Does your culture affect you?

Are spirit filled missionaries affected by the culture in which they live?

For the past five years I have been living in a military dictatorship. My emails are regularly viewed by the government. I am friends with the secret police who keep a record of where I go and who I talk with. I have been constantly watched and I never know if my visa will be revoked. Now I that I am living in Thailand I can't help but feel freer.

Last night I had a long conversation with my co-worker Judy. She told me about how believers in the state that I have been focused on are being killed. It is not completely clear if these are martyrs or just the result of ethnic tensions.

I will be flying back to this country on Sunday and will be there for about three weeks. Please pray that my health will get better. I am about to head to see the doctor again. Since April I have really been having lots of unexplainable health problems.

Judy is about to have surgery to remove a cyst that should have been removed a month ago when her appendix ruptured. Please pray for her. The women who she has been coaching have been starting many new house churches in one of the most oppressive countries in the world.