January 2025 (!) Newsletter

Some months feel so short that you blink and they’re gone. But somehow, January has lasted forever. Not in a bad way– we have had some amazing experiences this month. But after the holiday slump, trudging through the winter cold, getting back to Thailand, finding a temporary place to rent here in Chiang Rai while we’re in transition, etc., we realized we have packed so much into this month, that it has felt like a third of the year has already passed. 

Our Trip

This trip was different from ones in the past. People always ask us, bewildered, how we manage to travel 30+ hours with kids every year. The truth is, it’s very difficult, but just like any other difficult task, there's no reason to complain about what you can’t control. This time, though, we had a little more control over the situation, so we decided to split the trip up. We flew through Denver to Hawaii first, took a three day vacation in Hawaii RIGHT AS the mainland was experiencing a snowstorm (we almost didn’t make it out of Denver!), and then flew through Korea and onward to Chiang Mai.

We landed in Chaing Mai, slept in a hotel for the night, and in the morning had a van take us to Chiang Rai, which is three hours north, through the mountains.

That was a bad idea, because I started getting carsick an hour into the trip and thought I was going to end up in the hospital by the time we made it back! Once we made it back, we rented an Airbnb that we could stay in temporarily while we wait to see if we can get the visa we need to move down to Bangkok. 

Uncle Joe’s Wedding

One of the greatest honors this month was getting to officiate the wedding of the very uncle we have been staying with during our trips back to Tennessee. He and his new bride were both married for decades and lost their spouses (one six years ago, and the other four). They met doing ministry outreach at the local jail. It was a low-key wedding with just some friends and mostly family. They asked for a short ceremony, so I followed the script I had edited a bit, Liz sang a song, then we all ate and signed the papers. Please pray for this newly wed couple!

Worship Night

One of the traditions at Baan Athitaan has been to have an annual worship night. This year it was in January, so we just made it back in time to be a part of it.

Kid’s Song

Mary Ella also made it back just in time to be involved in a kids’ song at church.

GLS & Sunday School

Since we have been back, I started teaching again, both for the English classes, as well as Sunday School. I am now teaching the Level 4 students for Grace Language School, which is a lower level than I’m used to, but I have been enjoying the new challenge. For Sunday School, I am now filling in for Liz’s dad while he’s in America, teaching the high school boys’ class. We are going through the book of Genesis.

Boom & Aom Korea Night

Our partners in Khon Kaen had an outreach night with some Korean missionaries. If you remember, they do full-time ministry on one of the largest campuses in Thailand, which is also in the Isan region (the most unreached part of Thailand). During their evangelism outreach, they reported that:

- 137 people heard the gospel 

- 13 people made professions of faith

- 39 people said they wanted to join a Bible study

- 6 people said they wanted to go to church for the first time

Please continue to also pray for Boom as he studies his seminary degree.

Prayer Requests:

• The 34-year-old cousin of a long-time friend of mine from the Bahamas just passed away unexpectedly this week, and his family is still in shock. My friend cannot go back right now to visit or attend the funeral. The cousin was a dad with several small kids. Pray for the whole family. 

• We have some friends in Bangkok who are praying about potentially moving to another country in Asia for service as teacher missionaries. 

• One of my friends has a step-son who is waiting for test results to see whether he has cancer or not. 

• Another friend reported this week that his 11-year-old nephew has been diagnosed with cancer.

• Pray for Ball and Michael (Liz’s dad) as they are traveling in the States right now.

• Pray that we can get the new visa we are applying for and move down to Bangkok.

• Pray for my personal trainer in Chiang Rai (Woot). I spend an hour with him M-F lifting weights, so he is the person I talk with the most these days. It is very difficult to get into serious conversations, especially at the gym while working out, but we have had a few great conversations about God and Christianity.

Books & Resources of the Month:

• Wes Huff on Joe Rogan
  

  If you aren’t hyper aware of the online world, you might not know this, but there was a guy who had a debate go viral this past month and ended up on Joe Rogan (who is the biggest show in the country, if not the world). What is special about this is that he is a Christian Apologist. The conversation he had with Rogan was really good, and I highly recommend watching or listening.
  

• Atomic Habits - James Clear This book was excellent. If you have a problem with procrastination, goal setting, habit formation, etc., this book offers so many mindset shifts and so much practical advice. 
  

• Four Views on the End Times - Timothy Paul Jones If you’ve ever been confused about what different views Christians hold about issues that fall under the category of “eschatology,” or the study of end times, this short little booklet offers a great overview of the subject.
  

• Heaven - Randy Alcorn I cannot recommend this one enough. In fact, this should be obligatory reading for all Christians. So many Christians have thoughts of heaven that are not “earthy” enough. In this book, Randy Alcorn shows how much continuity there is between this world and the new world. Of course there will be radical discontinuity too, in that there will be no more evil, sin, immorality, sickness, etc. But we often think of heaven as formless, shapeless, tasteless, and bodiless, when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

• The Gap and the Gain - Dan Sullivan Most people think too much about the “gap” they are in between where they started and where they want to be. This breeds unhappiness and discontentment. Living in the “gain” helps us appreciate where we are today without obsessing over what we lack. Sometimes the most successful people are the least happy, because they never let themselves be happy with where they are in the present. 

• Rocket Fuel - Gino Wickman Everyone, broadly speaking, is either an Integrator or a Visionary. Of course, if we are a balanced person, we can have characteristics of both. However, if we want to propel our enterprises (whether that be church, business, or anything else) to new heights, we need to find the partner who compliments us where we are weak.

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