Happy New Year, friends!
2018 brought the unexpected in all the right ways.
- Our Thai church is growing
- Our ladies' Bible study has 7 women attending weekly.
- A men's group was started and meets weekly.
- We're having a baby!
- The kids are in school and have all flourished there. They are memorizing scripture and teachers are speaking God's Word into their lives. They have also made friends. :)
The house we moved to in October has a great yard and covered area. It was the
perfect place for our Thai church to celebrate Christmas together. Watching God's people
gather together fills my heart.
This little hill with the huge tree and a couple swings is the favorite spot for the boys.
They were covered in dirt by the time they left.
We played some silly games together. Teams had to blow up balloons
and fill the pantyhose until they made antlers for their "reindeer."
Games are such a fun way to bridge the cultural and language barrier...
laughter is universal!
This is our neighbor from 4 years ago. She invited us to a concert
at her church! Sometime between then and now she has been involved with church.
She was so excited to see us and we were excited to see her and celebrate with 200 people.
(We were the only non-Thai people in attendance!)
Callie and I went on an adventure to find supplies to create a firepit and
wire hotdog/marshmallow roasters. Would you believe we found it all at one store?!
This cement piece was for the fire and the wire was for the roasters. Not pictured
are pieces of wood we used for the handles. The man at the shop cut all of the pieces and
then Ken drilled holes in the wood. I was just thanking God for making it so easy
to find and make it all! (And it cost about $7 for everything!)
Christmas day: Our Thai daughter and I went shopping for
Christmas lunch.
Fresh coconut milk!
Moo-gah-dah: Pork and mushrooms soaked in Oyster sauce.
So yummy!
I love this grill-master!
Mango sticky rice for dessert. These kids LOVE mangoes!
The day after Christmas we toured temple ruins. It's
a humbling reminder of the history of our host country.
I'm so thankful that we are here. Our Father has done so
much this past year in our lives and in the lives of the people around us!
This little guy has been asking wonderfully deep questions, like "Why did God create
Satan?" This brings about great discussions and interesting perspective
from a 5 year old.
We had family come to visit! Feeding the elephants....
Sweet friends sent baby gifts with my throughtful sister
who brought them to us.
Because they could...
We found this caterpillar-like creature on the sidewalk.
A family hike at a national park. 37 weeks pregnant and probably my
last hike.
Please praise God with us:
- Provision: Our house is getting settled into here and the Father is giving us opportunities to use it for His glory.
- Preparedness: We are ready for this little baby! People have given, lent, and gifted us with so much. Baby #4 has what he needs for life here. Ken and I have met with a nurse who has been here for over 20 years, who helped us prep for birth here. (No epidurals, etc).
- Family: We have a college "daughter" as part of our family now. We're thankful to have her with us as long as God allows. We praise Him for her love and desire to serve Him.
- Upcoming trip to America: After the baby is born we will be coming to America, (we'll need a passport and paperwork completed).
Can you help?
We want to meet with your church or group to share what we're doing. We will be in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennesse, Georgia, Washington state, and Oregon. Can you help us arrange opportunities to present our ministry? Please email, send us a facebook message, or text us! Our current support will not sustain our family and we don't want to leave Thailand. Thank you!
To our supporters and prayer partners: Thank you!! I hope you can feel the joy and delight we feel at what's happening here! Our Father is so good to allow us to participate in His work and you are a huge part of it all. We can't wait to share with you face to face this summer.
