A letter from Bill Yoder in Thailand
Rev. William J. Yoder
P.O. Box 18, Mae Jo
Sansai, Chiang Mai 50290
Thailand
December 4, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
The years come round faster and faster and I seem to get less and less done of what I plan. Retirement, which I am supposed to be enjoying, eludes me at every turn. Two years of retirement, and I can barely find time to tend my garden, play with my dogs, and do the writing I so wish to do.
I continue to be PC(USA)’s regional liaison for mainland Southeast Asia, serving now as a “volunteer.” I just received my “end of term” evaluation forms to fill out. I thought I had ended at least all that bureaucratic nonsense last year. Not so, I guess. Between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Social Security, and IRS, there is no end of bureaucracy save the grave, I guess.
I also continue to work (as a volunteer!) at the seminary. This semester I have been asked to teach two courses. Too much. Never again. Be that as it may, I love my students and teaching is the only “work” I continue to enjoy. I’m deeply involved in the boards of the International School and McCormick Hospital, and they also require a lot of time.
I continue to have great pride in having begun the International Master of Divinity program at the seminary, where we are preparing leadership for the churches of Southeast Asia and the world. Aside from rebuilding the seminary in the eighties, this program is my delight. This week we will graduate our second class. All ten of them are already working in incredibly important positions in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. So many of you have helped these students and graduates through your contributions. Please keep that help coming. I can no longer use my own funds to do so. I need your help.
Yoder family sending up Thai hot air balloon, Christmas Eve, 2007.
My family is also my delight. Banchong is vice moderator of the Church of Christ in Thailand, our united Protestant church here, and he’s doing a remarkably effective ministry. Spain is building a school and camp in the hills beside a tribal school as a place for Prince Royal’s students, who largely come from privileged backgrounds to learn how the less privileged in Thailand have to live and work. They do work camps at the tribal school and in the villages. They live at the camp and school he has created while doing so. I am so proud that a Christian businessman would do such a thing with his own resources. Pom is working hard on his Master’s in Educational Administration at Chiang Mai University. Somehow he also manages to keep Chiang Mai International School’s office in good shape and my home running in order. Remarkable.
LJ will have his senior recital on December 7 and finish up at the end of this school year in March. He had a wonderful exchange semester at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, spring semester. His sister, Mary Jane, is in her third year in Japan and doing wonderfully. She is first in her class and therefore receives a total scholarship from Japan, including pocket money. Don’t be surprised if you see her name leading an international corporation, some political office, or an important international program in the future.
All my people do so well. Since there are so many, I can’t mention each one, and I hope they realize that. They do and they will. They are my life and they know it.
If you wish to help me with my work, you can send contributions through my home church: Christ Presbyterian Church and marked for “Bill Yoder.” The address is 530 Tuscarawas Street W., Canton, Ohio 44702. You can also send directly to me at the address at the top of this letter, or you can help with one of the Extra Commitment Opportunity (ECO) accounts.
Yours truly, Christmas, 2008.
Contributions to the ECOs from individuals may be sent to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Individual Remittance Processing, PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Contributions from churches should be sent to the normal receiving site or: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Church Remittance Processing, PO Box 643678, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678.
To contribute to the expenses I incur as a liaison, write the title (liaison expenses – Bill Yoder) and the ECO number (E051768) on the subject line of the check.
To contribute to seminary scholarships, write the title (seminary scholarships – Thailand) and the ECO number (E862414) on the subject line of the check. Or visit the donation page.
To contribute to McGilvary in general, write the title (McGilvary - Thailand) and the ECO number (E862353) on the subject line of the check. Or visit the donation page.
The world is in need of the light of Christ. May that light shine in all your lives this Christmas season and throughout 2009.
Grace and Peace,
Bill Yoder
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 110
