A challenging month.

 

Spotting a rainbow in the sky! 

This month held some challenges for our family, especially in regards to two different Thais that we interact with regularly stealing from us. One was a Sauced & Tossed employee who we actually had to let go, which turned into a stressful situation with them going to the department of labor. Thankfully, the situation is somewhat resolved at this point, at least we hope, but it was definitely stressful! We have needed extra wisdom and grace from God to navigate how to move forward in these relationships with broken trust over the course of the past month.

Making friends at the park.

Fluke, a young delivery driver that Ryan met through the food truck, that has become a friend of Ryan's and our family! He started coming to seek Ryan out at the truck when waiting on orders and is eager for friendship. Ryan has been sharing the amazing story of God's redemption with him, and he has been somewhat receptive. We hope to build on this relationship and pray that God will open the eyes of his heart.

We had the opportunity to fly to Bangkok for a Christian conference this month as well. The organization hosting the conference, Saphan Siam, is devoted to translating quality Christian material into the Thai language. This is a huge need here, in a national church that is small and poorly resourced in this unreached country. It was so encouraging to attend a conference conducted in the Thai language and to see the work that is being done through Saphan Siam. 

And finally, we wanted to give an update on Sauced & Tossed. As many of you know, we have been praying about and seeking counsel regarding the future of Sauced & Tossed for quite a while now. Over the past couple months, we have officially made the difficult decision to close the truck. There were several headwinds that we were up against and after seeking the Lord and godly counsel from those who have experience in this field, we decided June would be our last month. For the sake of keeping this update concise, the main headwinds we were facing were the following: 

(1) Legal requirements for foreign-owned businesses that would require us to expand to multiple locations in order to meet the demands. 

(2) Our family's health, as when we started this journey we didn't have our girls and we are realizing Ryan being gone several evenings a week has created a sense of strain on our family. It has been difficult, although doable, but this has been a factor motivating us to consider if there could be a more sustainable ministry path for our family. 

(3) And lastly, though the model of our restaurant is simple, we realize our lack of expertise in the industry and passion for food is a huge barrier especially when it comes to growth and expansion. 

It has been a long process of sorting through these factors and seeking God regarding our business. We have many reasons to praise the Lord, and do not see the past 3 years of Sauced & Tossed as a waste. As we look back, we can see that the relationship and gospel opportunities God gave us through S&T were many. Countless souls who had little exposure to the gospel heard it through our little truck and a few contacts we met at the truck are regular church attendees now. Financially, though slower than our initial projections, we were making payments on our loan and Q1 of this year we set a record for sales, over double from where we began. Although we feel a sense of loss and disappointment, we also feel a lot of peace in coming to this decision and a sense of relief that God is allowing us to pursue a different avenue to walk in obedience to Him. We are thankful for the immense amount of things we have learned over the course of the past three years, and are so thankful we can trust the good Shepherd who is leading.

So, what's next? :) Here are the top paths we are praying through and exploring for further ministry here in Udon Thani:

- continuing to use our established LLC and business visa, but pivoting to a different business model.

- joining forces with an existing business as mission venture.

- joining a missions organization and shifting to a religious affairs visa.

However God leads, we look forward to continuing to serve alongside the church planting team here in Udon Thani as our primary ministry and focus. We would appreciate your prayers as we discern the specific visa and ministry path God would have for us next!

PRAISES & PRAYER REQUESTS:

- pray for wisdom and surrender to the Father as we discern what He has next for us.

- praise God for the amazing opportunity Sauced & Tossed has been and pray that gospel seeds that have been planted would continue to grow.

- pray for the growth and strengthening of the Thai church for the glory of Christ in Thailand.

"All along, let us remember that we are not asked to understand, but simply to obey." (Amy Carmichael)