It seems like every time I sit down to write a blog things have changed so drastically that I don’t even know where to start, this time is no different! We are in a different town, we have more kids, we are happier and our stress level is steadily decreasing. Overall our happiness level is higher than I can ever remember it being and it is becoming easier and easier to put these big decisions in God’s hands instead of moving forward and praying for forgiveness. God’s grace is becoming exponentially more important in our lives as we look back at all the mistakes we have made in the past and as we see the areas where we are still failing. There are so many areas where our shortcomings are glaring but it is easy for us to see where things are getting better, it is only by God’s grace that we have been able to continue our ministry and our marriage.

*Preaw and Evangeleen on a vine somewhere in the jungle*

*Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:16*

First off, I have realized that developing children’s minds along with their relationship with God, is a passion of mine and I will be looking for opportunities to continue my education in child development or social work. I have been looking into a few schools where I would be able to attend online, I’ll keep everyone updated on that.

Chitty has been hitting her stride with our mission and has been finding enjoyment and love inside her work. She has begun to exercise and read books again, two things that were non-existent while we were struggling with depression. She has been diving into her past and finding the places of hurt and putting them into God’s hands and trying to understand the ways these things have affected her and her mothering style. A lot of growth has been able to happen in a short amount of time, once the clouds of depression started to part.

*We can fit a ton of little people in the back on a sweltering day! Praise God for AC, especially, in the back!*

It was hard for me to understand why it was so slow for the clouds of depression to part for her and made me a little overbearing at times even trying to force her out of depression. As you probably know, that didn't work and put a lot of extra stress on both of us. I had to give her the time for her to come out of it on her own and work at her own pace, along with the freedom to be angry, sad or even depressed. I always try to remember that life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest. Well, she made it out! It is still new and kind of foreign to us, but we are both happy and happy to see our growth.

We spent 5 years of our life drowning and every time we thought we could swim God would throw another kid who couldn’t swim at us. Trying to save all these kids, including Evangeleen, we almost killed our marriage and ourselves. We have learned how to swim really well in that time and now it seems like nothing could take us under. We are learning different techniques and trying to prepare ourselves for whatever tests God has in store for us and we are excited about what the future has in store.

*God sending us kids that can’t swim. Now they can all swim, by God’s grace!*

We have had to flee our home in Chiang mai because of the ridiculous amounts of air pollution. Over the past week the AQI has been over 400. We were stuck inside for 2 weeks waiting for Chompoo’s wedding, which God answered our prayers and brought rain right before the wedding and made the air breathable for us. David and Wind were the Bible bringer and ringbearer, while all of the girls were flower girls. Chompoo’s wedding was a wonderful time for everyone who was able to attend. We are happy for her and praying for a long and God centered marriage.

*Mr. and Mrs. Florian and Sirisuda Kürzl*

We were denied acceptance into the TBRI practitioner program, which is actually pretty great. I would have loved to have been able to do it but it would have been a lot of stress that I don’t think we were going to be able to handle. They didn’t give us any feedback on why we were denied, just that we were denied. That lets us know that we won’t be heading back to the states this year… Lord willing. I was also just informed that my marriage visa was picked up today and I won’t have to really worry about that anymore, which is awesome!

*Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.*

My wife and I, made a commitment to lowering the stress level in our marriage. We both realize that if we cannot live our lives at a much lower level then it will be the end of our marriage and effectively the end of our ministry and bunch of really sad and really hurt kids. So, we have made a commitment to work to lower our stress level and do the things necessary to live life successfully. With God’s help we know that it is possible!

*The entrance to Pranburi park and scenic view with some of the kids*

We are essentially fostering a bunch of kids that more than likely will never be given back to their family or to another. We are the most consistent thing these kids have ever known and probably will ever know. With fostering 7 kids, raising 1(we are raising 8 really), with homeschool and ministry expectations we have a ton of expectations on us, we might give them to ourselves, but to us they are very real, and our ministry is 24/7. In our house we also have about 5 different cultures which adds to the stress. But for my wife and I, knowing that we are on each other's team can make all the difference. That’s what we are going to do, intentionally let eachother know that we are on the same team.

*Pranburi park and scenic view with some of the kids*

With this commitment, it hasn’t been easy, since we made it we got 2 more kids, Wind and Sky, and we will probably get 2 more when we get back to Chiang Mai, Simon and Jenny. We have been praying and it seems right now that God is leading us to help them. We are excited to see what this will look like with 10 kids and 5 kids under 8 yrs old. It sounds like a lot of stress but if we are able to make each other feel loved and seen, I have faith that my wife and I can pull it off through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

All the kids playing a game that makes you think! It is a tug-O-war using your brainwaves. The kids love it!

We are in Hua Hin right now and really enjoying it! We are looking forward to returning to the fresh air in Chiang mai and all the challenges that lay ahead of us. We will continue to put God first and see where this crazy road is leading us, Growing in God’s love, trusting in His guidance and trusting in His providing hand.

Surviving to thriving

Questions and answers

GROWTH