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This month has been pretty normal, not sure what to say here, but we have been busy and the month has passed quickly. God has been good to us even through difficulties, here is an update into our life and mission. Needs There's about 7 months left until we hear back about my petition for Fang, then we will need to apply for a visa, which should be granted if the previous step is complete, especially considering Fang is the mother of 2 american citizens now. Then we will need to purchase tickets, which will be for 1 more child now, since Abby is too old to go for free now. So we are trying to save for that, but it is very difficult. The economy here is taking a hit due to terriffs, its not all bad, eventually, in the long term, we should benefit from american goods as well, which are longer lasting. Chinese vehicles are the newest thing for example, and they barely last a year before they start falling apart. Anyway, I think it will turn out in the end, but the world economy is going to have to deal with a major shift which could take several years. During that time, things will likely be hard for us here. All our customers were thai today except one japanese teacher, 5 years ago this would have been very odd. Foreign teachers are choosing to teach in other countries on account of lower pay and unfair treatment. The only requirements for teaching english should be that you are a native speaker, and have your tefl. Thats how it used to be, now they require you to have a university degree, and that in education, as well as an additional thai teachers lisence which is a big bag of bologna. Foreign teachers who have gone without a raise for 10 years have packed up and moved to other countries. That takes a toll on Fangs business because she used to sell primarily to foreign customers. God has been good in that she has seemingly gained local customers at the same rate that foreign customers have moved out. However now that the economy is taking a turn towards hard times again, people are not eating out as much. I am hopeful that other shops will close their doors, and we will likely take some of their business, primarily small coffee shops and bakeries that sell only cakes, but that remains yet to be seen. I am trying to get to the point i can start selling things, but again, I need to have enough of a selection, I have a couple dozen things now, but I am still not quite ready. Please pray about giving as the American economy takes a turn for the better. Thankyou. Conversations In one of my classes, we were reading a book about dolphins, and after we talked about the charachtaristics of the dolphin, the book explained that dolphins are more genetically similar to people and bears than they are to fish. I asked by students why that might be. I suggested that dolphins had been desgined to look like fish even though they are genetically different. I asked who reused an old design, and one student, knowing where I was coming from said "God is the designer". We talked about different examples of animals that have the same design features even though they are genetically very different. Eels and snakes, bats and birds, I think I might need to do another short childrens book on the topic. Memory verse songs This month I decided to put my sons memory verses to the tune of old hymns, in both languages. It is pretty fun, and doesn't take that long, a couple hours at most. So it is worth adding to my list of regular things to do. Once a week I will make a memory verse song. This week we are reviewing an older verse, so I will make a song for those verses we have already memorized as well. These verses are great talking points in class. Celebrating Pentecost The Apostles set an example for us by celebrating Passover, and Pentecost, and the other feasts commanded by Moses, and reaffirmed by Christ. This week we celebrated Pentecost, which is a celebration of the recieving the Law, a celebration that takes place 50 days after Passover (Easter), which is when the Isrealites were looking forward to a land flowing with milk and honey. Pentecost is also when we celebrate the recieving of the Holy Spirit, who writes God's law on our hearts, taking our heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh. We celebrate by resting, and eating dairy foods. This celebration stands in stark contrast to the bitter herbs of passover. Passover is a celebration of Christs death and resurection, Pentecost is a celebration of our new life. Worksheets system I am working on adding to calvins homeschooling by adding other worksheets. I am a bit picky, and find myself making my own worksheets, which will eventually grow into a kind of workbook. For now, I plan on printing them, and giving them out for free to anyone who wants them. I will put them in baskets, free for the taking. I think its a simple side ministry. Potentially a useful tool for other homeschoolers in the area. Counters and shelves I have been building a counter for Fang, and it has taken way too long. I think I way overcomplicated it because I wanted to save a little money by using layers and layers of old scraps rather than just a couple layers of new wood. Whatever the case, it worked well, and I'll take pictures when its completely done and installed. Just got the legs glued on today. Concrete Molds Also poured a few different shapes of concrete molds which can be used to mold plastic over. I think they turned out well. I will do a few more next week. Other than making by own molds, I also ordered some bench press weights molds, and plan on making concrete weights to sell as well. I figure I can use any broken ceramics to backfill, and still keep with the recycled theme, without effecting the weight. Papercrete is obviously a no go for these. Renew Recycling I did a quick search and can't find any Christian recycling groups on facebook, so I think this is an opportunity to take the initiative and put a page out there for people to find. Other diy recycle groups on facebook are rediculously and unbearably woke. I feel like making the slogan something like "The world is not going to end because of climate change, but why waste perfectly good material God has given us?". I think there are lots of resourceful folks that would easily get on board if things weren't so loony. Conclution God is good, and we are blessed to be working where we are. Thankyou for supporting us in our mission.
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This month was full, but out of the normal routine. I guess that's a good thing, with time to think, rework how I am going to move forward. This is one of the beautiful things about the many Sabbaths God has given us, not just the weekend, but also holidays, holy days, to rest and remember his goodness. When we get so busy, we forget why we are working. Working is good, I am reminded how God came in the flesh and worked as a carpenter until he was 30, not just that, but as a fisherman too. He didn't need to work, and in the same way God does not need our work, however we were made to work. Our work should be purpose driven, not money driven, and the Sabbaths allow us to rest and realize not only what we are or should be working for, but also that God does not need our work. This was a good month for me and my family. Needs We still need to raise money for our trip to america, its still several months off, but we need to be preparing for that. Conversations I had a good conversation in class when reading a book about bugs, where I drew attention to the beauty of the insects, and their practical designs. I asked the students if they agreed that the insects look like works of art. They agreed of course, the photography was amazing. I then asked who the artist was. The conversation went on from there for a while. Thankyou for praying for these kids. Passover We have been doing Passover meals for the past few years. We believe that it is important to celebrate Easter like the Bible instructs us to. The Easter celebration was always a Passover celebration, however it has slowly morphed into something else over the centuries. We started by cleaning our house, from top to bottom, we got all the dust out of the cracks, and cleaned everything well. It is such a blessing and one with a good lesson to it. We always overlook just how dirty and messy things can get. But by focusing on organization, cleaning becomes much easier too, and this year it was a breeze. I think we nearly killed each other last year, or the year before, i can't recall, but this year went well, even with the 2 noise makers running around trying to get stepped on. In our lives, its no different, if we live disorderly, sin hides in the cracks and we will never find it. If we live orderly lives, sin is much easier to clean out, confession is less burdensome, and we are less prone to argue and pretend to be righteous. The meal is filled with meaning, more than just the bread and wine, we hide the unleavened bread and my son trys to find it, wrapped and buried in a very good hiding spot. It's not quite easter egg hunting, but he gets so excited for this time of the year. Afterwards he plays the bible game and goes straight to the last supper and tells me all about it. He got excited about it last year too, I am glad. Camping & Roadtrip We took a trip to a remote waterfall, and pitched a tent and camped their at night. It's quite a ways out there and most people don't know about this one. Calvin and Abby liked it a lot, but I don't think my wife felt the same way. Guess me and Calvin will go by ourselves next time. We also took a trip to the province south of us, it was nice. Cardboard organizers I have designed a box organizer system that fits in my crates, I use templates and a layer of thin new cardboard on the outside with a thick layer of recycled cardboard on the inside, they are super hefty and I really like them. I made some a year ago, but I updated the design, remade my templates, and made 20 more. Not really a sellable product, but its an interesting process nonetheless, and they will be used well. Again, aiding in organization and efficiency. Books As far as books go, I went back and worked on a book I had started about design as it was relevent, I spent my time writing on already started books. I did a lot of work creating textures as well. I am always working on the books, but also wonder when I will finally stop tinkering. The thing is, the longer I do it, the more I learn, and then I go back and tinker and tweak the previous books. Not sure what I will do when I start finishing them. Might need to find a publisher. Could be something to do when I am home. Who knows. I am fine just giving them away for free but that may not be very responsible. I spend a lot of time praying on this one. Conclusion We continue to work, whatever God has given us to do, we do it for Him, for His glory, and not for ourselves, for a mission. Occasionally we rest and remember that God doesn't need us, we are here to be images of His mercy and grace. We are the imperfect sinners saved by grace, passing it on. Thankyou for standing with us. We have been very busy this month, Both Fang and I have had an influx of customers. Personally, this school break, I have had to teach a few hours more than usual, which really means I struggle to get stuff done, but I feel it isn't that bad this month, but next month we are taking some time off, so I'll feel it then. Calvin has been memorizing scripture effectively, memorizing one verse in both languages per week. My 100 verse system is simple, effective, and time saving, so I'm taking note, and will do more things in this format in the future. Now I don't have to help him with the english verse, he reads, writes, and memorizes it on his own, but the thai is difficult for him, and its proving difficult to persuade him. Now he speaks thai well enough, but reading is a challenge, i feel like he is a miniature version of me lol. Abby seems to be picking up on the thai much quicker, hopefully that transfers to reading and writing too. Calvin's grandmother continues to help him memorize scripture, which effectively means she memorizes the scripture first. I pray that she can't get it out of her head at night, and that when confronted with the truth of God's word, through the power of the Holy Spirit, she receives God given faith. Needs We need to continue to raise support for our trip to America, which has been postponed for several months. If you would like to support, you can use the usual means, or send me a message for a link. I think there is a link on the website as well. Thankyou Conversations Had a conversation with a parent the other day, he said "Kaison, you have brainwashed my son." to which I was a little bit taken back, but then he continued "he wants to immigrate to america now" i sighed in relief, silently of course. We had a good conversation about here and there, and then he asked me "is it true that thais are really nicer than everyone else?", i thought for a second on how to respond without being too direct, considering also a possible opening for the gospel. "All people in this world we live in are sinners, imperfect, and selfish, thais are no different. I made the mistake early on in thinking that thais are nicer than everyone else, but most of that is group think, its what I was told, in combination with smiling faces and a unique greeting style that was still new to me. I now think that the reason thailand is called the land of smiles is mostly because when a thai is afraid to speak english, smiling is their first reaction, fearing inability in communication might lead to something bad, the smile is a survival mechanism." to which he agreed. "that could be". We didn't talk much more, though I thought we might. I thought it was a good example of how we must be ready at all times, looking for that opportunity to sow a seed of truth. In this case it was "thais are sinners too, no one is perfect", which is the first part of the gospel message. I did have a brief conversation with him about my pool table pingpong table conversion and my wood finishing technique a week later, so I know he was not overly offended. He also paid for an additional course for his daughter. I have scared people off here with that "everyone is a sinner" line, because in thai, it is extremely offensive, but I can not shy away from it, because it is true, and a needed message. I had several good conversations about God and who God is again, one of which went on for a while and I thought deserved a note. After the conversation I went running in the park, and while I was at my peak point of stress, I realized I could make a simple game to help drive home the point. I mention that below. Plywood holder I have a list of things I am going to make with plywood. I have completely used up every last bit of scrap I have. Normally I would buy plywood from a local shop here, but last time I did that, we discovered their entire stock was infested with termites. Now that I know how to bait termites, we will never have termites here again, I may just start a termite bait business on the side, seeing as many people are clueless as to how to do it, and how effective it can be. The guy the church paid to do it for us charged was too much, and I know that now, since my termite bait stations have absolutely no more termites eating the bait, and a tone of uneaten bait left over. Its a bit surprising since they eat that bait, absolutely swarming for almost 6 months. I know it isn't as expensive as the other guy charged. It is also pretty easy to do, and doesn't take much time or material. The bait comes from Australia, so that's the expensive part. Anyway, I decided to buy the plywood in bulk from a store much further away, they are more like a home depot, but smaller. They keep their wood off the floor. I bought enough to complete the pingpong table top for the pool table, and also cabinets and shelves I have planed. I bought some thin mdf for cutting out reusable templates which should same me time in the future, making jobs repeatable. I will also make an additional counter and shelves for Fang in the storage room using a techique i tried before and it worked really well, quarter inch plywood with thin concrete board glued on top with acrylic adhesive. With a frame underneath, it then becomes a very ridged surface that is completely waterproof and paintable, perfect for a mess room or a work room. I will do it again for the counter next to the sink that the dish drying rack sits on, its always wet, and this settup will be perfect. But with all this plywood, I needed a holder, so I thought it through, and after finding literally nothing i liked from the internet, I came up with a way to hold several sheets of plywood flat to a flat wall, standing up, with a metal pipe that uses gravity to hold the sheets upright. It works surprisingly well, but I added a safety rope just in case. So now I am organized, and ready to finish some things up around here, all of which help us improve efficiency. New Papercrete stools I got my new papercrete stool molds put together, 2 barrels with small pipes as spacers, a layer of thin sheet metal, a space for the papercrete, another layer of sheet metal, a giant pvc pipe in the center. This allows the pipes to be slid out easily, then the sheet metal can be easily removed, then the papercrete can dry in place. There is a big hole the size of the center pipe, which makes sure it is centered, and also allows for some drainage. I am a bit worried about rusting so i painted everything with several layers of metal paint. I'll let you know how it goes. The hole in the middle will be storage space, and a way to make the units modular, and also, it saves on material (which i am not concerned with now, but might be later) Origins game So in this game, I will have a deck of cards with everyday objects that may have an interesting origin story. A book, a pencil, a leather belt, a metal screw driver. Then the student has to say where it comes from. The book comes from a printing factory, which gets paper from a paper mill with gets logs from a saw mill which gets trees from a logging forest, whose trees came from God. The object of the game is to see how many steps you can list between the object and God. I think it is practical, teaches a number of things, and will be great for both intermediate and advanced english students alike. Civilizations and their risings and fallings book We often talk about different peoples and who they are in class. I often point out that the Egyptians are not like they used to be, or the vikings are not like they used to be, because they are christian now. Usually there is a fun story there. Sometimes the civilization either completely collapses, or takes an evil turn, instead of Christianizing like Rome for example. So this will cover those as well, what happened to the human sacrificing Mayans? What happened to the Chinese, specifically the cultural revolution and the rise of communism. This book will be a simple book, with easy to read English for beginner readers, but hit on the main point, that only God can bless your people for a thousand generations, but things have to change first. Origins of Easter book This is going to be a look at what Easter actually is, Passover, and what passover is, a look at the Seder plate, and the symbolic meaning given shared by Jesus at the last supper. It will also explain that easter is not pagan as some claim, but comes from the Germanic word for the springtime, and in most languages is still called pesach (passover), or some variant of the hebrew, greek, or latin, and why we should celebrate the feast like Jesus commanded. This is going to be more of an educational book for little kids, that may not know what easter or passover are to begin with, which I hope helps demystify the strange traditions of the Christians. Conclusion Lot of work done, lot of work to do, pray for me to be effective, efficient, and balance everything properly. Thankyou for your continued prayer and support. This month has passed very quickly. We have all been very busy, and we have got a lot done. One of my students apparently got first place on a city wide english test, and her mom made a facebook post about the tutors she sends her daughter to. She is a very outgoing girl, but I was surprised because she is not my best student. I do have high hopes for her though. We have had several people contact us this past couple weeks, and the calls keep coming. Normally during school break I struggle a bit, but this year might be different. My groups are nearly full. Fangs business is doing better this month as well. I am glad things are picking up. I have nearly finished my st. valentines book, unfortunately I have been busy so i guess ill finish that next year before valentines day. I started a simple book on the order of things, what came before this and that, kind of taking things back teaching simple history back to the beginning of recorded history, and then the beginning of it all, ending with God. I want kids to recognize that there is nothing before God. This book is inspired by my frustration that so many people pose the idiotic question "who created God". God is the beginning, and he is the end. Especially for little Buddhist kids who may not yet understand the concept of God, its a great opportunity to lay a good biblical foundation. Calvin has also been learning to play the Ukelele that Fang got him for Christmas, he is doing great, soon he will be leading worship for us. Needs Our trip is now postponed as we wait several more months for fangs papers. We may end up waiting longer as embassies are reportedly reducing staff at this point. This means we will need to buy one more ticket, one for Abby, as she will be too old to ride for free. Fortunately we have time to raise the money. I think the government website said an estimated 10 more months of waiting. Conversations Yesterday while I was teaching I found myself once again oddly thanking God that my students use his name in vain…. Because it always gives me an open door to speak the truth. I'm not sure if i should pray like that but I do. This time an advanced students little sister was joining his class, so when she dropped the lords name in vain, I asked the students what God means, and the older brother explained to his sister, and then we talked about the omnipresence of God, and how we can talk with God any time. I have had this conversation multiple times with my students, but it still caught me off guard when the boy said "I talk with God all the time". I hope he does. I taught the boy to read by myself, it only took him a month to catch on. I hope I can figure out a way to get him to read the bible. Pray for him and his sister. Conclution I believe that if we faithfully share the gospel in Thailand, Gods people with come forward. We don't know who they are but that is the testimony I have heard often here. So pray that we would find those sheep and disciple them. Thankyou for your prayer and support. It's been a busy month, we just went in to extend my visa, which went well I assume, they asked for even more papers this time. Seems like every time they change what they want, and how they want it. In the old days, Thailand saw the value of missionaries and gave us life long visas, that ended in the 70's however. I may be too hopeful, but if our president plays his cards right, he will also benefit Americans living abroad, returning long term visas and long term residence visas for Americans. Conversations I don't really know how to reflect my ministry here without showing you, so I guess the best way is to give examples. There are more than these, but It's hard to share everything, and my memory is limited unfortunately. Yesterday I had a very good conversation with my students about the bible, we were looking at a diagram of a castle and talking about the different parts, the draw bridge, the moat, the stable, the chapel, when I explained what a chapel was, they asked more questions, I explained that a chapel is a small church where people come to learn about who God is, and how to properly worship him, its a place where we read and study the bible, the oldest complete book in existence, and the first book to be printed on a printing press, and the first book printed in the Thai script as well. Then they asked what languages the bible was in, and I explained it was in every language, so that everyone in the world could read it. They laughed and seemed to enjoy asking if about if the bible was in this or that language, one student said "is the bible in gibberish too?" and i gave in, "you got me, its not in gibberish, and it should never be" The rabbit with his foot cut off is continuing his usefulness in explaining the silliness of superstitions, we often take turns sharing silly superstitions that people have. I shared how I believe that lucky charms hanging in your cars rearview mirror will likely put you in more danger not less, because you depend on an idol for protection instead of following the lines on the road. I explain that God is a God of order, and He loves those pretty white and yellow lines. Sign production I actually redid the christmas sign for a 3rd time, and nailed the method this time. Printing on normal printer paper, glueing it to the wood, using a roller I made and a sheet of pp plastic to flatten it out perfectly, letting it completely dry, then coating it with several coats of matt lacquer, which really made the colors pop, which looks about like it would if it was printed on photo paper, but it is adhered to the wood perfectly with wood glue. I bought some photopaper sticker sheets for cheap as well, and made some stickers which turned out really really well, which makes me want to go that direction too, and of course the tshirt screens, we decided that now is a good time to start screening shirts and hats and dresses for the bakery. I will make shirts for the kids that say "I am thai, please speak thai with me" as well, because folks like to confuse my boy with broken english, and its taken him a long time to realize that they don't really speak english. I will make lots of other catchy shirts, many with gospel messages, and our bakery shirts will likely have that Jesus quote "I am the bread of life" about never hungering again. I am in graphic design mode recently, so in between doing the kids books, I can work on signs, stickers, and so on. Cans I am nearly finished with my can spinning rock tumbler machine, all the parts ready, only need to assemble. Then I will use up the tin cans saved up from the part decade. Not really as many as you would think, but its a few boxes. In their painted form, and with lids they are super cool and useful, so hopefully I can crank out a lot in a short amount of time, and make a the profit I think I will. I have a method for making wooden and rounded metal lids for them that really help increase their value. But even so, I will be selling them cheap. They are desktop organizers. With one type of can I will be stacking and making them into stools, its a method I tried years ago and it worked well, the stool is lightweight and because there are so many cans, they hold weight easily. The glue hasn't loosened even after 10 years, so I think its a valid way to connect them quickly. I will be making wooden tops for the stools. With old spray cans, paint striper removes the branding, a grinder takes the bottom off quick which is the rounded metal lid for other cans i mentioned earlier, it fits perfect. Then the spray cans can be fitted with a e27 bulb outlet using a plywood insert, and then made into desktop lamps. This is an existing style I have seen a lot, and will be a bit more profitable. Hymnal Still working on it, almost got everything listed out, there are quite a few I want to include. This is the biggest project I have ever attempted for sure, so please pray for my sanity. Next step is to go through an carefully find and remove any doubles which are extremely common when working with hymns, everyone has their favorite version. In the end I would like to include every version of each hymn. I am going for comprehensive but neat. I won't include any hymns from people like Wesley, even though I like some of his hymns, his theology was not solid. If the writer has solid theology, then his songs will reflect that. I hate nothing in church more that getting to that one song that says something stupid or easily misunderstood, and I have to nudge my wife, honey don't sing (she is often quicker than me on this though). Phone My daughter found my phone and dropped it on the floor, so this was an answer to prayer, I was needing to replace the battery, but they have to remove the screen to do so, but since the screen needed replaced anyway, this worked out well. Now I can use my phone with an audio interface to make some recordings, not sure what I will do first or if i will find the time to do so, but it is an option on the table now. Calvin is getting clearer with his speech, so I may try recording some of the songs I have made for kids, having him sing them. Then the graphics for the video will be easy I think. I think I'll focus on audio only for now. Bakery Fang has decided to invest in a different kind of advertisement through a company that has advertised for us for free a few times before, and we have always done well after that, gaining many new regulars. The bakery basically runs off of regulars which is good but also probably means that we are not reaching out and finding the new customers like we should. Advertising on Facebook is not as great as it used to be, so please keep that in mind when you pray for us. Conclusion We have a full plate, lots to do, and I believe this is a blessing. I have a sign on my wall that says "didn't get everything done today? Praise God." Someday we will employ believers, we will have many more customers, we will have a busy shop selling all kinds of things, we will have homeschool groups, and church groups, and rock climbing clubs, and recycle it yourself classes, and youtube channels, and useful books covering a number of topics. It all starts here. Thankyou for supporting us as we move forward. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, hope you and your families have had a wonderful time. We have had flooding which reduced the temperature quite a lot, we were hoping for snow, but its Thailand, maybe next year. Calvin and Abby opened presents on Christmas morning, Calvin got Legos, Abby got Duplos, they both got some cool books, I got some tools, and Fang got an automatic massage machine and a couple stainless steel pans with metal handles she can put in the oven too if she needs to. Calvin also got a Ukulele which i have been teaching myself so i can teach him. I already figured out how to play Amazing Grace, so I think we can do this. His fingers are really small but I think he will get used to it. We had a wonderful Christmas together. Before we came downstairs we read the Christmas story from Luke, and talked a little bit about it. We always did that when I was a kid, and I recommend it. It can be easy to loose sight of the reason for the season. On a negative note, We were notified that we have to wait 12 more months til we know if my petition for Fang is approved. This throws off our plans, and it means we will have to buy a ticket for Abby as well. Guess we underestimated how much time this can take. You can donate to our travel fund, and that will help us with the extra ticket when the time comes. We trust that it is for the best, and that God has better things planned for us. Perhaps we will celebrate Christmas in America next year. Christmas tree history sign I got everything ready to make the sign, and then found out the transfer paper I was going to use to transfer the images to wood were way old and no good anymore. So I bought some more and they just arrived and appear to be good. I have the perfect sized board and will be able to make a sign that will hang next to the tree explaining the meaning of the Christmas tree. I figure I will continue the habit and make signs and ornaments that help explain things during different seasons. I like using holidays as a means for sharing the gospel. It really becomes a thought provoking thing when everywhere they go and see a Christmas tree, they are reminded of the meaning. I may make signs like this in the shop for sale as well. I am highly considering making things to sell online as a way to jumpstart the 3rd business. This will help me by reducing the number of things i have to make in bulk, because my customer base is bigger. I have long planned on making small things so this works well. Christmas book revision and expansion Working on expanding the Christmas book. Until its done, i just use the pages as a slideshow in class, so its currently useful. Really had planned on having this done, but I have been really busy. Nonetheless, I've had lots of good conversations this Christmas season, more than normal. Reformation hymnal Have been working on the reformation hymnal a little bit everyday, So far the list is massive, and I am not sure how I will ever get it done. Pray for wisdom so that I know how to work towards completing this massive project. Renew shop branding I think I have finally decided on branding for the shop, I want to call it Renew, because the whole theme of the shop are things that have been made new, and of course the gospel message in that is that we need to be made new. From trash to treasure. "Born again home decor", I'm sure we will have fun with the slogans. It won't be too long before I start making things to sell on a regular. Pray for me that I will know how to do this. If we do it right, we will be able to employ other believers, and this will become an additional mission field for us. Thankyou again for everyone who supports us and I really do hope you have a great new year, in Him we can do all things for his names sake. The weather has been amazing this month, finally it started to rain a bunch, and it is nice and cool, our electric bill dropped quite a bit, as we don't need to use the air conditioner as much. Its been great for my productivity, my wife's as well, we are very happy workers when the weather is nice. I had to go to the hospital for a minor surgery, fortunately I believe my insurance will cover it, but while I was there, they put me in a bed next to a couple Muslim guys, and like usual, apart from the usual greeting, I let them start the conversation, but it quickly gave me an opportunity to share some the gospel. I think I made one of them cry, and I'm sure if that's a good thing, but I saw him doing his prayers on the floor after so I hope it is. Pray for these men, one is on his death bed, and is apparently a village chief, though he certainly didn't look it, guess sleeping in a public hospital with a bunch of other people really takes it out of you. I had a lot of time to pray and read, and think, and it was good for me. Before I left, God let me know that is was intentional and that it was him sending me back home. My family is healthy, Calvin's hand writing is getting better, and his logical reasoning is getting pretty good too. Abby is a smarty pants, and has very high emotional intelligence, she is very good at attitude and drama, so while that seems a bad thing, I am certain God will use it for good, and I am thankful for her and he unique personality. Needs We have what we need for the visa extension and not it sits in the bank for 3 months before we extend the visa, once the visa is extended, we can use the money to buy plane tickets to america, but after our trip, we will need to put it back. We will hopefully be able to put a good portion back from our savings, but every bit helps, so thank you in advance for those who help us in that way. We will probably use something like 4000 dollars for the trip. Here are some things I've been working on: Bilingual Reformed Hymnal System I started this a long time ago but it quickly became too big. I still am able to utilize the work I have already done, but I am approaching it in a different way now. I decided to list out the song writers, and to my surprise there were not actually that many reformed hymn writers. I will dig for more later, and with this manner of organization I can add more later without trouble. But many of the writers wrote many songs, and I mean a lot a lot. I decided to include them all. If the writer is theologically sound, then all their songs are likely to be as well, so more is better. Then after organizing the songs, I will organize the sheet music and midi files for each. Midi files allow others to learn the tune of the songs, many of which will never have been heard before, and second, if a church or small group doesn't have a musician yet, they can just play the file, and set it up automatically. I don't know if this will ever be a thing, but I have led small groups singing songs over YouTube videos, so i think this is a step better. Then we will find all the Thai songs that have already been translated, and then we will fill in by translating one song at a time till there is nothing left to translate. This is a big project, and likely will be ongoing through my children's education, in fact, I imagine it will be a frequent homework assignment for my bilingual children, assignments that incorporate music. Sign making Last year I wrote a small booklet about the meaning of different christmas symbols for kids, I will simplify that even further and make 3 different signs, one for the nativity scene, one for the christmas tree explaining the St. Bonifer story, and one for Santa clause, explaining the st. Nicolas story. I plan on using some printable screening sheets for tshirts, but onto wood that i have prepared. I will try to use 2 sheets wide so that the signs aren't too small. I will vectorize the images to make it look like its been wood burned or laser engraved, just don't tell anyone. Holiday kids books I started working on a book about Squanto, even though thanksgiving is an american holiday, it is also a holiday that the kids will learn about in school, at least my kids who are in English program, so it is an opportunity to share the details behind the story, how God used Squanto to share the gospel with the natives. It is also a good lesson that we should be bilingual multicultural members of society ready to make peace between different peoples whenever we can, and the gospel enables us to do that. I am working on reworking the Christmas book for kids a little as well, tweaking it a bit to make it look better. Papercrete stools 2.0 So my original papercrete stools worked, but they take too long to dry and they compact too slowly because the water doesn't drain fast enough. I have come up with a better system using an oil drum and spacers, and a center piece covered with a plastic sleeve to allow for easy removal. This system allows for quicker drainage, and also allows for easy removal before it is completely dry so that the mold can be used again on a daily basis. I haven't got it completely set up yet, but almost. This system leave the center hollow which allows for quicker drying, a storage space, and less material use, although i don't have a problem with lack of material now. Soup can machine Soup cans are a wonderful modular system, they stack on each other and are compatible across many brands, there are basically 4 sizes of soup can across all brands, and they stack. I make lids for them using 4 sized of hole saws, and that works great, I can make lids from a number of recycled materials very quickly and they look good. Then i paint the cans and they look like something nice. I might add bible verse stickers or vintage stickers of some kind to the cans, or ever spray paint designs using stencils, but the problem i have is even paint dry, so i figure, spray the paint on, but have them on a turner so that they turn until they are dry. I am making it with a piece of scrap wood an old bicycle chain and some gears i got for cheap, and ball bearings so that they rods spin smoothly. I think i can find an old used motor in my storage that turns slow intentionally, and that will be a perfect use for this machine. I might even be able to make it run on my v20 tool batteries. Then the whole thing would be very portable, and i could easily set it up inside a tarp for spraying and have no mess afterwards. Thanks Thank you for everyone who supported me this month, it means a lot to all of us. In time we will see the results of our labor. Its hard work in Thailand, and it really is a long term commitment, but I believe that when God calls, our work is not in vain. Keep praying for us, and for Thailand. We've been sick again this month, lots of stuffy noses and mucus, but are starting to come out of it i think. Other than that, the kids are doing well, and business is okay. I've had some good conversations with people. It's rainy season here now, which is my favorite season here. Needs My parents have generously given us the money for the plane tickets in advance, which should be the amount needed to extend my visa. After I extend my visa, I can use that money, but by this time next year, I have to have it in there again, so I guess I shouldn't say I am completely in the clear, but we are good to extend the visa, and we have money to use temporarily. Thankyou to everyone who has donated to help us come home for a visit. Here are some things I have worked on this week: Reformation day book for kids Usually I start working on something related to a holiday when that holiday is right on my doorstep. It may take me a year to get that thing done, so I've just accepted that this is ok, but I think I am going to put notifications a month before every holiday I want to prepare for about a month in advance so that I can give myself enough time to get ready. I know that this christmas I want to have a wooden sign finished that sits right under or next to our christmas tree that explains the history of the tree, but if i don't warn myself, it will sneak up on me. Fortunately most of my projects are 1 time projects or almost one time, which is great because growing is easy. That sign can be passed onto my children if i do it right. Regarding the reformation book, I have found that none of my students have even heard of the reformation, which i think is a shame, so this booklet will talk about what the reformation was, and its impact on various spheres of society, including thailand. I may touch on other asian countries like burma, india, and china as well, because the history there is similar and equally interesting. Basically, without the reformation, we'd all be illiterate, we would still be living in the dark ages, and technology would barely exist. But I will end the book on the most important note, the gospel, as given in God's word. 613 levitical laws tract I think this one has been a long time coming. Buddhism has 227 laws that are much stranger and seriously outdated. I think that the levitical laws are good and still good today. I believe this to be the position of the reformers, this is covenant theology. The reformers divided the laws into 3 categories, Moral, ceremonial, civil. Moral being the still standing laws about right and wrong. Ceremonial being mainly symbols of the atonement which were completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and Civil, being the legal requirements and penalties under the ancient kingdom of isreal, but which should still be used as an example of the types of laws our governments should pass even today. I find that the problem with this break down is that certain laws lack a place. Particularly dietary laws, sanitation laws, medical laws, etc. So I would add an additional category (hope I'm not being heretical) which would be something like "practical rules" or the like, which are not really ceremonial, civil, or moral, but are still a good idea to practice, especially in light of medical science nowadays. So this tract will break down the laws into each category, with the brief verse mentioning them, and a short description. It will be a good way to explain how Jesus fufilled each and every ceremonial law, even the ones we still partake in like baptism, or the Lord's supper. I will also mention some misconceptions regarding certain civil laws that are often misunderstood, and examples of what laws like those might look like nowadays. I think this is going to be one of those difficult long ones, but it will be good and useful. I have an entire shelf full of these useful tracts now and I do find them useful. Why does God allow bad things to happen to ordinary people tract. Last week I had a new customer who brought his children to study with me, when he came in, we talked a bit, and he came out very directly and said "My wife died last month" and explained later that he is searching for answers now, and sometimes goes into the church to listen and pray, but also sits in temples. He took some of my tracts, but I really wish I would have had a tract like this. He caught me off gaurd, and I really didn't know what to say other than "I'm sorry for your loss", and "I'll pray for you". The reality is that I could really make him angry if I was to talk about where his wife is now, but I think, if done right, that can be helpful. God may be calling his sheep to himself by drawing attention to the scary reality that awaits sinners upon death. That is the direction that the tract should go. Pray that I approach the issue with balance and sensitivity. Papercrete product prototypes So far, my prototypes have gone very well. I managed to make a very large heavy looking but lightweight concrete lighting fixture that is now over my wifes counter. It feels like heavy foam, but is actually papercrete. It looks like cement, which is the look I am going for. It costs slightly less than it would if it were normal concrete because the amount of cement is less. Colorwise, the smallest amount of cement instantly turns the pulp that concrete grey color, function wise, i put enough in there to be solid when it drys, but not so much as to make it heavy. It is essentially like paper mache but with the cement as the binder. I also made a few smaller things, and then finished the inside walls of the cave under the kids treehouse. Almost finished anyway, have a small bit more to do there, then cleanup. That area will be Calvin and Abbys play room i think, and they will be in charge of it. I might put some kind of lock that they control so that they can keep their lego creations in there without worrying about my students raiding it. However, if the kids want, they can allow their friends in. I also made a very large papercrete stool, it is so big, it is still drying out. Now i have an even bigger one drying out as well. These are easy to make, the molds are reusable, and I think they could be a great seller. They are essentially big pillars that are round and tall like stools, but made of about 70-80% paper, so when they completely cure, they are light and still very tough. Because they are easy to make, I will be able to sell them for cheap, making them one of the cheapest things i will sell, and one of the biggest. I may incoorperate slots for boards so that the seat can be a bit more fancy, or they can be stacked to make really big shelves. Some new machines I've working on. Finished my mason jar blender adapter for our blender here. A lot of old blenders have mason jar compatibility, check your blender, you might be surprised, but ours, which is a very standard industrial blender here in thailand with cheap replacement parts available, does not, so I decided to make an adapter. It was a very fun and satisfying project, and I got to use up some old gears I was saving from other broken machines. It works like a charm, and now fang can make smoothies in customers cups without having to wash the blender every time she does it, and we can just serve the drinks in the mason jars that have handles. I also started building a sheet metal roller using some old parts I have, I decided it will double as a melted plastic roller too, so that I can flatten out hot plastic into sheets using the roller on top and the middle roller, and the bottom will be the 2 metal rollers and the middle roller will move downwards to form the bend as I crank the piece around. Metal rollers are expensive, so Its great that I happen to have the parts to make one without spending any money. Shouldn't take too long to put it together either. Another tool to the shop. American Passports for the kids We went to Bangkok and had an interview at the american embassy, it was quick and easy, they basically said I provided more than enough evidence, and there was no need to worry. So within a couple weeks Calvin and Abby had their certificate of declared citizenship, and passports. I am very relieved. Its funny how I don't know how worried I am about something until its over. My wife knows me better than I do in this area I think. Next is Fangs green card interview, which if i understand right, will require an interview, and they will give a temporary green card, and then a long term immigrant visa. It's a pain, but she will still be in a better spot when its all done than i am even after 13 years in this country. They require me to be filthy rich before they will give me a long term immigrant visa or permanant residence. Memory Verse system for kids So i finished the memory verse system for kids. Chat gpt is useless. I found out that it can only give accurate thai bible verses from the version i request, one verse at a time. If i ask for more, it takes the esv and translates it into thai. It is very frustrating, and we had several arguments before I gave up and decided to go back to doing it manually. It took a couple days to redo everything, but then i formatted the verses to fit one verse per page, thai on front, english on back, and gave it a trace the letters font. Now Calvin has plenty of copy work that is systematic enough that it can be shared with other. I will eventually have a worksheet drawer system in the front room where anyone can take worksheets for their kids to work on at home. Need to get the boy writing. Abby seems to know how to hold a pencil already, but Calvin can not, and its frustrating trying to teach him. He is always happy however, and is starting to make some progress. I will have to pdf file on my website soon after I get a cover put on it. Conclusion God is good, and we are blessed to be where we are, to serve and share the good news. Thank you for praying for us, and standing with us. I'm going to try a new format for my newsletter and list out the main things I focused on this month, with a short description. I will give more details in the opening paragraph and the conclusion so that you will know how the family is doing. I will also include the needs paragraph as usual. Every month looks a little different, so this will hopefully help make things easier to follow. We are doing well, Calvin is getting very good at reading, and has started copying bible verses on the marker board, and tracing words on worksheets. I plan on doing more worksheets soon. Abby is almost ready to walk, but she refuses to let go and go for it. We are waiting anxiously for that moment she lets go and walks. Fang is doing well, business isn't too bad, some days its suprisingly good. Yesterday the shop was full. Needs This month we have received 600 dollars in donations, 500 of which we just used for the kids passport and citizenship declaration fees, so that leaves us with about 2100 left to raise in the next 2 months. Things will be tight after that, and I will need to start raising money for next years visa extension almost immediately because of all the expenses and plane tickets this year, that money will need to be put back. This morning i woke up dizzy and almost fell down the stairs. It was weird, i didn't feel dizzy, but just about took a bad fall. The doctor took my blood pressure and said it was normal, but who knows. I fear there may be something worse, I did pass out last year, and we still don't know why. I also have had pretty bad IBS for the past 3 years, though that is usually in the morning, and when i eat Thai food, fortunately my wife runs a bakery, so there is an endless supply of leftover bread. Please pray we get these issues figured out too, so that this doesn't become another added expense. I am still dizzy, and it hasn't gone away, even after taking the medicine the doctor gave me. I am leaning on my Father to take care of me, uphold me, and help me walk. Its weird to say that in a literal sense. Here are some things I have worked on this week. Logical fallacies for kids I started putting together a book for my students about 10 logical fallacies. I am trying to make every page rhyme. I think its a concept that kids should be fluent in before they get too far in education, that way they have a bit of wisdom diciphering the trustworthy from the untrustworthy. Laws of nature for kids Started a book on various laws of nature that are notable, and should probably be memorized. The main point drawn at the end will be that God is a God of order, and nature obeys. A look into the 10th lunar month festival in southern Thailand Started this one before, but its turned into a lot of work, my son is watching the ghost parade through the window, and I am able to use this book to explain what they are doing, and what the bible says about it in a few verses. It is not like my other tracts, but it should spike interest, the pictures are disturbing as intendid, but I tried to pick examples that were still probably appropriate for kids. PS plastic recycling and Papercrete product prototypes I have been planning a recycling system for a few years now. I have had good experience effectively recycling glass, cans, paper into papercrete items, and HDPE into colorful plastic things like clipboards and door handles. Other plastics like PET and PP will be recycled in an oven with a simple press, into sheets. But PS, and Polystyrene is not best recycled that way, because of the toxic fumes, so its best disolved using a solvant, something you can't really do with the others. Turns out, its way easier than I thought, an oil drum with a very small amount of gas covering the bottom of the barrel, and Pour in the old styrofoam, it disolves rather quickly into a kind of glue similar to rubber cement. 4 rather large bags of styrofoam became 4 oatmeal cans full of glue in an hour and a half. Not too shabby. Now I just have to use up about 7 big bags of paper, and I'm all caught up, for that, i am doing rather large papercrete stools, using a coragated plastic as a mold with some metal brackets from some old buckets around the outside. This is very quick, and then I just let it sit, It takes 1 large bag of shredded paper and half a bag of cement. This whole experiment in recycling is an effort to create products that are unique, and cheap to make, so we can create work for believers. Still feel weird about it, I'm not a tree hugger, and I ain't doing it to save the world from burning up, but it is the direction the Father has lead me, and I have to admit, I am supprised at what I have learned from it. I believe God created us to be resourceful, not wasteful. American Passports for the kids I finally got around to declaring my childrens american citizenship, and applying for their passports. We have a meeting at the american embassy next week. It cost 100 dollars a kid for the declaration, and an additional 135 dollars a kid for the passports, and not to mention travel costs. We opted to travel by train, it was much cheaper, and the kids will like it for the first bit. The train is very slow, but we will bring plenty of activities. The way back we got a sleeper train, so that should make things much better. I am a little nervous, but there is no denying the kids are mine, and when they hear my southern Missouri twang they won't even look at my "proof of american citizenship". Memory Verse system for kids I mentioned before the leveled memory verse system i am putting together. Now I am having Calvin trace the verses on the board in the morning, then he can memorize it, and we will leave it on the board to have my students read it later in class. This feels like we are hitting multiple birds with one stone, which is my kind of thing. Conclusion God has been good to us, and has provided for us. We are blessed to be here on the front line sharing with those who haven't heard, seeking out His sheep. Thankyou for your prayers and continued support, it means a lot to all of us. Hope to see you soon when we come back home to visit. So the termites are back in full swing, so i bought a termite baiting system to trap them, this actually works really well, but takes a little bit of time and I will need to refill the baiting stations until they disappear. The ceiling in my classroom is caving in, but has not quite completely collapsed. I have already jerry rigged half of it to keep it up for now. I talked with the church about replacing the roof or at least repairing large sections of it, and replacing the ceiling, and they asked to guy who replaced the bakery roof last time to give them estimated prices for both. I am hoping for a new roof, because it will be metal frame, and will hold much more weight, and we can use the attick space for storage, or maybe we can convince them to lift the roof a few feet to make an extra room. Please keep this in mind when you pray for us, this location is really a good location for us, and the rent is not too bad. Calvin's birthday was on the 31st of august and Abby's birthday will be on the 11th of September. We celebrated their birthday together this year. Fang has had some spikes in business this month, and we are hopeful that maybe its a sign that the economy way be bouncing back. It would be nice if we could grow the bakery into a more profitable business. Needs So we said that we needed 2600 last month, and this month, and this month we received 400 dollars in donations. That puts us at 2200, which is looking good, but still a way to go. Thank you so much to everyone who is helping. I should mention that I will need to put the money in my account here before I extend my visa so that I have the full 12000 dollars needed in my account here in Thailand to extend my Thai visa. I am a few thousand short this year, so I am hoping I have enough from donation to put in the account for a couple months, and then we can use that money for out trip to america once I extend my visa here. That deadline is in 3 months. Looking at the amount needed in my Thai account to extend the visa, it falls at the same amount of 2200 dollars, so hows that for coincidence. After all of this is done, and we come back from america, I will have several months to put the money back again, and I'm not sure how that will work, but that is a problem for a future day, and I'm not going to worry about it too much now. I am sure that this trip will set me back a year or so, which is why I haven't been back in what? 13 years or so. It's ok, God has a way, and there is so much to be thankful for, we don't have any credit card debt or bank loans to pay off, we have a vehicle fully paid for now, it works great, we both run businesses that generally speaking pay the bills, my son is smart and eager to learn. I have a ministry that is active, not very successful if we are counting conversions, but active nonetheless, and I am thankful to be entrusted with it. When I start to worry, I count my blessings. Thankfulness is the key to happiness. Writing I have started even more, while I have yet to completely finish any. Great. I started one called Superstitions around the world, which is supposed to be a fun look into various beliefs around the world regarding good and bad luck, especially things regarding safety or good business. There are a lot of crazy things people do. This actually started because of a conversation I was having with my students about the toy stuffed rabbit sitting on my computer, it is missing a foot and looks angry, Americans get it, but it takes a bit of explaining to get the kids to understand. It has actually been a very useful tool to get the kids to take the side of the rabbit. In a Thai context, hanging an idol from your mirror is not going to protect you when you drive, following the rules of the road will. Superstition is silly, but it is also dangerous, and God hates it. That's what this book will be about, both from the angle of things we do to give us good luck, and things to prevent bad luck. By picking fun at american superstitions first, I take any kind of awkwardness away that may feel like I am picking on Thailand in particular. While it is true, a person driving a black car may write "this car is blue" in the back of the car to ward off evil spirits, and this seems a few levels more superstitious than other countries, its not an issue unique to Thailand, and we miss the point if we make it about Thailand. Plus, it has the potential to be a fun educational book. I did finish the last few verses of the level 1 memory verse system, and I'm content with it, so any additional verses will be put in level 2 or 3. Each level has several subcategories, which makes it a little difficult, but not impossible to put together. Now I can go about making it into book form and card form, Thai on one side, English on the other. I rushed this one because Calvin is in a memorization phase, and I want to encourage that and keep it going. Teaching My classes have been good, Calvin is starting to become my mini translator, translating everything I say into Thai. It can be helpful but often he needs to learn to give the other kids a chance to answer first. I tell him he is my little helper, and usually try to spend 5 minutes with him before class to get him in helper mode. He is my best student, he has good posture, and almost always has a good attitude. I am thankful that my child is a good example for the other kids. If he keeps this up, he will live to be an old man. Making This week I build about 6 different molds out of old particle board I had no use for, got it from some shelves someone threw away years ago, and have reused them multiple times already. I will line the molds with a plastic bag when i do papercrete pours so that they stay somewhat dry. I have already painted them a few times. Making good molds is key to being able to make things repeatably with little effort. I will also dissolve a ton of old foam and put that in the molds to create plastic versions. These things will be quick to make, unique, useful, and scalable so I can make more in the future, and the profit should be pretty good too. Conclusion Looking forward to a trip back to America. In the meantime, we will continue making every effort to know God and make him known in Thailand. Thankyou for your continued prayer and support. |
AuthorMy name is Kaison, my wife is Kritti, our children are Calvin and Abigail, we are a missionary family living in Nakhon si thammarat Thailand for the longhaul. I want to start blogging regularly but pretty sure the posts will be pretty random about things i think are not being covered at all, or family related updates. So follow along and leave a comment, i love comments, thankyou. Archives
May 2025
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