July 2025

This month, I began to reevaluate our long term church planting goals. In the long term, our direction depends on the success of a church plant. Its important for me to zoom in and zoom out frequently, I get so focused on that one thing that will be good, and then forget to zoom out to see the bigger picture. I have an idea of what I am lacking, but please pray for clarity so that we are not simply creating a library that no body knows about. 

Needs
Seems like july is the month I always spend too much. Lots of birthdays, and time off work. I hope that our plans to come next march are not thwarted. That's in 8 months, if they grant my petition, we can apply for a visa, and if that doesn't take forever, we will be on our way. We still need to raise the money for Abigails ticket (too late to ride for free) and travel expenses, I'm guessing now, but probably around 2000, so if you would like to support us towards that, then let us know. 


Conversations
Had a conversation yesterday about the names of God, and had the idea to do a book in typographic style to illustrate the many names of God. It is interesting how a lot of the language we use as Christians, is nearly the same even after translation to very different languages. This itself is good evidence that our languages came from the same place. Sunday and Monday are derived from Sun day and Moon day for example, and in Thai we call Sunday and Monday Sun day and Moon day respectively. Lord is the same in thai as in english, being a pronoun for a king, but used as a proper noun if used by itself. God in Thai is the same generic word for deity, but Christians use it as a title for the one true God. I think this could be a great book. 

Fangs birthday
We took a small day trip to a place in the mountains to eat. They had all kinds of structures to climb on, and it was pretty fun. Fang and my mom have the same birthday which is cool. I think she had a good time. 

World coloring book
So I have been working away, trying to get down to one page a day in less than an hour a day, so far, I have 11 done, you can see below some examples. I am getting quicker now that I am getting the hang of it. It is a good project for me to use lots of graphic design techniques, and get used to doing them quickly. I can then take that and put it towards finishing other books I have left half done. I told myself I would do one elements coloring page per day as well, but I think that may be next months goal. 

Books of the bible book
I wanted a way to introduce the entirety of scripture without reading the whole thing, for kids. So i figured, a book that emphasized the names of the books of the bible, gave a 1 sentence summary to its theme, and gives 4 short verses from each book that best sum up the gospel message in each book. The methods used for my coloring book could easily be used in this one, which is why i plan on doing it soon. 

Thicknesser sled
I have a wood thicknesser and a bunch of logs hogging space that need to be processed. The slow method would be to cut one side off each log with the bandsaw and then I have a flat side to put through the thicknesser. I decided I could create a thicknesser sled with a bunch of threaded holes that threaded wooden pegs could screw into at different hights, creating a cradle that a log could rest in without wobbling as i put it through the thickesser. I made it, and it turned out very sturdy, as the threaded wooded dowels are an inch and a quarter thick each. I couldn't find anything like this online, so I think i may be the first to make this, at least using threaded rods. Because they are threaded, the height can be microadjusted, however, i will probably still use a dab of hotglue on each to keep the log seated properly. Then the top should be absolutely perfectly straight, and can be simply fliped over and put through to do the other side. also, an added benefit is both sides are live edge, so in the case where that is desirable, this is a great method. 

Dust extractor installation 
While i was at it, I added a 2 foot long stainless steal plate to the base to eliminate any inconsistency between the tables and the thicknesser. I also bought the cheapest dust extractor i could find and put some 3 inch pipe up to suck the dust while i am working. This will be good for the neighbors since their air conditioners are also on that side of the house, I don't think it really matters that much as the area is well ventilated, but I didn't want to risk it. Should save time with cleanup, and time is gold. 

Making vinegar
I decided to do an experiment and make some vinegar. If it works, this is the beginning to lots of different fermentation experiments, which will be good for fangs business. Right now, i am just using raisons, as they seemed to be a recommended choice to get started. Dehydrated fruit is best, as it is mold resistant. I will be making fruit leather with my dehydrator as well, so I will likely make vinegar with the scraps as well. 

Bakery
Business was not doing so hot for fang last month, but it does seem to be making a slight comeback, she made 120 dollars yesterday in orders, which of course is not everyday, but it is nice to see. 

Homeschooling
I printed out a mathbook for calvin, and he finished most of it by himself, reading the instruction and completing the work. He did get lazy though about half way and started guessing lol. Still, I think it is really nice to see that he can do work by himself like that. Abby is enjoying class, and grabs my hand and pulls me into the classroom. She is an eager learner as well. Both of them take correction very well, with a smile, and don't have any problem laughing at themselves. Maybe it is because they are mixed, bilingual, multicultural. 

Conclution
God-willing we will plant a church here someday soon. Until then, we will be the church. I pray that this would be the inclination of all believers, especially believers in places with no viable bible believing church. Thankyou for praying for us, and hopefully we can come see you all soon.