It's Getting Close

Things have been busy over the last week. Everyone was excited that last weekend our kids were baptized & it was so exciting for Teresa & I. Both Kiel & Esme were so excited & still are so happy that they were baptized. The exciting thing for me was Teresa reading the kids testimonies & praying for them. I was in the baptismal tank with Kiel when he was baptized & I baptized Esme myself. It was amazing. When I look at how much we have grown as a family in Christ all I want to do is praise God because he is the one that deserves all the glory.

Many people have been asking, "so do you have a date when you will be leaving for Thailand?" Now I have an answer to that question. 2 days ago I purchased our tickets & we will be leaving early in the morning of July 20th. God deserves all the glory because Teresa the kids & I were praying (both together & alone) about the cost of our tickets & Teresa received a call from someone who told her that they & a few other people would pay the cost of our airline tickets.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been sending emails & trying to gather/scan documents for both the kids. We have been trying to apply to an International school & are still waiting on Kiel's grades from the international school he attended in Mongolia. "Please pray for these grades" because the school in Thailand said that they will not be able to process Kiel's application until they have the grades from Mongolia.

I think that now I have completed our new newsletter mailing list. Overall it took a couple of weeks, but it's now complete. If you have not received our Spring Newsletter & would like to please (click here) to email us. I have started visiting our current supporters (financial & prayer) as well as people currently who have been curious about our lives & mission. I have been sharing a little about our last year in Mongolia, about this year (our home assignment & Thailand preparation) & as best we can as to what our lives will look like in the year to come in Thailand.

I was encouraged yesterday by my devotional which said "Do it Afraid" & the verse was Gen 21:22b which says “God is with you in everything you do." It talked how most, if not all of God's servants in the Bible were afraid to do the things that God asked them to do. Just because you are afraid doesn't mean that your faith is lacking, but it's whether you overcome your fears & "do what God has asked shows your faith." The other verse that comes to mind is:   

"No one will be able to defeat you all your life. 

 Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  

I will not leave you or forget you." Joshua 1:5

We do need to increase our monthly support to cover our start up costs (the damage deposit for the house we will be renting which is 3 full months rent upfront, our appliances such as fridge, stove, beds, a sofa, etc...) & we will need to increase our monthly support for our Thai language schooling & the kids schooling. I know that I will have to be honest with people & share about our needs. It's not easy, a bit terrifying, but I know I need to & God is with me/us.