The Father's provision.

As the month of May came to a close and June began, we were met with some unforeseen changes in life here! One of the teachers at our language school had to leave the school on very short notice, which meant that LLC did not have the capacity to accommodate the amount of students it currently had. We were the students that had been in the program for the longest at that point (10 months!), so we were asked to find local language helpers and transition out of learning at the school. Within a few hours, God had provided some interested language helpers who have been an amazing fit for us and we have been enjoying speaking and studying Thai with them over the past month! Though an abrupt and unforeseen transition, we have been really enjoying this new season of language learning and feel so cared for by God in the ways He has provided.

In our last update, we mentioned that we were house-hunting and asked for prayers in wisdom and guidance as we discern where God would have us live next. That prayer has been answered, and we praise God for directing us to a house that we will be moving into in the beginning of August! God clearly provided connections for us that led to finding this house, and we are so looking forward to moving there and feel hopeful about the opportunities that await in the future there. 

In general, Lopburi feels very modern, and even Western in some ways. But there are still elements of historical Thai culture that are deeply ingrained in the pulse of everyday life here, like the woman pictured above, wheeling her goods to the market in the mid-morning sun. We love living in a place with such rich cultural influence.

This friend, who we affectionately call "Khun Yai" (the Thai word for "grandma"), has been a lively part of life recently. She has a little vegetable and convenience goods shop at the end of our street, and loves to talk. She is a little bit of a spitfire, often correcting our Thai when we can get a word in edgewise. ;) Here she is showing us a picture of herself as an 18 year old young woman. She told us at one point that she has a Bible and is open to hearing about religions of every kind, so please pray that God would be working in her heart to truly hear and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ!

As we are approaching our last few weeks living in our current house and neighborhood, it has caused us to reflect on the good provision of our Father in providing this community for us in our first year in Thailand. The view above, of a late-night grill out on our street, has become a familiar one over these last few months. There have been many cultural and language lessons learned the hard way, and many memories made with these neighbors who have welcomed us into their lives. We will remember fondly this house (minus the cockroaches!) and this neighborhood, and look forward to enjoying our last few weeks here!

PRAISES & PRAYER REQUESTS:

- praise God for His guidance in finding new language coaches and a new home!

- pray for endurance and blessing in language learning as we near the end of "year one."

- pray for our neighbors and friends in our current community that we will be leaving next month. Pray for open hearts to the gospel, and God-orchestrated opportunities for us to share about Him.

- pray for Ryan as he has dealt with OCD/anxiety for several years. It ebbs and flows, but recently has been more intense. Pray for healing and grace to walk through it!

"...so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and there is no other." (I Kings 8:60)