The work continues

Friends, we had a wonderful time in America, visiting with many of you in your homes or 

churches.  When you pray, please thank God with us for His provision.  We have 2 new supporting churches and some new individual supporters, as well.  Thank you to everyone who gives to our ministry. We're so thankful that we were able to come back and continue the work here: a church plant, anti-human traffiking work, and missionary support through education.

House Church!  Our church now rotates between homes and we

get to host twice a month.  This picture was taken at my friend's house.  Women's Bible

study will be resume next week at our home.  Please pray for me as I teach these women

the foundations of the faith.

 Dragon Fruit!  I learned how to cut this little star/flower

design and then you can pull sections off to eat it.  

 We had a rough transition back to Thailand and felt it was

an attack of the enemy.  We were in the ER twice within 8 hours, but

all is well.  Look how happy everyone is!

 Mangosteen: This is one of my favorite fruits!  It's soft

and tastes a bit like honey.

 We enjoy family time outside in the yard (when it isn't raining).  Hudson

watches me pull weeds and attempts to pull grass....and eat it.

 Is it me, or does this truck have a mustache?

 Callie and I flagged down the icecream truck.  This ice cream is made 

from fresh coconut milk with added sticky rice!

 Look who learned to sit up!

 Snuggly brothers in the morning.

 Bathtime!  We don't have a bathtub, so 

this works.

 This is a fortune teller of sorts.  It was at the

grocery store.  You put your money in, the wheel lands

on a number and then you take the paper fortune that matches the number.

 I'm not sure how popular machines like this are, but

the Thai people are very supersticious.  They have favorite numbers and

unlucky numbers that brings about fear.

 And now he's a crawler!  It's all happening so fast!

 The gang!  Ken is off to work to support missionary families

homeschool their kiddos AND he's serving as Director of Curriculum this year for the school.  

The school serves over 500 kids, most of whom come from missionary families serving here and in Southeast Asia.

I can't post my pics of the antihuman trafficking work happening, but there are unspoken

prayers for a couple of the girls.  The enemy is always at work, so please pray with us!

It's a boy!

WELCOME!!  Hudson Tobiah

Tobiah means, "the Lord is good"

This little boy was our biggest at 7 lbs 8oz

He was also the fastest birth (but most painful).

Meeting the family.

How I spent most of the first week.  Snuggled with this boy as 

Max and Ken fought Influenza A.

Proud daddy!

I knit him this little outfit.  He was bigger than I

expected, but it still fit.

Peace Out!  Leaving the hospital.

For those of you who want more details about the birth, here's ya go:

I was 1 day past my due date, (which was Jack's birthday.  Callie prayed the baby wouldn't be born on Jack's birthday).  My parents had arrived and we were ready for baby to come.  It was Friday, the kids were out of school, my doula/nurse was going to be leaving for vacation on Sunday, so I wanted to get the ball rolling.  My mom and I went to get massages.  Just a foot massage for me.  15 minutes after we finished, I was walking and said,"Something is happening.  I think my water is going to break."  I took a few more steps and felt something again, "My water is going to break!"  As I got in the van to drive home, I felt a small trickle.  I had one contraction.  That was at 6:37pm. (I know this because I called Ken and my phone saved the info).  I called my doula (who has lived here for over 20 years and attended numerous births) and she reminded me that early labor can take several hours.

Back at home, nothing.  No contractions.  I sat on the birthing ball and eventually the rest of my water broke.  Around 7:30 I started having contractions.  They got serious pretty quickly and I was breathing through them.  I just felt we should go to the hospital, even though I only had 4 or 5 contractions.

In the car, it all stopped.  I felt normal.  Then at 8:12 I had a strong contraction that lasted about 90 seconds.  That was intense.  I remember thinking I didn't want to be sitting in the car for any more contractions.  At the hospital you have to park far away and walk about 7 minutes, or your husband drops you off at the ER and you go without him.  I wanted to walk to start regular contractions because I didn't want pitocin.

As we walked, I had regular contractions that rapidly got stronger and closer together.  I told Ken to call our doula/nurse and tell her to come.  When we arrived at the 12th floor they asked me to give a urine sample.  As soon as I attempted to provide one,  I knew things were progressing and I said, "I need to push!"  I didn't know if I did, but it felt like baby was moving and things were serious.  I was a little scared. The doctor wasn't there, nor my doula, just 2 intake nurses.

A nurse checked me and I dilated to 8.  They told me to lay on the bed, which slowed my contractions.  As I was breathing through them, the nurses were asking me questions for their paperwork, "What is your education?"  I was confused, "Are you asking me if I went to college?"  Our doula/nurse had arrived and began answering for me, which allowed me to focus on breathing and staying relaxed.  I was kind of surprised we were talking about my college degree while I was minutes away from pushing!

The doctor arrived and I walked to the delivery room.  A few minutes later I asked to push because I was in pain and wanted the pain to end.  I was at 9.5 but  a couple contractions later I was complete at 10.  This felt like forever to me.  The pain was too much, there were no epidurals, the gas and air machine was empty.  The only way out was to push him out!

I pushed for 7 minutes in an upright position and it wasn't working.  My back throbbed no matter how hard Ken pressed against it with his hand. The doula suggested I flip back over.  I couldn't move because the pain didn't stop, but with others helping me, I was on my back, and Hudson was born 4 minutes later.  (Our doula kept record of these details.)

I have since learned that when you give birth in under 3 hours it's called precipitous birth.  Most people I talk to feel envious that my labor was over so quickly, ( about 2 hours 30 minutes) but it has it's own difficulties.  You cram all the intesity of labor into an hour, but your mind isn't able to keep up with the physical changes.  I had mentally prepared all the ways I would cope with labor, but because it came on so fast, there wasn't time for my plans.

Another component of precipitous birth is a lack of rest between contractions.  Most women said they felt like active labor was one long contraction.  I agree!  Once I made it through transition to pushing, I remember saying, "I don't know when to push, it won't stop hurting!"  This is why many women get emotional at this stage; you don't get a break and it overwhelms you.

When Hudson was born, my emotions needed time to catch up with what I had just gone through.  There he was, our son!  He had so much hair, and he was big!  My first baby was just under 6 pounds and Hudson was 7.8   He looked quite Asian at first and a lot like Ken when he was a newborn.

I wouldn't have guessed that God would gift us with this gift in our 40's, but we are so very thankful.  He is loved by all of us and draws quite a crowd when we're in public.  When we moved here Max was a year old and he was a bridge to the people. We pray for Hudson, that the Lord will use him for His glory and that we parent well by teaching him the ways of the Lord, living it out as an example before him.

6 weeks old

We look forward to introducing him to you this summer while we're back.  It will have been nearly 3 years since we last saw our friends, family, and supporters in Georgia!  

...and a Happy New Year!

 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. 

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas from the other side of the world!!  Friends, we're excited for you to catch a glimpse of what the Lord is doing here, so take a look:

Christmas party with the ladies group:
I spy one little guy who spied food and wooed the ladies into
giving  him whatever he wanted.

Fresh coconut water at a friend's house.  The woman with the machete in the
background is one of my closest friends and helps me with translating at Bible study.

Celebrating this kid after his choir performance.
Do you think they look alike?

While Ken was out of  the country for 5 days, I took the kiddos to school and took a 4 day (all day)
course to learn to be a Doula.  It was so helpful as I prep to have this baby.
I had some anxiety with Ken away, but God grew me through this time.

God gave me the idea to do a Jesse Tree project for the ladies in Bible study.
Many of them want to share Christ with their families but need some equipping.
I recruited 14 friends to make ornaments, one for each of the Bible stories, starting in the Garden of Eden
and ending with the nativity story.  

This was such an exciting day, when everyone brought what they made and
we exchanged ornaments so that we each got a complete set. 
10 sets were set aside for the Thai women as a surprise.

I didn't take any pictures of them opening their box of Jesse Tree ornaments but it touched my heart to see their joy.  They were also given the Jesus Storybook in Thai, so that they could read the story of the day and see how it all works together to tell one story.

  Each bag contains an ornament to represent the story of the day, from Creation to Christ. 
 Ken built the wooden trees and Callie and I stamped the bags and filled them. 
Thank you to our supporters! Part of the money you give goes to evangelism and outreach like this.

It came!  The Jesus Storybook in Thai has been backordered for months, but it arrived close to the time of
starting our advent.  

We played  some fun games and they laughed so hard!  I had a prize box they could pick from.  One woman who struggles between the religion she grew up with and the truth of the WORD chose this book. 

 It's a book I had when I was a kid and it folds open like a star, telling the story of Jesus entering the world as a baby.  What's amazing is that I had this book on display, near the prize box.  She assumed it was a gift option and took it, not even knowing the content.  I love that she left with the this truth for a friend to read to her later.  She told her friend that she felt it was a sign, because she had asked God for a sign.  Isn't that amazing? 

Will you thank God with me for the work he is doing here?  We have many praises this month!  The ladies in Bible study have began asking questions!!  This goes against the ways of the student here, but it's so beneficial when they ask the things they don't understand.  Today's question was about Isaac.  One of the women asked if he was God.  (She cannot read or write so she comes to listen; Thai is her second language).  We were able to explain to her how Christ would come through that chosen family and how we can be grafted into that family as well.

Prayer Requests:

Safe delivery of baby Mungle  (There are no epidurals in Chiang Mai, and only narcotics for pain).

Supporters:  Our family grew this year, with the addition of an older child to our family, and a soon-to-be- here baby.  With that, come more monthy expenses.  Please consider being a monthly supporter or giving as you are able.  

Here's the link: http://www.letsopenthewindow.com/donate.php 

Mail:  (Not necessarily a prayer request, but) If you have sent us mail we may not have received it.  We have lived here over 4 years and have received 4 or 5 cards.  Recently someone told us they have sent us 2 cards that never arrived.  I'm so sorry, friends!  I wasn't aware that this was a problem.  

Disclipleship: We see such need for Thai believers to be discipled.  Please pray that we are able to cross cultural gaps to clearly explain the Word to brothers and sisters here, so that they can grow and teach others.