Hey this is a great family pic. Merry Christmas!!!
25.12.06
22.11.06
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I love this picture. I took it one day last week biking home from language school. This scene is about a minute from our house. I love looking at this pic and just thinking and praying about the fields ready for harvest. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers.
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This is the day we were okayed by the Board to adopt Jak. We are thankful for our great social worker Anchalee. Please pray that Jesus would bless her and share His life with her. Notice the sign above our heads, truly this child is with us for a great purpose.
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Our next door neighbors were selling floating flower arrangements for the Loi Kratong festival. The flowers are floated in the rivers as an offering of repentance for the sins of the people.
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Fun on the night of Loi Kratong. Our street was lit up with lights for the celebration. A great time to do sparklers.
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This is a burial service for a famous monk from this area. The casket is shaped in the form of a fancy Thai boat. The large Buddha image is on the hill in the background with the Chedi to the right. They burned his body the day after I took this shot. This is all down the street from our home.
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The new front of our house and our friends who built the extra room. They are both Christians. The man on the left, Om Nouy, reminded me lately that his family prays for us every day. Humbling and such a blessing.
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Jak on his bike. He really knows how to hang on! He can, if he desires to, hold this position for an hour.
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Ben playing in the rain with some new friends. Most Thais don't want their kids playing in the rain because they will catch a cold. These kids probably got into a bit of trouble with their grandmas.
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The sign in front of our house with our name in Thai and English thanks to our kind landlord.
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Fun on the night of Loi Kratong. Our street was lit up with lights for the celebration. A great time to do sparklers.
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Our friends at Vineyard New Life in Bangkok. They are a great encouragement to us in Thailand! They have already visited us in Chiang Rai while passing through to Burma. Sukit, in the middle, is the pastor of the church and a dear friend who shares his wisdom about Thailand. Pray that God would give joy and blessing to Sukit and Vineyard New Life in Bangkok.
The Wow
I have been reading a book by this guy named Don Miller. The book is called Searching for God Knows What. Don lives in Portland (or he did when he wrote this book), and he has quite a unique style where he says what he believes without a lot of fluff. Often his feelings are not smoothly coated like the Pepto Bismo tablets we take here when the food from the market was not so fresh. However, that is not what I like most about his writings. He writes best when he speaks a word of truth fashioned in a style that forces me to come at truth in a new way. For instance, he was comparing our tendency to desire approval by others to a circus where all of the performers are trying to outdo each other with their extremities and where normality has become a reason for feeling dejected. Miller says, “I think Jesus is saying, Look, you guys are running around like monkeys trying to get people to clap, but people are fallen, they are separated from God, so they have no idea what is good or bad, worthy to be judged or set free, beautiful or ugly to begin with. Why not get your glory from God? Why not accept your feelings of redemption because of His pleasure in you, not the fickle and empty favor of man? And only then will you know who you are, and only then will you have true, uninhibited relationships with others.”
When I relate stories of what is going on in Thailand, I do not purposefully try to focus on the occurrences that would “wow” our friends and supporters and prayer support stateside. Yet, there is in me this desire for you to approve of what we are doing and agree that it is of critical importance. So it is convenient when one of those “wow” stories come along. Yet in the above quote I read that people are fallen and are not trustworthy to judge or determine beauty. In truth we are living for an audience of One. One who has great pleasure in me regardless of the “wow” or lack of “wow” in my day.
Even as I write this, a conviction comes upon me that my definition of “wow” is really messed up. Let me explain by sharing some details from this past week. Last week…
I rode my bike past fields of rice ready for harvest and watched farmers with sickles cut bundles of rice and wrap them in preparation to whack the bundles against the ground to detach the grains. Wow!
My kids studied with their mom and other missionary parents and/or volunteers at a small school called the Family Learning Center dedicated to giving kids a great education and sharing Christ. The kids studied with many children from Thailand and other various countries. They also studied Thai language and learned both Thai sword fighting and T-ball in P.E. Wow!
Our family ate all of our meals outside at our table on the covered front porch area. In Chiang Rai we spend much time outside because we can. The cold season will hardly get cold enough to force us indoors. Bugs? Who’s worried about bugs? All the little gecko lizards running around us eat the bugs. This past week, our table offered a partial view of the mountains when the humidity and the clouds went away. Wow!
Julie and I studied Thai for many hours and processed more about how the written Thai uses various consonant and vowel combinations (including vowels above, below, before and after consonants) in order to create words that are pronounced in one of five tones (middle, low, falling, high, and rising). With these skills we spoke and discerned tones and words with greater accuracy in our neighborhood, at the university, at the market, at the kids’ school, at the church we visited. Wow!
Jak, our newest addition, continued to run around…everywhere. And with him we continued to meet people everywhere we go. A western family with a dark skinned son always stirs up interest. Most Thais have an immediate affinity with him as one of their own. Thais are also much more likely to give him direction and tell him what to do than they ever do with Ben and Kate. Their idea seems to be that he is Thai and needs to learn how to act Thai. Wow!
Our family connected with a small church of college students. Students who love Jesus and want to see the Lord come to campus. They know their friends live trying to keep up with the next curve of fashion or trend in order to be accepted (sounds like a circus to me). Sadly, a majority of the students live each day scraping by and medicating their life with internet café video games/chat, alcohol, and TV game shows or soap operas. We also connected with a prayer movement dedicated to unifying the Christians reaching out to 15,000 plus students on the two university campuses in Chiang Rai (Mae Fah Luang University and Rajaphat University which is the campus we are spending time at and praying for). We prayed for transformation of this university community and of Chiang Rai. Wow!
Ben and Dad played soccer at the local elementary school with kids from our neighborhood. These kids play most every day and we like to join them on the weekends. We now know most of their names (Okay, Ben knows their names and reminds me). Wow!
Our family ordered food from a restaurant two houses down the way (out of a neighbor’s home…no zoning here) and they bring the food over to our home. The couple’s names are Sawang and Chaat. Talk about service, and we get to tell them about Jesus’ life. Wow!
We figured out more about Chiang Rai. This is a city with a population of 200,000 and yet growing to be much larger. Most people from this northern Thai rural region come to this city as the hub of trade and work. This last week we watched construction companies add on to the “Super Highway” a road that runs through Chiang Rai and connects Thailand and Burma. The plan is for this road to eventually go to China. We also watched construction workers working on new buildings at both universities and in the city. The city is growing and is considered as an important link to China (I think you can imagine why that might be important). Chiang Rai has no Starbucks or McDonalds (like Bangkok does) so visitors with certain addictions beware, but progress is opening lots of doors to the west here in Chiang Rai (not that Starbucks is real progress, it is just a bunch of monkeys sitting around looking cool drinking coffee…myself included for a “tall drip” when the occasion presents itself). We also discovered that minimum wage in Chiang Rai is 142 Baht for a day of work; in Bangkok it is 184 Baht for a day of work. And in America minimum wage is 1,566 Baht for a day of work (considering a $5.15 U.S. minimum wage). Wow!
I figured out how to download pictures to my blog. Wow!
Please pray for these four things:
1. For the Lord to give us discernment, wisdom and favor as we connect in the Rajaphat University community. Connections with people who will be leaders for a church movement on campus. Deepening friendships with Thais.
2. That the Lord would strengthen our language skills.
3. For the Lord to give us boldness in sharing our faith especially during this holiday season.
4. Health, perseverance, and encouragement.
We are thankful for you. Enjoy the holiday season. Here, we are about to celebrate His Majesty the King’s birthday and Constitution Day. Please drop us a holiday card; we love your pictures and notes. Our new address is:
The Pennington Family
P.O. Box 27 Bandu Post Office
Chiang Rai, Thailand 57100
Our love,
Brent, Julie, Ben, Kate, and Jak
When I relate stories of what is going on in Thailand, I do not purposefully try to focus on the occurrences that would “wow” our friends and supporters and prayer support stateside. Yet, there is in me this desire for you to approve of what we are doing and agree that it is of critical importance. So it is convenient when one of those “wow” stories come along. Yet in the above quote I read that people are fallen and are not trustworthy to judge or determine beauty. In truth we are living for an audience of One. One who has great pleasure in me regardless of the “wow” or lack of “wow” in my day.
Even as I write this, a conviction comes upon me that my definition of “wow” is really messed up. Let me explain by sharing some details from this past week. Last week…
I rode my bike past fields of rice ready for harvest and watched farmers with sickles cut bundles of rice and wrap them in preparation to whack the bundles against the ground to detach the grains. Wow!
My kids studied with their mom and other missionary parents and/or volunteers at a small school called the Family Learning Center dedicated to giving kids a great education and sharing Christ. The kids studied with many children from Thailand and other various countries. They also studied Thai language and learned both Thai sword fighting and T-ball in P.E. Wow!
Our family ate all of our meals outside at our table on the covered front porch area. In Chiang Rai we spend much time outside because we can. The cold season will hardly get cold enough to force us indoors. Bugs? Who’s worried about bugs? All the little gecko lizards running around us eat the bugs. This past week, our table offered a partial view of the mountains when the humidity and the clouds went away. Wow!
Julie and I studied Thai for many hours and processed more about how the written Thai uses various consonant and vowel combinations (including vowels above, below, before and after consonants) in order to create words that are pronounced in one of five tones (middle, low, falling, high, and rising). With these skills we spoke and discerned tones and words with greater accuracy in our neighborhood, at the university, at the market, at the kids’ school, at the church we visited. Wow!
Jak, our newest addition, continued to run around…everywhere. And with him we continued to meet people everywhere we go. A western family with a dark skinned son always stirs up interest. Most Thais have an immediate affinity with him as one of their own. Thais are also much more likely to give him direction and tell him what to do than they ever do with Ben and Kate. Their idea seems to be that he is Thai and needs to learn how to act Thai. Wow!
Our family connected with a small church of college students. Students who love Jesus and want to see the Lord come to campus. They know their friends live trying to keep up with the next curve of fashion or trend in order to be accepted (sounds like a circus to me). Sadly, a majority of the students live each day scraping by and medicating their life with internet café video games/chat, alcohol, and TV game shows or soap operas. We also connected with a prayer movement dedicated to unifying the Christians reaching out to 15,000 plus students on the two university campuses in Chiang Rai (Mae Fah Luang University and Rajaphat University which is the campus we are spending time at and praying for). We prayed for transformation of this university community and of Chiang Rai. Wow!
Ben and Dad played soccer at the local elementary school with kids from our neighborhood. These kids play most every day and we like to join them on the weekends. We now know most of their names (Okay, Ben knows their names and reminds me). Wow!
Our family ordered food from a restaurant two houses down the way (out of a neighbor’s home…no zoning here) and they bring the food over to our home. The couple’s names are Sawang and Chaat. Talk about service, and we get to tell them about Jesus’ life. Wow!
We figured out more about Chiang Rai. This is a city with a population of 200,000 and yet growing to be much larger. Most people from this northern Thai rural region come to this city as the hub of trade and work. This last week we watched construction companies add on to the “Super Highway” a road that runs through Chiang Rai and connects Thailand and Burma. The plan is for this road to eventually go to China. We also watched construction workers working on new buildings at both universities and in the city. The city is growing and is considered as an important link to China (I think you can imagine why that might be important). Chiang Rai has no Starbucks or McDonalds (like Bangkok does) so visitors with certain addictions beware, but progress is opening lots of doors to the west here in Chiang Rai (not that Starbucks is real progress, it is just a bunch of monkeys sitting around looking cool drinking coffee…myself included for a “tall drip” when the occasion presents itself). We also discovered that minimum wage in Chiang Rai is 142 Baht for a day of work; in Bangkok it is 184 Baht for a day of work. And in America minimum wage is 1,566 Baht for a day of work (considering a $5.15 U.S. minimum wage). Wow!
I figured out how to download pictures to my blog. Wow!
Please pray for these four things:
1. For the Lord to give us discernment, wisdom and favor as we connect in the Rajaphat University community. Connections with people who will be leaders for a church movement on campus. Deepening friendships with Thais.
2. That the Lord would strengthen our language skills.
3. For the Lord to give us boldness in sharing our faith especially during this holiday season.
4. Health, perseverance, and encouragement.
We are thankful for you. Enjoy the holiday season. Here, we are about to celebrate His Majesty the King’s birthday and Constitution Day. Please drop us a holiday card; we love your pictures and notes. Our new address is:
The Pennington Family
P.O. Box 27 Bandu Post Office
Chiang Rai, Thailand 57100
Our love,
Brent, Julie, Ben, Kate, and Jak
21.9.06
After the Coup
What’s in a coup Thailand style? Many are wondering what is truly happening in Thailand. Here in Chiang Rai little has changed since Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning we woke up and received a call from the director of the kids’ school. She explained that we would not have school that day because the military had taken over the Thai government and ordered all schools, banks, and government offices closed for the day. Back in Colorado growing up we would watch the news on some mornings to see if we were going to have a snow day. Here in Thailand our kids watch the news for coup days.
What is this all about? Prime Minister Taksin has made numerous corrupt decisions including cheating the system so his family could sell parts of his company tax-free. As the public spoke out against him, he created ways to silence people like controlling some government institutions and TV programs that aired discontent. Last spring there were many public demonstrations and discussions ultimately culminating in the prime minister stepping down from his position. After much persuasion, Taksin stepped down and allowed the deputy prime minister to take over, but when he did not agree with how things were going he stepped in as the “caretaker” prime minister until the new elections in October. Most people feel Prime Minister Taksin is attempting to keep his power through his political party. People felt it possible that by some means he would have enough support (or buy enough votes) so that the next election would put his party in power again. Prime Minister Taksin does have quite a bit of support from the poor and less educated for some of his social programs.
So, in Thailand, when you want your P.M. out and removal by civil means has not worked, you wait until the P.M. is gone, drive some big tanks up to his office, clean out his desk for him, and declare military rule for the next year. Interestingly enough, since WWII Thailand has had a military coup 18 times. The world reacts by saying, “This is not the way a mature democratic government acts.” I agree with the concern, but there are a lot of cultural issues here that come into play. For example, what do you do when you feel like the guy in charge cheats and trying to take care of this problem “the right way” only provides more time for the cheater to undercut you and continue in his cheating? You and I would say let the system work, but when the system is not working, and has not worked before, waiting can be quite discouraging.
Also, Thais are a deeply peace loving people. When we hear that the military is taking charge, it sounds quite heavy handed. However, it seems to me that Thais were not surprised at military intervention and military intervention in Thailand does not seem to be synonymous with violent intervention. Rather military intervention means the intervention of authority, and Thais know how to follow authority well. Besides, the military has pledged their allegiance to His Majesty King Bhumibol (Thailand is a constitutional monarchy similar to England) and received his backing. In Thailand, if you have the king on your side you have the Thai people on your side. Everyone loves and is devoted to His Majesty King Bhumibol. Presently in the 60th year of his reign, the Thai people wear gold shirts on Monday and Friday to display their love for their king. On a Monday or Friday, it is quite difficult to find a Thai without a gold shirt.
Everyone I speak to seems happy about the coup. They recognize that Taksin is a selfish leader and seem unsure about the best way to respond. The Thai news has shown people in Bangkok bringing the soldiers food and flowers to thank them for ousting the P.M. The one significant concern for Thais is how this will affect their economy. The Baht lost more than a forth of its value in 1997 due to some corrupt dealings and that fact has not been forgotten.
What can you do? We firmly believe that God is shaking things up in Thailand. As I pray for Thailand, I am convinced that the people are looking for something solid and enduring in which they can trust and hope. We believe right now is a significant time for the Thai people so we are asking our friends to take a day and fast and pray for Thailand. Pray that God would use this event to turn the hearts of the Thai people to Jesus. Julie and I have been praying specifically the end of Hebrews chapter 12 ,”So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: ‘One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.’ The phrase ‘one last shaking’ means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is fire!” (The Message)
James Fraser, a humble prayer warrior missionary used powerfully by God in China during the early 1900s said it this way, “I believe it will only be known on the Last Day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home.” We need and appreciate your partnership in prayer. Thank you for your willingness to cry out to the Lord for the nations of the world.
In other news, three weeks ago we moved to Chiang Rai. It has been a challenging but peaceful transition. We are still getting settled because we are working on the house we live in. We negotiated a deal with the landlord so that we get to pay cheap rent for three years while we close in the covered car park area and covered kitchen area. This will add on a family room, a bedroom and a bathroom. Adding on is an inexpensive way for us to enlarge this little house that is in a great location. The house is a short drive to the kids’ school as well as to the university we will be working with. The workers have become great friends, and we are learning how in Thailand things are done a little less formally. In other words, if it looks “about right,” it probably is. I spent the first week putting in a kitchen because the kitchen that came with the house was basically a counter back in a room that was connected to a covered area for parking cars. The new kitchen is now in order and it looks “about right,” praise God. We gaze out our windows and see our neighbors’ homes scattered through rice fields and mountains. Amazed at the tropical yet mountainous beauty while biking on a nearby road, Ben shared passionately, “Hey Mom, I think this looks like heaven!”
Ben and Kate started school a couple weeks ago. They are attending what was formerly a homeschool co-op that is in the process of becoming an accredited international school where about 40% of the kids are from Thailand, some kids from Taiwan, and other kids from the U.S. and other western countries. Many of the parents from the school work with non-profit organizations or missions/foundations in the surrounding area. Ben even has a teacher who is from Germany. Quite a fun, diverse place! The kids, and mom and dad, love the school. The Family Learning Center asks parents to be involved in the school in some manner, so Julie is teaching Bible and history for the combined second and third grade class first thing in the mornings. After home schooling for three years now, this school is a great place for the kids to continue supportive learning while Julie has the opportunity to focus in on Jak and learning more Thai. Praise God for another answered prayer concerning educating our children well overseas; this is an enormous blessing to us sharing Christ in Thailand. And Jak is definitely keeping us entertained as he runs, laughs, attempts to communicate, dances and gets into all sorts of his siblings’ things.
Last week Julie and I resumed Thai language study. The next 6 months will provide the opportunity to get our Thai language to a deeper level including our reading and writing. The Lord has provided a gifted language teacher here, and we are excited about doing a major chunk of classroom language study, something that we have yet to do. Please join us in praying as we enter this new community in this area surrounding Rajabhat University.
Thank you for praying for us:
Pray for the change in Thai government leaders that God would use this season to turn the hearts of the Thais to Jesus just as the Lord worked powerfully in Thailand in the time following the tsunami .
Pray that each member of our team will develop deep relationships here and that we would share Christ boldly with our friends
Pray for joy in the language learning process that we would laugh often as we work towards speaking, reading and writing Thai at a six grade level.
Pray for our family as we make the transition to Chiang Rai: routine, friendships, house project completed quickly and efficiently, knowing how to pray for northern Thailand, and thankfulness for God’s faithfulness in leading us here and providing for us.
Peace of Christ,
Brent and Julie
15.8.06
Heading to Chiang Rai
Dear Friends,
Thanks for wanting to keep up with us. We have enjoyed having Jak as part of our family for almost two months now. It is hard to believe that the trip to the South and the adoption went so smoothly. Now he is enjoying family life with the Penningtons. What does that look like? He is usually most excited about being with Mom and enjoying the books she reads to him and games she plays with him. Maybe there is nothing more joyful for them both than when they worship Jesus together and watch each other dance about. Ben is in charge of working with him on kicking and throwing and playing chase. Kate can’t help but grab him and squeeze him and pick him up every chance she gets. In her pure joy and excitement she can be a bit rough, so we figure that she is in charge of teaching him that the best type of love can sometimes hurt a bit (quite literally). Dad enjoys taking him on bike rides and carrying him in the pack while working. If Dad cannot calm his cries any other way, the bike seems to always work.
Here is the big news. Most of you know this already, but the details might be interesting. We are moving to Chiang Rai in northern Thailand at the end of the month. After praying and discussing this with many people here and in the states we believe that Chiang Rai is a place where God is blessing and encouraging us to focus our work. There are many advantages to this area for our family. First, Chiang Rai Rajaphat University is a place with many opportunities to connect and share Jesus with students of Chiang Rai and the northern cities. Our team will focus our efforts on this university with 10,000 plus students, and we are praying that God will show us ways to serve these students, provide opportunities for these students, and mentor leaders on this campus. Second, Chiang Rai has opportunities for us to continue mastering the Thai language. Generally the people here are considerably less apt to speak English, so this ought to also provide more “sink or swim” type opportunities for everyone. Third, Chiang Rai Family Learning Center is a homeschool co-op that is soon to be an international school. We believe that God connected us with this school when we were doing our language immersion trips last year. This school will provide an excellent education for Ben and Kate this next year. We have been praying about and searching for ways to make the kids’ schooling more doable for everyone. Ben and Kate are excited about new friends and opportunities to study new subjects including reading and writing Thai. Julie is excited about more support in her responsibility of providing education for the kids, and she is also excited about how the school will allow her to focus on the hefty needs of little Jak and time to study Thai. Finally, there are many other reasons why Chiang Rai is the right place for us now, but more than anything we believe that God is going to do something with students and families in Chiang Rai. We want to be a part of what He is doing.
Here is the sad news. Our teammates the Presleys are not going to return to Thailand to be a part of our move. It has become clear over the past two years that Erik has the call and desire to use his business for the glory of God and the advancement of God’s kingdom. During our furlough, it became evident that my focus on entering a university community as a teacher and Erik’s focus on entering the business world were two different visions. As we recognized this, we all felt that the Presleys needed to focus on establishing their “marketplace ministry” vision and not be held back by a different vision. Right now this is requiring that they build his business stateside prior to establishing his business in Thailand. All of this means that we are sad at the loss of working alongside some very dear friends who have great maturity in the way of Christ, uncompromising love for our family, and passion for Thai people to know Jesus. This is a great loss for us indeed and tears come as I write this even many months after this decision has been made.
Here is what our life looks like now. Presently we are talking to a “builder” in Chiang Rai about fixing up a house for us to live in which is close to the university and the kid’s school. It is need of a lot of work like a kitchen, additional space and other “little” things like western toilets (all of this I am sure will be of little importance some day when I meet Jesus but they seem kind of important for our family right now). One of the great things about the house is the price of the rent (I will not say the price in this newsletter for fear that the other SLNI workers around the world paying huge sums of money for rent may have a seizure if they ever find out). Anyway, we are in the process of fixing it up so it is a peaceful place for our family to live. As we transition to Chiang Rai we are in the process of saying some hard goodbyes, again. Many of you have prayed for our friends and our neighbors and Mahidol University where I worked last year. While we feel confident about moving on, we continue to have a great desire for our friends in this place to know Jesus. I told my friend Eck (we bike together every weekend) that we were leaving and he was noticeably disturbed. I am very sad about leaving him. His words (in Thai), “I am going to miss you talking about Jesus all the time.” This was encouraging and difficult to hear all at the same time. I have felt in my spirit that he needs some kind of push in order for him to enter the kingdom. I believe that our leaving may force him (and many of our other friends here) to consider our lives and what we have said more seriously. I believe Eck will come to Jesus. There are many people in this neighborhood that will be hearing more about Jesus through the open doors that come with saying goodbye. Please pray for this. We also need prayers to stand up under the pressure of transition once again.
Please pray these three things:
Pray that our goodbyes will draw people to Christ and be seasoned with His grace.
Pray that our transition to Chiang Rai will be smooth and joyful. Ask God to make us ready for the people we encounter.
Pray that Jesus would soften the hearts of the students and people of Chiang Rai to accept the life of Christ and His desire to transform this community.
Thank you for partnering with us. We are thankful for you.
Brent, Julie, Ben, Kate, and Jak
Please send all future correspondence to our new address. (Our email will stay the same.) Our new address is: Penningtons
P.O. Box 27 Bandu Post Office
Chiang Rai, Thailand 57100
We will send along a phone number once we get there.
Thanks for wanting to keep up with us. We have enjoyed having Jak as part of our family for almost two months now. It is hard to believe that the trip to the South and the adoption went so smoothly. Now he is enjoying family life with the Penningtons. What does that look like? He is usually most excited about being with Mom and enjoying the books she reads to him and games she plays with him. Maybe there is nothing more joyful for them both than when they worship Jesus together and watch each other dance about. Ben is in charge of working with him on kicking and throwing and playing chase. Kate can’t help but grab him and squeeze him and pick him up every chance she gets. In her pure joy and excitement she can be a bit rough, so we figure that she is in charge of teaching him that the best type of love can sometimes hurt a bit (quite literally). Dad enjoys taking him on bike rides and carrying him in the pack while working. If Dad cannot calm his cries any other way, the bike seems to always work.
Here is the big news. Most of you know this already, but the details might be interesting. We are moving to Chiang Rai in northern Thailand at the end of the month. After praying and discussing this with many people here and in the states we believe that Chiang Rai is a place where God is blessing and encouraging us to focus our work. There are many advantages to this area for our family. First, Chiang Rai Rajaphat University is a place with many opportunities to connect and share Jesus with students of Chiang Rai and the northern cities. Our team will focus our efforts on this university with 10,000 plus students, and we are praying that God will show us ways to serve these students, provide opportunities for these students, and mentor leaders on this campus. Second, Chiang Rai has opportunities for us to continue mastering the Thai language. Generally the people here are considerably less apt to speak English, so this ought to also provide more “sink or swim” type opportunities for everyone. Third, Chiang Rai Family Learning Center is a homeschool co-op that is soon to be an international school. We believe that God connected us with this school when we were doing our language immersion trips last year. This school will provide an excellent education for Ben and Kate this next year. We have been praying about and searching for ways to make the kids’ schooling more doable for everyone. Ben and Kate are excited about new friends and opportunities to study new subjects including reading and writing Thai. Julie is excited about more support in her responsibility of providing education for the kids, and she is also excited about how the school will allow her to focus on the hefty needs of little Jak and time to study Thai. Finally, there are many other reasons why Chiang Rai is the right place for us now, but more than anything we believe that God is going to do something with students and families in Chiang Rai. We want to be a part of what He is doing.
Here is the sad news. Our teammates the Presleys are not going to return to Thailand to be a part of our move. It has become clear over the past two years that Erik has the call and desire to use his business for the glory of God and the advancement of God’s kingdom. During our furlough, it became evident that my focus on entering a university community as a teacher and Erik’s focus on entering the business world were two different visions. As we recognized this, we all felt that the Presleys needed to focus on establishing their “marketplace ministry” vision and not be held back by a different vision. Right now this is requiring that they build his business stateside prior to establishing his business in Thailand. All of this means that we are sad at the loss of working alongside some very dear friends who have great maturity in the way of Christ, uncompromising love for our family, and passion for Thai people to know Jesus. This is a great loss for us indeed and tears come as I write this even many months after this decision has been made.
Here is what our life looks like now. Presently we are talking to a “builder” in Chiang Rai about fixing up a house for us to live in which is close to the university and the kid’s school. It is need of a lot of work like a kitchen, additional space and other “little” things like western toilets (all of this I am sure will be of little importance some day when I meet Jesus but they seem kind of important for our family right now). One of the great things about the house is the price of the rent (I will not say the price in this newsletter for fear that the other SLNI workers around the world paying huge sums of money for rent may have a seizure if they ever find out). Anyway, we are in the process of fixing it up so it is a peaceful place for our family to live. As we transition to Chiang Rai we are in the process of saying some hard goodbyes, again. Many of you have prayed for our friends and our neighbors and Mahidol University where I worked last year. While we feel confident about moving on, we continue to have a great desire for our friends in this place to know Jesus. I told my friend Eck (we bike together every weekend) that we were leaving and he was noticeably disturbed. I am very sad about leaving him. His words (in Thai), “I am going to miss you talking about Jesus all the time.” This was encouraging and difficult to hear all at the same time. I have felt in my spirit that he needs some kind of push in order for him to enter the kingdom. I believe that our leaving may force him (and many of our other friends here) to consider our lives and what we have said more seriously. I believe Eck will come to Jesus. There are many people in this neighborhood that will be hearing more about Jesus through the open doors that come with saying goodbye. Please pray for this. We also need prayers to stand up under the pressure of transition once again.
Please pray these three things:
Pray that our goodbyes will draw people to Christ and be seasoned with His grace.
Pray that our transition to Chiang Rai will be smooth and joyful. Ask God to make us ready for the people we encounter.
Pray that Jesus would soften the hearts of the students and people of Chiang Rai to accept the life of Christ and His desire to transform this community.
Thank you for partnering with us. We are thankful for you.
Brent, Julie, Ben, Kate, and Jak
Please send all future correspondence to our new address. (Our email will stay the same.) Our new address is: Penningtons
P.O. Box 27 Bandu Post Office
Chiang Rai, Thailand 57100
We will send along a phone number once we get there.
10.7.06
Pray for My Blogging Skills
Pictures are coming as soon as I learn more. Does not sound very reassuring does it??
3.7.06
A Miracle in our Midst
Wow, after years of believing God for our third child, we have a seventeen-month-old boy sleeping in our pack-and-play! How did this miracle happen? Adopting a Thai child is an unbelievable experience and many times during our recent trip I had this big "aaha" that we were living our own adventure/reality TV show. We caught a flight on Nok Air (Thailand's Southwest Airlines) on Sunday evening , June 25th, and headed to a small city in southern Thailand known as Nakorn Si Thammarat. From our hotel we could almost reach out and touch Thailand's highest southern peak, constantly covered with clouds. Needless to say, it was beautiful and somewhat surreal to meet Samuel Jakarin "Jak" for the first time.
After arriving late Sunday night, we woke up and had a 5 minute shuttle ride to Baan (house of) Si Thammarat Boys' Home where our son was waiting to meet us. That morning Kate's first groggy words upon exiting sleep mode where, "I get to be a big sister today" and Ben's were, "We get to see Little Jak today." We were all feeling the joy of greeting this day for which we had prayerfully anticipated for months.
We walked into the boys' home and following some kind greetings from the staff we were led to the building where Jak spent the past year. We turned the corner of the entrance, and he was standing there next to the kind lady who bathed him three times a day, fed him, slept in the same room as him, and diligently cared for him and five other toddlers. He was dressed and walking around so confidently. Could that be our son? Immediately everything any one of us had expected was thrown out and the reality of "Little Jak" was there before us. There was a group adrenaline rush and a spiritual intensity that is difficult to describe. All I know is that each one of us wanted to grab him and hug him and throw him up in the air while shouting, "hallelujah!" Of course he was the only one that really was not completely aware of what was taking place. Promptly, we got our wits about us and started the introductions. Julie stared and held his hand, I took pictures, Kate smiled at him and made fun faces, I took more pictures, and Ben watched and processed all that was happening. Immediately Julie started using every Thai word she has to find out as much from the caretaker about our new son. Kate steps up the funny faces and takes every chance possible to try to pick the little guy up (I am not sure Little Jak was informed that a big sister of Kate's joyful demeanor was in his future). Ben sits down and reads his book (this is his best way to deal with maxed out emotions. . . he had already broke down in tears when he realized that all the other kids with little Jak did not have a mother or father to look after them).
We spent the next hour playing with Little Jak and finding out everything about his life up to June 25th. They kindly fed us lunch and then told us that the head of the boy's home would be back tomorrow, so we should go back to the hotel and pick him up the next day. This ended up being a bump in the road (these bumps are not uncommon to our adventures in Thailand), but after reflection this was a good thing. The transition, for all of us, seemed to be made easier by getting to know him the first day and then taking him with us the next day. We went back to the hotel and everyone rested from all the excitement.
The next day, I noted some hesitation by the lady who was the head of the orphanage. This was concerning and we prayed. Later we realized that she was trying to figure out how to tell us that Jak had spent some time in the hospital during his first 6 months. She did not seem to know that the government agency had made us aware of these problems during his infancy. All of this to say, it really was clear to us that the people at the boys' home were concerned about Little Jak and about us. We feel like God used these people to care for our son in his first year. For these kind people and for their love for Jak, we are thankful to God. One lady who had cared for him while he was in the hospital was sure to stop by and say her goodbye to him as she had become especially close to him when he was an infant. Baan Nakorn Si Thammarat was good to Jak. God has been merciful to Jak and to us.
When we got in the hotel, Ben expressed everyone's feeling best by crying and was quickly joined by tears from everyone. When we asked him why he was crying he responded, "I am just so happy we have little Jak." Little Jak on the other hand was a bit distressed by his new surroundings. We won him over with a plate of rice and a bottle of milk. Food is most definitely an international language. And thus the bonding began. . .
We came home Wednesday June 28th, and I think it is safe to say that the transition has gone very well. He pretty much sleeps through the night (he has replaced Kate as our early riser), and he seems happy with our company for the most part. He is a bit hesitant in certain situations, but laughs and a sweet smile are frequent. So we are back in the throes of raising a toddler-- Praise God! He understands Thai as a 17 month old should, is full of energy and is entertaining us all with his attempts to speak and his playful personality. And Jak is particularly fond of his mother, thank you Lord!
Thanks to everyone who prayed. We know that we are living out a miracle everyday as we watch him express himself and as we function as a family of five. Please pray for us as the adoption is finalized over the next year. We have begun the six month process of oversight from the Thai Adoption Center including meetings with our social worker. Once the process is finalized in Thailand we go through the process of finalizing the adoption in the USA. Thanks for celebrating with us! Please pray that God blesses this process.
"Sing to God, sing praise to His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds-- His name is the Lord-- and rejoice before Him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families. . ." Psalm 68:4-6
After arriving late Sunday night, we woke up and had a 5 minute shuttle ride to Baan (house of) Si Thammarat Boys' Home where our son was waiting to meet us. That morning Kate's first groggy words upon exiting sleep mode where, "I get to be a big sister today" and Ben's were, "We get to see Little Jak today." We were all feeling the joy of greeting this day for which we had prayerfully anticipated for months.
We walked into the boys' home and following some kind greetings from the staff we were led to the building where Jak spent the past year. We turned the corner of the entrance, and he was standing there next to the kind lady who bathed him three times a day, fed him, slept in the same room as him, and diligently cared for him and five other toddlers. He was dressed and walking around so confidently. Could that be our son? Immediately everything any one of us had expected was thrown out and the reality of "Little Jak" was there before us. There was a group adrenaline rush and a spiritual intensity that is difficult to describe. All I know is that each one of us wanted to grab him and hug him and throw him up in the air while shouting, "hallelujah!" Of course he was the only one that really was not completely aware of what was taking place. Promptly, we got our wits about us and started the introductions. Julie stared and held his hand, I took pictures, Kate smiled at him and made fun faces, I took more pictures, and Ben watched and processed all that was happening. Immediately Julie started using every Thai word she has to find out as much from the caretaker about our new son. Kate steps up the funny faces and takes every chance possible to try to pick the little guy up (I am not sure Little Jak was informed that a big sister of Kate's joyful demeanor was in his future). Ben sits down and reads his book (this is his best way to deal with maxed out emotions. . . he had already broke down in tears when he realized that all the other kids with little Jak did not have a mother or father to look after them).
We spent the next hour playing with Little Jak and finding out everything about his life up to June 25th. They kindly fed us lunch and then told us that the head of the boy's home would be back tomorrow, so we should go back to the hotel and pick him up the next day. This ended up being a bump in the road (these bumps are not uncommon to our adventures in Thailand), but after reflection this was a good thing. The transition, for all of us, seemed to be made easier by getting to know him the first day and then taking him with us the next day. We went back to the hotel and everyone rested from all the excitement.
The next day, I noted some hesitation by the lady who was the head of the orphanage. This was concerning and we prayed. Later we realized that she was trying to figure out how to tell us that Jak had spent some time in the hospital during his first 6 months. She did not seem to know that the government agency had made us aware of these problems during his infancy. All of this to say, it really was clear to us that the people at the boys' home were concerned about Little Jak and about us. We feel like God used these people to care for our son in his first year. For these kind people and for their love for Jak, we are thankful to God. One lady who had cared for him while he was in the hospital was sure to stop by and say her goodbye to him as she had become especially close to him when he was an infant. Baan Nakorn Si Thammarat was good to Jak. God has been merciful to Jak and to us.
When we got in the hotel, Ben expressed everyone's feeling best by crying and was quickly joined by tears from everyone. When we asked him why he was crying he responded, "I am just so happy we have little Jak." Little Jak on the other hand was a bit distressed by his new surroundings. We won him over with a plate of rice and a bottle of milk. Food is most definitely an international language. And thus the bonding began. . .
We came home Wednesday June 28th, and I think it is safe to say that the transition has gone very well. He pretty much sleeps through the night (he has replaced Kate as our early riser), and he seems happy with our company for the most part. He is a bit hesitant in certain situations, but laughs and a sweet smile are frequent. So we are back in the throes of raising a toddler-- Praise God! He understands Thai as a 17 month old should, is full of energy and is entertaining us all with his attempts to speak and his playful personality. And Jak is particularly fond of his mother, thank you Lord!
Thanks to everyone who prayed. We know that we are living out a miracle everyday as we watch him express himself and as we function as a family of five. Please pray for us as the adoption is finalized over the next year. We have begun the six month process of oversight from the Thai Adoption Center including meetings with our social worker. Once the process is finalized in Thailand we go through the process of finalizing the adoption in the USA. Thanks for celebrating with us! Please pray that God blesses this process.
"Sing to God, sing praise to His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds-- His name is the Lord-- and rejoice before Him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families. . ." Psalm 68:4-6
24.6.06
Back on Thai Dirt
Well, we are back. Some of you have been wondering, "Are they in Thailand or in America or somewhere in between." Well we are in Thailand now, but we were somewhere in between for like 24+ hours. I tell myself before these plane flights that I will not make any vows or major decisions while I am on the flight. For example, I believe it is not healthy to decide if you will ever return home after 11 hours on an airplane and with one more five hour flight coming.
When we see our Thai friends, you can count on one of their greeting comments to include something about how fat we got while we were in America. My western mindset says that one should never tell anybody how they really look. Thus, I am somewhat baffled by Thai's comments about my extra 5+ pounds from all that mexican food you people fed me. I find it helps if I just blame you for all the food you made me eat. Next time you really should consider what you are doing and not make me eat that third enchilada.
The good news. We went to the adoption agency on Thursday, and they gave us the final details for picking up Samuel Jakarin Pennington. On Monday (June 26th), we will go to the south to a city called Nakorn Si Tammarat (west of Phuket by about an hour and a half). At first we thought someone from the agency would go with us, but it looks like we just go and tell them who we are and pick him up (maybe just slightly more challenging than picking up a pizza at dominos or something). We have definitely been thankful about how all the details are working out so quickly. This has not always been the case. All four of us are very excited. It should be an interesting three days we spend in the South.
We need your prayers. Pray that all the details of the adoption will work out smoothly. Pray for peace in this huge transition for Ben, Kate, Julie and Brent. More than anything, pray that little Samuel Jak will bond with each one of us quickly, and pray that God would bring him peace and joy in our family. Pray that we would be able to communicate well (in Thai) to the workers at the orphanage in order to find out as much information as possible about little Samuel Jak and also in order to bless them and thank them for their care for our son.
Thanks for reading this and thanks for praying. The next posting will come after we return from getting our son. Praise Jesus for His good gift to us.
When we see our Thai friends, you can count on one of their greeting comments to include something about how fat we got while we were in America. My western mindset says that one should never tell anybody how they really look. Thus, I am somewhat baffled by Thai's comments about my extra 5+ pounds from all that mexican food you people fed me. I find it helps if I just blame you for all the food you made me eat. Next time you really should consider what you are doing and not make me eat that third enchilada.
The good news. We went to the adoption agency on Thursday, and they gave us the final details for picking up Samuel Jakarin Pennington. On Monday (June 26th), we will go to the south to a city called Nakorn Si Tammarat (west of Phuket by about an hour and a half). At first we thought someone from the agency would go with us, but it looks like we just go and tell them who we are and pick him up (maybe just slightly more challenging than picking up a pizza at dominos or something). We have definitely been thankful about how all the details are working out so quickly. This has not always been the case. All four of us are very excited. It should be an interesting three days we spend in the South.
We need your prayers. Pray that all the details of the adoption will work out smoothly. Pray for peace in this huge transition for Ben, Kate, Julie and Brent. More than anything, pray that little Samuel Jak will bond with each one of us quickly, and pray that God would bring him peace and joy in our family. Pray that we would be able to communicate well (in Thai) to the workers at the orphanage in order to find out as much information as possible about little Samuel Jak and also in order to bless them and thank them for their care for our son.
Thanks for reading this and thanks for praying. The next posting will come after we return from getting our son. Praise Jesus for His good gift to us.
9.5.06
Prayer
Sometimes I feel kinda intimidated by the fact that so many people love us and pray for us. This time in the U.S. has encouraged that feeling. We get loved well everywhere we go. We also get to see how many people care for us deeply and pray for us. I was with a friend last night who reminded me that we need prayer and that people want to pray for us. Enough said. Thank you for praying in the name of Jesus about a few critical things for our family right now.
1. My voice (Brent) is strained and weak right now. Doctors say there is no major pathology, so I am working with speech pathologists who claim that I have strained my vocal chords (probably from a combo of many things i.e. teaching in Thailand, a new language, possible allergies, and other stuff). This has been a problem for about a year now. The therapists believe it will come back with a change in use and certain exercises. I do ask for prayers that I would have discipline in these exercises and usage, but more than that pray that Jesus would heal my voice to full strength.
2. Pray that Samuel Jakarin Pennington (the child we are adopting) will be safe and blessed. We will pick him up in South Thailand upon our return in June. Pray that he will be cared for well in the boys' home in Nakorn Si Tammarat. Pray that Jesus would comfort him and speak to him. Pray that his health would be strong. Pray for the kind Thai people who work with him. Pray that evil would be kept far from him. Pray for our time when we pick him up. Pray that we would all bond and connect well. Pray that we would know how to walk through this new stage well with all of our children. Pray Psalm 3 for him and all of us.
3. Pray that we would finish this furlough well. Pray for all of us as we say goodbyes. Pray that our hearts would be prepared as we enter the next season in Thailand which will include many new plans for all of us. Pray that we would find some restful/peaceful time during this last month of furlough. Pray for good family time in these last weeks.
Thanks for praying. Please reply if there is anything I can pray for you.
1. My voice (Brent) is strained and weak right now. Doctors say there is no major pathology, so I am working with speech pathologists who claim that I have strained my vocal chords (probably from a combo of many things i.e. teaching in Thailand, a new language, possible allergies, and other stuff). This has been a problem for about a year now. The therapists believe it will come back with a change in use and certain exercises. I do ask for prayers that I would have discipline in these exercises and usage, but more than that pray that Jesus would heal my voice to full strength.
2. Pray that Samuel Jakarin Pennington (the child we are adopting) will be safe and blessed. We will pick him up in South Thailand upon our return in June. Pray that he will be cared for well in the boys' home in Nakorn Si Tammarat. Pray that Jesus would comfort him and speak to him. Pray that his health would be strong. Pray for the kind Thai people who work with him. Pray that evil would be kept far from him. Pray for our time when we pick him up. Pray that we would all bond and connect well. Pray that we would know how to walk through this new stage well with all of our children. Pray Psalm 3 for him and all of us.
3. Pray that we would finish this furlough well. Pray for all of us as we say goodbyes. Pray that our hearts would be prepared as we enter the next season in Thailand which will include many new plans for all of us. Pray that we would find some restful/peaceful time during this last month of furlough. Pray for good family time in these last weeks.
Thanks for praying. Please reply if there is anything I can pray for you.
7.5.06
Blogging Thoughts
I think I like Kenny's title of TongueThaied better. Maybe a change is in order before anything has even really begun. If you would like the title put to a vote please respond by sending me a gift card to Starbucks, and I will promise to think about a change in title while I am drinking a vente coffee of the day (did I spell vente right??? I know one of you out there works for Starbucks... and come on man why don't you just call it medium or something that I can spell???).
Hey everyone remember that your thoughts are being posted for people who come to my blog to read (that is kinda the idea of a blog for you people who are still warming up to the idea), so if you want to tell me something intimate or if this is Julie posting and she wants to tell me something about my biceps you better e-mail me.
I believe in Jesus. Some times things happen and belief in Him is so easy. Tonight we just happened to run into our old neighbors (from when we lived in Hurst) at Red Robin which just happens to be in Hurst and just happens to be the restaurant that Joe gave us a gift card to so that we could go with Chris and Tiffany even though they just happen to live in South Ft. Worth. We would have never driven the 25 minutes to Red Robin if we did not have the card. So all this just happened to happen so that we just happened to run into our old neighbors Jason, Maria and Alex (Jason, Maria and Alex, if you are reading this know that we were so highly blessed and thankful to God to see you this evening). I can't tell you how much we loved living next to them and how often we felt God's love for them drawing us to pray for them and continued to pray for them as we left for Thailand. With our full schedule we had not scheduled in the time to go by our old place and say "hi" to them. Hmm.. it seems like God had a plan. I guess what I am most encouraged is that Jesus knew we needed to see them and be encouraged by them and to see that he is working in their lives. All this just happens to make me believe that He has a plan for us and them. What a beautiful family. I love Jesus. I love his ways.
Hey everyone remember that your thoughts are being posted for people who come to my blog to read (that is kinda the idea of a blog for you people who are still warming up to the idea), so if you want to tell me something intimate or if this is Julie posting and she wants to tell me something about my biceps you better e-mail me.
I believe in Jesus. Some times things happen and belief in Him is so easy. Tonight we just happened to run into our old neighbors (from when we lived in Hurst) at Red Robin which just happens to be in Hurst and just happens to be the restaurant that Joe gave us a gift card to so that we could go with Chris and Tiffany even though they just happen to live in South Ft. Worth. We would have never driven the 25 minutes to Red Robin if we did not have the card. So all this just happened to happen so that we just happened to run into our old neighbors Jason, Maria and Alex (Jason, Maria and Alex, if you are reading this know that we were so highly blessed and thankful to God to see you this evening). I can't tell you how much we loved living next to them and how often we felt God's love for them drawing us to pray for them and continued to pray for them as we left for Thailand. With our full schedule we had not scheduled in the time to go by our old place and say "hi" to them. Hmm.. it seems like God had a plan. I guess what I am most encouraged is that Jesus knew we needed to see them and be encouraged by them and to see that he is working in their lives. All this just happens to make me believe that He has a plan for us and them. What a beautiful family. I love Jesus. I love his ways.
27.4.06
Falling Forward
To all of you who have asked if we had some kind of web site, I stumble into the next stage of our journey in Thailand. Let's call this the blog stage. AKA the moment on our present furlough when my kind hearted bro-in-law availed himself to my non e-lifestyle (thanks Jackson!!!). I hope you who are reading this enjoy this effort to be informational, insightful, and transparent. Our days in Thailand deserve so much more than I am able to jot down in my spare time, yet I will give you my best and promise to try to make it fun for the both of us.
At this moment we are in Waco, Texas with Jackson and Erin. They are life to us, and each of us has a place of peace here. Maybe I will go running with Jackson tomorrow and maybe we will go to the zoo. Furlough is the time in our life when we overdose on the massive love of so many people who think and pray about us when we are far away. It can be tiring to go all over and share the same things again and again, but God's hands are all over us each place we go. Tired bodies with full hearts... not a bad trade-off.
The new good news. Samuel Jakarin Pennington will join our family upon our return to Thailand. A few weeks ago the Thai government wrote us an e-mail informing us that we can go to an orphanage in South Thailand and pick up the child we have been matched with for some 4 months now. This is a sweet culmination of many of God's promises to us during this past season. So we are so thankful. The challenge is that we are here and he is there. Our plan is to return in June. Everyone asks, "Well are you going to go get him or what?" Unfortunately, The Lord has not given us this option at the present (the Thai Gov. won't let us get him and bring him back immediately and there are many important plans and items of business yet to complete before we return including Kate's passport, visas, meetings, family events etc.). Even before we had the okay to go get him, Julie had a sweet picture from God of Little Jak in His arms. We are holding on to this reality and looking forward to having our family together in June. Ben and Kate are extremely excited about their Thai little brother. Their service to their mom and myself will make this transition so much easier. We are so thankful.
So if you like this idea of me blogging about our journey in Thailand, jot me a note to encourage me. Tell me what you like about our newsletters. Tell me what touches you about all this mess we have gotten ourselves into. Tell me what you pray for us or what you need prayers for. I am so thankful to have the moments of interest you set aside for my family. I will work hard to be brief and give away some of the rice (I would say bread but that would not quite be appropriate would it?) Jesus gives us each day.
Your words to Jesus in our behalf sustain us. Thank you.
Peace of Jesus,
bp
At this moment we are in Waco, Texas with Jackson and Erin. They are life to us, and each of us has a place of peace here. Maybe I will go running with Jackson tomorrow and maybe we will go to the zoo. Furlough is the time in our life when we overdose on the massive love of so many people who think and pray about us when we are far away. It can be tiring to go all over and share the same things again and again, but God's hands are all over us each place we go. Tired bodies with full hearts... not a bad trade-off.
The new good news. Samuel Jakarin Pennington will join our family upon our return to Thailand. A few weeks ago the Thai government wrote us an e-mail informing us that we can go to an orphanage in South Thailand and pick up the child we have been matched with for some 4 months now. This is a sweet culmination of many of God's promises to us during this past season. So we are so thankful. The challenge is that we are here and he is there. Our plan is to return in June. Everyone asks, "Well are you going to go get him or what?" Unfortunately, The Lord has not given us this option at the present (the Thai Gov. won't let us get him and bring him back immediately and there are many important plans and items of business yet to complete before we return including Kate's passport, visas, meetings, family events etc.). Even before we had the okay to go get him, Julie had a sweet picture from God of Little Jak in His arms. We are holding on to this reality and looking forward to having our family together in June. Ben and Kate are extremely excited about their Thai little brother. Their service to their mom and myself will make this transition so much easier. We are so thankful.
So if you like this idea of me blogging about our journey in Thailand, jot me a note to encourage me. Tell me what you like about our newsletters. Tell me what touches you about all this mess we have gotten ourselves into. Tell me what you pray for us or what you need prayers for. I am so thankful to have the moments of interest you set aside for my family. I will work hard to be brief and give away some of the rice (I would say bread but that would not quite be appropriate would it?) Jesus gives us each day.
Your words to Jesus in our behalf sustain us. Thank you.
Peace of Jesus,
bp
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