July Update: We are moving!

The time has come! We will be moving to Thailand on September 17th!! We are in the process of packing, saying goodbyes, and house-hunting online. Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand (legally) at this time, so we'll be renting. Houses rent quickly, so we might be relying on video and pictures to choose a home and have it ready for us to move into.

Now that I threw the big news at you, let me give you a summary of our month:

Our kids are still weirdos :)

Max is finally getting teeth!

And he got a passport

....but all he could think about was getting those teeth to come in!

 Callie turned 4!  We had her friends over and celebrated with a ballerina theme.  I need to do an update on her decorations because most of them came from the Thrift Store or were made on a penny-pinching budget!  This was her first real party and she was sooooo excited! 

 

We traveled to TN and GA!

Chic-fil-A provided our free lunch on dress like a cow day! (Thanks Cody for the outfit!)

  During our time down South we visited our sending church and caught up with our family there. We spent almost every night with a different family for dinner. WE LOVED THAT! Unexpectedly running into old friends warmed our hearts too.

Max enjoyed playing catch at a get-together in GA.

Callie got loved on!

Jack caught up with his buddy.

I love this picture.  Callie's friends who have known her since she was in my tummy.

We attended the CSTHEA conference, a homeschooling conference near Chattanooga, TN. Several missionary families from all over the world stopped by our booth. The Lord continues to use families like these to confirm our calling. One of the moms (serving in Asia) broke down in tears and told us how wonderful it would be to have the help of a ministry like ours. Lonely and difficult were how she described homeschooling where she lived.

At our booth in East Ridge, TN.

Can you believe he took a nap despite all the noise?!

We "sweetened" our prayer card packets this month.

We stopped along the way home from Georgia and visited with three families. Each has a special place in our hearts as has played a significant role in our lives.  Let me share one story:

This precious woman introduced me to Ken during our first year of college.  She and I were pen-pals from camp that lost touch and reconnected at Cornerstone.  She said, "I have the perfect guy for you."  It took a while for Ken and I to realize she was right, but we've been dating for nearly 19 years now! (Married for 15).

Here is the birthday boy!  Max turned 1.  We had a small celebration with my family.

There you have it: July.  It came to an end quickly, and August is already flying by.

So what does it feel like to be moving to the other side of the world? Well, it is just starting to hit me! We have traveled so much this year (long trips every 8 weeks since March) to share our ministry and raise the support to move to Thailand.  So, this move doesn't completely feel like a move yet. 

 We are limited on what we can take: 8 check in suitcases weighing up to 50lbs. each, and one 25 lb. suitcase for Max.  We will each take a carry on suitcase and a backpack...and that is it! 

Please pray for us:

• Transitions: from Michigan, to Georgia, to Chiang Mai.
• Goodbyes: This will be especially hard on our kids.
• New neighbors: That we will have Thai neighbors that we can build relationships with.
• Language: The Thai language is REALLY difficult to learn.
• Housing: We would like a 1 story home with some grass in the yard (yards are small and often non-existant because it is a city and land is costly).
• Transportation: We will need a vehicle...and I will need to figure out how to drive there- EEK!
• Visas: They are being processed now, but let's pray it goes smoothly.
• Friendships: For all of us.  
• Church: That we quickly find a body of believers to grow and serve with.
• Homeschooling families: the people we'll be helping.  We want to serve them well and meet their needs so that they can continue in their ministries.

THANK YOU to all of our prayer partners and supporters!  The Lord has brought us so far in the past 2 1/2 years since we felt the call to move to Thailand.  You have watched us struggle and be stretched and grow....we anticipate our time in Chiang Mai to be even more challenging, but worth it!  This little poem from the "Don't Waste Your Life" study keeps running through my head:

Only one life t'will soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last."

                                 by: CT Studd

June Update!

We have traveled a lot!

I forgot to mention in my last update that we participated in the largest homeschooling conference in Michigan, called INCH.  Thank you so much to Mike at INCH for having us! We met SO MANY wonderful people and several missionaries there!   The majority of the missionaries, after hearing about our ministry awaiting us in Thailand, said they wished they had that kind of educational support because it so different homeschooling in remote areas.  (Don't you love it when the Lord confirms your calling?) Many of the missionaries  offered advice and words of encouragement that we needed to hear. Other families stopped by to sign up for newsletter updates and donated money to help us get to Thailand!

 I LOVE homeschooling conventions and curriculum fairs 

and the past 2 have offered a couple fun photo ops: 

 This is Steve from Math-U-See (with his future student, Max).

Josh Dugger from 19 Kids and Counting.

What is even more awesome is that the Lord has used these homeschooling events to connect us to well-known curriculum companies who are interested in helping us provide resources to the families will be working with!

For his next trick, Max pretends to be a table.  Seriously, this little boy is busy! The day before he turned 11 months old he walked!  He's now walking up to 8 steps at a time.  He's still toothless, but that will changing any day now!

Ken's family flew us out to Washington state to spend a week with them.  The flight seemed so short (nearly 5 hours) compared to the last flight Ken and I took to Thailand (a 24 hour travel day!)  The kids did great on the flight; since we left around 8pm, Max slept most of the flight.  Jack stayed awake the entire flight, and Callie fell asleep just as the landing gear came down in Washington!  

DILEMMA!!!!

We had 2 sleeping children, 4 small suitcases , 4 backpacks and a diaper bag to carry off the plane.  I carried Callie and Max, (sleeping children always feel heavier, don't they?) and Jack and Ken carried all of the luggage.  We made it off the plane but had 15 min. of walking and trains- catching ahead of us...what were we going to do?  Before I could concern myself with our dilemma any longer, in front of us was an empty luggage cart!  We loaded it up, put an awake, but very sleepy Callie on top and off we went!  Thank you Lord for always being with us and for literally carrying our burden of luggage!

Ken enjoyed time with his dad and mom (isn't she cute?).

She always cooks a big Korean meal of Ken's favorite foods.

 The cousins were inseparable!

 Callie checking out the mountains!  Do you see how long her hair is?

 Isn't it beautiful?  I wanted to just sit and read my Bible and spend time with the Creator.

We did a lot of hiking and felt safe with this kid to protect us ;)

Back in Michigan,

HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW:

Remember that long hair that Callie had grown out for nearly 4 years?  She wanted it short.

Why?  Because I got mine cut.  Sweet, huh?  I made her wait 3 weeks to be sure this is what she wanted.   She insisted she wanted short hair!

 Her first "real" haircut!  She was so serious through the whole experience!

 

Callie donated nearly 12 inches of hair to Wigs for Kids!

We donated it in honor of sweet little Lacey Holsworth, who is now with her Maker.

Today I'm reminded what a vapor this life is. Every moment counts.  How will I spend my moments?  It's not just about what I'm doing, but what I'm thinking about in-between the goings on of life.  I was reading with the kids in Philippians:


I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  Phil. 4:12-13

"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." Phil. 3:7-9

Good words to meditate on!

MAY-DAY!

Callie learned how to call 9-1-1.  Even though I warned her it was for emergencies only, she was curious.  Do you know what happens when a curious 3 year old calls 911?  The policeman visits you.  He was very understanding and we extended the same grace to Callie.  Lesson learned...I hope.

Here she is at the Alice in Wonderland Ballet.

We were in the Chattanooga area for a Missions Conference.  The kiddos 

had fun participating in AWANA at our sending church.

Water games!

Max (still toothless) hanging out on the lawn at church.

Coolidge Park

 We had a long overdue visit with our old group of Square Dancing friends!  

What a sweet time of hugs and catching up.  The last time we were here

was 18 months ago!  Our friends remember Callie learning to walk:)

Maxwell: showing off his crawling skills.

Here we all are!

On the way back to Michigan we stopped at Mayfield Dairy.

Berea, KY is such a wonderful place to visit and it's right off I-75. The marble tree made fun music!

 We took a quick overnight trip to Northern Michigan, (where I grew up), to celebrate my Dad's retirement from the business he's had for 34 years!  His customers trusted him and his integrity pointed people to Christ.  We're proud of you, dad!

The largest limestone quarry, just 15 min. from where I grew up.

On Memorial Day we attended a parade (the same one my mom attended as a little girl) and then walked to the cemetery for the ceremony.  My grandpa was a Veteran of the Korean War and we all miss him.  I'm thankful for his service and for all the stories he shared with me.  

Callie entertained Max during the ceremony.

 We finished the day with family.  My parents have a great porch, don't you think?

It's safe to say that Spring is here and Summer is on it's way.  The grass is green and soft, the flowers are beautiful (mom has them in vases around the house), and the lake is beautiful!  Just think, this is the fallen world!  How beautiful will heaven be?

All the earth worships You and sings praises to you;

They sing praises to Your name. 

 - Psalm 66:4

April update

 We spent a lot of our time in April preparing for a busy month of May, 

but we spent a day in downtown Detroit with my sister's family.

 After visiting the Detroit Institute of Art (which was awesome and free!)

we took the people mover around the town.  That is Canada in the background.

 We celebrated the melting of the ice on the lake....but then:

 April 15th we woke up to snow!! Instead of complaining, we embraced it

and went sledding. 

 This boy LOVES the snow!

 We awarded them medals because we finally got to complete

our winter Olympics sledding competition.  Max wanted to eat his.

 Our family (kiddos included), my sister's family, and my parents participated in Secret Church.  A few hours in, Ken said, "Our family at Poplar Springs (in Georgia) is worshiping with us right now.  Isn't that awesome?"  I'm sure some of you reading this were participating too, either from your living room or church.  We spent 6 hours learning and being reminded that Christ's death on the cross and His resurrection changed everything!  It focused our attention on where Jesus affects our everyday life.

This month also closed out our homeschool co-op.  Thank you to Seeds of Faith for allowing us to jump aboard half-way through your school year.  We enjoyed an end-of-the-year performance and Callie's class got to sing the "Rainbow" song.  She was so excited!  We're so grateful for wonderful teachers who spent their time preparing for class and to focus on Christ.

I'll end with a funny story.  Easter morning we got dressed up for church.  Callie saw me and gasped, "Mommy! Your dress is so beautiful...and sparkly...you look like a cow!"  It was a lavender speckly print, so I knew what she meant and I took it as a compliment. :)

MARCHing towards Spring?

March is officially over and what a month it has been for the Mungle family and our minivan!

We visited the Pioneers homeschool co-op in Jackson, MI and had the privilege of teaching 4 classes. As former classroom teachers, it was great fun to be in front of a group of students again!  Ken taught some of the history of Thailand and we shared our ministry by incorporating a hands-on activity.  I taught the elementary group of kids and speaking of "kid" we had a little goat in the audience!  That was a first for me!

___________________________________________________

One Saturday was spent at a local Homeschool Convention.  It was a small gathering, but the Lord put us in touch with some wonderful believers!  More details to come....

We spent the majority of the month in preparation for a huge homeschool convention in Nashville, TN. This 3 day event brought hundreds of people to our booth as we shared God's calling of our family to Thailand. We are so grateful for the encouraging words, donations, and prayer partners the Lord brought!

I ran into Josh Dugger at the Teach Them Diligently Conference... twice! The first time was in the exhibitor's hall, and the second was in the parking lot.  We were parked near him and his family. (What cute kiddos they have!)

A huge thank you to my mom, who flew to Nashville to help with the kids while we were at the Homeschool Convention! 

___________________________________________________

Funny story: We left a snow covered ground in Michigan, but Callie announced (loudly) about an hour into Ohio, "Look!  Grass!  Can we play in it?"  We took the exit to grant her request and found this Space Museum.  We didn't pay to go through the museum, but check out the fun free stuff!

___________________________________________________

We also ventured a bit off the path to see the "moonbow" in Corbin, KY.  The kids enjoyed the hike to the waterfall at night, listening to the frogs, and playing with flashlights.  It was the day before a full moon, so the moon-bow was clear, the weather was nice, and it was FREE! 

We didn't take a camera so we borrowed the picture above.

___________________________________________________

Our Sundays were spent at our home church, hugging our church family, and feeling (in some ways) like we hadn't left!  We were able to teach at AWANA and speak at the Sunday evening gathering. Thank you to everyone who welcomed us warmly, invited us to your home or shared lunch/ dinner with us.  We certainly left feeling loved!

Max  let the little girls play "house" with him:)

Our trip down South lasted almost 2 weeks and consisted of 5 different places of residence!  The kiddos were champions through it all.  It is quite evident that the Lord is preparing our kids to serve overseas by giving them opportunities to practice flexibility now.  Though "preparation" is not always easy, it is truly an answer to prayer.