There are
less than 50 days
until our Home Assignment begins!
We will be traveling all over the States and the Philippines. If you want to meet up or have us speak, reply to this email. We only come home every 2 years, so we are really eager to reconnect with old friends and connect with new ones.
See you in a few months!
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COVID19 has taken a turn for the worse in Thailand. While the world was in chaos last year, Thailand went months without a single case. Since April, there has been over a million new cases of COVID. The badminton courts are not opening any time soon. We ask that you pray that they will open again before we leave.
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The Giant Slayer: How Hungry are You?
Terence preached for Oikos last Sunday and used the true story of Guatemalan badminton player, Kevin Cordon to teach about what it means to be hungry.
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The Journey
After months of preparations, the NYI hosted its first-ever completely free and completely online global event. NYI from all over the world was present--even our SEA NYI! We had NYI help with the countdown and worship through art and song. We are super proud of them and to be a part of the global NYI.
Even if you are not part of the NYI and missed the live event, you can still watch it online. |
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Prayer Card
When it is the holidays, and your in-law comes into your kitchen to see if "you need help" but wants to divert their eyes from the pile of dirty dishes... their eyes will fall on your collection of prayer cards hanging on your refrigerator. Dozens of families are sitting together in front of a beach, a mountain, or a jungle... but wait--what's that? Oh, that's the Lustañas.
If you know us, you know that we love creativity. We love trying new things. We love experimenting. One of the ways we express ourselves is through creative work. If we do something exactly like everyone else, how does that display our identity?
Last home assignment, Ingrid drew a simple drawing as our prayer card. Our goal was that when someone has our prayer card and adds it to their collection on their refrigerator, that our card would stand out.
Well, we wanted to stand out again. We wanted a prayer card that was truly a call to pray for us. Each element was hand drawn with a purpose to let you know how to pray for us.
Because of the Church of the Nazarene's new policy on missionary prayer cards, we cannot dub this as our official prayer card. You will get the official design in person. But we wanted to share this card of prayer with you.
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Empty water bottle: Pray that we continue to seek spiritual renewal. One of the main reasons ministers leave the ministry or even commit suicide is burnout. It is hard to give what we cannot have. May the Lord sustain us with His living water.
Sea puzzle pieces: Pray for the SEA Field. Our number one prayer request for the Field has been unity. It is difficult to work together with multiple nations, languages, cultures, and expectations--especially when every puzzle piece thinks they are more important than the rest.
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Backpack: Pray for our travels. With our job, we need to travel a whole bunch... at least we will travel once the borders open back up. Pray for our safety as we go and pray for us to know how to join what God is doing when we get there.
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Postcard: Pray for our partners and communication back home. It isn't easy for us to keep healthy communication with our friends and family back home. It can get too busy to talk and can get too lonely to reach out.
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Calendar: Pray for our time management. We need to learn when to say "no." We are wearing a lot of hats, and we need the Lord's help to have the wisdom to know which hat to wear at what time.
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Badminton racquet: Pray for our badminton outreach. The people whom we are ministering are not like the people most people minister. They are not poor, not hungry, not in any physical need. It is a difficult people group to reach that include the educated, the rich, the homosexual, the depressed. Please pray for these people who need Christ just as badly as you and us.
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Wedding photo: Pray for our marriage. We are not just ministry partners; We are husband and wife. Our marriage comes first before ministry. Before we serve others, we must first serve each other.
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Camera: Pray for Terence's video work. Scriptwriting. Storyboarding. Set up. Lights. Camera. Timing. Editing. Effects. Music. Exporting. It is not just a "point-and-shoot" job. It is a job that requires a team... and there's only Terence. Pray for his strength and perseverance.
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Thai Language Book: Pray for our language study. It is not easy to learn a new language, a new writing style, a new culture! We need to confidently preach in Thai, and we are nowhere near confident. Please pray that we can study and pass the proficiency exam soon.
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Sketchbook: Pray for Ingrid's graphic design work. Creative work doesn't come easy. In fact, it takes a lot of brainpower. Ingrid has been challenged with making Powerpoints, brochures, logos, and more for the Field and its leaders.
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Building Blocks (N-Y-I): Pray for our work with the SEA Field's NYI. We have said previously that the NYI here barely has a foundation. It is extremely small and undermanned. Pray that more young leaders will rise up. Pray that the Lord give us wisdom to know how to guide these young leaders according to His will.
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Baby bottle: Pray for our children's health. They are just babies and getting their vaccines on schedule. Something as simple as a cough for an adult can become deadly for babies.
Baby flash cards: Pray for our children's development as Missionary Kids/Third Culture Kids. We know our kids are going to grow up different than the kids around them and their family back in their homelands. It is our responsibility to teach them what comes naturally to others living in their passport nation. We cannot expect Thailand to teach them American and Filipino cultural values and languages. It creates more work for us and for our kids.
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Pandemic: Pray for the Thai response of the coronavirus. Pray that the world can be healed from the pandemic. Never has a world been so socially distant, but also social media-ly connected. Pray that our family continues to test COVID negative.
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Thai Immigration: Pray for our Thai visas and work permits. Living overseas looks glorious... until you have to do the mandatory paperwork. Every other month, we must provide documents to the Thai Immigration Office so they can let us stay. Rules are always changing and it can be exhausting.
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Beach Babies
Even though the beach is only an hour or so away, we knew Batman could not make the journey. So after getting Romanov, we went to the beach. Jubilee was able to see the beach before back in the Oikos Church Retreat and the CIC Christmas Party, but she was afraid of the waves both times. She clung to us refusing to even touch the sand.
This time, Reilee jumped into the waves. We had to constantly pull her back to the shore. It was nice seeing her love the beach as much as we did. Lukas didn't even notice. He was asleep.
Reilee loved the beach so much, we decided to stay in a hotel so we could spend the next day at the beach. Both of us grew up near the beach, so it was a relief to see her share that love for the ocean.
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Danger
The vaccine rollout in Thailand is incredibly slow. It is practically impossible for foreigners to be vaccinated. We have to pay for the COVID tests, the registration, and the vaccine. The entire process is about $200-$300USD per person. Because of these circumstances, it is very likely that we will be vaccinated in the States.
Getting vaccinated is not mandated by the Church of the Nazarene, but by Thai immigration. In order for us to return to Thailand, we must be fully vaccinated. We are not here to talk about politics. We are not here to discuss if the virus is real or the vaccines are an experiment. We do not care about the conspiracy or that faith in Jesus alone is the cure to COVID. We are here to talk about our children and their safety--because that is of utmost importance to us.
Before, COVID19 did not seem to affect children. But with the newest strands, it seems to no longer be the case. Our kids can not yet be vaccinated. We will be traveling all around 2 nations that still do not seem to have the virus under control. We know parents who have lost their babies to the Delta strand.
We aren't going to act tough. It is scary. We put the kids to bed at night, and wonder if going home is truly what is best for our family.
So we must ask for your help: When you meet our Reilee and Lukas, please, PLEASE, keep in mind that these babies are not yet even fully vaccinated against basic diseases like polio and measles--let alone COVID19. If you are not feeling well or even if you have an itchy throat or were in contact with someone who is ill, we ask that you keep our kids safe. We ask that you wear a mask and refrain from kissing them. We ask that you use hand sanitizer before touching them. If you cannot resist their cuteness please communicate your desire to interact with them and for sure we can find a safe way together.
Traveling in a pandemic is hard.
Traveling in a pandemic with babies is harder.
Traveling in a pandemic with sick babies is even harder.
Whatever you believe, we ask for your help: Please, please keep our kids safe.
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PRAYER REQUESTS
Language Study: Please specifically pray for our Thai teacher Kru or Teacher Aong. Last week she informed us that she's been having fever and rash all over her body. Sunday, she was rushed to the hospital and her doctor is suspecting that she may have hepatitis or typhus. Please pray for divine healing. Pray that God will use medicine to completely eradicate anything that is making her sick.
Home Assignment: We are getting closer and closer to coming home. There is a lot of documentation and testing involved in leaving and entering countries with the pandemic. Add two babies to travel around the world. And speaking at dozens of churches. We need all the prayer we can get because we cannot do it all alone.
SEA Field Youth: Please be in prayer for our young leaders in the Southeast Asia Field as we make Christlike disciples during times of political turmoil, Anti-Christian propaganda, leadership limitation, recovery from genocides, and of course, the coronavirus. Pray for the SEA Field leaders to give our young people the opportunity to serve.
Badminton Outreach: Bangkok has been in lockdown since April. It has been difficult to keep up our relationships with our teammates. Thankfully, one court opened up for 2 weeks before being forced to close again. Pray that Bangkok can beat this virus and we can get back in the court before we leave for Home Assignment!
Guide: Guide is one of our teammates in badminton. God is truly working in this young man. Please be active and praying for him by name. May he and his family know God.
Vaccine: There are news saying that the U.S. may require foreigners to be fully vaccinated before they could enter the country. This is only being suggested at the moment but decisions like this could take time or happen quickly. If this policy is implemented before our flight on October, this could pose some challenge for Terence being a Philippine citizen. Please pray that this will not happen before we arrive in America. We plan to get the vaccine in the US because vaccines are not available for foreigners here in Thailand as of the moment.
Protection: Please pray that we will be spared from the virus. Aside from its scary effects, being positive with COVID could prohibit us from traveling to the US and Philippines this Fall. Please pray that we don't contract it and when we go to take our COVID test, our results will be NEGATIVE.
SEA Field Crisis: Our neighbor country, Myanmar (one of our SEA Field nations) is going through some difficult times. For security reasons, we cannot speak openly about it. The situation is in need of prayer and God's intervention and guidance. Many of our pastors, leaders, and laypeople are greatly affected by this. Today, we heard the news that one of our dear friends from the seminary has been arrested. We ask that you, your families, and your churches bring this to the Lord in prayer.
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