Going away...

Good Morning – or whatever it is where you are!  I’ve been up early this morning praying about an important decision.  About 2 weeks ago the team setup a much anticipated date for the women of the team to go away, fast and pray.  The men on the team have done this quite a few times this year and we all felt it was the women’s turn.  

So today after church Amber, MaryBeth, Katherine and I will be heading off to Songkhla – which is about 15 minutes away by car – to stay in some bungalows for 2 days.  OH…Jude will be coming too because he is still breastfeeding and I won’t be fasting – in order to keep his food coming.  I’m so excited about this even though I won’t be alone and I won’t be able to fast.    

So the reason I had to make a decision about going is because money is John is having some side effects from the Tetanus shot and he’s not feeling good at all, Jude has a small cough and money is extremely low and this trip will cost about $30-40 dollars.  I got online this morning and was checking my e-mails and I got an e-mail from a friend and it said that he has just put $40 into our paypal account!!  Thank you David!  Yesterday Katherine and Amber were just encouraging me about the money saying that it’s not like we’re going to go out for pleasure with this money – it is for time consecrated to the Lord –to get alone with God and really press in through prayer.  They encouraged me that God would provide the money for this trip and He did!  Thank you God!

I spoke to John and he encouraged me to pray about it and that he was feeling better and he didn’t want me to stay because he wasn’t feeling good.  Before I even read the e-mail about the money I had already prayed about it and I knew I was supposed to go.  We’re leaving in a little while and I’m excited.  Please keep me in your prayers – there are many things and people that I am going to be pressing in for…

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4-7)
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you" (Matt,7: 7);
"The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful and effective" (James 5:16)
"Therefore I say to  you, all things whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive" (Mark 11:24 -- see also Luke 11:11; John, 16:24)

We went on our border run yesterday.  For those of you who don’t know what a border run is…it is when you go to the border of Thailand and cross over into a nearby country, for us it’s Malaysia so that you can get your passport stamped.  You have to have your passport stamped because foreigners are only given 30 days in the country of Thailand before they are supposed to leave – so every 30 days we have to leave Thailand and come back in…if not we have to pay an overstay fee (as of Marh 15 this fee is 500 baht - $12/per person).  John wasn’t able to go with us because he was feeling so bad – so he will have to make that trip today on his motorbike – it is about an hour there and an hour back – please be praying for him.  It a rough trip on a bike and he has to make the trip today or else we incur fees.  

John will also be taking care of Josiah all by himself on top of everything else he normally does and Josiah will be without his Mommy…He loves…LOVES his Daddy but he’s a Momma’s boy…  So just keep our family in your prayers.    Thank you again for reading – and I’ll be writing again in 2 days or so!  

OH and John’s birthday is in a couple of days – March 9th!!!  He’ll be 26!!  We’re getting old!  No I’m just joking…I know we’re young but I remember a time when it thought that 21 was old!!!  Hehehe…drop him a Happy Birthday e-mail if you want to: thailandforchrist@hotmail.com  I know he’d like that !