September 2010 Update

Greetings from the Land of Smiles!  The last month has been busy and productive.  Below is a glimpse of what’s been happening in our family and ministry.  Thanks for reading!

School Days

First day of school

Our children actually began the new school year in mid-August, however it’s taken up until now to really get into the swing of things!  Matthias is now in 3rd grade and Abigail is in 1st, both at Grace International School.  Chloe attends a Christian Thai/English preschool in the morning and recently moved up from the 3 to 4 year old class.  We are very thankful for the opportunities our kids have to be at both of these Christ-focused schools!  Please pray for them as they study and also for Grace International School as it is in the process of relocating.

Visa Trip

Riding a taxi in Laos

We began September in the country of Laos on a trip to acquire our new visas.  We are thankful for smooth travels, an uneventful stay in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and a safe return home with new visas in hand!  For more details about our trip, check out the post below titled “To Laos and Back Again.”  Please pray as we move forward to the next step in our visa process: a trip to the Immigration Department in Bangkok.  We are required to make this trip before the end of November.  However, we must wait for paperwork to be processed before we can go.  Our preference is to go sometime during the children’s break from school on October 14-22.

Studying Thai

Nathan's language teacher, Khruu Usaa, on her birthday with Chloe

A few days after returning home from Laos, Nathan resumed his Thai language studies.  However, since the language school he had been attending moved into the city and because he no longer depends on the school for a visa, Nathan began studying with his teacher from home.  It’s been a joy working through a bible module and his understanding of Thai-Christian vocabulary is growing.  Also, it was a lot of fun for Nathan and Jessica to share a special lunch with his teacher earlier this month in celebration of  her birthday.  Please pray for steady progress in his and Jessica’s language abilities.

Thai Church & Retreat

Several months ago, our family moved from attending an international church to a Thai church.  The international church was a wonderful place to worship (in English) and network with other missionaries.  However, now that we are more comfortable in the Thai language and are beginning to transition into other areas of ministry, we felt that it was time to make this necessary change.  While it has been a help in increasing our understanding of the language and culture, this decision has definitely come with some struggles as well.  For example, our children still don’t speak or understand Thai well enough to really feel a part of the service.  Even still, we are continuing to trust the Lord with these challenges.  One very positive aspect of attending this Thai church is the blessing of fellowship.  Each week the worship service includes a time of thanksgiving during which members are free to share a testimony of how God is working in their lives.  This last Sunday, for instance, one woman shared that it has been 3 years since she trusted Christ and how He has changed her life!  Also, following every Sunday service the members all eat lunch and visit together.  Earlier this month, we had an additional opportunity to fellowship by attending an all-church weekend retreat.  We have quickly learned how important genuine community is in the Thai culture!  As we continue attending the Thai church, please pray for us to grow in our understanding of how to best minister among the Thai people.

A Brief Visit

Jessica and her mom shopping for fabric near Wararot Market

Before returning home from a survey trip in Malaysia, Jessica’s parents, Tim and Judy Heath, were able to spend a couple days with us.  They were also here for about 1 week in August prior to their survey trip.  Although short, it was encouraging to see them face-to-face and also to hear their report on TCM’s ministry in Malaysia.  Please continue to pray for them as they recently began deputation and also for the Believers in Malaysia.

English Class

About 2 weeks ago, Nathan and co-missionary Genesis Maraat began teaching an English class twice a week at the Thai church we attend.  The class is actually a new ministry of the church as they desire to reach out to people in the community.  From a meager attendance of 2 on the first night, the most recent class contained around 15 students, none of which attend the church!  We are thankful for this opportunity to serve and know that it will give us valuable experience for the future.  We strongly believe that teaching English is an effective method to building bridges with people in Thailand.  Please pray for the class, the students, and Genesis and Nathan as they teach.

Thanks for your faithful prayers and being a part of our ministry here in Thailand.  We trust God will bless you and keep you strong to serve Him!

In Christ,
The Thai 5

To Laos and Back Again

Riding a sawng teaow taxi in Vientiane, Laos

Last Sunday evening our family set out on a trip to Vientiane, Laos in order to obtain our Religions Affairs (R.A.) visa from the Thai Embassy located there.  Before sharing about that trip, I’ll back up a bit to explain our visa situation.  Since shortly after our arrival in Thailand, we’ve been living here under a non-immigrant student visa.  However, that’s hardly a permanent method for staying in country.  So, along with our co-missionaries the Maraats, we began looking for other means to obtain a more permanent visa.  After a few dead ends, we made a contact with another mission organization that had some available visas they were willing to share with missionaries outside their group.  Then, sometime during the Spring of 2009, Genesis and I (Nathan) met with two pastors of a local Thai church belonging to this organization.  They interviewed us to determine 2 things: (1) Did God call us to serve Him in Thailand? (2) Did we want to plant churches among the Thai people?  Our answers to both of these questions were (and are) a resounding “Yes!”  And so, having met their criteria, we were granted two visa slots for our families.  At some point after our interview, I learned just how difficult it is to get a visa of this kind, namely one that comes through the Thailand Religious Affairs Department and allows us to do evangelism and church planting ministry.  In fact, some say that it’s nearly impossible to get these visas anymore.  However, nothing is impossible for our God and we are thankful for His perfect provision!

Do you think they’re excited to ride the bus?

Following our interview, Genesis and I mailed in our formal applications and other paperwork to the organization’s office which was then sent to the proper government department in Bangkok.  This took place in May and June of 2009 and was the beginning of the long wait to receive a letter of acceptance from the Thai government.  Finally, in April of this year, Genesis received his letter and began planning their trip to the Thai Embassy in Laos.  Knowing we had applied only a few weeks after the Maraats, we fully expected our paperwork to come in by the end of June or, at the very latest, by late July.  However, both June and July passed and we were still waiting.  We continued to trust the Lord for the paperwork to come through and were confident that it would eventually arrive.  However, I honestly began wondering if it would come in time.  You see, the student visa we were under at that time was due to expire on September 8.  This meant that we would be forced to renew our student visa if the paperwork for the R.A. visa didn’t come in within thenext few weeks.  But God (don’t you just love those two words), full of wisdom and perfect in timing, provided the completed paperwork on August 3!  And so, we began planning our own trip to Laos.

Chloe shows some fellow passengers her book

On Sunday evening, August 29, we left Chiang Mai by bus for Udon Thani, a city in northeastern Thailand.  The kids, who had been looking forward to riding and sleeping on the bus all summer were very excited as weclimbed on board and took our seats.  12 hours later at around 8:30am we arrived in Udon, got off the bus and quickly found a driver to take us to the Thai- Laos border crossing near the city of Nong Khai.  Knowing it would take two days to process our paperwork, our goal was to submit our application that morning which meant we had to hurry to Vientiane as the Thai Embassy closed at 12pm.  We arrived at the border in under an hour, went through Thai immigration and then boarded a bus that took us across the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge and into the country of Laos.  At this stop we applied for visas to enter Laos and, upon passing through immigration, hired another driver who, in about 30 minutes, delivered us to the Thai Embassy in Vientiane.  I retrieved a number at the queue and, seeing that we were still 45 places away, went across the street to check in at a hotel.  To my surprise, when I returned to the Embassy less than 1/2 hour later, our number was already being called!  We handed in our applications and passports and then proceeded to another building to wait for our number to be called again.  Only a short while later, we were called forward, I paid for our visas, and we were told to return on Tuesday at 1pm to pick them up.  Having been prepared for a long day of waiting and not even expecting to be seen on Monday, we are still quite amazed and thankful at how quick and easy the entire process was.  God is good!  Tuesday afternoon, I returned to the Thai Embassy, picked up our passports which were freshly stamped with our new visas, and praised God that this crucial step was complete.

The girls & our saam laaw driver in Udon Thani

Since we had already purchased return tickets to Chiang Mai for Wednesday evening, we spent the remainder of our time in Laos getting to know some new friends and looking around the capital.  Then, Wednesday afternoon we began our return trip, finally arriving at home around 8am Thursday morning.  One highlight of our journey home was crossing back over into Thailand.  This was the first time Jessica and the kids had left the country since our arrival almost 2 years ago (I went to the Philippines last April) and so it was a very significant trip.  As the bus drove over the bridge, we had a distinct sense of the familiarity of this country.  How good and gracious God is as He has enabled us to adjust to this foreign land in such a way that it indeed feels like coming home!

Over the next few months we will make two more trips to complete the visa process.  In a few weeks, I will travel to Bangkok in order to apply for my work permit.  Then, towards the end of November, our entire family will go to Bangkok so that Jessica and the kids can extend their 3 month visas to match the 1 year visa that I was granted.

Waiting at the bus station in Udon Thani

We are so thankful for the many people who have been praying for this visa to become a reality and who prayed for us during our trip.  Also, we are most grateful to God for what He has done.  By providing these necessary documents, He has confirmed His calling on our lives to serve Him here in Thailand.