It's a wrap!

The 2015-1-2016 school year recently came to a close, but there is much work to do! 

I bought this puzzle at a yard sale and it wasn't easy!  

Ken works as the Director of a homeschooling service offered through Grace International School.  The school is moving and Ken has the enormous task of moving the school to the temporary campus. His responsibilities include: coordinating volunteers, ordering and arranging the packing supplies to be delivered, (like 2,500 boxes!), checking in with moving companies, coordinating with I.T. and helping to ease the responsibilities of the facilities department.  This summer he will help to see that the school is moved to the new location by mid-July! 

Ken has been working extra hours at school and many nights at home working on the details, trying to make this a smooth transition.  I'm thankful that he is able to take some days off to spend it with our family who flew in to visit!  Next week, he'll be back at it again.

Tents are always fun.  Snack in tents: even better!

Here on the homefront, the kids and I have ended the homeschool year, but started on next year's work to get a jump-start and to keep their minds engaged in learning.  

We had fresh peaches at the market!  They came in this box
which became a fabulous dollhouse for this crafty gal.

Callie is very proud to be a first grader now!  She is growing up faster than the boys it seems.  She is an emotional, creative little artist who twirls and skips through the house.  

Jack earned his pocket-knife earlier this year and recently
used it to make a spaceship for Max out of boxes.

Dry erase markers are fun....NOT!  Thankfully they wiped off the
rattan easily.  He said, "I thought you would think it was
beautiful."  Look at the face:)

Jack just wants school work to be done as quickly as possible.  Right now he's really into reading Calvin and Hobbs and asking to eat the candy my family brought us from America. 

 Max is living up to his name. He does everything to the max!  The Thai people still love him, and he still makes a hundred crazy faces and says things like, "Mommy, Callie is being obnoxious," and yes, he's still only 2!  He keeps me on my feet while he's awake and on my knees before the Lord when he goes to bed.

I really enjoy teaching these kiddos!  They were so shy
at first, but now we laugh and they are speaking in English.

I am still teaching English class twice a week.  I try to use a lot of hands-on object lessons for my students, because they seems to retain the info better this way. I've been writing my own lessons, so if anyone has resources they could pass along, please share!  I'm also slowly progressing in my Thai vocabulary.  When we shop at the market I am able to ask questions, and do a better job negotiating prices.  I am still far off from fluent conversation, but I am celebrating the small victories.  One day I will share the gospel in Thai.  That is my goal.  

Prayer requests:

Language study for all of us

School:  We would like to enroll our 2 youngest in a bilingual school this summer to learn more Thai.  It is an extra expense that we hadn't planned for, so please pray with us for the Lord to provide.

Neighbors:  We are the only believers on our block and beyond.  We have neighbors who are becoming friends who don't know the Lord...please pray for the Lord to open their eyes and for us to share in a way that they can understand.  (Culture is a challenge and affects everything).

Ministry: I am meeting with a house-mom to discuss working with a group of girls.  More details to come later.  

Children:  Callie has been homesick for America.  She misses her cat (at here grandparent's house) and her family and friends.  Praise:  2 little girls moved into our neighborhood and they can speak some English!

House:  We will ask to renew our contract for another year.  This should be fine, but you just never know...

Financial Support: Please pray that we can be fully supported so that we can stay and continue the work here.

Health: Praise!  We are all doing better.  Thank you for praying and please keep praying for me (Summer).

3 unexpected things

Unexpected situation #1
In February I checked into the hospital here in Chiang Mai after waking up with my throat nearly swollen closed.  My lymph nodes were swollen the night before and I visited my primary care physician who said it was just a virus and sent me home.  By morning I felt like I may lose the ability to breath if I waited another day to see if it would get better.  Ken stayed home with the kids and I drove to the hospital.

Bible reading before bed. 

I checked in and they said an ENT specialist was in the hospital finishing a surgery and would see me in 30 minutes.  Thank you, Lord!  He looked in my throat, gasped and said, "You have bad infection.  Stay here 1 or 2 days."  While I waited for my room and lady from my Bible study sat down next to me.  She was a sweet gift from the Lord to remind me that I'm not alone.  I stayed in room 617, which was comfortable, and very clean, with kind nurses.  They hooked me up to andIV and gave me 2 different antibiotics, throat spray, and a fizzy drink.  I could barely swallow water.  By the next morning I could talk!  I ate some breakfast and the doctor said my infection was still bad but that I could go home.  So, here I am, at home with a happy little family:)  Ken's a champ and I love and appreciate him so much.

Unexpected situation #2

This was Christmas dinner at our house.  Turkeys were over $100
so we made a pork roast.  It was all delicious and we got to share
it with a few families!

Our neighbors are retired and visit for 90 days every year.  They have a daughter, Oy, who speaks a little English.  She is a sweet woman who loves our family.  She randomly brings the kids popcorn and snacks.  While her parents are in Thailand she comes up from Bangkok to stay with them.  I stopped over to drop off some muffins and she met me in the yard, "Summer, I go Bangkok, accident nit-noy (Thai for "little bit).  Her mother came out to explain that a relative had passed away and that she was leaving that evening to go back to Bangkok.  I hugged her and had to leave for a Thai class.  I wanted to cry.  The next week I prayed, "Lord, send someone to tell her the gospel" (I am still learning Thai!)  The next day I took some bread to her parents and she opened the door!  SHE WAS BACK!  My first thought was, "Lord, that was fast!!"  Her mother had a mini-stroke but had no lasting effects so she came back to care for her. I am still in shock at this!  I am so excited that a friend had a copy of the "Jesus Storybook Bible" in Thai!  We gave it to Oy before she headed back to Bangkok.

Unexpected situation #3
We planned to come back to the states to update all of you on that the Lord is doing and to raise support to continue the work out here!  We want to hug you and share how the Lord is answering your prayers to further the work here in Thailand. Because of a Visa restriction our plans have been changed.  We know this is the Lord's doing and now plan to fly back to America towards the end of the year.

So, life is unpredictable for us, but not for the author of life.  I am trying to leave my worry with him...but I often ask for it back.  Please pray for health for me (Summer) and for the rest of us.  Pollution season is still lingering and it has been 104 degrees or above for a month now (not typical here).  We are grateful to be here and thank the Lord for his beauty all around us, but our hope is that his most beautiful creations, people, will know He is their maker.