“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13
We Have Neighbors!
Thank you all so much for your ongoing prayers and support. A few weeks ago we passed our one-year anniversary in Thailand, and we can hardly believe we’ve already taken a full trip around the sun. We feel incredibly blessed to be here, and continue to look for ways to serve in spite of many things still being limited or closed.
We have neighbors! Over the last month we have had four families move onto our street—a family from Taiwan and Hong Kong, another family from Korea, a Thai family, and a mom and daughter from China. All but the Thai family speak English well enough to converse—we are so grateful for that bridged gap. Pray we can boldly share the love of Jesus with each of them as time progresses.
After several weeks of online learning, we are all super grateful that Grace International School was finally granted permission to reopen for the time-being. Elam, Grey and Moriah are especially thrilled to be learning along-side their friends again. There are some strict procedures in place, and a variety of drastic measures will be taken if anyone does test positive, so we covet your prayers of protection around the whole school and broader community.
At the start of the school year, Nick was asked to be a part of “Advisory.” Within Advisory he meets with seven eleventh-grade boys once or twice each week—to check in with them regarding their classes and grades, but more importantly how they are doing emotionally and spiritually. He will be a sort of mentor to these seven young men for this year and, Lord willing, next year as well. Not all of the students at GIS come from Christian families, so this is a great way for the staff to intentionally invest into and witness/minister to the students throughout their high school time.
Small Business Help
I (Traci) have been helping our Thai teacher—Gaye—with her side business—a sort of “take-out” restaurant—as her family has needed the additional income. She has also recruited and employed some other families in her neighborhood to help prepare food. Many have had little or no income due to Covid. Together they have sprung to action to create basic menus, and we have used our “farang” (foreigner) connections to broaden the reach of their humble restaurant. I’ve shared recipes and taught her about creating options like “gluten-free” and “dairy-free” as well as “family-style” portions all to appeal to the westerners looking for a quick, healthy meal option for their families. While this may seem commonplace in the USA, these are new concepts for her, and she is eager to learn. We are glad this helps her financially, but even more delighted because she is a Jesus-follower and has a much broader reach within the community than we can due to our language limitations. Pray for boldness for Gaye—that she would continually point people to Jesus as the reason for her generosity and care.
PRAYER REQUESTS
MINISTRY
Pray for clear direction as we begin to look into what future ministry might look like.
CIZTIZENSHIP
The process is long with many hurdles. Pray for officials to be fair and accommodating in the process.
NEW STAFF
We have around 20 new CRU staff that just arrived last month. Pray for a smooth settling period for them.