Despite the family emergencies which we had to attend to in November and December last year, we thank God that we could return to Thailand in time to participate in some of the Christmas outreaches organised by our language school and our church in Singburi.
We are also thankful that we made it to a road trip to Isaan (northeast Thailand) which we had planned for a long time. It was a great time catching up with old friends and meeting with new ones. We met with missionary friends in Khonkaen and Udon Thani, and visited some ministries, including livelihood projects in Udon Thani and community outreaches in Nongkhai. The road trip concluded in Mukdahan, where we attended our friends’ wedding. We spent some refreshing time along the Mekong River, including a time of silent retreat on New Year’s eve. It was a welcome break after all the intense months we went through.
Above photos: Home visits in a village in Udon Thani where microfinance projects are being implemented
About a month later in January, we went on a week-long vision trip to the south of Thailand at Nakhon Si Thammarat province. It was our first time in the province and we were surprised to find many similarities in the climate, food, and culture with what we find in Singapore and Malaysia. The weather was moderate and humid; there were many curries with turmeric; and we found roti prata, briyani and murtabak! It was an eye-opening trip and we are encouraged by what our colleagues are doing to reach the people in the south of Thailand. We especially enjoyed the visits to the homes of villagers and we are thankful to apply what we learnt in our language learning during the visits, eg. praying for some of the families in Thai. Below is a photo of us at one of the homes we visited.
We will be going on another vision trip to the central part of Thailand from 12 to 18, 22 and 25 February to Chai Nat, Nakhon Sawan, Angthong and Singburi provinces.
Pray with us!
- Pray that God will continue to energise us, grant us quality rest and strength amidst all the travels. Pray that we will incline our ears to hear Him and find certainty in where He is calling us.
- Pray that we will be faithful to the call that God is giving us – whether it be to serve in the missions field and to honour our families.
- Pray for the recovery of Phoebe’s father – he is currently in a rehabilitative wing of the hospital and making gradual improvements with intensive physiotherapy. His tentative discharge date is in mid-March. Pray for strength for Phoebe’s family back home – especially her mother and younger sister who are taking on the load of caregiving.
Jon and Phoebe's thetomyumkongs journey. 