New website...

Hey guys!

This is a short note to tell you that we have a new website up and running. I'm really excited about it and I've worked very hard on it. If it works out then we will no longer be using the blog...because this website has a blog built into it. So we'll still stay connected...it will just be through this website from now on:

www.dead2sin.com

So...come on by and check it out. Let me know what you think - sign the guest book...Thanks for reading!

Steph

Short update....ok...ok...it's long...I know....

God is so good! I got up this morning with the boys and I thought I left John asleep in the bed. But somewere between shoveling Bananas in to Jude's mouth and going over my to do list in my head I heard a car pull up outside. Then footsteps and then I realized I'm sitting here in my chut nawn (a Thai night gown thing - totally appropriate for anyone I know to see me in but rather embarassing for just meeting people if ya know what I mean). So I do a little dance scraping the last bit of bananas hanging off Baby Jude's mouth while trying to lean to see who it could be at the same time trying to calculate if I could make it to the bedroom without being seen.

As I heard the footsteps draw closer I realized...all hope was lost...I would have to meet this new stranger in my chut nawn - ah well...just another pride killer right? Just went I was embracing the situation with Jude in arms...in walked John and Gene. EHHH??? Confusion and relief came at the same time...John had been out working the taxi and Gene had gone with him. We are currently living with our friends Lisa and Gene and have been for about a week now.

We had to take a break from the daycare setup - it is a wonderful setup for a single person - or a family who had no where else to go (like us)...but there are no windows because it's an attic/apartment and no real kitchen (so I was cooking for a family of 4 off a bunsen burner) unless I wanted to load everything up onto a tray (food, spices, milk or whatever is needed, pans and utinsils) and head down stairs to the daycare stove/kitchen area. That proved to be a very taxing thing and I found myself cooking less and less - an hour meal would end up being 2 1/2 hours...John said he felt like a caged rat...haha...but all in all...when it was time to grab our stuff and head over to Lisa's I was sad that I wouldn't hear the sounds of the children below us and be able to come downstairs and visit with the incredible daycare workers of Liberty Christian Child Care.

But Gene and Lisa's is a much needed blessing and I can NOT tell you HOW MUCH I am enjoying the kitchen. And there is even a backyard for Josiah to play in. So, this is our home until we leave. Lisa is a wonderful hostes...she really makes us feel like she is glad that we are here - dispite the fact that our two boys plus her one girl and her two dogs...and our husbands altogether in one room makes for beautiful chaos. We have to pay attention to the noise level and pray for PATIENCE! :)

OK...the whole point for all that was John walked in after working the taxi last night (John's cousin started a taxi company here in Sherman and uses John everyonce in a while when he is needed)...So...John has the taxi on Monday night to Tuesday afternoon...one of the slowest times for him to have the taxi - so we weren't expecting much but my husband walked in this house this morning with $400!!!!

I could NOT believe it...well, actually I can...God is good and he knows that we are down to $26 dollars to our name and we still havn't purchased our tickets from Bangkok back to Hat Yai nor have we paid fees for incorporation ($25) (we're working on getting incorporated and becoming a 501 c(3) through KingsWay fellowship ($300) so that when you guys give to us it will be tax deductable! :) It sure is confusing and hard work though - it's almost like they want to make it so hard that no one will be able to do it (at least little ol'peons like me) - but God has put some people that are trying to help guide us through. On top of all of that money to buy diapers, gas...ect...ect...

We still do not have our visas in hand because I made one of the most common mistakes when I sent it in...I did everything perfect...checked it like 5 times before putting it in the mail and then I hear from them a few days later that "JOHN" forgot to sign his application. What that interprets to is: I forgot to get John to sign his application. I sometimes sign for him (come on wives...you know you do it too!) but this time since it's such an official thing and all I felt that his real signature was needed. And I forgot to give it to him to sign!!!! AHH!!! I kicked myself around for a couple of days for it..."How did I miss that!?!?!?!!"

So anyway, I sent his SIGNED application off and we should be hearing back from them and/or receiving our visas and passports by the end of the week. I'm excited to have it all taken care of...just one more thing done and out of the way from standing between us and getting back to our home in Thailand. I can not express how ready we are to return. John is beyond ready to be back working in Thailand.

It's such a weird thing: wanting to be somewhere else sooo badly but yet knowing that where you are is to be cherished. I have read a book recently called Hudson Taylor God's Adventurer and it was so awesome to read about his life. He was consumed (for lack of a better word) by "Moving man through God, by prayer" It was wonderful to read about how he purposefully depended on God alone even when there were others to help him. It moved me when I realized that in order for him to get to China it took a 6 month dangerous voyage (he almost died several times) on a boat because there weren't airplanes to zip you from here to there. I was really greatful for the time in which I was born because I tried to imagine communications without computers, email and the internet.

We have 97 people on our mailing list and of those 97 - there are 6-8 people who donate and God provides the rest as needed. I imagine that in order to keep in contact with people you would have only been able to send newletters to those who donated - imagine writing 97 newletters by hand!!! Imagine the time it would consume! NO missionary I know has that kind of time. But instead I can type it (which I can do much faster than writing it) once and have it printed extremely cheap in Thailand (the shipping is another story). I say all this with a willing and open heart to our God and that if/when the time comes that we are called to an area without internet access for a long period of time (John goes out to those places everyday) and live then so be it. I will adjust!

Well, I know I've already written a lot but I wanted to share with you guys a struggle that I was dealing with...being here in America is a tough thing on many levels but on one of those levels is this. A few weeks back my friend pulled up in this gorgeous, beautiful, Hyndai Santa Fe and as she piled out my mouth dropped. I couldn't stop gawking.

I didn't know I had a favorite car until then. I just sat there - Josiah asking to get out of the car - and stared and then this longing rose up within me and my thoughts went something like this: "what a beautiful car...wow...it's so sleak...how nice that must be...good for them...'but you know if you were working here in the states you could have something like that...maybe even better'...but I don't need something like that...'but it sure would make life easier...the kids would fit so nicely in there and we're gonna have another one sometime...'...you could make good money and you are passing it up...you are going to be 60 and you won't have anything to show for your life financially.

I started to feel like I was missing something and this feeling of worry came over me and as I continued to stare at that beautiful car it got worse and worse as I started rationalizing everything we are doing and all the voices of the "wisdom of the world" started to set in. You can't even save money for your children if they need braces or even money for college if they choose to go...no insurance...no collateral building...no interest growing...no investments...there is NO NEST EGG...you won't have retirement saved up...you....you...you...you...and then it hit me and everything was silenced as I uttered these words: "All for King Jesus"

With a smile on my face and a warmth in my heart I got out of the car and went to tell my friend congratulations on the incredible new car. That is what has been hitting me recently and there are some people out there that would say that they are all legitimate thoughts and I would say they are legitimate thoughts for most people but not for us. God has directly set us where we are and we've seen him come through time and time again and he knows our needs. He knows if our children will need braces and he also knows everything and will make due accordingly. I find my peace in this:

Matthew 6:25-34

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[b]?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Thanks for reading guys! It means a lot to know you are out there reading...praying for us and supporting us even when we're not in Thailand. Some think that we don't need your support because we're in the states but I believe that it could possibly be one of the times we need it the most. Thank you for your love. I'll leave you with what God gave me:

Love like there is no tomorrow but yet live with eternity in your eyes....

New return date because of visa situation...

It’s official! We’re not leaving until November 5th…Much to our disappointment we had to move our return date because we must secure a 1 year visa for our whole family BEFORE we leave. Up until 3 days before our return date we thought we were going to be able to leave on Oct. 2nd as planned and apply for one while we are in Thailand but we found out that this could leave us literally stranded in Malaysia at the end of 3 months if it did not go smoothly.

We have to apply for a one year visa and obtain it before we leave the country or risk getting exported after 3 months to some foreign country like Malaysia because we wouldn't have enough money to fly home. The new policies state that you can only remain in Thailand for 3 months on a tourist visa and then you must go out of the country for 3 months.

We were strongly advised to wait and apply for our 1 year visa here in America. We are so ready to return!!! Don't get me wrong - I'm glad to have more time with my family and friends but I was ready...really ready...in everyway...mentally, physically, spiritually...I don't know if I can pull all that readiness together again...naw...I know the Lord will prepare us when it's time. We are soo ready to be back it is incredible but we know that God’s timing is best and we are patiently waiting and ceasing every moment while we are here.

One really awesome thing that I am excited about is that we are hopefully going to be able to go to the F.I.R.E. missions conference in North Carolina in October. As you may or may not know…the team we work with are all missionaries through F.I.R.E. school in NC. We work with 2 families and a single missionary in Thailand – The Stubenrauchs, the Garsees, and Katherine Barry. At this time the Garsee’s have already returned to Thailand from visiting in the states and the Stubenrauchs are now visiting and Katherine is also in the states right now.

God really laid it on Clinton Garsee’s heart to go to the conference after they returned to Thailand but there was no way it could be possible but things started to happen and finances came in and they are going! The Stubenrauch’s and Katherine are already planning to be there. Clinton expressed a strong…strong urge for us to go also but it would have meant us staying an extra month to be able to go (this was before we knew that we would have to stay an extra month anyway) and we have a friend that was coming with us to work for 3 months and we couldn’t stay and let him go by himself for 3 weeks…alone!

So we told Clinton that we would not be coming for those reasons. The next thing we know…our friend changed his mind (which was totally unthinkable and unexpected) and won’t be going…and we had to move our tickets out to obtain our visas anyway…so, I’m just excited to see what is going to happen!

We spoke at Liberty Lighthouse Church again this last Sunday and it was awesome – God really showed up. I just love it when God has the whole service planned out – all throughout the beginning of the service people kept coming up and saying little parts of what I had to say! I just sat back and thought how awesome is it? When God wants something to be said he says it! By the time I got up there…I could feel the presence of God all over me…God had something specific to say. By the end of the service the alter was filled and littered with tears. God is so good!

Some people have expressed an interest in hearing what was said last Sunday and John happened to film it so we’re trying to get it on CD – if you’d like a copy let us know. It’s really weird to me that we’ve been asked to make a CD of it…I’m really no great speaker at all and I definitely don’t have the “art” of speaking down in anyway shape or form…I’m not funny or witty…so…I just speak from my heart…and ask God to use me.

Anyway, please pray for us as we remain here in the states for yet another month. We are staying busy and finding work here and there. The boys are doing wonderful although I can tell Josiah misses Thailand. Thank you so much for reading! May you be blessed!!!

A missionaries worth...

A recent conversation:

P1: Do think you would consider coming back to live in the states?
Steph: No…not unless God showed us that that is where we are supposed to be.
P1: What if you can’t get back in…what if all this trouble is a sign that you’re not supposed to go back?
Steph: Then we would know because God would tell us…
P1: Oh what like a voice or something? (with a hint of sarcasm)
*Frustration sets in*
P1: I mean what have you guys been doing over there anyway? I just don’t know if you have been very effective…I mean I haven’t heard much about what’s going on…

*At this point I’m getting pretty frustrated and having to keep my flesh in line because this is the second time I’ve had this conversation in 2 days…our blog always states what has been gone on and what we do and I have talk to this person specifically many times about the different things going on in Thailand…

It’s one thing for people to ask what’s going on in Thailand because they are genuinely curious and what to know exactly what God is doing there versus asking because they want to make sure that their money is well spent…or convince us that we’re not effective so we should just pack up and retreat…are there thousand people crusades going on? NO…are there 100’s of people who have come to know the Lord that we know of? NO…*

I start to go through everything that comes to mind: Well, there has been over 200,000 tracts put directly into the hands of the Thai people and no telling how many houses have been knocked on…if there is an openness to pray for the sick/preach the gospel/reach out then it is taken. Typically the Jesus film is shown 2 times a week…Constant ministry to our Thai friends directly and through our lives. Pii Saow came to know the Lord through a new Thai believer she met specifically because of seeing our lives.

Pii C came to know the Lord because of a tract that Clinton and John put in his hand. There have been many healings administered directly through John and some indirectly when John taught at the bible school regarding healing and some of the students took the truth and ran with it resulting in a woman being healed of AIDS.

All the while that I’m going through this I feel my stomach churning…I decide not to continue, this person dropped the subject and we moved on…no problems. But yet my heart was pricked about how to measure the effectiveness of a missionary.

Do we wish we could return and say that 100’s or 1,000’s of Thai’s have been saved? WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS…do you not think that that is what we live for? Is that not what we wake up for every morning in Thailand away from our families and the country we love? Is that not what we sold everything we had for??? We wake up seeking out what we can do to make a difference through every aspect of our lives that day…I, Stephanie, wonder if my husband will come home sometimes because of the Muslim villages that he goes to. We did not come over here for anything less than to change the country and to make an impact in the lives of Thai people for the sake of the gospel in service to our King.

But yet here we are returning to visit our family and friends and we can not report that the desires of our heart have come to fruition but what we can report is that we have served our King in Thailand and we have done all that we have known to do and we will continue on doing anything and everything that our God sets us to do.

We are working in an area that is soiled and overrun by idols and false gods. These people hardly know the name of Jesus much less want to face ridicule for shaming their family by rejecting their tradition/culture and religion…I’ve heard it said many times while I’m here that “it must just be so easy to win people for the Lord in Thailand” and maybe I thought that too before I left…while they are a spiritually hungry people they still do not knock down our doors to be saved people…we labor for their souls.

They are hesitant to the extent that one time while in the village – John told a group of people “Take my hand if you want to be healed…” There was an old man and 3 other men that needed healing. They asked “If your God does heal us then does that mean we have to follow Jesus?” John replied “when he does heal you and you see that our God is real wouldn’t you want to?”

They denied prayer because they did not want to follow Jesus – they even said they believed they would have been healed!!! This is what we face daily…a people that put their very value in saving face before their family and friends…and to believe in Jesus, throw out their idols, forsake their idol worshiping customs is one of the most shameful things they can do.

If our worth for the work we are doing is to be measured by how many souls or healings we have had in the past year and a half then; having only seen from our own personal influence 2 salvations (although through a drama that I wrote and our team performed over 20 people came up in a church to give themselves to the Lord), having prayed for 100’s but only seeing around 25-30 instant healings then we should be sent home.

If the worth of a missionary is determined by how many he can get converted or healed in a certain time frame then William Carey should have gone home after the first 2 years even though it took 7 before he saw any Indian convert. Besides, if we did spend years in Thailand that results in only 2 genuine real believers…are they not worth it???

But the truth is that our worth is measured by one question: did you walk with Jesus and actively seek out what could be done to reach the people of Thailand and take action on it? One thing that is true about what we have done over the past year and a half is that we have made the name of Jesus known throughout a land that otherwise would not have known.

We have ministered through drama, English outreaches, giving away food, personal relationships, passing out over 200,000 tracts, laying on of hands, children’s ministry, helping out in Baan Nam Khem making bricks to rebuild homes, praying for people in hospitals, and going out to the prostitutes.

The other time I had this conversation it was literally said: Well, we just want to know what good your doing if we’re going to be supporting you. (Basically “we just want to know if you are doing enough to earn our support)

My feelings on this are: Please do not support us unless God has laid us on your heart to do so. If people would give because God lead them to then they wouldn’t have to worry if we were “worth” their support because they could trust the fact that God knows and God lead them to give.

Please forgive me if this comes across brash because I do not mean it to. I just want to express my heart about something that has really affected me and made me really question what it means to be a missionary – and a missionaries “worth”.

I believe that it is perfectly fine to find out what the missionaries you are supporting are doing but I believe there is a line where you have to ask yourself “Did God put these people on my heart?” “Are these people going after God and His will to be accomplished where they are working?”

I’ve always considered the blog a place to express what’s going on in our lives…what God is doing…the struggles we face…the joys we experience…this is yet another struggle that we have had to push through. It’s a tough thing to be questioned in your service to God…but I believe it does nothing but make you stand stronger and make sure that you are doing all that God has set you to do.

We need to be able to give an account for our work in Thailand and be accountable to working everyday to win souls for Jesus…but I don’t think it is about huge numbers…although that is our goal…I believe it is about real decisions. I’d rather have 3 real disciples…seeking and living for the Lord than thousands of decisions for Christ that aren’t real.

Thank you to all of you who support us…please know I am happy to answer any questions about what we do and I try to keep the blog as updated and informative as possible but if you ever want to ask about something – please feel free. Thank you for reading!

In limbo...Thaksin...Revolution...

I just wanted to give you guys a quick update - we found a contact at the Thai Consulate that can get us a 1 year visa in 3 days but we have not heard back from him. If we don't hear back from him before Wednesday then we will have to push our dates back. We are trusting God to take care of this situation in whatever way he sees fit - either way we're Thailand bound.

And I also wanted to tell you guys that Prime Minister Thaksin IS the bad guy. We have been seeing a lot of news media coverage that has said that either they didn't know who was the bad guy or they thought it was wrong for the Thai government to be ousting Thaksin and "taking a step back on democracy"...but what do you do when democracy isn't working and there are corrupt people in office controling everything and destroying lives...??? You start a revolution to bring forth change and that is what the Thai military with the backing of the King are doing.

Almost every Thai person I know in Thailand has been wanting Thaksin out of office and there was a big deal about 4 months before we left and he was supposed to be out of office but he's STILL THERE! There were protests and huge rallys and everything...

I spoke with a dear Thai friend of mine over the internet last night and she was excited about what she called the "revolution" and was glad Thaksin was going to be gone.

Please keep us in your prayers as we are 7 days away from returning back to Thailand!! :) I'm so excited! Thank you for reading - please check back often - I am going to be keeping this updated the best I can...

With much love,
Steph

UPDATE - Thai Military attempting to seize control of government

The Thai military is attempting to seize power against Thaksin:

Here are 2 articles talking about what is going on:
Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214498,00.html

CNN.com:
CNN.com Article - Click Here

John and I will update when we know more - please pray for whatever is about to happen to happen PEACEFULLY! No Thai bloodshed in Jesus name! Also please pray for our family/team in Thailand...the Garsee's are there and our dear friend/family Micheal Melton...and for everything to work out for our return...

Thank you so much!
Steph

5 bombs went off in Hat Yai - where we live...Visa changes...

5 bombs have been detonated in Hat Yai – where we live. Please read:

There were a series of bomb blasts, totaling 5 explosions, in the southern city of Hat Yai, Thailand during the weekend which appear to have targeted tourists. "There's a concern that now they're targeting tourists or areas frequented by tourists," Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, spokesman for the tourism body, said in a phone interview in Bangkok today. "That's a new development."

Hat Yai, 700 kilometres south of Bangkok, is the largest city in Songkhla province and a major commercial and tourism hub for southern Thailand. Four people were killed and over 100 injured in blasts that ripped through central Hat Yai in Songkhla province on Sept. 16. One Canadian and three Thai nationals died, and 13 foreigners, including Malaysians, an American and a Singaporean were among the injured, he said.

Violence is spilling over to Hat Yai from neighboring Muslim-Majority provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, which border Malaysia and where more than 1,700 people have died in clashes, bombings and revenge killings since January 2004, when the deep South's decades- long separatist struggle turned bloodier.

The government blames most of the deaths on insurgents seeking an independent Islamic state. The area is governed under martial law with extraordinary powers granted to the military. The deep South comprises Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces, where 80 per cent of the population is Muslim, an anomaly in predominantly Buddhist Thailand. The area was an independent Muslim sultanate called Pattani more than 200 years ago.

The last major bombing in Hat Yai occurred on April 3, 2005, when suspected separatists set off bombs at the city's international airport.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First off: no one that we knew was hurt by the bombs although one of our dear friends was going to go to the movies where one of the bombs went off but he decided not to – Praise GOD! Our friends have told us that the city and the Thai people are very scared and living in fear.

Since hearing about this John and I also learned that the Thai government has decided to change their policies regarding Tourist Visas – which affects us greatly. John and I have been able to stay in Thailand the past year and a half by doing “border runs”. “Border runs” are an extremely common practice in Thailand…the crack down is to stop foreigners from doing business in Thailand who aren’t paying taxes.

When we entered the country we received a 30 day tourist visa and after 30 days we had to go to the Malaysian border – drive through, turn around and go right back into Thailand to receive another 30 day Tourist Visa (stamp in our passport). We have done this every month since we arrived.

The country is changing its policy and we will no longer be able to do this. The change goes into effect October 1st and it states that foreigners may remain in Thailand for no more than 90 days in a six month period. This means that someone who enters Thailand without a tourist visa provided by a consulate or embassy outside of Thailand may not remain in the country any longer than 90 days from the date of the first arrival stamp.

Therefore, if a traveler were to try to spend more than 90 days in Thailand within a six month period, with for example, 3 back to back 30 days visa exemption stamps, then it is believed they would be refused entry and would have to remain outside the country for 90 days before being permitted to re-enter.

We MUST get a 1 year visa at the Thai Embassy here in the United States before we leave – which is in two weeks – October 2nd. If we are unable to do this then we will have to stay in the states until we can meet the requirements to receive a 1 year visa. If we were to go into the country we would find ourselves stranded in Malaysia at the end of 3 months and risk being arrested if we stayed over 3 months. 1 year visas for all of us will cost $125.00 per person – which is a total of $500.

Our only concern is that, as far as we know, to receive a 1 year visa under missionary specs you have to be sent by an agency and have a letter from the sending agency and have a receiving agency in Thailand. We have neither. God is at work and knows all of our needs and we are working on getting a visa ASAP. We have been told about someone who can help us with this…so please be praying that this person is willing and able to help us out with this and the money will be available.

John and I are so ready to get back!!! I am almost completely recuperated and we’re doing our best to prepare for our return…We’re hopefully going to be able to go and visit my family (I’ve never met them) in OK before we return and I am sooo incredibly excited about that. I feel like there is a ticking clock on my shoulder counting down the days and moments till we leave… - so I’m cherishing the moments as they come.

I want to apologize for not keeping the blog more updated and I hope that you will check back more frequently once we return to Thailand because I will resume my weekly posts…ok ok…yeah…they were more like bi-weekly…and monthly a few times. ;) Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I’ll keep you updated as we watch as God works yet another miracle in getting us back to Thailand.

Thank you so much for reading!

Philippians 4:7
7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:28
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I'll leave you guys with some pics...

My Jude and I...

John snapped this shot while Jude and I were outside enjoying the weather..

Josiah in Grandpa's hat and boots...

The boys in their Thai outfits...

Jude with Grandpa Curry and Nana Dawn

The black stuff on Jude's face is from sucking on Grandpa Curry's steering wheel - Jude loves his grandparents...

Stick Em Up! Josiah playing cowboy!

Acrobat Cube - Click on picture to view it

Update

Hello everyone!

Thank you for checking our blog - I know it has been a long time since I updated last. Last time I wrote I told you that we would be at Liberty Lighthouse Church and it went wonderful! It was great to share with everyone about “The heart of a missionary”, Thailand and the Thai people. Pastor Stan had mentioned making sure that I get the heart of a missionary across and God really set my fingers to typing! God really showed up and many people came to the front to “walk in reality with Him”.

We also visited a church in Sanger - Trinity Chapel Pentecostal Church of God. It was such a blessing to fellowship there - I would like to say a special thank you to Jo…of course because she made this whole wonderful weekend happen and also to Bridget and Dave who so kindly welcomed us into their house and also Kenny and Sandy who blessed us both with their incredible testimonies and willingness to help in anyway possible.

John and I had such an incredible time staying with Dave and Bridget but I have to say we were both VERY nervous about staying with people we had never met before…it was such a blessing though! They treated us soooo kindly!! We’ve never been received like that before…We felt like honored guests! The night was filled with talk of Thailand and culture and home school and being a missionary…and our God.

But you know…one thing I really felt after that night is that…it’s SOOO easy just to talk about all the stuff about Thailand because there is so much to talk about…but what a shame if we don’t talk equally about or even more so about what God IS DOING IN THAILAND. It’s not that we didn’t talk about that it’s just a small thought that it’s just so easy to get caught up in talking about the culture and weird experiences and Thailand itself…that sometimes it’s easy to give the minority of the time you have to talking about the glory of God at work in Thailand.

People are always interested in both it just seems that the conversation most always swings toward the cultural side…which is completely understandable…I mean…it’s Thailand…you can’t get any more on the other side of the world…it’s interesting! I have just decided to consciously make sure that conversation doesn’t stay there for tooo long. Hope you understand what I mean. Anyway, it’s been so long since I’ve written I feel kind of funny writing again. I always strive to be transparent and write as if I were sitting there talking to you - so sometimes when I read what I have written I’m in awe at how informal it is…then I shrug my shoulders and type on…

I really don’t want to write a book to catch everyone up because I know it’s hard on the people who want to come for a quick update but I think this one is going to be long…so hang onto your computer chair…hhaa..

We are staying in a small attic apartment on top of a daycare right now and it has worked out really well for us. We have two connected rooms and a bathroom up here. It’s become pretty comfy and besides the constant annoyance of doing dishes downstairs, trying to cook a meal for our family on a Bunsen burner and the heat it has been great and should serve us just fine until we leave. Oh - which is OFFICIALLY October 2nd! We rescheduled our return date to one month later because we thought that Jude was going to have to have a surgery before we left but PRAISE GOD the doctors said that he doesn’t need one right now.

On the other hand I am scheduled for surgery on Tuesday of next week - I believe that’s the 29th. I’ll be out of commission for 2-3 weeks. Please be praying for us…John is going to need a lot of patience (he’ll be taking care of everything…the boys…meals…cleaning…when I say out of commission…I mean it) and I’m going to need a lot of bravery…The dr. says I will be recuperated before it’s time to leave so I am glad about that.

I am looking so FORWARD to getting back to Thailand and the Thai people. I miss it sooo much! I can’t wait to get back to work! John has been ready to return since the first week we arrived. Please don’t get me wrong - it will hurt DEEPLY to leave family and friends. Even when I think about it now my heart literally hurts but I know God will see me through it. Leaving this time is going to be harder than last time. When we left the first time we had the blind excitement of the unknown which made it a lot easier. Not that it’s not going to be exciting when we leave this time - it’s just that it will be different and we’ve also been cherishing the time we have been spending with family and friends because we know it’s only temporary and we don’t know how long we will be gone this time.

By FAR leaving family and friends will be the hardest thing of all. My beautiful nephew Levi is growing before my eyes and little Braden!! Spending time with my Mom and knowing her as a person…not just as mom…appreciating and truly LOVING and appreciating my sisters-in-law for who they are. Becoming real friends with Gentry…Getting to know John’s parents all over again…and my dear friends and the people of Liberty Lighthouse Church (uggg…my heart)!!! All for the sake of our King!

Anyway, yesterday John and I were able to have a date and we went to eat at a Thai restaurant and it was sooo much FUN! What a blessing! I sat there like a giddy little girl…literally almost squealing because I was so excited about it. We got to speak Thai to them too and it felt SOO GOOD! I ate two of my favorite dishes and it was heavenly - Laap Moo and Som Tom with Cow Nee Aow. John had the cashew chicken. It was a great time and a memory that will be locked away forever…

John has been staying busy helping his Dad with making graphics and driving a Taxi. His cousin started a Taxi business here in the small town of Sherman - so when his cousin can drive no more…John takes over. It has been a blessing because we were in huge need of the money. We will once again be leaving the states on faith.
Baby Jude is crying so I have to wrap this up. Please keep us in your prayers and keep an eye out for our next newsletter!

Thank you for reading!!!

We will be at Liberty Lighthouse this Sunday!

Hey EVERYONE!

Wow! It’s been waaaaayyyy tooo long and I don’t have much time right now to update but I just want to first of all say thank you to those of you who have continued to support us while we’ve been in the states…some people have stopped supporting us (we think because they have done this because we are in the states) and we couldn’t have made it without your continued support!! Thank you so much!

With that said – I would like to let you all know that we will be at Liberty Lighthouse Church this Sunday the 30th. I’m very excited about this although I have to admit I’m a bit nervous. We’re going to have lots of Thai stuff out to see and we’ll be showing our team video that shows what we do…and we’ll also have lots of Thai shirts and knick nack kind of things available too. Please keep us in your prayers this Sunday!! We would love to meet you face to face if you can come!

The address is: 501 N. Carr Street, Sherman, Texas

I’ve got lots of stories to share and lots to say about our time here so far – so keep checking back…I should be able to update very soon. We will also be sending out a newsletter very soon. Please continue to pray and support us we are here – thanks for reading!!!

Signing off from not so far away,
Steph

Problems with bar...

Hey guys!

I'm having problems with the bar on the right - so if your looking for it...it's now located at the bottom right of the blog....the very bottom. Thanks for reading! I'll be updating really soon!

Enjoying American air....
Steph

We're in the USA!!!

We're in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!

I still can't hardly believe it! We've been here since June 7th. Yes, I know, I know. We said that we'd be "in the states eating great food on June
17th"...which was true...we wanted to surprise our family and friends - and we DID! It was a lot of fun and worth all the hard work in keeping it a secret.

I can't explain the feeling I felt when we stepped onto American soil...WOW! I felt and still feel so patriotic. As we walked through the airport I was amazed to see how huge everyone is...there were cops everywhere and they were just huge (like giants) compared to the sleek asian bodies we've been used to see for the past year and a half. One of the first things Josiah said when he got off the plane was "Momma, everyone's in Engwish" He was so excited that he could talk to everyone.

I literally had a smile on my face for the rest of the day - I couldn't stop smiling at people - especially black people because it had literally been a year and a half since I had seen a black person. I know people must have thought something had to be wrong with me. I remember riding on the shuttle to another part of the airport and the whole time just studying people's faces. American faces are so diverse! It's was just a really strange feeling...and everyone was so nice!

We half expected everyone to be rude - but everyone was surprisingly very nice. Once we finally got to Sherman, Texas after almost 2 days of traveling we were very tired...of course! But to our suprise we really didn't have bad jetlag - and Jude was on schedule!!! He wasn't backwards - I thought it was going to be so hard to transition Jude to sleeping during the night but I didn't have to do anything!! There are so many things that I have just been loving! I take Josiah to the library about two times a week for a reading program they have there. They have a woman who comes in sings songs and read's books and then they get to play with toys and if you come for weeks you get a free book! It was so weird the first time I brought him (I read about it on the internet). We came in and Josiah was just in awe at all the children. His bashful smile came up and I thought he would never leave my side - but as soon as she started reading the book - he was front and center!

I was so nervous for him...there was a sweet lady next to me trying to make conversation but I couldn't keep my eyes or mind off of Josiah - I explained to her that we had been away for a year and half and she began to study him too. :) IT was like he was experiencing things for the first time. One time we were at the drive through at Chick-fil-A with John's sister and she was placing an order...and Josiah said "Momma...that's silly...what's she doing? I wanna talk to the box too!!!" I feel so funny when I have to explain things like the reason he can not splash water all over the bathroom (no drains in the floors)...by the way - Josiah is LOVING taking baths in a "big" bathtub.

I really feel so pampered here with the air conditioning...oh and the dryers - man, clothes can smell sooo good now! I've always been a fan of downy but man they have improved that stuff...there's even a new joyful expressions or something by gain and our clothes smell like delicious perfumed FRUIT!?!?! Who'd have thought? I have successfully not gained 20 pounds so far...lol...only one pound!!! It sure is hard with things like Blue Bell Ice Cream in everyone's freezer! But you know...with all these great things - my heart longs for Thailand.

The simplicity of life...and the people. I am cherishing every moment of our time here with family and friends but at the same time I find my mind constantly thinking on Thailand. You know, some things are exactly like I thought they would be...and then there are some things that are shockingly not. I pictured that by now we would have churches to go and share with...and be spending time with our friends and family all the time...but you know...neither of these things have happened much! We will be sharing at Liberty Lighthouse two times at the end of the next two months - sharing our vision and hopefully calling out missionaries...but other than that...most people seem very excited to meet us but most pastors/churches don't make it past the idea that we don't belong to an organization. It's ok though...God knows our heart and he will open doors where they should and can be opened.

The other thing is spending time with family and friends - everyone is just soooooo busy with life!!! There is always something going on...which is completely normal...we've been really busy since arriving too - I guess I just pictured spending tons of time with people but I've found that there are sections of time that you can have people and then you usually have spread out that time among different friends. I cherish this time with our family and friends sooo much! We just returned yesterday from going to visit JOhn's Grandparents with John's parents yesterday. It was such a good trip - I wish we could have stayed longer.

Josiah got to fish for the first time...it was amazing to see him experience that for the first time. Jude is doing wonderful - as plump as ever and working on crawling. We went to go see a good Dr. friend of ours last week - and I hate to report that Jude is going to have to have some work done to correct some things that went wrong with his circumcision. He's ok...so nobody freak out. Please be in prayer for complete healing for me also because there have been somethings that have come up with me also. I have applied for Medicaid to help with Jude's needs - please pray that everything goes smoothly with the application.

I have so much more to write but at the moment I believe I've written too much - hope I've kept your attention :) I'll be posting some pictures soon. Thank you for reading! Please keep us in your prayers while we're here - there are many ministry opportunities everyday and we need wisdom. And please keep our finances in your prayers!!! Please feel free to e-mail!

Coming to America...Evidence of a changed heart....

Wow!  It’s been a long time since I’ve written.  I have been trying to write for many days now but I just have not had the time…that is I’ve not had the time with out any children needing my attention.  Being a mother is an incredible thing but I’m not going to pretend that it is not trying on every part of you.  

It’s trying on your patience (letting a child be a child…even if it means letting them sing the same song over and over and over…), your brain (figuring out how to explain things a million different ways so that your little one finally gets it), your heart (when your child doesn’t obey and you have to discipline them because you love them), your body (well…do I have to write anything about that?)…

But genuinely – being a mother is the best…single most important thing I think I’ve ever done in life (besides giving my life to my Savior).  My boys are a blessing from above and everyday I am in awe at the people they are becoming.  Anyway, that was a bunny trail!  

Tonight we went to a weekly fellowship that we have every Wednesday night.  Last Wednesday it was at our house and tonight it was at Pii Che An’s and Pii Mamms house.  It’s always a great time of fellowship and fun and most of all FOOD!  Great Thai food.  

I can always count on eating something I’ve never eaten before on Wednesday nights…whether I want to or not.  Anyway, as we sat in their home…well, let me describe everything to you.  It’s typical for Thai homes not to have a table or chairs.  They usually have a small coffee table that is low to the floor and everyone sits on the floor on mats.  

There were a total of 7 children that normally come (along with 9 adults) and then about 4 more that showed up because they saw a bunch of farang faces.  So…all 11 children are running and round and having a blast in this rather small house that is one large room with a petition made out of an entertainment system.  

There is an array of thai food laid out on the table…Wonderful florescent lighting – as usual (I actually don’t hardly notice it anymore)…and the heat is stifling but there are two fans blowing on the next to lowest setting rotating around the room.  

Everyone is chatting away and having a wonderful time.  After chatting in Thai for a while my brain went to mush for a minute to recuperate from all the work I just did.  I just kind of got quiet and looked around the room watching everyone having a good time for a minute.  As my eyes wondered they settled upon an empty shelf on the upper part of the wall near the door.  

A huge smile came upon my face…that was were CheAn’s idols were.  Every Thai home has a shelf similar to this where a monument to budda always resides…everyday they sacrifice food to the idols and say their prayers.  CheAn has taken down all of his idols and now all that remains is an empty shelf to testify that his heart has been forever changed to know the one true God!!!  

I just looked at John, patted his leg and smiled.  CheAn came to know of Jesus because he responded to one of the tracts that John and Clinton had been passing out.  We were there in his house fellowshipping with him because there was a change in his heart…because John and Clinton had gone out as they always do…

You know, right now is kind of a tough time because we are getting ready to come to America to visit for 3 months.  Everyone told us of this “in between time” before going home for a visit.  They said it’s rough because you are ready to go and visit but your still here…the things you normally do usually get put on hold because you are preparing to leave…culture stress usually sets in…I thought that we wouldn’t go through this but we have felt this a little bit.  Tonight at CheAn’s was an encouragement…knowing that Christ through us is doing a work here…

I wrote it on our newsletter but if you didn’t know – we are going to be in America…EATING GREAT FOOD…for sure on the 17th!  We’re really excited and let me tell you what an incredible thing God did for us.

We were 3 days away from our deadline of needing $1,200 to pay for our tickets.  We were hanging in there…and praying and the money come in!  THANKS in LARGE part to John’s family!!!  Thank you!!!  The really awesome thing is that we called the day before we had to pay for our tickets to confirm that we could come in the following day and the lady informed us that there might be a promotion that would reduce the cost of our tickets!  Needless to say we were excited!!!  

So we waited for her to call us back and when she did we found out there was a promotion that we could apply to our tickets.  She gave us the new prices and we started figuring how much we would be saving.  (we needed to purchase either train tickets or plane tickets from Hat Yai to Bangkok).  So when we did the calculations something kept coming out wrong – then we realized that when John first converted the amount that we needed from baht to dollar – he used the wrong conversion rate and it made a 200 dollar difference!!!  

GET THIS!  If that lady hadn’t told us about the promotion we would not have been able to pay for our tickets!  The promotion made the difference that we needed!  Isn’t that awesome!?!  I was in awe.  So we’re coming soon and we can’t wait!  Well, part of me is torn – I’m going to be really sad about not seeing my Thai friends for 3 months and our home and work is here.  But man!  I can’t wait to see my family!!!  Hug my friends!!!  Share our vision!!  EAT AMERICAN FOOD!!!  

Wow…it’s amazing how much I just wrote!  Well…I made a few short lists for fun!

Things I’m looking forward to:

• Being on American soil with fellow Americans


• Food!


• Dryers


• Downy


• Dishwashers


• Central heating and air


• Regular lighting (no florescent please)


• Customer service (don’t take it for grated people!)


• Driving on the right side of the road


• Southern hospitality


• Mexican food


• Hot water at the sink


• A bathtub


• CARPET


• Walmart!!!


• MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Things I’m going to miss while I’m gone:

• THAI food!


• The many smells of Thailand


• My friends


• Speaking Thai


• The Thai people


• Quick – CHEAP food


• Studying Thai with Phon


• Having an instant open door just because I’m white


• Opening up the house in the morning


• Waiing people (greeting in Thailand where you put your hand together and bow)


• Bathrooms with sprayers and a drain on the floor (the bathrooms are made to be wet…all the water goes down a drain in the floor – no separation between bathing area, toilet and sink)


• The look on my husbands beat red face after returning from being out in the villages


• Josiah being a people magnet


• My Thai friends!!!  

Well, America here we come – it won’t be too much longer now!  Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on and prepare to come to America.  Thank you for reading!  

Beebee up Josiah's Nose!!!

We had an eventful evening tonight.  I was getting the boys ready to go get some food and I turned around to tend to Jude and all of a sudden I hear Josiah behind me screaming.  I turn around and he’s blowing his nose and rubbing it like crazy.  Josiah had stuck an air soft beebee pellet up his NOSE!!!  It’s a small yellow beebee.  

It must have been laying around from one of the times that John was playing with the Garsee boys.  That thing would not come out for anything.  I finally got Josiah calmed down and we tried blowing his nose for about 5 minutes and I realized that that little ball was not coming out any time soon.

I called John and informed him that I was going to take him to the hospital.  It was so far back in his nose that I couldn’t see it unless I had light shining in his nose and he had his head tilted way back.  I was a little worried.  My imagination started running about it slipping back into the unknown and my little man having a beebee lodged in his head.  

We got into the car and headed to the government hospital here praying all the way.  John met us there.  I wanted to take him to the nice hospital where Jude was born but it would have been too much money that we don’t have right now.  By the time we had arrived Josiah had calmed down and you wouldn’t know he had a beebee stuck up his nose if we weren’t there to tell you.  The emergency room waiting area and reception is completely open…there are no walls.  

John said “You know you’re in a hospital in Thailand when you have to fight off bugs while you wait in the emergency room”.  As we were waiting we had to fight off bugs.  Every time we turned around we had a flying ant landing on us…or we were dodging a gigantic beetle that was flying around.  We sat in a small room listening to a little boy being treated because of a cut…the poor boy was screaming with all his might.  Bi Leew Bi Leew…Mai Aow Mai Aow…(go away…go away…I don’t want it…I don’t want it…)  

It didn’t scare Josiah though…he was having too much fun with the flashlights that they keep on their desks to check people out.  While we were waiting John and I pondered laying him on the bench and using my handy dandy finger nail kit to tweeze that ball out ourselves…but we thought better of it.  After a good wait a Dr. showed up and spoke pretty decent English…they laid Josiah on a bed in the wide open Emergency room and wrapped him up like a worm so he couldn’t move.

We really had an audience then.  Josiah enjoyed the worm part and even laughed at the first attempt to retrieve the ball (because it tickled).  They wedged open his nostril, used a weird looking pair of tweezers and out it came!  Josiah was screaming by then because it apparently doesn’t feel too good having your head held down while someone wedges your nostril open.  He got up and shed a few tears and was over it in a flash.  

They gave me the beebee to keep as a souvenir.  I’m going to put it in Josiah’s baby book when we get to the states…I still can’t believe he stuck that beebee up his nose.  Here’s the kicker…we visited the emergency room and had this done for a little over $3 dollars (125 baht)!!!!!  Can you believe that?  $3 dollars!  And that’s with two huge bottles of medicine that they insisted that we buy (they didn’t believe me when I told them that there was only one beebee so they wanted him to take medicine to fight infection if there were more that went into his stomach).  It’s a good thing too!  

Well, I just wanted to share about Josiah’s run in with a beebee.  Thanks for reading!

Thank you for stopping in! After checking out the pictures don't forget to scroll down to my most recent post to view the new videos.

In the back is Nawng Bang (the small Thai boy), Pii On, Me, Katherine and John..and in the front are some of the children from Baan Bawk Maw...
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John and Chase setting up the screen...
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You see the lady on the left? She was too shy to let me know she wanted to be in the picture too...so at the last minute she hopped in there...she got a real kick out of seeing herself on the little camera screen...
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Josiah, Asia and some of the children from Baan Bawk Maw...
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Faces from Baan Bawk Maw
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A cute little boy that was quite persistant about me taking his picture...over and over and over and over....:) How could I resist?
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Some children watching the video...
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Videos and more...

Sawatdee ka!!!

I just recently sent out our May newsletter.  Please click here to read it:
www.thailandforchrist.com/May2006.htm

I wanted to tell you guys a funny story.  One time we were driving through Hat Yai praying and I just kept noticing this name on all the clubs and girly bars as we went by.  I thought to myself…”Who is this guy?  We just need to pray that something happens to his finances and all these clubs that he owns would be shut down!”  So…I turned to the ladies in the car and said “Who is this Johnny Walker guy?  Have you guys ever seen him around town?  Is he a farang that came into Hat Yai opening up all these bars?”  

Amber sweetly looked at me and informed me that Johnny Walker is an alcohol label!!!  I had no idea.  I had never heard of Johnny Walker…anyway, I thought that was kinda humorous…I like to be able to laugh at with myself at myself sometimes.  

We went out to Baan Bawk Maw the other day and I have some video from there.  The people there are sooo sweet.  Especially the children…they love to have their picture taken and then see it on the camera.  I could stay out there all night just to take their pictures…it just fills them with such joy and it does the same to me too.  Here is a video from there:

www.thailandforchrist.com/BaanBawkMaw_ 001.asf

The other day I was waiting in the car for John to return and I decided to make a video for all of you…so here it is:
www.thailandforchrist.com/ThankYou.asf

Have you ever wondered where rubber comes from?
www.thailandforchrist.com/RubberSource.asf

We came upon some kids swimming…
www.thailandforchrist.com/MaiMiiPhaa.asf

Why did the chicken cross the road?  Here is a short clip of the village John has been working in recently…
www.thailandforchrist.com/ChickenCrossTheRoad.asf

This is a clip of a Muslim village John has been working in…The last part of the clip is a guy on a motorcycle with his foot pushing a boy on a bike…going really fast.  
www.thailandforchrist.com/CowHouse.asf

Well, that’s it for now!  Thanks for stopping by!  Please be in prayer for us regarding our visit to America and diligence in studying Thai!!!!  Thank you for reading!!!  

Videos!!!! Finally!!!

Hey everyone!

I figured out and successfully uploaded some videos and you can view them by clicking below:
They are all .asf files...I know if you have Windows Media Player you will be able to view these videos. Enjoy!

A home in the village
Another home in the village

Kids in the village

Dog Danger - One of the dangers John faces when he goes out is the dogs. They are loose, aggressive and unfamiliar with white faces.

RawngPlengGan - This means singing together. While they were out in the village they came across a house that had one of our yellow Jesus signs hanging on their home. They had taken it from when we posted them up at a busy intersection. These people have been Christian for many years and were very excited to see us. They sang 'How Great Thou Art' together in Thai.

Village View - Here is a quick pan of one of the roads and house that John walked down in this village. The lady and other guy you see are a couple that have come here for 3 months to help out on their internship from FIRE school of ministry.

Ru Leew - This means 'already know'. This is a short video of the family I mentioned before telling us their testimony of how God healed this lady from disease. Clinton is translating while John films.

Your Gospel - A clip of Clinton quoting Curry Blake (John's dad) as they prepare to go out to the villages.

Josiah Blowing Out His Candles - Here is Josiah from his 4th birthday blowing out his candles (April 16th).

Jude Smiling - I finally caught Jude smiling on camera!! Here it is... **Sorry this one isn't working yet. It turns out the file is a .mov and I'm having trouble getting it to play online. :) I'll be posting more videos and pictures soon! Thanks for reading!!!!! Steph

Josiah and his birthday cake...DELICIOUS BIRTHDAY CAKE!! Last year we bought him a cake at one of the shops here and had them decorate it with Spiderman...Josiah loved it...but it tasted like CARDBOARD!!! No Joke...well, it tasted like cardboard with butter on it. This year was different...we had this incredible (and unfortunatley and unavoidably expensive) ice cream cake! Yes that is a pineapple ontop of the cake...does anyone else besides me find that strange? HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY BABY BEAR!!!
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Josiah and Mommy and his new toy remote control car!
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Josiah opening up his presents...
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Josiah and Oskar enjoying their cake...
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Pii Saow's son and daughter helping with Josiah's new floaties...
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Me and my boys...:) Can ya tell I was hot!!! My face almost matches my shirt! hahaha...
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Jude enjoying the party...and really enjoying the balloon!!!
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Pii Saow and her daughter Nawng Jen...
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Cutie pie Asia...
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Asia, Josiah and Nawng Bang having fun with the birthday masks that I lucked out finding at Carrefour.
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Batman made an appearance at Josiah's birthday party!!!! NO really...this is Scott...him and his wife, Beth, are interning here for 3 months.
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Phon and Ton :)
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Pii On, Pii Thak and Beth. Pii On is the one that you need to continue to pray for. Beth and her husband are visiting for 3 month here.
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This is Ton and Jude. Ton is now Phon's husband. They got married last month. Phon is our Thai teacher. They both adore Jude and visit him often. They are the ones that made him that cute hat...Ton sewed his name on it.
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Katherine enjoying our delicious Swenson's cake. I wanted to get a cheaper cake but they were all out so...we got a swenson's ice cream cake and it was DELICIOUS!!! It made me not so sad about spending the money on it...hehehee...
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Pii Thak, Josiah, Amber and Nawng Saow.
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Che An and his family. Che An came to know Jesus about 4 months ago and has thrown out his idols and has been serving Jesus ever since. His wife is Pii Mamm and his son is Oskar...Oskar's face doesn't normally look like that.
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Josiah's Birthday....Visiting Home...In Christ Alone

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a morning!  I was visited this morning by a wonderful veteran on the field here in Thailand.  Her and her husband have been here for 31 years!!!!  They speak Thai fluently! They just moved into our old house a street away – so now we’re practically neighbors!  It’s wonderful that God has brought another missionary couple into Hat Yai – and it’s incredible that they are so experienced.  

So that was a neat start to the day and then I plopped down to check my e-mails and I had quite a few NON-JUNK e-mails (  You know I really didn’t even think about Josiah’s birthday being on Easter until the day before his birthday!  Wow!   This Sunday we visited a church called Hat Yai City Church because Clinton was going to be speaking at it.  It was really neat – that was the first church service in a year and (almost) a half that I had heard in English and understood everything that they said – unfortunately I understood because they had a translator.  

Many Thai people came forward to get things right with God.  Including a woman named Pii On.   We have been sharing with her for months now and she will just cry and cry but yet she has not given her life wholly to God yet.  She did throw out her idols though!!!  Which is a huge deal!  Anyway, Pii On went up to the front and I followed behind her.  Once we got to the front she was prayed for and I just continued to pray for her.  Pretty soon I was holding her like a baby.  She was weeping.  She has so much pain that she still holds onto.  Please be praying for Pii On.

After church and lunch I returned home to get ready for Josiah’s birthday party.  Katherine and I had gone to the store and bought some fun stuff for games at his party.  We wanted to try to make his birthday party fun for more than just the kids.  So we had 3 games.  Kinda like baby shower games.  One game was this: everyone received a clothes pin put on their clothes when they walked in the door…then I instructed everyone that they could not say the following words: 4 years old, cake, fun, present, balloon.  If someone heard you say them then they could take your clothes pin….and at the end of the night whoever has the most clothes pins wins a small prize (a bag of candy).

The second game was guessing how many m&m’s were in a jar that we had.  The prize was the jar of m&m’s of  course (because they are expensive here it’s a great prize) and then the last game was a question game.  I asked 10 questions about Josiah and whoever answered the most questions correctly won.  I decided I would post the questions for you family members out there…

1.  What color are Josiah’s eyes?  Blue
2.  What’s Josiah’s favorite song?  One Little Slip (from the movie Chicken Little).  Josiah saw this movie one time and for days afterward he was singing “Won Wittle Swip…Won Wittle Swip”  He just loves it.  Before that his favorite was “You are Holy” by Michael W. Smith.  
3.  What’s Josiah’s favorite color?  Blue
4.  What’s Josiah’s favorite food?  Spaghetti
5.  Who does Josiah like to pretend to be?  Sonic
6.  Who is Josiah’s favorite superhero?  Spiderman
7.  What song does Josiah sing before going to bed?  Goodnight Sweetheart (the Platters)
8.  When does Josiah get to go to Chuckie Cheese? (there is no chuckie cheese in Thailand by the way…What we call chuckie cheese is a playland we found here at the top of one of the big malls here.  It even has a mouse on the sign…although it does not compare to Chuckie Cheese)  When he fills up his tooth brushing chart
9.   How does Josiah say the following names: MaryBeth, Brian, Phon.  MawyBeff, Bwian and Phone
10.  I honestly can’t remember what the other question was!!!!!  I’ll throw in another one: What is Josiah’s current memory verse?  “I can do all things through Jesus who makes me strong”

It was a wonderful party and Josiah had a great time.  Now…a little bit about the HOT TOPIC of the month:

Visiting Home…

Here’s the deal…to clarify…We have been given $2,100 from Liberty Lighthouse Church.  That was enough 4 days ago to get us home BUT gas prices have apparently gone up so everywhere I check it now costs at least $774 dollars (taxes and all that stuff included) a ticket.  And get this!!!  We have to pay for JUDE!  I never though we would have to pay for Jude – he would be in my lap!!!  Anyway, each airline I talk to says that we have to pay $150 for him.  So the total now is $2,500 to get us home for a visit.

But here’s the other catch.   We have to make plans to be able to raise another $2,500 to be able to get back to Thailand!!!  On top of having to have the money to pay our bills here while we’re gone…and eat while we’re in the states.  Anyway, our God is capable of taking care of this.  Please keep us in your prayers about this.

Other than all the excitement about maybe getting to visit…everything is going as normal.  John is steadily going out to the villages everyday…they are heading farther and farther south which means more and more Muslim.  They attempted to go into a Mosque the other day but were quickly and brashly told to get out.  Soon they will begin showing the movie about the truth of Jesus again…the bulb in the projector went out and it cost $500 dollars to replace!!!!!  So needless to say the projector was out of commission for a little bit.  The bulb has been replaced now though!  Thank God!

Well, it’s time to make lunch, homeschool Josiah, and I’ve got to prepare for Chase’s computer lesson @ 4pm and study Thai for our Thai lesson with Phon @ 5pm.  Thanks for reading…I want to leave you with this song that has been blessing me so much.

In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Here is part of the crew before we went out for Songkran (3 small Thai girls went with us too but they aren't in the truck yet)...From left to right: John, Josiah, Chase, Beth, Katherine and Pii On, Scott, Colton and Micheal. We all met together at the Garsee's home...suited up for songkran and headed out in the Stubenrauch's truck....Don't know what Songkran is?...look through the pics below to find my most resent post about Songkran...Us visiting America and Josiah's 4th Birthday!
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Ok...so I know I look kinda evil in this picture...but I can't help it if that's the way I look when I tilt my head down right? John was like...that's kind of an evil look there Steph...I CAN'T HELP IT!! IT'S MY FACE!!! hehehe...anyway, here is me and my baby Jude safe and dry inside the truck...
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Josiah...checking out Asia's baby doll...while taking a break from the water and the sun...
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Daddy...teaching Josiah how to shoot properly...
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Baby Jude...enjoying the ride...
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This guy had been powdered up for sure! If you look in the background you can see the picture of the King...these things are all over Hat Yai - paying tribute to the King.
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Songkran...
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Songkran...
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This is my dear friend and new sister in Christ Pii Saow with her two children...out enjoying Songkran...we ran across them while downtown...
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That's 11 people...that I can see...oh wait...12 people...
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Isn't she cute!!!
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A group of teenagers on bikes stopped to check out the farangs in the truck...
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The other side of the looking glass...These girls were stuck in traffic next to the truck we were in, which has tinted windows, so she soon began to groom herself not knowing that I was on the other side of her mirror taking her picture....:)
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What's wrong with this picture...???? It's 90 degrees plus outside - the hottest season of the year...and this little girl is dressed like an eskimo...WHY? you ask? Because her dear old grandmother does not want her skin to be dark...yep...it's protection from the sun...
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People on bikes receive no mercy...
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Songkran...
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Songrkan...
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A group reloading their water guns...If you look at the faces of these Thai people you can see that they have Chinese in them also.
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Two trucks having it out...it's all in fun...I have never seen a Thai person get upset or irritated on Songkran...
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How many people can you fit into the bed of a truck? Well, the real question is how many THAI people can you fit into the bed of a truck...and the answer is..AS MANY AS YOU WANT...
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Songkran...
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