Making Room for Growth

On Wednesday evenings, our home has become a gathering place for a group of sixth-grade girls who are learning what it means to follow Jesus. This September, we began hosting Anchor, a discipleship ministry focused on helping students grow in their faith, build meaningful friendships, and eventually become disciple-makers themselves. Moriah is participating, too, which makes opening our home for these gatherings even sweeter!

Anchor is facilitated by Sarah McEvoy, a staff member at Grace International School, who meets weekly with five high school student leaders to disciple, encourage, and equip them to lead the younger girls. While Anchor isn’t officially a school program, it has the school’s enthusiastic support. We love that these older students aren’t simply helping with a Bible study, but are learning how to intentionally invest in the lives of others. What a neat opportunity for discipleship on both sides!.

This semester, the girls are studying the book of James, focusing on what it looks like to put their faith into action through their words, attitudes, and relationships. Traci is present each week, helping provide a welcoming space for the girls, while Nick is usually busy shuttling our boys to their own eighth and tenth-grade Anchor gatherings. It’s become a bit of a family affair! We aren’t the ones leading the lessons, but we’re thankful that opening our home can play a small part in helping these students grow into lifelong followers of Jesus.

Meanwhile, things at In The Midst Café continue to grow! Since returning from the U.S. this summer, Traci has reengaged with the owners and staff, offering guidance and helping with the next round of improvements. We’re so encouraged that sales remained healthy throughout the summer and have continued to increase substantially since our return. That growth has allowed the café to hire additional employees, providing more opportunities for local families.

One of Traci’s current projects is developing around ten new menu items, including Mexican dishes, paninis, and healthier “garden plates” like a Greek quinoa bowl and teriyaki salmon. We’re excited to introduce some fresh options and hopefully draw even more people through the doors! The café continues to receive wonderful Google reviews, and as our neighborhood grows, we’re seeing more foot traffic and even customers coming from outside the immediate community.

Of course, our hope has always been that the café would be more than a successful business. Every new customer and staff member represents another opportunity to build relationships, show hospitality, and share the love of Christ. We’re thankful for the growth we’ve seen and excited about what the Lord might do through these relationships in the months ahead.

A Fresh Look for Our Family Website

We're excited to share that our family website has gotten a much-needed refresh! We've been working behind the scenes to give deringtonfamily.com a fresh new look, making it easier for friends, family, and ministry partners to stay connected with us and follow what God is doing here in Thailand. The updated site includes more about our family and ministry, an archive of past newsletters and stories, and ways to partner with us through prayer and financial support. Whether you've been following our journey for years or are just getting to know us, we hope you'll take a few minutes to explore! Our desire is for this to be a place where you can stay connected to our family and see how your partnership continues to make a difference.

Additional Highlights