Well, I've just gotten back from my trip and wanted to thank you for supporting me with your prayers (and finances: I'll send a list of those who gave money). As you know the Yao people are a minority group living in the mountains of China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Three of these countries are closed to Western missionaries; the Yao do not all speak the same language, and they area live in is spread over several thousand square miles. So reaching them with the gospel of Jesus is not the easiest of tasks.

As you know, my trip was a mission to the Yao people. The original plan with the University fell through. Instead we found ourselves on a whirlwind tour through some fifteen or so cities and towns, praying for the people who were there and the surrounding villages. Each of the cities and villages is a key point to reaching the surrounding areas (gateways if you will). In many of the places we went churches were in the process of being planted or about to be planted. I won't lie to you, it was a tough and very long trip, and transportation there was not designed for someone my size. I was very ready to come home (the first time this has happened to me on an overseas trip in eight years). But the reward of going and being obedient far outweighs the trouble.

God is doing some amazing things in the Yao areas, and he invited me to be a part of it--and you also through your prayers and support for me. When I first heard that our church had adopted the Yao people and committed to pray for them, I thought that it was silly and just the latest "Christian church fad." I have a completely different view on the matter now. God listens to our prayers and works through our obedience to him. This trip took the abstract, removed from normal life, matter of praying for an unreached people and made it intensely personal. Now, I have walked on their land, shared their tea, sat on their stools, shared smiles with them, and prayed for them. What I once prayed for abstractly, I now pray for specifically.

I thank you for your prayers and support, and when the Yao come to know Christ, God will be truly glorified, because there is no way that the small part we have played could make so much of a difference. But with God, nothing is impossible.

Love,
Pat

P.S. For security reasons, I will not be sending pictures of the trip.

Patrick Heyman
2300 SW 43rd Street P-2
Gainesville, FL 32607