Suk san wan Christmas.

Merry Christmas, friends! We hope you all have had a wonderful season of celebrating our Savior's birth. 

In Thailand, you can see Christmas trees and hear Christmas music in many stores and restaurants, but Christmas is not actually an observed holiday. New Years is a big event here, so they use Christmas decorations as a way to celebrate that instead. December 25th came and went as just another day for our Thai neighbors and friends. It seems symbolic in a way, hearing "holy infant, so tender and mild" over the speakers of a store, surrounded by people who are unaware of the depth of meaning and eternal significance that is being proclaimed. As we rejoice in our God becoming flesh to rescue us, we long for many in this land of spiritual blindness to join in. 

On Christmas Eve, we hosted a Christmas party for our neighbors and friends on our street. We were excited to have the opportunity to talk about Christmas as a pathway to the gospel, and show a Thai "creation to Christ" film. It ended up being a pretty disheartening experience for us, as our neighbors were disinterested in the film and communication in general that night seemed especially difficult. We know that God is in control of even our "failures," though, and we want to see that night as simply another growing experience for us in learning this culture and language, as well as building relationships that could lead to further opportunities.

There are a few sunflower fields in Lopburi that bloomed this month, reminding us of what a beautiful country we are privileged to live in.

A snapshot from a little fishing trip with friends this month. This is how we do it in Thailand: bamboo for rods, pieces of styrofoam for bobbers, hand-caught worms for bait, and motorcycles for transportation. Such a fun experience!

We went to Bangkok for a quick trip the day after Christmas, and were struck again by the vastness of the city. It is beautiful in its own way, although the corridors between these buildings represent many pockets of homelessness, prostitution, drug use, and hopelessness. There truly is need everywhere!

PRAISES & PRAYER REQUESTS: 

- pray for the Spirit's continued work in Phii Ko. We are having conversations with him regularly about Jesus, the Bible, life, and eternity. He is seeking answers and asking questions, and we so long to see him surrender his life to Christ!

- pray for our neighbor, Hans. This is the European friend that we mentioned a while back. Although he still considers himself an agnostic, we have seen some softening of his heart and openness to the truth of Jesus. Pray that God would open His eyes and grant him repentance! 

- pray for guidance and discernment for us of where God would have us move after language school, and what opportunities He would have us pursue.

- praise God for connecting us with amazing fellow Christians laboring in Thailand! 

"And Mary said, 'my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant... and his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.'" (Luke 1:46-47, 50)