal service is now offering a service called International Flat Rate Box. Two sizes are offered and the largest one holds up to 20#. It is shipped anywhere in the world for $38! We have received a few of these and then other folks trying to mail have been told by the post office that there is no such service. I recommend that you print out the following link when you go to the post office. Some post offices are not aware of the service. Here is the link. Look it over.

http://www.usps.com/shipping/flatrate.htm

Thank you again for your intercession for us. You will never know the kind of confidence it gives us knowing that you are praying.

Dear Intercessors,
How we thank God as you labor alongside us in this work. So many of you pray and oftentimes do not know what is happening as a result. Just a quick update since a handful of you know about this…

On Thursday of this past week I went to the Dr. because I was not feeling well and had noticed that my blood pressure was very low. He took one look at me and made me lay down and started doing tests. As I was heading to a room to be admitted, (in a wheelchair, PTL) I lost consciousness for a few minutes. Next thing I remember, I was in a bed in a CCU at the hospital and nurses were scrambling all around me. They quickly determined that it was not due to a coronary condition, rather just low blood pressure probably as a result of some changes recently in my medication. I ended up staying three nights and was released on Sunday afternoon. Krinny stayed with me at the hospital during that time and our co-workers stayed busy with the work at hand. I am fine now and the Drs are once again practicing on me, (grin) by changing the medications to make everything right. Honestly, we are so very grateful for the fine medical care here. These things happen and we could not think of a better place to be if it does. Thank you for praying for us!

We trust you are still praying for the situation in Burma. The untold story is that as many as 3,000 people, just since these latest problems, have sought a way across the border. A couple of them have made the news here recently as one was a high ranking defector from the Myanmar army, and the other was a monk. These were just the ones that were brought to the attention of the public. Many more have sought refuge also. This happens at a time when Thailand is clamping down on those fleeing from their countries, Burmese, Hmong from Laos, and over 600 North Koreans in detention in Thailand at present. Please continue to pray for the Burmese and for others fleeing oppression. We are praying that the Lord would make a way to give them the Gospel. Please pray to that end.

We just heard from our office that funds came in to ship the Burmese Bibles as far as the border area. That will be contracted within the week, Lord willing. Please pray for this and much more!

We have just finished a new Prayer letter which will be mailed soon. If you would like to read it as a PDF, here is a link which you can use to download it. It is not linked yet on our website but you can cut and paste this into your browser and view it. http://gaudetfamily.org/Prayerletters/2007/sept2007.pdf

Again, thank you so very much for standing alongside us in this work. You are a very real part of what is happening here.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
I want to plead with you to pray right now concerning the people of Myanmar, (Burma). I really cannot in this medium give a background on the situation, but I can recommend http://www.irrawaddy.org/. Pacifist Buddhist monks have led protests for the past several days and upwards to 20,000 people have joined with them, walking the streets of Rangoon and other cities. This has been the largest public protests of conditions in the country since 1988. The military forcefully broke up the student led protests then. Yesterday the military issued strong warnings that these protests would not be tolerated. The eyes of the world are on that country of 54 million at this time.

The USA and several other western countries are raising their voices at this time. Also, over 10,000 ethnic refugees from Burma living in camps in Thailand are being relocated to the USA.

We have just completed a video which will be mailed out within a week or so which will help you understand better the issues. Another one is being worked on now in which we explore God’s working in Burma. Also, we are about to ship 3,000 Bibles, and an important book presenting the Gospel is going to press next week. God always uses people who are prepared. Please prepare yourself to make a difference in the lives of the people of Burma. Learn all you can about the situation and then give yourself to intercession for them.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
On Friday, we unloaded a seagoing container of literature from the USA. Almost immediately the bulk of the contents of that shipment was promised out and will be shipped to various locations around the region, including across a couple of borders! The demand for some of these items has prompted several phone calls and as of this writing, another container is now being planned. This will have several thousand Bibles as well as New Testaments and other items in at least three languages. Praise the Lord, He has put it on the hearts of several brethren in printing ministries to provide these items. Please pray concerning the printing of these materials. These ministries have the same problems everyone else has and oftentimes fundraising is a big part of their efforts. Pray that they will be blessed of the Lord for these things.

We would really like have that container ready to ship in late November or early December, funds permitting. Port charges, and etc here in Bangkok put us around $500 over what we had on hand for this last shipment. We never know how it will go with customs but experience has helped us prepare better for it.

We now have a 300+ page illustrated book explaining the Gospel ready to print in 6 languages. In addition, several scripture portions are ready in 4 languages. Pray that we can see these items in print and distributed soon. Please contact me for more information if you are interested in it.

The 24th SEA Games, will be held December 6-15 in Nakhon Ratchasima, (Korat) Thailand! These are Olympic style competitions which are held every two years somewhere in Southeast Asia. The host city is the third largest in the country, just 3 hours north of Bangkok. The participating countries are: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.

Our current plan is to host a small team of brethren from the USA to work alongside a Church in Korat to do an outreach during these games. Korat Baptist Church will be making an appeal to local churches across the country to send volunteers to work alongside their church and the team of foreigners (us!) to reach out to the Games participants, spectators, and the surrounding city during those days.

We have the largest bulk of literature on hand now to accomplish this, but will be obtaining some of the foreign language tracts between now and then. Each tract will have a response card inserted offering more information for those who are interested. An outreach of this nature will provide many contacts in Thailand and each of the countries represented, including the “closed” countries.

If you wish to know more about the opportunity to travel to Thailand and work with us during these games, please contact me. We will need help! Many details remain to be worked out. The Thai people are generally either not able to speak to people from other countries or too shy to use limited English skills. Work with the foreign athletes will fall mostly on our “team.”

Thank you for your intercession. You will never know this side of eternity what it means to us.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Praying Friends,
I just returned from the new holding center for the Lao Hmong refugees in Phetchabun. This new facility is 2 miles from the old one but it has razor wire surrounding the perimeter. The Hmong must get permission before they can leave the secured area for places like the morning market and the recreational area where their new Church/School building is located just outside the gate.

Monday night we loaded a truck here in Bangkok with 10,000# of used clothing which was donated for the Hmong. It was delivered to the church building on Tuesday morning and the ladies of the Hmong church spent that day and Wednesday sorting and repacking the clothes into plastic sacks, 1,400 of them; one for each family! On Thursday morning I traveled there with Brad Shrader, and a visitor; Steve Zeinner of Bearing Precious Seed Global. Our friend from Laos and a Pastor Srithrone from Chiang Mai also participated in these events. That day the distribution of the clothes to the whole camp was handled by the church members. On Friday morning an opening ceremony for the new school took place in the Church/School building. This day also marked the opening of the new church building that the military allowed the Hmong to build after moving to this new camp. That day around 400 – 450 people attended, mostly church members. It was a tremendous blessing to once again see them singing and praying together. For the past two months, they have been broken into small groups in their houses. That was good training for them if indeed they are moved back to Laos.

The church paid for and prepared a meal for the people there at the celebration. The materials needed to rebuild the building at the present site were also paid for by the members! It is amazing to see sacrificial giving in a refugee camp! The only thing missing was the Lange family. They are on furlough in the USA right now and itching to get back.

We are awaiting word on Monday or Tuesday about the delivery of a container of literature from the USA. This shipment is nearly two weeks overdue. Please pray that we can get it out of customs without undue assessment of taxes. We have a lot of things going on right now and would surely ask you to pray that we can be effective and get done what is needed. On every hand the opportunities to minister abound. Pray for Thai hearts to be tendered. Thailand still has less than 1% who claim to be “Christian.” The Strongman must be bound!

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
Several of you have asked for an update on missionary Butch Krenz. He is the missionary in Udon Thani who was severally injured in a fall from a ladder on May 21. He has been in the hospital in Udon Thani since that time.

I spoke with him today again and he is getting stronger every day with physical therapy. His Dr. did say that he would be able to go home if there was some way to come back every day for therapy. He is still unable to walk or to stand for very long unassisted. Going home right now is not really an option. His house would have to be equipped with a hospital bed and many other things to make that possible. It is possible to move him from the hospital to an apartment just behind the hospital where he could have the kind of in-home care needed and also be able to be wheeled to therapy. He is trying to sort all that out right now. But the other problem he is faced with is funds to pay off the bill at the hospital. This is expected in Thailand.

Since the earlier post about it, around $3,000 has come in. At the same time that we wrote the e-mail a letter from his sponsor went out and in phone calls we have learned that several of his churches are taking offerings to help him. Please pray for his healing and for the finances needed. If we have the figures right, around $9,000 - $10,000 still remains to be paid. Krinny and I are sending the items she used after her knee surgery. (wheelchair, walker, etc) We were wondering what we would do with those things!!

Thank you for your continued prayer for this dear Brother and his wife. They are encouraged by it I assure you. Several have asked for his phone number and I will give the details of his sponsoring church again below.

Butch Krenz - cell phone in the hospital 011 66 87 238 2242

Home Church: New Horizon Baptist Church
13018 Highway 31 North,
Ward Arkansas 72176

Pastor Kevin Bernard
501 843 3979
keb100@hotmail.com

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
Thank you for your intercession for the trip earlier this week to the Lao Hmong refugees’ new camp in Phetchabun. Those of you who have been following this know that since the refugees have been relocated to the new facility, none of us have had free access to them. That was a real concern; not that it would stop the work of the Lord with the Church which has been started, rather that we could have the kind of access to the brethren with which we could encourage them. Several of the men have been leading worship in a large number of the huts since they moved into this camp. These brethren have been taught that may be necessary if they are moved back to Laos. With or without a building, or a missionary, they have remained faithful to the Lord.

However as I said we are all concerned that we could visit them and continue to have a ministry in their lives. You are also aware that the Jeff Lange family is in the USA during all these events. With that background, let me say that as of this trip, the military task force has given permission to freely visit with the believers when they are outside the gate of the camp in the area designated as school/recreation. The military allowed them to tear down their old building and rebuild it in the new area. This was done with the understanding that a school would be started to teach children.

A plan has been drawn up to teach 1,000 students per week, 200 per day. The military has approved the plan and allowed the building to take place. It will be used for school during the week and services on Sunday. This school will teach the basics of Thai and English language, Math, science, and Bible! We are still negotiating some of the details of what is required by the military but the basic plan has been accepted. None of us will have the funds needed to sponsor a school such as this so we trust the Lord will lay it on the hearts of others who can sponsor it. The cost is still undetermined, but will be governed by the demands that the military make on us. Please pray that these will be worked out soon so we can share the cost with some who we know are already concerned.

In the end, this has given us access to the believers. Not as before, because we will be kept out of the fenced in area where they live, but we can meet them in the Church/School building. Our purpose for the trip was accomplished and we believe that a victory was won.

Please keep praying for these dear people. Of course they are still under threat of being deported. As a side note, the last e-mail update we sent had information about a group of 150 Hmong in a detention facility in Nong Khai. They had gone on a hunger strike to protest their detention and the condition of the facility. They stopped their hunger strike on Tuesday after sufficient international attention was drawn to their plight. No answer yet to the detention but the government is talking to some other countries about it now.

Thank you for praying. May the Lord bless you as you labor with us in prayer and financially.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
To give proper background on this matter would take longer than the space in an e-mail. Please indulge me just a little then I would ask for your intercession for these dear people.

A group of some 150 Hmong from Laos have been detained since November, 2006 in the immigration detention facility in Nong Khai, a city on the Thai/Lao border. In January of this year, the authorities attempted to deport them to Laos but they resisted and due to the presence of foreigners at that time, tremendous pressure was put on the government and the deportation was called off. They have been in this facility since then, locked in two cells. There are approximately 80 children in this number. On Thursday, they started a hunger strike to bring attention to their plight. News of this went around the world within one day. All of these detainees have been accepted for relocation to third countries but they are denied the exit paperwork.

This matter will again bring international attention to their plight and will eventually affect the nearly 8,000 Lao Hmong in the holding area in Phetchabun. Tomorrow we are going to the refugee camp, now more properly referred to as a holding facility. Pray that we can have access to at least the believers to encourage them.

The plight of the Hmong in Laos and those stranded in Thailand has also come to the attention of the international media as a result of the June 4th arrest of 11 men in California, charged with plotting an overthrow of the Lao government. At the beginning of this month, 13 members of the US Congress wrote to the King of Thailand, asking for his intervention to stop deportations.

We do not know how all this will affect the situation with the Lao Hmong refugees, but we would ask you to intercede for them specifically at this time. So far nothing has been resolved and not one of the refugees has been allowed to leave Thailand for any other country except back to the harsh conditions they left in Laos. Please pray. These next days could be crucial.

To research more about this matter you can click on the following links:

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38944

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2008584.htm

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/18/regional/regional_30045538.php

http://www.unpo.org/article.php?id=7071

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
We would covet your intercession this next week for some significant matters.

1. Trip on Tuesday-Wednesday to the Hmong Refugee camp in Phetchabun. I and Brad Shrader will drive from Bangkok and Pastor Srithrone will drive from Chiang Mai and meet at the refugee camp on Tuesday morn. Another missionary may be driving from the border to meet us also. Many things still need to be hammered out with the military and with the Church leaders. I will have a better handle on things after this meeting and will be able to update you then. Please pray for safety and for us to get all this worked out so that we (missionaries) can have continued access to the Hmong. BTW, Brad Shrader is a man that the Lord put us together with in recent weeks. Pray for him and his wife as they minister here in Thailand.
   
2. A container shipment is due to arrive next week from the USA. This shipment of literature is actually the smallest (25,000#) that we have handled, but it runs the potential of being the one that causes the most headaches. We have to pay duty on all Thai literature so far, but until now it has been a very small amount. This shipment however is around 70% Thai and contains a large number of Thai Bibles. We have no idea how the customs people will handle this. Please pray that it will be a reasonable rate that they charge us as in previous shipments. If it is a normal price, we have the funds in the bank to cover it. PTL!
   
3. Also this week we plan to make a shipment of several tons of literature from Bangkok to a nearby country. (Discretion is needed at this time) This shipment has not been possible until now for many reasons, including finances. If the estimates we have been given are correct, the finances are covered, and it is finally ready to go after paperwork is finalized on Monday. Please pray that all goes well and the literature will be allowed to reach its destination.
   

I am convinced that none of us fully fathom what the Lord is prepared to do for those who ask Him. None of the requests we make now can be answered by any of us, nor by any of you. Our Lord will have to intervene in the lives of men; officials with whom we will be in contact. Thank you for your faithful intercession.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Brethren,
We would like to request prayer for a fellow missionary, Butch Krenz. He has been in the hospital in Udon Thani, Thailand since May 21. These last 12 weeks have been spent recovering from a fall. The injury left him partly paralyzed. He also had to have surgery to the area around one eye which required 35 stitches. The paralysis has subsided slowly as he has healed and responded to physical therapy. He has lost a lot of muscle tone and is not able to stand or walk by himself at present.
At this point his hospital bill has reached the place where he must have help to pay it before he can be released. We know this story very well due to our hospital stays in Thailand; you are not released from the hospital until the bill is paid.

The total bill to date is approximately $19,404.00. Of that his home church has given a gift, his children have sent money, and he has been able to pay some on it with his regular support. The bill as it stands now is approximately $13,500.00.

What he needs to do now is pay the bill and be discharged from the hospital. Then he and his wife will move into a small apartment which is directly behind the hospital. His wife and a full-time nurses aid will stay with him and be able to wheelchair him daily to the hospital facility to have therapy. It is estimated that two months of that arrangement will suffice. That will cost around $800 per month, much less than the hospital.

We have some of the items he will need, wheel chair, walker, etc., from when Krinny had surgery and we plan to take that to him. We plan to help financially also.

Butch is an old friend and more than anyone else, the one responsible for us being in Thailand now. We only found out that he was in the hospital last week and were quite surprised by it. We made a trip to Udon Thani to see him and our hearts were touched to see him in that situation.

Would you please pray for him? Our Lord is the Great Physician and also the Great Provider. If you would like any more information than I will give below, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please pray and consider helping him!

Butch Krenz - cell phone in the hospital 011 66 87 238 2242

Home Church: New Horizon Baptist Church
13018 Highway 31 North,
Ward, AR 72176
Pastor Kevin Bernard
501 843 3979
keb100@hotmail.com

(An account has been established at his home church. Via ATM, he can have access to the funds as soon as they are deposited in the USA. Please make sure checks are made out to the Church, but clearly marked “Butch Krenz”)

It is such a blessing to know that so many of you pray. Please do not stop. Many things are going on in the work here at present. More on that later.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
How we thank and praise God for you, our prayer partners! So many things to report, but… I will keep this short.

Please keep praying concerning the Hmong situation. The camp commander still has not approved a plan which would involve a school being set up in the Hmong camp. The school will have obvious benefit but the primary reason for it will be continued access to the Hmong refugees which will not be allowed without something like this being set up.

We are rejoicing in a couple of huge answers to prayer at this time:

We had asked prayer for a situation in which we were really behind financially due to unexpected expenses. We want to report to you that offerings have been given which have completely covered all of those expenses as well as some upcoming needs for dental work and dealing with our visas. We are still in awe of the mighty hand of our Lord in this situation. Thank you to the many of you who prayed and gave financially. We are humbled and encouraged in Him!

Also we have a 20’ seagoing container on the way now from the USA. This 25,000# shipment of literature is greatly needed at this time. Please pray for its speedy and trouble free customs clearance. Another one will follow shortly, Lord willing.

Gary Karle from our sponsoring Church is visiting with us for 3 weeks and I took this opportunity to have a traveling partner. We just returned from a three day trip to Northern Thailand, near the Burmese border. We leave this coming Wednesday for Yangoon, Myanmar (Burma). How we thank the Lord for safe travels and for great success with the purpose of these trips.

Thank you again for your continued intercession. Your labor is not in vain.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Subject: Gaudet Family Update - Hmong follow-up
Date: 7/11 10:48 PM

Dear Intercessors,
I posted a message a couple of days ago asking specific prayer for a meeting which was being held in the new Hmong refugee camp. After delays, that meeting did take place and tentative approval was given by the military for the Church to build a building just outside the main gate of the camp. The meeting involved two other churches which had buildings in the old camp and from what I am told, quite a bit of negotiations took place.

NamKhao Baptist Church has been designated a large spot to build since the congregation is quite large, but more from the military’s eyes from the fact that it has been agreed to hold a school for the Hmong kids in the Church building.

Please continue to pray as now a comprehensive plan must be presented to the military for the operation of the school before work will be allowed to proceed. Pastor Srithone from Chiang Mai is putting that plan together now to present to the military. He will be in Bangkok on Friday and we will be meeting then to work on that as well as other plans.

The Church has funds saved to build a basic structure for their needs. What else will need to be done concerning equipping a school will need to be addressed as time goes on. Just pray for these negotiations please.

Please pray also for the Lange Family as they are on furlough in the USA during all this. The Lord knows best in it all. From it’s beginning the Church as been taught to depend on the Lord, not the missionary. At the same time, I am quite sure it is difficult for the Lange’s to be in the USA during this time as they watch long distance the events unfolding – able to do only what you are able to do – Pray, and depend on the Lord to work it out.

Thank you again for interceding.
For Souls Still Waiting,
Bro. Tom

Dear Intercessors,
Please pray for the Hmong refugees in general and the brethren of NamKhao Baptist Church in particular. These are difficult days for them as the military has now moved all of them to the new camp. Whatever hope they had to be resettled in a third country or to stay in Thailand, they are now realizing that those hopes are far fetched.

The new camp is more or less a holding center for the Hmong while Thailand and Laos work through the process of sending them back. That is what the military is saying now to the Hmong people themselves. The military estimates it to take 2-3 years to move all these back to Laos.

This Tuesday, 10 July a meeting will be held at the camp to decide what will be done about what Church buildings will be allowed and schools allowed. Things change quickly in a situation like this and this is what is now being said.

Pastor Srithrone from Chiang Mai will travel to the camp for that meeting to represent the interests of the Church and the missionaries involved. The outcome of that meeting will determine future access to them.

There is a media news blackout from the camp mandated by the military. Please pray for these dear people in the days to come. Pray especially for the brethren.

I plan to update you again later in the week after that meeting is finished.
For Souls Still Waiting,
Bro. Tom

Dear Intercessors,
Those of you who follow our ministry closely and intercede for us know that we do not often mention things such as this. We mention them now, not for sympathy but for your consideration for prayer. So many things have been wrought by prayer as you have labored in prayer with us in the past. We personally stand in need of your intercession now.

Since we have been in Thailand, our finances have been pretty well stretched to the limit. We are speaking of our day-to-day expenses as we always have projects which have been well funded. We came to the field with what we thought was sufficient for living expenses but that figure has been reduced - not by dropped support, but by the exchange rate! Since arriving here two years ago, the exchange rate has changed 23% and not for the good. Take a tight budget and lop 23% off of it and you can imagine what we are talking about.

Additionally we have had expenses which were unplanned. Our medical costs so far in 2007 have gone around $6,000.00 more than we had. Virtually none of the $9,000 we have spent this year on medical can be reclaimed from our healthcare partner due to the deductible on each incident. I also had to make a costly unplanned trip back to the USA in January which was not budgeted. We literally got behind and have stayed that way all year!

At present, projects which we are administrating total around $32,000, but those funds are designated and we cannot use them for our living, or general ministry expenses.

We are faced at present with visas which will expire on the 18th of this month. Due to the short-term nature of our work, these visas should be issued in the USA, but a trip home right now not only is not feasible for furtherance of the work, but due to the cost involved.

It is interesting that we would come to you for prayer in this manner at this time. Many of you have seen videos that we have been able to produce over the last few years. April Wilson, the young lady who has been doing the video editing for the past year is leaving in about 10 days and we are desperately trying to finish one last video before she leaves. It is about intercessory prayer and what prayer can do in relation to missions. I have learned over the years that nothing is too hard for the Lord. There is nothing that we can trust Him for that He is unable to perform. I have always figured He wants us to trust Him for the un-reached. He does indeed, but He wants us to trust Him for situations such as this also.

This does not diminish in any way the sacrificial giving of folks who have helped in many ways over the years. This is a special situation which has not yet been resolved by our prayers alone. Please pray on our behalf for these things. We cannot imagine returning from the field because of lack of funds.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
I have just returned from two back-to-back trips. One was by air to Chiang Mai where I met with translators and did some follow-up with other projects. The second trip was by highway to Phetchabun in the Hmong refugee area. I left there Monday after the Army moved the first of the families to the new camp, 6km up the mountain from where they were.

It was an eerie sight driving along the road where the refugees have been encamped for the past two years and seeing people taking apart their bamboo huts. Then the long line of Hmong trudging up the hill either to be “checked in” to their new homes or just joining the daily work crew while awaiting their turn. The housing is the same, bamboo huts, but poorly constructed to the Army’s specifications. The very day the first families arrived, some were already tearing their huts down to rebuild them stronger. Instead of

being placed haphazardly along the side of the road, the huts are in neat rows, but behind a barbed wire fence around the entire camp. .

The Hmong were searched before entering the new camp. Money and cell phones as well as other items were seized. The camp is not finished and work is proceeding on one section as another is being occupied. The Army is using the Hmong to build the camp. Now both camps are being occupied for the time being as the military continues moving people. They estimate it to take 10 days to move all 8,000 people.

Please pray especially for the brethren of NamKhao Baptist Church during these days. So many things are uncertain with this move. They have less freedom of movement for sure. Also, after a meeting with the commander it became evident that there may be a problem with the brethren having a place to erect a building for the Church. The Army refuses to let the church leaders speak for themselves and I cannot function in Thai. We made some calls to a Pastor in Chiang Mai who has worked with Bro. Lange. He traveled to the camp today and met with the military to try to sort these things out.

More has to be done tomorrow with some documents which he was asked to provide, but it looks like the military will allow another building the size of the current one to be built alongside the new camp. They recognize the need for education for the children and that has led to appealing to us (foreigners and Thai Pastor) to help set up a school. That is being discussed with the Church leaders now since the military strongly suggested it if the building is to be built the size they agreed to.

Please pray for these decisions. Anticipating this move, the Church has saved their offerings and should be able to rebuild the building at the new site. What will need to be done about a school for the Hmong community will have to be sorted out in the next few days.

One good thing about this move, starting in August, a full ration of food will be provided for each person in the camp. Those of you who have followed this situation know that for one entire year in the beginning, RLI, with funds provided by brethren in the USA sent in a 13,000 lb. shipment of rice every 8 days. Even that was simply a drop in the bucket to help feed nearly 8,000 people at times. Last year in August, MSF, the other agency working in the camp secured funds to begin providing about three times what RLI had done in the year before. As it turns out, RLI’s funds had begun to diminish and since then has only supplemented what MSF has provided. Now that the funds for RLI have all but dried up, the Hmong will have more food than any time in the past two years!

What that means is that God’s people in the USA, Australia, Japan, Mexico and a few other places filled in the gap and provided for these people when there was no other help. That involvement went a long way toward preparing hearts for the message of the Gospel as evidenced by NamKhao Baptist Church being started. I want to thank each one of you who have been involved in supplying the need and of course for praying. This next week, RLI will order probably the last shipment of rice for the Hmong. After that there is no need since the international aid community has stepped forward, and RLI’s funds will have been exhausted anyway.

God knows exactly what He is doing. Oh, that we might trust Him more!

One more item about the Hmong: Many of you will remember the 27 children who were sent back to Laos without their parents several months ago. After the Lao government “found” them, 12 of them showed up back in Thailand trying to unite with their parents. However a census had already been taken of the residents of the Hmong refugee area and these girls were considered to be new arrivals and faced immediate deportation if caught. For the past week or so they had been in hiding in the countryside near the camp, but just today, they were to be reunited with their parents with agreement of the officials. Thank you for praying for them!

Sorry for the long update, but please pray also as we order two shipments of literature to be shipped from the USA within the next week. I am awaiting one phone call and then can give the go ahead. Please pray!

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
I would like to ask you for special prayer on behalf of the Lao Hmong refugees in Phetchabun, Northern Thailand. Especially pray for the brethren of NamKhao Baptist Church during these days.

The Thai government has set up a new camp to accommodate the refugees. It is nearly finished and shortly, maybe within a month, they will be moved to this new camp. Actually it is a misnomer to call them refugees because the government refuses to consider them such. They are classified as illegal migrants and therefore have no status and no rights here in Thailand. They are not permitted to work, go to school, grow crops, or leave the area where they are currently being held.

A few months ago, Thailand and Laos signed an agreement whereby all of the Hmong who were proven to have citizenship in Laos would be sent back to Laos. The agreement also included involving third parties such as international refugee organizations from overseeing the process. This past Saturday morning, more than 160 Lao Hmong were sent back to Laos. This has caused a real stir among the more than 7,000 at the site in Phetchabun. Several government and non-governmental organizations have urged this process be halted until these people can be interviewed by third party representatives to determine if any of them should be given status as refugees. Of the number deported last week a number had already been accepted by third countries for resettlement. However this was ignored. One news story has stated that the officials plan to send them back a little at a time until all are repatriated to Laos. This has always been the position of the government but it seems to have started.

In the midst of this crisis and a steady flow of North Korean asylum seekers making their way into Thailand the UNHCR here has been prohibited from processing any paperwork which would give refugee status.

Many of these Hmong have stated that they plan to resist these deportations because if they go back to Laos, they will be persecuted and punished, or killed. There are no easy answers to this problem. It is thought that news of arrests of Hmong leaders in the US who are accused of plotting to overthrow the government of Laos will simply make things more difficult for these people in limbo in northern Thailand.

Pray for the brethren of NamKhao Baptist Church at this crucial time. They are in the same danger as everyone else but pray that they can point people to Christ at this crucial time. Pray for them to have comfort and the Love of Christ to offer those who are frantic.

Pray for those of us who have access to the camp at this time to be able to minister to these people and encourage them. Of course you know that the Jeff Lange Family is in the USA for furlough, so this leaves myself and another missionary. Extenuating circumstances make it hard right now to travel there. I plan to make a trip there ASAP, probably within a week. I must arrange for a translator to go with me. At any rate, please intercede for them. Pray for common sense and reason to rule the entire Hmong community in the USA during these days also as their leaders are in jail and facing federal charges.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
We praise the Lord for His provision and deliverance! The problem shipment arrived today, all paperwork is completed and the passport has been returned. This is a direct answer to prayer. The only negative aspect was the cost which came to just over $8,000.00. Within one hour of the container being unloaded we met with the people who actually shipped it. They had representatives who were passing through Bangkok and having been alerted to the difficulty, they brought sufficient money to replace all we spent on it to date!

Now that we have breathed a collective sigh of relief, and praised the Lord, we will begin to make plans for dispersing the clothes, etc to the Hmong refugees in Phetchabun. I must make a trip there next week to visit with the brethren in the Church, and plan to address this with the necessary people while in the camp.

Thank you to each of you who have prayed. We all feel like a great weight has been removed from us, which indeed it has. Who knows the mind of the Lord, but I am certain He wanted brethren around the world to be praying about this along with us. We can all rejoice in it. Thank you, and Praise the Lord!

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
It was a long day today dealing with the issues concerning the shipment we told you about. The business day started off with me transferring a large sum of money to the bank account of the customs’ broker. At about 2pm, we learned that the container was cleared through customs but we will not see it, nor the passport and paperwork until tomorrow. We are cautiously optimistic that all of the matters concerning this shipment will be settled tomorrow. Too many things have happened to assume all is well until we have that passport in hand, the contents of the container in our possession, and the funds we spent on it re-paid by the organization we helped on this matter.

The shipment is supposed to arrive at 9am tomorrow and the representatives of the organization are supposed to be passing through Bangkok tomorrow. At this point however, I do not even have a receipt for the $9,000+ that we handed over to the customs’ broker. We were in no position to dictate the terms with the Customs office holding that passport.

We will let you know tomorrow how it all goes. Please do not stop praying. Lessons will have been learned, and strategies will be adjusted, but for now the focus is still on getting back in hand that which we have had to turn over. This matter has taken the better part of 10 days so far. Please continue to pray.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
I had hoped to report to you this evening of the resolution of the problems with the shipment. That has not occurred, but the customs broker (the folks who walk a container thru the customs clearance process) has now secured an appointment to have the container inspected again by the customs officials on Monday morning. In preparation for that, I was encouraged to prepare funds to pay on the spot when the matter is brought to that point. I am emptying every account to which I have access in preparation for a call from them on Monday morning.

This problem developed when the customs officer inspected the container and found items which were not declared on the shipping manifest. As those of you who have been following this know, this container shipment was sort of “dumped” on us by the organization that shipped it to Thailand. The contents are used clothes and come to find out, other items as well, all destined for the Hmong refugees in Phetchabun. We certainly did not figure on this kind of difficulty when we agreed to handle it.

Please pray for a quick resolution on Monday. Pray that there will be no complications other than wanting a lot more money than anyone was prepared to pay. Pray that when this issue is resolved, our co-worker’s passport will be given back immediately. Also, pray that nothing done with this will interfere with the importation of 2 literature shipments that we are expecting in the near future.

I have received several e-mail messages from folks on this list who say “We are praying.” I cannot tell you how much that means to us. Tomorrow is Sunday and we have confidence to say that many hundreds of brethren around the world will be interceding for this matter. I will update you on Monday evening our time.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
The container shipment I told you of yesterday actually was not finalized as we thought it would be. In fact, when the customs’ clearance procedure took place today, the customs office declared that they wanted nearly 2 ½ times what we had already advanced the customs’ broker. We cannot walk away from the shipment at this point. A co-workers’ passport is being held at this point. We hope that the customs broker (who is working on our behalf) will be able to deal again with the Customs office tomorrow and get to the bottom of this. It could be a very serious matter.

Please pray!

These kinds of immediate prayer requests are what make the Gaudet Family Updates so valuable. The idea of having nearly instant access to those of you who pray has proven to be so crucial in the past. We trust the Lord will work this situation out also. Please pray with us about it. It is crucial that it be worked out quickly.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
How grateful we are to have so many of you interceding for us regularly. I cannot imagine ministry without your involvement in this manner.

Because our faithful co-workers immediately contacted their home churches, some of you may already know that I spent a night in the hospital. On Wednesday morn when I awoke I noticed my heart rate was rather high - nearly 2X what it should have been. After a couple of hours without change, Krinny and I went to the hospital in Bangkok where our heart Dr. immediately hospitalized me. After about 6 hours on medicines by IV, the heartbeat returned to normal. After investigating it further, the Dr thinks this was caused by interaction of some drugs prescribed to me by more than one Dr. Of course this could have been serious and might turn out to be so. But after an overnight stay he released me and I am to return on Monday for further testing, and observation. We appreciate your prayers even when you have no idea what is going on. Things happen suddenly for sure!

I asked prayer for a shipment which was sprung on us by an organization in the USA. They had gathered and shipped without knowing all the implications, a load of used clothing to be given to the Hmong refugees. Within days of arrival of the container the missionary it was consigned to (who did not know it was coming in!!) left the country for 6 months! The shipper contacted us and asked us to try to help get it through customs. We made some phone calls and had the paperwork reassigned by the shipping company in the USA. It was a mixed up, confused, tense affair that really would only work out if the Lord did it. Well, we forwarded the payment for the shipment yesterday as soon as I returned from the hospital and are due to take delivery of the shipment on Saturday!

We will store the items while making arrangements to get them into the Hmong refugee camp. Thank you for praying. The refugees will certainly be able to make use of the clothes, but we would not really want to go thru that again!

Speaking of shipments, we are within days of having an inventory list of the literature stored in Fort Worth, TX now. After that list has been reviewed by the customs broker here in Thailand we are ordering the shipment of the 40’ container. We are nearly out of several of the items. Calls come weekly for some of them. Please pray that this will be expedited. I think we are around $1,000 short of the needed funds but have on-hand what is needed for the actual shipment. The rest will be for clearing the container in Thailand 45 days later.

Over these past few months, on one project alone, we have actually done computer layout in 15 languages. I say “we,” actually all I have done is keep it flowing and our co-workers, American and Thai have done the work. This would be impossible without them. One day last week in our office, I noticed as I was moving some files around the computer network that we had 10 computers on the network at the same time! Several publications are in progress now. It is sobering to know that through the printed page, the lives of men and women can be touched for eternity. We are thrilled to have a part in that work.

We are awaiting a photocopy of an 1832 Burmese New Testament. It is rare to find one of these, and more rare to find one that the owner is willing to photocopy due to potential damage in the process. These copies are on the way to Fort Worth, TX now where they will be duplicated and sent on to us here in Thailand. We are committed to seeing Judson’s’ Burmese Bible back in print and available to the churches in Burma. This is what they are asking for. Please keep on praying. Believe me you are a significant part of the work when you do.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
Please allow me to update you and ask prayer for a couple of specific things. We have had men here for the past 1-½ week from Laos and Burma. We are working alongside them in publishing, training, editing, revisions, proofing, etc. for several publications. I cannot begin to tell you how much this intensive focused work has accomplished. We have 5 desktop computers, and at least 4 notebook computers all going full bore working on these projects as well as those already underway. In fact, this afternoon we are going to purchase an older computer to fill a very specific purpose running older software. This will be taken back to Laos when the men leave and another one will be set up here to do the same task. These are required to work around problems with fonts which still have not been brought up to date with computer standards of today. All in a day’s publishing in Asia…

Please pray concerning a shipment of materials which was just sort of “Dumped” on us. This is a container shipment of used clothing and educational materials which was intended by the sender to go to the Hmong in Phetchabun. Once it arrived here, the recipient could not clear it. We will be unable to clear it also due to the nature of the shipment requiring a special importers’ license. However, “NO” rarely means just that in Asia. It usually means you are not asking the right questions or you are asking the wrong person. Only the Lord can work this out. Please pray. Even if it is cleared, the materials will need to be stored and transported and this is not budgeted here. Please pray. The Hmong certainly could use these items. Also we are about to order another 6.6 ton shipment of rice for the refugees. Funds are on hand for two more shipments.

We have just sent a prayer letter to our home church to have duplicated and mailed. A PDF of it is on our website and can be viewed by going to our homepage and clicking through to PRAYER LETTERS then April 2007. We have also just completed a video and sent it back to the USA to have duplicated and mailed. It can be viewed by clicking VIDEOS on the home page and then clicking on Through the Eyes of a Child, toward the bottom of the page. If you would like to have a DVD of this or other videos on that page, please let us know and it will be sent to you. www.gaudetfamily.org - Gaudet’s Website

Thank you for praying for the Gaudet family and for the many things going on here to get the Gospel to the lost. It is humbling to know so many of you intercede for us regularly. Only eternity will reveal the impact made by your investment in prayer.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
PTL, this week we took delivery of a book which we had printed locally. This is a huge project which we expect to make a significant difference in the understanding of the Gospel message for the Thai and Lao people who get it. Please pray as we have already begun distributing it.

We have now nearly all the funds necessary for the actual shipping from the USA of one container full of literature. We will still be in need of remaining funds for port charges, delivery, customs and etc. However that will be around 45 days after shipping. Pray that we can get that underway this week as we deal with it both in the USA and here in Thailand. We will be sending 70 boxes of tracts to Chiang Mai next week. 10 boxes of Thai Gospel of John/Romans left this afternoon with a local pastor. We are almost out of those altogether. Please keep on praying for the needed funds for shipment of 8 tons of Cambodian literature.

On Monday we will meet a pastor from Myanmar (Burma) at the airport here in Bangkok. He will be with us for at least one week while we work on a number of things concerning publishing in Burmese and a couple of ethnic languages of Myanmar. The work will be intense for several days. Please pray for clarity and wisdom as we deal with these issues together. At the same time a couple of men who are translators from another regional country will be here. In fact, it is possible that we will be dealing with brethren from three regional countries next week, each one with publishing in their language.

Krinny has felt well this past week after her hospital stay. She returns to the Dr on Monday to have more tests done to determine if more treatment for kidney stones is needed. Please pray that she will not need that treatment.

Please pray for these meetings and work. It will keep us all busy. I assure you that your intercession makes a difference in this work. We could not imagine doing what we are doing without you, our faithful intercessors and supporters doing what you are doing. Thank you in Jesus’ Name!

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
I cannot tell you how much it means to us to have you praying. So many of you pray without knowing all the details. A week like this one so far shows us how much the Lord is in control.

After a trip to Chiang Mai which took most of last week, we were looking forward to a busy week back here in Bangkok. I did not know how busy it was to be. On Sunday morn, Krinny was not feeling well. She had been sick some last week in Chiang Mai and then again on the trip back. However after Sunday evening services it was necessary to rush her to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. We feared a repeat of the problems for which she was operated on last year. However, after several tests overnight and into the next day, the Drs. diagnosed her with kidney stones! After another night in the hospital and some more tests, a specialist told her that he would have her on drugs for the problem for a while before doing some more drastic procedures. She is home now after a two night stay and several x-rays, ultra-sounds, blood tests and etc.

It was necessary for her to have injections twice during the time in the hospital for pain. We are praying that she will not have a painful reoccurrence which will require a return trip to the hospital. It is a one hour trip from our house.

Krinny kept saying “I can’t believe I am back here at this hospital after last year!” She mentioned something about falling apart and getting older, but I didn’t catch all that. It must have been the drugs she was on! ;-)

During the two days she was in the hospital the things we figured would keep us busy happened and more. We thank the Lord for faithful co-workers who scrambled around overseeing repairmen, movers, deliveries, banking, and many other things while they were trying to do the work they normally do.

Again, thank you for praying. You will never know this side of heaven what it means to us.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Greetings Intercessors!
Our trip to Chiang Mai was very successful in that we met with the right people; Translators, proofers, and printers. It is humbling to realize how the Lord is working in our midst at this juncture. I wish I could tell you all of it, but the languages would reflect the sensitive nature of some of this work. We are making plans for printing and distribution in some nearby countries. ‘nuff said for now! Please continue to uphold this work in prayer. Pray that the strong man will be bound.

Please pray for some negotiations ongoing now to have a pastor from Burma travel here to spend around 10 days with me. The pastors there are in serious need of the old Judson Bible. A new one has replaced it and it is no longer available from the places where they would normally obtain copies. We will be going over some issues concerning changes which were made to that Bible in the mid 1930’s, as well as some other publishing which is underway. It will be necessary to pay for his travel expenses, but that will be much better than me going there at this time. It is possible that we will be able to work with folks from Burma, Laos, and Cambodia all at the same time that week, all here in Bangkok!

Since our last e-mail update, two churches have expressed interest in helping us ship the containers now in the USA and one has expressed interest in helping with the overland shipping of materials into a nearby country. Please continue to pray about these needs. God is more concerned with getting His Word into hands than we are. May He have His way, and we stay out of the way.

Lastly, on this coming Monday, we take delivery of an illustrated book which we have had printed locally. In fact, is has been printed in two languages, Thai and Lao. So many people here have no concept of who God is; Creator and Lord. We expect this to make an immediate difference. In our trials before going to press, people clamored for it. Please pray for its distribution and wide usefulness to bring people to the place of hunger for the things of God.

The Jeff Lange Family will be traveling to the USA for a 6 month furlough on May 15. I am sure they would appreciate your intercession at this time. They are to move out of the house they have rented for the past two years this next week, and are to take possession of a house which is not ready yet! It is still undergoing some major rebuilding. At best they will only have around one week to get settled in it before departing for furlough with a new baby.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Praying Friends,
I am keenly aware of the long pause in sending another e-mail update. Just wanted to bring you up to date with some things going on here and ask prayer.

We are continuing on with several publishing as well as video projects. Everyone here is busy with some phase of these things. All of the young ladies with us now are due to leave by July 12th and they are sensing their time is getting short. Krinny and I are keenly aware of it also I might add. Their labor is such an integral part of what we do. Please pray that we can finalize these important projects.

Literature which will take up an entire 40’ container is sitting in Fort Worth, TX as this is written. Another one is in KY. This literature is needed in Thailand at this time and I would ask you to pray concerning their shipment.

Also, we still have 8 tons of Cambodian literature on the ground floor of our Resource Center. Funds are needed at this time to make that shipment possible to its final destination.

In addition to all this literature we have two books at the printers here in Thailand as this is written. Lord willing, in 10 days these will be on the floor in our facility where we can begin distribution.

Please continue to pray for our health. I am feeling much better and the Dr seems to think the medications are helping. More tests will be taken in this next month to verify that.

We are here on a one year Visa which is up in July. We are looking into another type of visa which may be available to us. Please pray that we can get this worked out to avoid a trip to the USA just to renew visas. That is the only way the easiest visa is to obtain.

We leave tomorrow morning for a 4 day trip to Chiang Mai. That is a 9 hour trip which we will take in our “new” van. We would appreciate your prayers for safety and for me to be able to meet with the people I need to; Translators and proofers in at least 6 languages.

Thank you again for your faithfulness to prayer for the Gaudet Family and co-workers. You will never know this side of heaven what it means to us.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Bro. Tom

Dear Intercessors,
We are studying the subject of prayer again and I am once again humbled at how little I know of it. I find myself in awe of the fact that I have missed so many opportunities for the Lord and so many personal victories because of failure in prayer. At the same time, I rejoice how the Lord has shown Himself mighty over and over again on our behalf. Thank you for standing with us in the place of prayer. Real intercession is work.

I had tests earlier in the week which were ordered by a Dr. who was concerned about some results of an earlier test. One of these was a sleep test in which I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. We were able to order a machine which is designed to treat that problem and have it shipped to Jeff Lange’s Mom who is traveling to Bangkok next week. Locally the machines were 3 times more expensive. Also the other test showed I have some blockage in a couple of coronary arteries. At this point, the Dr. has ordered a period of time without strenuous activity and stress while some drugs begin to take effect. These should reduce or correct the problem. If not, more will need to be done. We trust in the Great Physician however. Also with the sleeping problem corrected that will contribute greatly to my overall health I am told.

At any rate, we are grateful for access to superb medical facilities and treatment. Please pray that these matters can be corrected quickly and we can be back up to speed.

Just a short update for those who are praying for this matter... Thank you again.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Bro. Tom

Dear Intercessors,
I would appreciate your prayers as we deal with several aspects of literature production, printing, shipping, and distribution over these next weeks. Several new publications are almost ready to print. Some will be printed here in Bangkok. We have another container shipment in Fort Worth, TX which needs to be sent to Bangkok. At this point we are around $3,500 short of the funds to make that shipment. Please pray.

Also we were unable to make the shipment to Cambodia we mentioned to you in an earlier e-mail. Shipping into Cambodia has been problematic over the years but the method we wish to use has not been attempted yet. Please pray as we address this again within the next few weeks.

We have just completed and mailed the master for a new video. It deals with the role Thailand has played in the lives of millions of refugees over the years. That video will be reproduced in TX and sent to anyone who asks for it. You will be challenged as to the need for Christians to be involved in the lives of refugees. We have three other videos in various stages of development as this is written. Please pray about the impact these videos will have for the cause of missions.

Krinny and I feel blessed to have faithful co-workers who give of themselves to see these things go forward. I cannot envision ministry without them. Some have asked me over the years, “Bro. Tom, how can you be involved in so many different fields/projects?” The answer is simple; churches, parents, and these young people themselves sacrifice their savings so that they can be here to help us! We are humbled by it. Please pray for them.

These are the ones currently serving with us in Bangkok:
April Wilson - aprilwilson83@aol.com
Susie Domangue - suzianna25@aol.com
Rachel Hammett - rachelhammett@lvbaptist.org

Also, serving in our home office in the USA: Myra Noel – myranoel@aol.com

Also, I would appreciate your intercession as I go to the Dr. for a series of tests which will take from Sunday evening until late on Monday. A specialist recommended that I undergo these tests to determine my cardio health. He was concerned about an earlier test. Please pray that these tests can give answers.

Thank you in Jesus’ Name.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Thank you for praying for us as we made a whirlwind trip to the Thai/Burmese border. We had a safe and successful trip. Contacts were made for some translators, and others made to proof work already translated. We were also able to interview a Burmese exile by video. This will come in handy with a video we are working on now about the situation in Myanmar.

Please pray for these contacts that we would be able to work with them in the manner needed. We currently plan to travel back to the region in about three weeks, Lord willing.

All of the people we dealt with are refugees. None of them have I.D. allowing them the privilege to travel in Thailand. If we are going to work with them to produce evangelistic material, it will have to be on the border.

We also made a morning trip across the border into Myanmar. It was eye-opening for one and all. Please pray that our co-laborers will be able to communicate what they saw to their home churches. That is such an important part of their presence here.

Myanmar is a war-torn country and the economy there is so much lower than across the river in Thailand. However, many Burmese claim a spiritual heritage that dates back to the early 1800’s when missionaries began preaching the Gospel in their country. Of course the most famous missionary was Adoniram Judson. His name is still on the lips of Burmese Christians today. Many of them have come far from the pure Gospel that Judson preached however.

Thank you again for praying.
For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
Our small team is traveling with us by van to the Thai/Burmese border tomorrow. We are trying to get some materials proofed in both the Karen and Burmese languages. We hope to meet up with men who can help with this work as well as undertaking translation in a few other languages of Myanmar, formerly called Burma. We are also doing some filming for a video we are working on about the conflict in Myanmar.

Along the Thai/Burmese border are UN supervised refugee camps which contain around 168,000 refugees. Many of these have been in camps for over 20 years.

This will be a 3 or 4 day trip. Please pray for our safety as well as success with the revisions and translations. Pray that we can meet up with the right people. Many of these people on the border are not able to travel as they have no documents allowing them to remain in Thailand.

Your intercession is crucial for us at this time.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
Just a note to say “Thank You” for your prayers. We were able to trade in our old vehicle and had funds on hand to purchase a 2002 Kia Preigo van. It is diesel and holds 11 passengers. Everyone here who has had to ride in our old vehicle or in a rented vehicle for a trip is really excited about it. The van is in excellent condition from what we can tell so tomorrow we will make our first “trip” in it. We are so grateful for those who have given and prayed!

All of our small team will be traveling to the Cambodian border tomorrow. I will be able to meet up with missionaries who are driving in from Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia. We will work our way thru the customs procedure on both the Thai and Cambodian side for the 8 ton shipment of Cambodian literature we have here. Due to some conflicts such as Chinese New Year we were unable to get all the info ahead of time and it was not advisable to truck the literature to the border without it.

Please pray for our travels tomorrow and for success in dealing with the process of shipment of these materials. Pray for missionary Stephen Benefield and party as they drive 7 hours from the capitol to the border where we will meet up. All five of us will also renew our visas at the same time.

I mentioned a lady in our last update that came to our door asking about our God. She came to Church with us on Sunday morning and today Krinny and our American and Thai co-workers went to her house for a visit. They are trying to build a relationship with her and plan to being Bible studies as well as teaching her English. Everyone is real excited about this lady and her hunger for the things of our Lord.

We met a Karen man here in Bangkok upon referral from upcountry. He is now proofreading the Karen translation of the 300+ page illustrated book of Bible Stories. Other translations are being proofed as well. Please pray for the soon completion of this work. It all needs to be in the hands of those who do not know Christ.

Please pray concerning my health. I had some tests done this week which really call for more testing on my cardiovascular system. It appears that sometime in the past (years as I understand it) I had a heart attack of some sort. I do not remember anything specifically such as that but it just shows how fragile life is. At any rate, please pray for us as we try to deal with these health issues.

Again, thank you for your involvement with us. You are an important part of the work. May God bless you for it.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom Gaudet

Dear Intercessors,
Please indulge us while we give you some praises and prayer requests. So many things are happening we feel like it is being played out and we are only spectators.

A 35 year old man living next door to us with his cousin died on Monday evening. The day he died he asked Pok, our young Thai co-worker what her symptoms were when she went to the hospital last week. He visited a Dr. that morning and was sent home. Later that night he was found dead in his room. That was shocking enough but the rest of the story is that it has affected at least a few people in our neighborhood who knew about Pok being in the hospital last week.

This did not escape Pok’s mother. She said to me today: “Thank you for taking Pok to the hospital. The man across the street died. Pok did not, Thank you.” Of course I told her to thank the Lord and the churches in the USA who paid for the hospital visit. As I said, it has made an impact.

Unrelated as far as we can tell, today a lady came to our door and said she wanted to know about our God! She sat down with our American and Thai co-workers and Krinny and they gave her the Gospel. She said that she has been a Buddhist all her life but since she was a child she knew there must be a God. She is seeking to know the truth and she has said she would come for Bible studies and attend worship services. Please pray as our ladies begin to build a relationship with her. Her name is Jieup.

We are to meet some brethren from Cambodia on the border the morning of the 21st. We will have with us all of the Cambodian literature, around 400 boxes. Lord willing it will be possible to get it across that day. Until now this has not been attempted, shipping it by land. Please pray!

One last thing… We have searched diligently for a vehicle and it looks as if maybe the Lord has just dropped one in our lap. We will know more about it tomorrow. When we went to look at one a couple of days ago our old vehicle broke down on the toll way on the way to trade it in!! Anyway, please pray for the Lord’s will to be done with this. So much of what we do is hindered by lack of dependable transportation.

By no means is this all that is going on, but I must end here. You will never know this side of heaven what a difference you have made in this work by partnering with us in prayer.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

Greetings from Thailand,
Thank you for your intercession. We just returned from a quick trip to the Hmong refugee area 5 hours north of Bangkok. Krinny, April Wilson, Susie Domangue, and Rachel Hammett all were able to go on this trip. In fact, the main reason we went when we did was that one of the faithful young men who has surrendered to be a missionary to China was to be married and he asked that one of our ladies play a keyboard for his wedding. We were able to be there on Saturday for that and attend services this morning with the church before returning. It was a great blessing to see the hand of the Lord upon them.

At the same time, the young Church is undergoing some real trials now. They excluded from membership some who had turned back to spirit worship, and this prompted a very strong reaction from those members as well as some in leadership in the community of unsaved. There have been death threats made to a number of the men in leadership of Nam Khao Baptist Church. This has to be taken seriously as these people all come from a country where that sort of thing is the manner in which problems are solved. However, we understand it is a spiritual battle. Please pray for these men, their families and Bro. Lange as he encourages them in it.

One of our Thai co-workers became very ill about 10 days ago and her mother took her to two hospitals over a 3-4 day span. The diagnoses went from Typhoid to Bronchitis. Nothing was done for her and she only got worse until on Tuesday we asked if we could take her to a hospital we knew would treat her. Turns out she had dengue fever but she became dehydrated and some vital organs nearly shut down by the time we got her to the hospital. She spent 2 days in the hospital on IV and she is doing fine. The hospital was one that her family would not/could not have afforded to send her to, but the Dr. there surely did help her. She is fine now, with only the need to build back her strength. She and her parents were amazed when we told them that three different churches in the USA who found out about her wanted to pay for her treatment. Pray for Pok and her family. She is a professing Christian but her family is not. God can use this situation to draw them.

Please continue to pray as we look for a vehicle to purchase. It was necessary to rent again for this trip just ended. It has been very hard to find a vehicle in good condition for the price we have on hand now. God is able!

These next days promise to be extremely busy dealing with proofers and translators. I also have a trip to the Cambodian border planned and need to go to the Burmese border. Feb 28-March 6 I am to be in Australia for a conference and that is certainly not the end of the travels. We are indebted to each of you as you pray and as many of you give. Please don’t stop!

Many of you read with great sadness of the 153 Hmong people who were being deported back to Laos. Most of these had fled Laos, spent time in the refugee camp, made their way to the UNHCR office in Bangkok and obtained documents which stated that the UNHCR had interviewed them and found them to be “persons of concern.” This means that their cases were under review by the UN for refugee status. While they were in Bangkok, they were arrested for being in Thailand illegally (which they were) and sent to a detention facility on the Thai/Lao border. Last week, the two governments agreed to deport them and the whole drama was being played out when I wrote the last update.

When the authorities started putting them in busses, the men put up a great resistance to it and all of them, women and men threatened to commit suicide if they were forced back to Laos. After several hours of this standoff, the Thai government intervened and called it off. Announcements have now been made that these people will be allowed to relocate to a third country. Representatives of several countries have been present in talks.

This is good news for these 153. Who knows how this will affect the remaining 6-7000 living in the refugee camp in Huay Nam Khao? Only time will tell.

The brethren there ask for our continued intercession.

This week is important as proofing and continued work with translators is ramping up. It would be impossible to have you get a full picture of what all is transpiring at the same time here. Suffice it to say that we are indebted to you, our prayer partners.

We know many who read these updates are serious intercessors and for that we thank our Lord and of course, thank you. Nothing could make more difference than prayer.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet

It has been quite a while since we sent an update. You are such an important part of the work that we want to keep you informed about what is going on and ask continued intercession.

Little has changed with the Hmong refugees living inside the unofficial refugee camp in Phetchabun. As this is written today however, a tragic drama is unfolding on the Thai/Lao border. 153 Hmong refugees were arrested in Bangkok where they had sought help from the UN. Over 100 of them had papers which said that they were “persons of concern” to the UNHCR. In spite of this they were taken to an immigration facility on the Lao border and today, they are being sent back to Laos. These were actually the only ones who had been in direct contact with the UN system and they are now being sent back to Laos, to an uncertain future without any international organization being given permission to monitor their safety. Pray for them. God only knows what will happen to them.

At the same time God continues to bless the ministry of Nam Khao Baptist Church. Sunday before last special permission was obtained by the brethren from the military to allow access to the river for baptism. 90 new candidates were ready for baptism that day! What a glorious victory!

A new co-worker, Rachel Hammett from Emmaus, PA arrived just one day before I returned from the USA on January 13. Plans are for her to be here for around 5 months and we put her to work immediately. She and two Thai workers are doing the computer graphics work on an illustrated book of Bible stories put into chronological order from Creation to redemption. It is a huge task and we are now working with translators in several languages.

Krinny is quite busy now days finishing the scanning of the Karen Bible which is a 9th printing of the 1850’s work done by Francis Mason, a contemporary of Adoniran Judson. The current Bible in print in Karen is a wide departure from that early work. We are looking into the feasibility of reprinting it but first needed copies to use for review.

A lot of travel is ahead for me. In fact, I leave for Chiang Mai tomorrow morn. Several international trips need to be made and I am making plans for that now. Please pray for us in all these things.

Until we can say it more personally, thank each of you who sent cards, notes and offerings during the Christmas holidays. We are raising funds for a vehicle at present and several have given for that fund also. We appreciate it very much. We are indebted to each of you in whatever part you have in this work. I cannot envision ministry without faithful intercessors like you.

For Souls Still Waiting,
Tom and Krinny Gaudet