January 2023
Let me begin with saying what an incredible first year we had as a registered non-profit organization!! We jumped in feet first and God took care of us faithfully all year long in 2022. We are certain he will do the same in 2023 and continue to grow our organization and bless our future endeavors to share his Word!!
Much has happened since we returned home from Thailand in May and I will do my best to update you quickly and share some of the plans we have for 2023 without making this too lengthy and boring.
As many of you may remember from our prayer requests in the last couple of newsletters, we found out last February that Garrick’s dad had glioblastoma - an aggressive type of brain cancer. He then spent several weeks undergoing surgery and later chemo and radiation treatments. We chose to spend time together as a family this summer and enjoyed several days together at the pool, lake, family dinners and vacations. The family had a good summer that ended with a great Christmas and we are grateful for the time we were able to spend together. Mike lost his battle with cancer and left this earth last Friday, January 27th. Although the kids and I decided to wait until February to leave for several reasons, Garrick continued with our original plans and left December 31st. He and Mike both knew it may be the last time they would see one another on this side of heaven and look forward to that reunion again someday! We appreciate all of the prayers and love given to our family during this difficult time – they were and continue to be felt, and we are truly thankful.
Although we scaled back on international missions this summer, we were still able to help out closer to home. We took food to the men’s homeless shelter on a couple of different occasions. In late July, there was severe flooding in several counties in eastern Kentucky and We were able to make a trip to Wayland, KY with a truck load of cleaning supplies, food, and clothes to help that community clean up. If you saw the pictures of this on our facebook page, you saw how crammed we were in the truck! The entire bed was full and the kids were basically covered up in the back seat with stuff. There wasn’t an open spot left in the truck to put anything!! We did still provide support financially to Thailand from home in several different ways - we helped our friend and his family who escaped Burma and sought asylum in Thailand with housing for several months. Another project we financially supported was the mosquito netting and doors at the orphanage in Thailand, and we sent money to another children’s home for boxes that are similar to the Operation Christmas Child boxes we put together at our church. You have helped make these things possible!!
Garrick is currently in the jungle finishing up a solar panel “farm” that will provide power for the medical facility he helped with the construction of last year. This facility provides emergency services, a surgery center and a labor and birthing facility for many local hilltribes. It is one of very few such facilities for many, many miles. he has been installing water supply pipes, sinks, waste drains, etc. so they will be able to begin cataract surgeries in the facility at the end of February. Working with another organization that has two “jungle ambulances” (which are really just pick-up trucks),that they will be offering the area, he has been building some beds for the back of the ambulance. this has proven difficult because the wood supply is low and the beds are made from scraps and cut with a chainsaw. he has been leading bible study with some people from the village on Sunday afternoons. This has been a blessing – they had not been able to have them since they had to move deeper into the jungle due to planes and bombings.
He has unfortunately seen several unpleasant things in the field as well – several young men with shrapnel and/or gunshot wounds, children who have died from cases of malaria, stillborn babies, mothers who passed during childbirth, etc. Not all the patients that come into the clinic have success stories – it’s a cruel reminder that much of what these villages are lacking is basic healthcare. Every time we can go there to help bring these necessities that we often take for granted, we are bettering their chance for survival. Every project that gets finished in the jungle is a new facility that will provide care that could save someone’s life. Most important, he is building relationships with the Karen people and is able to continue to share the love of christ with them. He just celebrated Karen Revolution Day with them by praying and fasting – they pray for an end to the revolution that has wreaked havoc in their country for 74 years now (began January 31, 1949).
Our future …. 2023 mission plans and goals.
Garrick will return to Chiang Mai toward the end of February where the kids and I have plans to meet up with him. We will find and rent a house for the next year, or as long as our budget allows. While in the city, we plan to work with our church there and the outreach ministries they do. They work often with a children’s school, they have a frequent presence in the downtown area as well as some of the large shopping malls. I hope to still work with the refugee camps and be able to deliver food and supplies to those as well as the orphanage if we can work out scheduling for those while we are there. The kids and I will return this time in the spring (April) and Garrick will make one more trip back to the jungle, to come back to the United States at the end of may. We do hope from there to be able to get to a point to bring teams with us to Thailand soon! We are trying to get things set up to be able to do that. Finding a home that would allow us space to invite others to come stay with us and making contacts and developing relationships so we can take teams into the community is on our list of goals. It’s going to be a busy time ahead and I hope you choose to follow along on the website and facebook page – I promise to try and do a better job of keeping both updated in the future!!
Praises … Prayer requests…
· Quality time spent with Mike * Kelly and kids visas and safe travels in February
· Garrick’s safe return to Asia * Garrick safely returns to Chiang Mai
· Relationships being made with Karen villagers * Budget for 2023 is met
· Projects seeing completion * Find a house that we can rent long term
Daniel and his family’s safe arrival in Thailand * Village where Garrick is stays free from bombings
