A Full December

Greetings from afar!

     Life here has kept me rather busy over the last month, mostly due to my United States history class that I spend way too much time planning for. But school break has begun, which means I have some spare time to catch you all up on the goings-on of our team here in Asia.

     As I hinted at, much of our time has been spent teaching, and planning to teach, and grading the things that we taught. I have certainly enjoyed my 3^rd and 4^th grade history class, but also the various English classes I have been teaching and the “Bible story” class which allows me to read a story from the Bible in school so that the students can “learn morals using the Bible.” I guess that is how you can speak about God in a majority Buddhist country. Just this week, the school that we work at the most had its Christmas program and fundraiser, where the students all took part in performing songs and dances celebrating the birth of Jesus. What a neat opportunity for these children to teach their parents and friends about the truth they are hearing in school!

     Besides teaching, there are many activities to fill my days. I have continued to play some ultimate every week, though unfortunately that group takes a Christmas break as well. Our team hosted a fantastic post-Thanksgiving party and is currently planning a Christmas/New Year party for next week! We have enjoyed growing relationships with the teachers we work with and other folks we have met while working here. I have been able to visit several international churches, and have been attending one recently where I feel comfortable and can learn. Our team has enjoyed spending time together exploring, singing, baking, watching movies, dancing, and simply doing life together in a foreign country. It is such a blessing to have the support of a team who understands many of the difficulties associated with living abroad and is ready to tackle those difficulties together with God's strength!

     One of these difficulties we are working through has been dealing with changing visa laws. We arrived here on a short-term business visa with the expectation of renewing the visa once to a six-month visa which would cover the rest of our time here. That has not worked out. Around the time that we arrived, the laws changed making it nearly impossible for us to upgrade to a long-term visa. We have now completed one “visa-run” by leaving the country and re-entering on a brand new short-term visa. It appears we will have to do that one more time and then come home a little earlier than expected. Although it has been slightly stressful occasionally, this does give us an excuse to travel as a team! Plans are in the works for a trip to Thailand in February, and I am hoping to have the chance to visit my friends back there!

   We have been doing a lot of visiting in our own city recently: since we are here working for our church back home we have been tasked with getting to know the pastors who are a key part of the church network we are partnered with here. This is certainly an enjoyable task! So far it has involved having dinner with a pastor and his family and simply discussing with them what life looks like in their church and learning about how God led them to where they are now. These discussions have been a chance for us to learn about what God is doing here in the country and how He is changing people and bringing them out of difficult situations and into places where they can then bless others.

     For example, one pastor that we met recently grew up in a village that had no opportunities for education. He managed to leave the village to pursue schooling in India, but still had a heart for the children who grew up in situations like his with no hope to advance or learn. He has since taken in many children to provide them with a place where they can go to school. He hopes that many will choose to return to their home villages after graduating to teach others and continue to develop those places.

     It is encouraging for me to see how God is using so many people here to do His work: I see His love through the teachers we work with, His heart for the helpless through the pastors we meet, and a hope for a different future through the students we teach and the other young people around us. It is amazing to dream about what plans God has for this place!

That's all for now...Merry Christmas!

“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:9