Kim and Jeremy in Thailand

Okay, so I know it's not a Monday, but I'm behind! It's been a fun, but very crazy week. After all the networking projects over break, there have been many bugs to work out, and a lot of people are asking for our help. It's a lot to manage! Jeremy went down to Bangkok one day this week with Keith, to help work on a personnel system he's helping develop, and that went well, so we can give thanks for that. And our soccer season is getting off to a good start, which we're also thankful for. Please pray for us as there is only just over five weeks left until the end of the semester. Pray that we will use our time wisely until then and finish strong.

We are so thankful this week that the water in Chiang Mai has receeded! People are finally able to clean up after the third flood in three weeks. Hopefully this will be the last of it. We are also giving praise that we have completed the first quarter of the school year! We're starting to catch on to routines and such around here, and things don't seem so foreign. And on a personal note, we received some great news about Jeremy's sister Katy this week!

As far as how to pray, please pray for the people who are cleaning up after the flooding. They are discouraged because their cleanup efforts have been washed away twice already. Also, the week of October 22nd-30th, many of the students here will be attending a camp put on by Hume Lake. It's an American camp that raised their own funds to come here and put on a four day camp for each junior high and high school. Please pray that this will be a time that really strengthens and challenges the students in their walk with the Lord.

The school year is well underway, which leads to both praises and prayer requests. We're so thankful that we're finally in sort of a routine, and learning the ropes a little better, and feeling not quite so lost and helpless. I would ask you to pray for my parent-teacher conferences later this week (Wed-Fri). I have over 15 sets of parents coming in to meet me so far, and I don't even feel like a teacher yet!! Just pray that I will know what to say, and how to say it, so that the parents and I can work together to give these kids the best education possible.

Please pray for extra energy for us! Between our early schedules (we leave for school at 6:45am), the heat, and the new responsibilities, we've been pretty worn out lately, and I don't want that to keep us from doing anything here. Also, please pray for the people here who have family and friends in the hurricane-hit areas of the US. It's hard to be so far away when something so devastating is happening, and communication has been difficult for people.

We are thankful this week that our sink is fixed! One bathroom sink had not really been useable since we'd been here, but this week someone helped us find a man to fix it, and I am so excited-it feels like we have a whole new bathroom! And driving is also getting easier and we are starting to learn our way around, which is also a big praise!

Last week, the first week of school, went really well! I am to the point where I know most of my students' names within the classroom, but they're hard to recall outside of class. Please pray that I would remember quickly so when I see students after school or at the grocery store I can call them by name! Also, please continue to pray for us as we work at learning the language and the culture here. It's hard to absorb it all when we spend the majority of our day at this English-speaking, American curriculum school.

On another note, one of the cats we're looking after came by yesterday looking a bit injured, but wouldn't let me get close enough to really examine him or catch him. Please pray that we could get to the cat today and take him to the vet.

This is the first week of school!! That is both a praise and a prayer request. Please pray that we get off to a smooth start, and that this will be a great year for both students and staff. Please pray for our neighbors who have been devastated by the flooding, as deep as three meters in some places. Pray that they will have peace in the midst of this difficult time, and that we will know how best to support them.

Also, please pray for Jeremy's sister Katy. She is going through a pretty rough time right now. Please pray that she will find her strength in the Lord.

Praises-we are already feeling like a part of the team here at Grace, and we've been getting to know a lot of the staff! We are excited about our roles here and looking forward to a great year!

We have arrived safely in Thailand, which is a huge praise! And God has continued to provide support even after we left the US, which we are so thankful for. This week is our orientation. Please pray that we would be diligent in learning and serving our coworkers, and that we would be willing to do things out of our normal comfort zone. Next week is the start of school, so please pray that we will prepare ourselves well for that. Thank you so much for your continued prayer support! It is a huge encouragement to us!

This week we're moving to Thailand!! There are obvious things to pray for there, like safe travel. Please also pray for our families as we leave, and for us to get off to a smooth start in Thailand. Aside from our four boxes we're brining, everything else will be new, and we've got a lot of details to work through to get things set up. Please pray that we'll get over the jet lag soon and that all the logistical things will fall into place and not distract us. Also, please pray for us as I'm sure the first few weeks will be hardest with missing our family and friends back home.

This is our last week in the United States. Please pray for quality time with my family as we're in Ohio. Also, pray for Jeremy as he finishes his class and wraps up his work at Washington University. And if you think of it, pray for us to remember anything we may have forgotten while we still have time to replace it!

This week, we've got to pack and clean the rest of our apartment. We're about 75% moved out already, but the last part of packing always seems to take the longest. We're also at the point where we're deciding what to bring and what to leave behind. Please pray that we'll make wise decisions about that.

A huge praise-after hearing the news of First Baptist church's support, as well as several more pledges coming in, we are now over 60% supported!!!! This is twice as far along as we were a week ago, and we are so thankful and excited to see God providing!!

As this week comes up, please pray for good goodbyes and effecient use of our time. We're hoping to be mostly moved out by the end of this week; please pray that it would go quicker and smoother than we expect. July 10th and 17th will be final Sundays at two of our churches, including our church in Wheaton. Also, please continue to pray for our financial support. Right now, we are somewhere between 25-30% supported.

God has been so good to us this week through training camp! We have been able to see just how many doors He opened to get us there this quickly, and we are so thankful for that! Also, our support has been steadily coming in, and we are very grateful for everyone who has joined our team financially.

This week we're at training with Wycliffe. Please pray that this continues to be both an informative experience for how to best serve the kids and our fellow staff, and also an opportunity to form meaningful relationships with other people who have either already lived overseas or are leaving at the same time as we are. Also, please pray for our financial support. We are a little over one quarter of the way supported, which we are so grateful for. We have about four more weeks until we leave for Thailand. Finally, we're coming down to the end of our time here, and we really want to make the most of the time with family, friends, and our churches.

Jeremy and I will continue to do a lot of travel, probably until we head for Thailand, so please pray for safety in that. Also, at the end of this week, we'll be flying down to Orlando to start our Wycliffe training. Please pray that the training gives us a lot of wisdom and insight to working with multi-cultural kids, and that any potential downfalls will be brought to light in advance.

As far as support, pledges have been steadily coming in. Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone!! Those who support us, either in prayer or financially, are making this ministry possible in a very real way. We still have a ways to go, but the Lord is definitely working already. Please pray for this to continue until our needs have been met.

This week, we're continuing to pray for God to work in our finances. We know He is already at work, and we're excited to see how He will provide, but please pray that people will be responsive and want to be a part of this ministry. Also pray for us, that we will remain humble, gracious, and trusting. This weekend we will be speaking at Glenfield Baptist Church, which was Jeremy's church during college. Please pray for that opportunity as well, that we would represent Grace well and that the Lord would speak to people about being a part of the ministry at Grace.

Last week was a great time with family, which was an answer to prayer. This week, we're praying for God to work through the letters we sent as He leads people to support us. Please pray that people would be responsive to God's leading to be a part of our ministry, and that we would be humble and gracious as we rely on God to supply our financial needs. Also, this weekend we will be going to Chicago with Khun Paiboon, Khun Patcharaporn, and their son. Pray for safe travel to/from Chicago, and that our friendship would grow on this trip.

Several important things are happening this week. We're hoping to speak with some members of the missions committe at Parkway Baptist Church, our church here in St. Louis. Please pray that God would give them wisdom about how to best use the resources they have been given and how He would have them to support us. Also, we'll be travelling to California to visit Jeremy's family and speak with some people at his church out there, so please pray for safe travel. Finally, we'll be sending out letters to family and friends about our trip and asking them to consider supporting us. Please pray that God will prepare the hearts of the people He wants to use to support us.