กุมภาพันธ์

The month of February brought with it some special and out-of-the-usual experiences! At the beginning of the month, we took a little "babymoon" camping trip in the mountains a few hours outside of Lopburi. It was a really sweet weekend of enjoying cooler weather and taking in the beauty of the mountains of Thailand! And such a fun getaway before our little lady makes an appearance in May. ;)

One of the guys that Ryan teaches English to online got married this month and invited us to his wedding, which was another fun experience! This was the first Thai wedding we have attended. In some ways, it was very much like a wedding we would expect in America, but definitely with a Thai flair. For example, the invitation said the wedding was at 4:00, but when we got there we were ushered straight to the room where the groom was getting ready to say "hi" and he informed us they were pushing the wedding back an hour and a half because it was too hot out. :) So everyone just chatted and took pictures until the sun started to go down and then the wedding began. Time-consciousness is definitely a cultural difference we are learning to adjust to!

And then at the end of the month, Ryan's brothers came to Thailand for a visit! It was so fun having them here and being able to show them around Lopburi for a few days. They were the first of our immediate family to come visit, so it was extra special to get to spend time with them in this country that has become our home.

Our church friends were very excited to meet Ryan's brothers and spend time with them. Everyone made the most of language barriers and we laughed our way through many conversations. 

The boys also helped us with "kids' day" while they were here. We happened to have the most kids show up yet, so our living room was a little crowded, but we know that's a good problem to have! Join us in praying for the gospel seeds that are sown to grow in their hearts.

PRAISES & PRAYER REQUESTS:

- praise that our business visa and work permit have been processed and approved! We will be picking them up in Bangkok this week.

- prayers for wisdom on future location for our business and ministry. Still seeking God's will on whether we and our potential teammates (Phil and Julie) should stay in Lopburi or move to northeast Thailand.

- humility in culture learning and grace to persevere in language learning. 

- praise God that we were able to spend time with family in person this month. 

"We should always look upon ourselves as God's servants, placed in God's world, to do his work; and accordingly labour faithfully for him; not with a design to grow rich and great, but to glorify God, and do all the good we possibly can." (David Brainerd)