Hot season has officially arrived here in Thailand. Words cannot express the intensity of the heat we experience everyday. Its like we live inside an oven. We mostly sweat morning to night. A/C is a luxury here. Lately it has been in the 100’s. We are trying to survive by drinking lots of water and taking lots of showers. In the next couple of weeks there will be a water festival that helps cool everyone off. Songkran Festival. Basically it’s a big water fight. We’ve been advised to not drive our bike near the city because people will throw buckets of water on you. They will even open up your car door and pour it right in. Should be interesting. Pray for our safety. 

Its hard to believe that our journey here is almost coming to a close. I feel as though we are just starting to solidify our relationships with people in our organization and our Thai friends and now its time to leave. Not to mention that we are basically fluent in Thai now. (well, that might be a stretch. ha) We have mastered riding three big girls (aka foreigners) on our motorbike so one could say that we are basically Thai. All we need now is a dog in the basket and a baby to hold.
The last weeks we hope to finish strong and say goodbye well. We desire to encourage those who are continuing to live here and praying that God will continue to work in the lives of those we have met. We are believing that seeds we have planted will continue to grow after we leave.

The last months we have been and will continue to work with Community Health Evangelism. CHE’s vision is to empower the Thai people with practical skills and develop their relationship with Christ. We have been blessed immensely to be part of this community. These Thai Christians have been great to work with. They truly desire to see their surrounding community impacted for Christ. Dara and I help with ironing sheets, moving furniture, planning kid camps, and going out into the community to assess the felt needs of the people. We walk alongside the Thai staff, helping them practice English and trying to help in a practical way too. We have really enjoyed visiting in the Villages. It has been such an experience listening to their stories, struggles, and praises.

As we reflect over our time here it is evident that God’s hand has been upon us. He has led us in a way to draw us closer to him. Its been difficult at times but when you are in the presence of God it is always sweet. Thank you for your prayers and support. We send much love from Thailand!!!

God brings us far to draw us near..

The Lord has been doing a lot this last month. It has been a trying time to be away from family because my Granny Ladd passed away in January. I’ve been praying that the Lord would continue to use me here in midst of longing to be at home with family. Missing her funeral was extremely difficult but the Lord continues to draw me near and give me opportunities to share his love among the Thai people. I have to rest in the fact that He knows what He is doing and He has me here for a reason.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

The last few weeks I have been helping with a team that is here to teach at The Centre. I coordinated their agenda for their time here. We got to visit an orphanage on their sports field day! It was fun to play games with them and see so many of the children filled with joy and laughter. Some of their stories broke my heart. One story was of a boy who's mother abandoned him so his grandmother took him and kept him in a box until he was three. She would take him to work with her and keep him in a box. This orphanage is not centered on christian principles but they are wanting Christians to come monthly to teach the children about the Bible.

In a couple of weeks The Centre where we taught English will be shutting down for renovations and some restructuring. We have been helping with some of the reorganization that will take place but currently I am looking at other ministries I can volunteer with in Chiang Mai. The last week I've been helping out in the SIM office with communications and volunteering at the Garden of Hope, a prostitution ministry. GardenofHope

One of the women we are friends with that we visit with at the bar finally decided to leave the bars/prostitution after three years of working there. She is 20 years old and looking for an opportunity to find work with the help of the Garden. Amen! The amount of women who prostitute themselves here is so overwhelming. It almost seems hopeless to try and reach them all but I know the Lord desires for these women to know their worth in Him.

I'm excited how the Lord is going to use us in the last months we are here. Its hard to believe that we are more than halfway done with our time here. I'm praying that I will continue to press into His presence and fully be here. I want to surrender my plans to Him and fulfill what He wants me to do, whatever that may look like. Thank you for your prayers and support!