January 2023

Family

When Calvin was going to be born, we planned on my parents flying in to Thailand to see the baby, but then Covid hit and that had to be postponed. Now Calvin is 2 and a half years old, and finally, Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Zach too got the opportunity to come vacation in Thailand for a couple weeks. I'm sure you have seen plenty of pictures already, but if not, check out my profile, and the gallery down below. We spent a week in Krabi visiting islands, and seeing all God's beautiful creation in Thailand. Calvin enjoyed his time with grandparents. Its been a long time since i have seen my folks and my brother, and maybe its just me, or maybe its men in general, but i have trouble expressing how i feel, but now, even after everyone has flown home, i am left with a warmness that is family. Distance is difficult, but i love my family, and i know they love me and support me and my work here. The conscience decision of staying here in Thailand to continue in labor for Thailand really manifests when I had to watch them fly off without me, but, i just have to look down at my beautiful son and at my lovely wife and remember that even though my visa says "nonimmigrant", this is where i belong. My prayer is that God's Kingdom come, his will be done in Thailand as it is in heaven, and i ask that my Thai family, and American family will work together to this end, for God's name's sake. 

Transportation 

So about 9 years ago i asked for support to buy a motorcycle that would be suitable for ministry in both city and country. There were 2 supporters who gave me some money to buy the motorcycle when i really didn't have anything. That little motorcycle has kept kicking all these years and is better than new now. I don't think i could bring myself to sell it actually, mainly because motorbikes are so necessary in this city, and even though fang has her own, if something happens, we will need a backup, but also because its great for handling the steep country back roads and fruit picking trails in the mountains that fangs bike just can't take. But both of our vehicles are very small motorbikes. We plan on having more children, and we will need a bigger vehicle. Currently Calvin stands in front holding onto the mirrors. Its not the most ideal situation, though quite normal here. Its certainly not safe but we often don't have a choice. A vehicle would allow us to go pick up things that we need for ministry, work, home, and would save a huge amount on delivery because delivery fees are going way up post-covid. I really wish we had a picture of how many groceries we can fit on a motorbike, which is what we used to have to do before covid. For ministry, mainly a vehicle would allow us to go pick people up and bring them to our meeting if they mentioned transportation as an issue. 

So an aunt of fangs has decided to sell her fathers suv which is a Malaysian import. Its a nice 4x4 mini suv that is really in quite good condition. The vehicle has not been driven too often, and has very low milage, and has never been wrecked. They as selling it for 65,000 baht which is about 2000 dollars, which is a very very good deal, normally vehicles in Thailand sell for 2 or 3 times the amount they do in the states, but this appears to be a good deal. Coming from family, we can trust the previous owner. The horn is broken, and the aircon doesn't work anymore, but these can be repaired. My grandmother has donated a 1000 dollars towards this vehicle, and i am left with a 1000 dollars to pay. If you one of those who likes to support for a specific cause, this is the opportunity. The vehicle is called a Perodua Kembara 4x4 if you are curious. This would allow us to move forward swiftly in our ministry, and businesses, as well as supporting our family's needs. I do plan on putting gospel stickers all over the vehicle, as well as our business logos, and will probably buy a roof rack and bumper gaurds in the future if we are able to. Feel free to send me a message or talk to my parents as well, they were able to see it and see it in action. Thanks again.

Plans

I want to do a couple tracts, i think i might do one called 3 hills to die on, and another called the 3rd gender and homosexuality, as i have not done a tract about this yet, it is a very common issue in Thailand. I will include some statistics and additional information as well as to leave someone without excuse. I plan on focusing more on organization if i can this month. I will also work on the website tracts that i started on the past couple months. I'll do what is can do as efficiently as i can. I feel refreshed after vacation and ready to get back to work. Thankyou for everyone who continually prays for us and our effort here. Thankyou to those of you who have supported us, and continue to support us.