At the end of May, we were blessed to know our friends from Hydranautics raised 2 months of support for us by throwing a BBQ fundraiser for us in Oceanside! That was terrific.
Praise the Lord! We found out that Tammy and I should be expecting a newborn child in January, if everything goes right. Please pray for a healthy child and no complications during the pregnancy.... We are a bit up there in age, and the doctor considers the pregnancy a "high risk" one. Our friends are encouraging us that this is what doctors always say, but there are many cases where mothers over 30 have healthy children.
Some tough decisions have to be made. After more than 3 months of deliberating, which began even before we found that we were expecting a child, we've decided to officially look for work in the USA. The plan is to continue to serve the mission by translating the discipleship material for Multiplication Ministries and to distribute them accordingly in both Ao Udom, Bangkok, and to our friends in Mae Sae, Chiang Rai, and Chiang Mai. We continue to work until the day the Lord opens up a door for us to return to the USA, and our Gideon's Fleece is finding a job that will support our needs there. This may seem a bit uninspiring in terms of walking out in faith, but to keep a long story somewhat short, at this time, we feel God's peace about this. So we are going to do our due diligence with the job search in USA (knowing that we hit the level in savings where we committed to God as the indicator to start the jobsearch back in America). Secondly, we're going to do what we can to make ends meet while we're here in Thailand. 3rd, we're going to be faithful with our ministry in Thailand until God gives us the green light to go home.
In the mean time, due to our visa expiring, we need to cross into another country until we can resolve this. We are moving to Mae Sae for a matter of 4-6 weeks, so we can continue to contribute in the ministry, but also because it's convenient for us to cross the border there for a short while.
Due to the uncertainty of how long we will be in Thailand, and due to the need to significantly reduce the time of traveling, we will be getting a student visa that will be good for up to 1 year, while we look for work online. The tuition for the school is essentially $1,000 for 6 months (total for the 2 of us). Due to the need to check in with Thailand's Ministry of Education every 90 days, Tammy and I will be moving to Bangkok. Still near our friends in Ao Udom, but we'll be spending more quality time with our friends from Greater Grace and other churches within Bangkok.
Tammy and I can possibly work part time as teachers in Bangkok, perhaps even in the same school we are attending 4 hours per week.
This is our plan, this is what's peaceable for us in our hearts as we look at our short term and long term goals that we believe God guides us with, and when we consider we are starting a family.
Please pray for Tammy's and the infant's health, and that we remain effective in our ministry until the day we can return.
PS: We said goodbye to our friends from the SEIL factory Home Cell. It was terrific to see one of the friends they made, Mary, choose to commit her life to Christ tonight! Praise the Lord!
Mary is the one in front center, wearing aqua blue. She left her country Cambodia, and is working in Thailand. She speaks English very well. Pastor Tae allowed us the honor of leading her through some scriptures and leading her in the salvation prayer of faith. Please pray for Mary that she can grow in the Lord and pray for her protection as she walks out her faith in Christ.
I was really proud of Sa, in the front center, next to Tammy. She speaks Cambodia and Thai. She's changed alot since meeting her 2 years ago. She has a lot more joy and is very personable now, as are all of the folks at the home cell.
God bless,
Alex & Tammy
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