Here are some ways for you to pray for us. We will keep you up to date on which prayers have been answered.

Mae Sot…

~for the thousands of stateless Burmese who live without permanent homes, without passports, or birth certificates, without regular jobs, without protection

~for the children who are even more vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and neglect

~for the many NGOs working in Mae Sot to be unified, selfless and wise

~for the many people whose lives have been uprooted due to increased instability along the border post-election

Family…

~that God would equip us in all the ways we need to be equipped in order to serve well. We have been amazed at how our skills from Canada have been useful here in Thailand…we weren’t sure if that would be the case.  Now that we are home, pray that we continue to use those skills (and develop new ones!) to further the work of Imagine Thailand.

~that our children would adjust quickly and joyfully to our new culture. There were difficult days, but overall, our children thrived in this new environment.

~that our family would survive the “reverse culture shock” that will be an inevitable part of returning to Canada. Thanks to amazing pre-training with the organization we work with, our return has been relatively smooth.  We still cry somedays when we think of the loved ones we left behind in Thailand.  Staying in partnership with Imagine Thailand from the Canada end has kept us from feeling useless and ineffective as we return home.

Finances…

~half of our personal finances are covered by Derek’s part-time role as Peachland Campus Pastor of  Emmanuel Church, but the other half will come from fund raising…pray that people catch the vision of our role in North America and choose to support us financially

~the ability, wisdom, creativity and perseverance to raise funds to meet our $3500/mth budget. your donations, along with our own personal contributions, we were able to meet 100% of our budget for Thailand- Thank you!

~that we would be able to raise funds for the work we will continue to do in Thailand. we continue to do this from Canada, so pray that people continue to give to the needs in Thailand

Training…

~we will be taking a “Children at Risk” course at the end of April.  It’s been a long time since we’ve been in school, so we need our brains to work well!  :) We had an excellent time at Vanguard College and feel that we have learned so many useful and essential things to help us in our mission!  Our professor was very knowledgeable, experienced and personable…what a blessing!

~we have started our “Mid-term Missions” training….not sure what that means, but it will be another learning curve!  …please pray that our minds stretch to fit all the new things we are learning! our minds were stretched and the many things we learned have been so valuable to us as we’ve tried to navigate our way in a new culture.  It’s was a good place to start.

~new skills are required in our roles as North American Representatives….presentations, proposal writing and increasing the network of Imagine Thailand supporters are new things for us.  Pray that God brings the right people, and learning opportunities into our lives as we need them.