Dear Friends,
I didn’t expect it would feel like I had been kicked in the stomach. But when, after 3 years of waiting and countless trips Vientiane, the government told me they were withdrawing our permission to invest in Laos, all I could do for three hours was to pace back and forth in my guesthouse room. I sat and read the official letter handed to me at the end of my session at the Ministry of Planning. Eight reasons were given for withdrawing our license to invest in Laos. All but one was based on falsehoods. The principal one—that our company had not made sizeable profits—I could not deny…
After calling Ruthie, she went into her highly proactive, directive mode: “Go be with some friends. Better yet, I’ll call them up. You take them out.” After a nice meal with good friends, a lot of old stories, and a little prayer, I was doing much better…
Actually, the last couple of months, Ruthie and I had felt our spirits lifting considerably. The heaviness we felt in May was gone. Not because circumstances had changed. But I think we had changed—at least our ability to trust that God is working through everything… Still when the word finally came, and the reality sunk in that the company we had worked so hard to build was at an end, it was not unlike the sense of loss we experienced two years ago when we lost our oldest son.…
But the good news is...
The rainy season harvest this year was the best ever. Our corn is mostly in, and it looks to be almost double last year (2,300 metric tons). The sale price of corn is way up—thanks to high demand in the U.S. and China (in China, its mostly pigs consuming it, but in the U.S. it’s automobiles—as corn is turned into ethanol). We’re just grateful that for this year, at least, our farmers have had a better harvest and more economic return for their work than ever before.
Our company, too, is looking to have its best year ever. After what looked, at first, to be a disastrous year for cardamom, we recently concluded the sale of a container-load to Korea at a price that was higher than ever before. So, what this means is that FUF is not only self-supporting for its 4th year in a row, but is likely to have enough profit this year that we could actually give a significant gift to help villages in our area. This is a goal we have had all along. But, frankly, we wondered if we would ever get to this point.
Important Visitors, Important Issues.
One of the unexpected extra blessings we have received this year has been a level of support and recognition given to our work from the international community. Recently we were pleased to host a delegation organized by the World Food Program including the ambassadors from 3 nations—India, Germany, and the U.S.—and the Vice Minister of Laos’ Ministry of Education. Organized by the WFP Director—a German woman passionate about how chronic malnutrition is affecting the well-being of rural children in Laos—this “mission” was her attempt to show how the local purchase of rice, corn, and soya bean has a double benefit to Laos. When the WFP works together with local companies such as ours and a similar business, Natural Products International (which manufactures a nutritious, corn-soya snack for school feeding programs), not only do the children benefit, but village farmers growing crops also take a few steps towards stable livelihoods. All too often in the past, the WFP has simply taken large farm surpluses from developed nations and given them away in developing countries. While helping people in the short term who receive this food aid, the long-range impact can be damaging to local farmers and companies. Although the visit from this delegation lasted only one hour, it was gratifying to be able to ‘make our case’ to mostly-sympathetic, supportive ears.
So, why on earth are they putting us out?
The bottom line is that Laos, especially in the north, is as concerned about its own security now as at any time since we first came in 1991. The arrest of Hmong resistance leaders in California a few months ago, we thought, would visibly improve Lao-American relations. But the facts are that a small group of people with lots of money were getting ready to buy sophisticated, powerful weapons in an attempt to terrorize and perhaps overthrow the Lao government. They were arrested under America’s anti-terrorism laws. Plans were being made, rumors said, to create a Hmong homeland in this northern part of Laos. From the Lao perspective, the arrest of these people was probably only the tip of the iceberg—surely there was a lot more going on? So, over the last few months there have been strong moves against Hmong villages and stepped up pressure against ethnic minorities, particularly those who profess Christianity.
In Luang Namtha, the fact that there are now Christians among the Lantaen was put at our feet. And, I believe, our success in responding to the needs of ethnic villages by engaging them in productive agricultural production, is also seen as threatening, since we are doing what the government itself feels it should be doing.
There is also a sense that our company is not bringing anything—particularly technology—to rural Laos that Lao people can’t do. That may be true. But the fact is we have brought a vision, commitment, and capital resources to this work that did not exist. Eight years ago we were the only ones on the horizon (in Luang Namtha) doing agricultural promotion work based on transparent contracts. Now there are many others jumping into the game…So, it may be the right time for FUF to fade away and let others take our place. But will they have the same commitment to treating farmers fairly?
Then there’s the fact that we haven’t been making impressive profits in the eight years of our existence: 4 years in the red, 3 years with slight profits, and finally, this year with about a $40,000 profit (we expect). This is almost exactly what we predicted in the plan we submitted to the government in 1998. And the reality is that making a lot of money has not been the bottom line for us. We were aiming at self-support, benefits to the local community, and sustainability over the long run. But when the local government has looked at our total investment—about $900,000 from many various sources—it doesn’t seem to add up. They conclude we have a sinister agenda.
What now for FUF?
Frankly, we just don’t know at this point—and we really need your prayer that God would give us wisdom. I believe we have a really strong case that we’ve been treated unfairly under Laos’ own investment laws. I believe we have good support from the villages in which we have been working, and many lower-level government officials. But I know there is strong opposition to us from important, political elements in the government.
The U.S. Embassy stands ready to help us plead our case, to make appeals. We could rally support from the international community and even present lots of evidence to show support from the grass-roots level in Luang Namtha. But, in Lao culture, this will all be seen as a challenge to authority. Is that a battle worth fighting? Will our Lao staff suffer because of our fight? Is this the time to stand up and be counted? Or is this a time to gracefully pull out and spin off three or four Lao businesses from what was once FUF? What is our responsibility as stewards of the resources we have been given—to fight to defend them? Or to take a chance on local businesses (run by FUF staff-members) by dividing assets up and helping them come up with business plans?
Will you pray with us about these questions—and write us, if you have the time? Events are happening quickly now, it seems.
Mekong Valley Trading & Training Co.: What’s Next!
Have you seen the new brochure we put out a couple months ago? The Covenant has this great fund-raising program called FOWM—Friends of World Mission—which helps Covenanters around the world raise money for worthy causes they are involved with. Our plans for a new work on the Thai-Lao border were the subject of the last one (see opposite). The “center for ministry and micro-enterprise” we hope, will be a self-supporting ministry/business within 5 years, an organization that will bring blessing to ethnic minorities on both sides of the border. Its basic objective is to help minority villagers find markets for their products—and begin small businesses themselves (hence the word “training” in the name). By finding markets for products, we hope to remain closely linked with organizations & businesses in Laos with similar objectives, including FUF or any businesses that are grow out of FUF. Over the past few months we’ve been delighted to see plans take shape, a board of directors formed, and pieces of needed funding fall into place. One of our special joys has been to renew our working relationships with two older brothers—Paul Kennel and David Andrianoff—who will be joining our board. And I recently spent a day with another brother who has had a big influence on our lives and ministry—Jim Gustafson. We are talking about ways in which we can cooperate in the future… Thank you, Lord, for the way you meet our needs & connect us together…
Jesus said, “..unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life…” John 12:24
As always,
Peter & Ruthie Dutton
“I always pray with joy because of your partnership.” (Phil. 1:4)
Throughout our years in Laos—especially these past 3 years, some of our most difficult so far—we’ve had a strong sense that we aren’t alone in this work. We’ve been privileged to have a great team with which to work and many of you have written to encourage us, to say you’ve been praying, and to give what you can. As we begin a new phase of our work—this time in Thailand--here are a few ways you can have a part in this project:
By Praying
- THE NEXT STEP. Please pray that God would give us wisdom in the next courses of actions we take. Please pray also for unity in our decisions among our team members. ·
- NEW ENTERPRISES. Please pray for Wessel, Neil, Peter and Ruthie and our 40 Lao staff members. Each of our lives has been impacted by this news. Each one needs to make decisions concerning where God is moving us on to next.
- THANK YOU Thank you for your years of faithful support and prayers. You have been very much a part of our team. We know that without you, the positive results we are currently experiencing would most likely be different. Thank you for your ongoing prayers for wisdom unity and clarity in discerning the will of God.
By Giving
Thank you so much for giving faithfully. Even in these times of extreme economic difficulty, our prayer is that “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (II Cor. 9:11). Here are a few needs we have in the project:
Checks for our support or projects may be sent to: DWM, 5101 N. Francisco Ave., Chicago, IL 60625. Please put a note on the checks—“Dutton Project” or “Dutton Support”.
