New and Improved

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:18-22

Greetings once again from the Rutledge Family, we trust that you are enjoying the changing seasons as much as we are. Mam and the kids are really enjoying watching and playing in the leaves. Slowly our bodies are adjusting to the cooler weather, and everyone is eagerly waiting for the first snow fall. In Thailand one of the things I missed was the changing of the seasons. Here in the States we have spring, summer, fall, and winter to look forward to each year. Thailand we had two choices; hot or wet, so as a family we are enjoying the different seasons. For now it is exciting, but ask us again when we are in the middle of winter how excited we are, for now though we are enjoying the experience of seasonal change and are thankful we are here in America to be a part of it.

Continuing with the theme of change, I feel it is time to change the look of our updates on our Blog. I have heard from many of you that you do enjoy reading our posts, and they are very informative and I am grateful for that. I also know that there are some who don’t have the time to read all of the Blog but want to stay informed about our family and ministry, and so would be interested in a shortened version of the Rutledge Review. In an attempt to help keep the Blog informative in content but shorter in length I have revamped the style of our Blog updates. Also I will include a shorter version in PDF form which can be downloaded from each post which you can print off and share with your friends if you chose to. Our aim is to continue to keep you updated on how God is working in and through four key areas of our lives: Family, Ministry, Schooling, and Finances. We will also post current prayer requests and praise reports so that you can join with us as we offer our requests to God and praise him for the way he answers them according to his perfect will. They say that pictures are worth a 1000 words, and so we would like to continue to post pictures or our family and ministry for you to see. The final change we are looking to make to our Blog is in regards to the name. For close to 13 years I have used the title ‘The Rutledge Review’ for our newsletters and blog posts. I feel it is time for a new name and would like to invite you to join us in coming up with that new name for our newsletters and blog. From now until December 1^st please send me new name ideas along with your name and contact info. The winning name idea will be awarded two bags of the finest coffee from the hills of Northern Thailand. So put on your creative thinking caps and help the Rutledge family come up with a new name for our blog posts. We are looking forward to reading your ‘new name’ ideas and are thankful that you have taken the time to read this latest update, I trust it to be both informative and encouraging as we share with you what God has been doing in and through the Rutledge family during the past months. I ask you to please take the time to read all the way to the end of this blog post because there is some important information we would like to share with you and offer you an opportunity to be used by God to help meet some important needs that have arisen. Enjoy the updated Rutledge Review and thank you again for your willingness to partner with the Rutledge family as we serve with International Crossroads and University Bible Church.

FAMILY FIRST:

One of the main reasons we decided to take these two years off from full time ministry in Thailand was to focus on ministry towards our family. When we were serving in Thailand, I never realized how much ministry time kept me away from my family even though my family lived at the foundation we were ministering with. Due to lack of poor decisions on my part and high time demands by the 92 children at the orphanage I rarely had time to even tuck my children into bed each night. After lots of prayer and family discussions, Mam and I decided it was time to leave the orphanage and begin to spend time raising our family. We still desired to remain in full-time ministry but we needed time to reevaluate our priorities and develop a plan so that our family as a whole could serve in ministry not just me alone. Thankfully, we have had the past year and a half to pursue these desires, and have been blessed to see how God can use our family to minister to others without having to sacrifice our time together. We still do have to give up some of our time and open our homes to others, but it is well worth it and I have enjoyed getting to know my children and my wife better. I really enjoy praying at night with my daughters before they go to sleep, and seeing their hearts for others as they pray for their friends and relatives. I also love watching Mam as she helps out in the nursery at the church and also cooking food for international students who have visited our home. I am grateful to be able to serve in full time ministry, and blessed to be able to serve with my family. Thank you everyone who has helped our family during our time in Thailand and also during our move back here to the States. We are eternally thankful and want you to know that you are in our prayers. We are all doing well and ask you to please continue to pray for us as we seek to continually serve God as a family.

Mam says hi and is grateful for all the cooking supplies people have given us here in America. She loves to cook and has fallen in love with cheeseburgers and chili. She is home all day with three little ones, so if you are in the neighborhood, please feel free to swing by and say hi. If you come around lunch time, you might catch her cooking some yummy Thai food and you are welcome to enjoy it with her.

Gracie is doing better at school, and her English is really taking off. The first school she was in asked her to leave because she was not talking in class and with her teacher. With heavy hearts we moved her to a public school closer to our home, and are greatly pleased with her teacher and the way they are working with her. She still is not talking a lot, and sometimes doesn’t read aloud in class, but her teacher is very patient with her and we are seeing an improvement. She loves to read and reads at least one book a day. The public library is our new favorite hangout. She also enjoys coloring pictures and riding her bike. Sadly the bike riding is going to have to end soon with winter coming, but Gracie is eager to see snow and asks me every day when is it going to come. Please continue to pray for Gracie to be obedient at school and not so shy when she talks with other people. Her language skills are amazing, and the only problem is that she is shy and won’t talk.

Joy is Joy. She has always been our adventurous one and also the one I am sure is going to have stiches first. She was the first to ride the bike by herself, and even tried to ride with no hands. Next time she tries to do it, I suggested not trying it while she is turning. In Thailand she was already going to school full day, but here in America she is not old enough for Kindergarten yet so she has to stay home. She loves to play outside and has become good friends with the neighbor kids. We are praying she will be a good influence on them. Continue to pray that Joy will learn to obey Mommy, and make wise choices between right and wrong decisions.

Hope is our little helper. She loves to help Mommy sweep, mop, and even change Kyle’s diaper. Her favorite word is ‘beautiful’ and is always asking Daddy if the clothes she is wearing is beautiful. She loves clothes and changes her outfits at least four times a day. She played Soccer during the fall and really enjoyed it, her team went undefeated and she is looking forward to playing again in the spring. She always is asking Mommy to hold Kyle, but Kyle is getting bigger and bigger and almost weights as much as Hope does. So I don’t know how much longer she will be able to hold her baby brother. Please pray that Hope will grow in her understanding of sharing, she loves to help Mommy, but she doesn’t like to share anything with others. We have been teaching her that not everything is hers, but for a three year old sharing with other people can be hard.

Kyle is doing well, and has just mastered the art of walking. He still doesn’t talk much, I guess with three older sisters that is understandable. He does have two words he uses all the time, Dad and Ball. I thought I was special since he could say “Dad” but then I realized he calls Mam “Dad” too. But he does know the word “Ball” and anytime he sees one he calls out “Ball Ball” He loves to play Soccer with Daddy and has a great throwing arm. He is well loved by his sisters, and everyone else he meets. He is all boy, and we are always having to keep an eye on him because he loves to climb things. The other day he found a way to get up on the kitchen table and then proceeded to toss everything up on top onto the floor. Good thing Hope likes to sweep the kitchen floor. Please pray that Kyle will remain health as the weather changes and will be able to make it through the next month as we begin to wean him from Mommy’s milk.

As for me, I am doing well, still trying to balance my time between family, ministry, schooling and rest. I am thankful for this chance to minister here at my church and have really enjoyed meeting with international students. This week I started my first class with the Masters College and it has proven to be very informative but also challenging. It has been so long since I was in school, and now I have to deal with homework and paper assignments. I am encouraged though and am excited to begin applying what I have been learning with my family and teaching it to others. I have also really enjoyed spending time with my family, and introducing them to the things I experienced as a child. There have been some hard times, dealing with Gracie schooling has been one of the hardest, but God has seen us through and we are grateful for the strength he gives us to face each new day. Please pray that I will continue to allow God to guide me as a husband, father, student, and also in my ministry to the international students. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength, and I need that strength daily. Please also pray that I will be able to make wise Biblical decisions for our family which is best for everyone and not just me. It is so easy to be selfish sometimes, and that is exactly what I want to avoid. So please pray I will be a Godly example of self-sacrifice for my family and those I minister to.

MINISTRY:

When our family was planning on returning to the States, one of the things we wanted to do during our time here was to be able to serve in ministry full time. Thankful my church was willing to allow me to apprentice with them. As an apprentice I would be able to serve the church in different ways, but also minister to others through the church. One of the areas I could minister was through reaching out to international students who were attending ISU. As a family and with the help of the church body International Crossroads was created to help reach out and minister to international students and their families during their time here at ISU. The great part about this ministry is that through it, the church can continue to minister to international students even after our family has returned to Thailand. We are still in the early stages of this ministry, but are excited to see how God is going to work through it to reach to students from all over the world. Please continue to pray for International Crossroads and our work among international students. We are trying to plan some holiday events to help the students who can’t travel home for the holidays have a way to celebrate the holiday season with some families in our church. Pray also that the students will continue to remain open to meeting with us and that they will begin to desire to know more about our God and His Son Jesus Christ.

SCHOOLING:

This is the newest addition to our Blog and I am eager to update you on what exactly I am doing in my schooling. After completing college in 1996, I was sure that I was done with schooling. The idea of going back and working on my master’s degree never interested me, but during the past 10 years of living and ministering in Thailand I saw that a degree would serve to help further our ministry outreach in two ways. First is would provide me with more knowledge on the Biblical teachings on families and how best to use the Bible to strengthen and equip families to be qualified witnesses to the world around them. Second a degree in Biblical Counseling would help to bring credibility to our teaching and would even open the doors to possibly being able to work with local universities and schools as we seek to teach teens and young adults Biblical truths about marriage and families. Our focus will not only be pre marriage counseling with college students, but providing sound Biblical counseling to anyone who is searching for help. Our main goal is to try to train up local pastors and church leaders in the truths found in the Bible to help equip them to be capable shepherds able to guide and protect their flocks. Family first is our focus, as that is God’s focus as well. Which came first; the church, the government, or the family in God’s order of creation? Take a quick look at Genesis 2:18-24 and you will find the answer. God’s focus from the beginning was with the family, and that must be the focus today. Satan is doing all he can to destroy the family, and thus far has been doing a very good job. Satan knows that if he can disrupt and destroy the family, then the church and society will be destroyed as well. I believe deep down we all know this, but the problem is that we do not know how to prevent the destruction of the family. God created the family, and he also created the means to not only keep the family from being destroyed, but help it thrive even in the most challenging circumstances. I don’t know all the answers to how to help families completely and that is why Mam and I decided it is a good time to go back to school. Following the completion of my schooling, we aim to return to Thailand and begin to use what I have learned to help the families and the church in Thailand. We know we must be very careful to keep the teaching culturally acceptable yet Biblically accurate. This is a great challenge and honestly most cultures are not Biblical in their practices, and people often times don’t want to change. The truth though is that if we are to get our families back on track, then we need to listen to him who created the family and what he says and do it. It is so simple yet so difficult if you consider our sin nature and our desire to do what we want to do and not what we were told to do. I don’t know how receptive the Thai people will be to the teachings the Bible has on the family, I see how unreceptive Americans are to it and we claim to be a Christian nation. How much that grieves my heart, and I do so long to see families take the Word of God as the only truth and use God’s ways to direct their families. I can admit this, I am in the first week of my studies, and already I have seen God begin to change things in my life and as I change, I am seeing that spread to my family. Please continue to pray for me and my family as we attempt to complete this lofty goal of getting a Master’s degree in Biblical Counseling and using what we learned to minister to families in Thailand. I am thinking it should take me about 3 years and $12,000 to complete this degree Lord willing and we are trusting that God will continue to provide the time and the finances needed to help me finish. God has provided money to pay for my first class, but we are still in need of finances to cover the rest. Would you please prayerfully consider giving to help cover our schooling expenses? I desire is to finish my degree debt free so that we can return to Thailand as soon as possible and begin using what we have learned. In order to do this, we need your help. I look forward to sharing with you more about my studies in future newsletters. I am thankful for this chance to learn and excited to pass on what I learn to others.

FINANCES:

I realize that this Blog is getting a little long, and I hope that in future posts I will be able to keep it shorter. It is always hard because there is so much I would like to share with you and I have struggled to justify leaving some stuff out. I do thank you for taking the time to read this, maybe it would help if you split it up over a couple of days, just a thought. We are near the end and the finale section of this Blog deals with a topic we often times don’t like to discuss but is crucial to our daily lives. We often have a love/hate relationship with finances. We all love having money and spending money, but we hate talking about money and worrying about money. The truth of the matter is that finances do play an important part in our lives, if you don’t believe me, than try to drive away with a tank full of gas without paying for it. I bet the gas station and the police office will agree that finances are important. Like all families, we too need finances to eat, live and survive. Most families depend on their jobs or companies to provide for their finances, we on the other hand are 100% dependent on others to provide. Even though I do work full time in ministry, my pay check comes from our faithful supports who often times sacrificially give so that our family can remain focused and fully involved in ministry. We are so thankful for the honor of being able to serve in full time ministry and at the end of each month God has always provided for all of our needs through the gifts of others. It is truly amazing to see. I believe sometimes the reason why people don’t give, is not because they don’t want to, but because they don’t know about the need. Americans are by far the most generous nation in the world, this is evident by the fact that anytime there is a natural disaster, it is America that often times gives first and gives most. So today and also in future post, I want to share with you updates on our financial status and give you an opportunity to give to help provide for our day to day needs. I pray that every month will not be as gloomy as this month’s report, and we are trusting that God will work through many others like you to help provide for our current needs. Here is the financial update for November. Every month supporters send their financial gifts to my church and it is put into an account for our family to use. On the 1^st and 15^th of each month I ask the church accountant to deposit money from the UBC Worldwide Ministries account into our personal bank account. The amount that we receive depends on the amount of money available. For instance, if on the 1^st I check and see that there is $1500 in our account, I will ask that $1000 be deposited in my bank account to pay for rent, utilities, food, etc. Then on the 15^th if the balance of the ministry account is less than $1000, we will ask for $900. So for that month we will have a salary of $1900. That is enough money to provide for our family in Thailand, but in the States it is really tight. So we had a goal of raising our support to $2500 a month to help cover the basic needs of life in the States. We have been here seven months now and only during the month of September did we see that goal reached and $2615 was donated which is great. But in May we only say $870 donated so that meant May was a tight month. I did an average for the past seven months and we are currently averaging donations in the area of $1741.43 monthly. That is about $800 shorter of our goal, and thus we have had to cut back on a lot of things there is no room for unexpected expenses like car repair. I am sharing this with you to let you know that first God has continued to provide for all of our needs over the past seven months. I don’t know how, but he has done it. Secondly to let you see what state our finances are currently at and how you can help us for the upcoming months. We are in need of new supporters to join our team. We currently have about 10 supporters who faithfully give every month, we are thankful for them and we are searching for more people who would be willing to join with them to help cover our needs. You would think that with technology, getting in contact with people would be easier, but I have actually found it more difficult. I email people, facebook, and even try to call them on their cell phones, but it is hard to contact people if they don’t reply back to you. Remember when we could open up a phone book and find their phone number and mailing address. Have you tried to do that lately, it is not very productive. So what am I saying is this; I need your help. I want to talk to people, I want to share our passion about the ministry here and also in Thailand we are working with, but I need your help to make that possible. Please email me, call me, or even facebook me. If you are interested in helping or giving, then please contact me. Also if you have friends or a church that might be willing to at least meet with me and talk about what we are doing, then please let me know. We need you and are asking you to please help us. As of November 3^rd our support account balance is $71.69 and we do know that there will be some more money coming in before the 15^th but how much we aren’t really sure, so we need to raise more money. It is hard living month to month not knowing how much money is availed to use. Don’t get me wrong, the hardship is worth every bit of growth we gain as we live day by day by the faith we have in God our provider. The need is there, God is able to meet that need, and will you be a willing vessel God can use to meet our family needs. Please prayerfully consider giving and also pray that God will rise up more people who want to join our support team to help give for our family’s needs. Thank you and God bless.

It is time to bring this blog to a close. Remember to continue to pray for us as we minister here at University Bible Church among the international students. Pray also for my schooling and the finances to pay for it. Our family and finances also need your prayers, and if you have anything we can pray for, please let us know. Feel free to contact us by phone (208)242-6300, by email dan.rutledge@universitybible.org or dan.rutledge@gmail.com, by facebook search for Dan Rutledge, or you can mail us at 216 N 14^th Ave Pocatello, ID. 83201.

We look forward to hearing back from you and pray that God will continue to work mightily both in and through your family as you seek his ways. God bless and have a great day.

Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle Rutledge.

International Crossroads:

International Crossroads is here. The international student outreach our church is starting has an official name, logo, and even a facebook page. During my apprenticeship here at University Bible Church the main area of my focus of ministry will involve working with international students studying at ISU. I will also be working with others in our church to develop a ministry team that will continue to work with internationals after our family returns to Thailand in two years’ time. I have been blessed to see how many people in our church have a heart for the nations and we currently have about 20 people who are helping me as we begin reaching out to international students through friendship and fellowship. We have hosted three events, giving international students a chance to get to know us and also a chance for us to get to know them. We were amazed to see that at our first event we had over 40 students, many of whom had just arrived in the States, attend and receive some free furnishings that were donated by members of our church. At our second event an ice cream social, we were able to make 12 new contacts and also fellowship again with some of the students we met at our first event. Our third event involves tutoring and helping students with their studies and English understanding. We are hoping this will be a weekly event and that many students will come for the free tutoring and English help but stay for the fellowship. It has been exciting to meet students from all over the world. I feel blessed to be able to relate with a lot of them, because during my time with the Jesus Film I was able to visit their country. They are always amazed to meet someone here in America who not only knows where their country is, but also visited their home town. It has been really fun meeting all these new students, and we are trusting God to use our family during these next two years to really reach out and minister to them with the love of Christ. I ask you to please continue to pray for our family and also our church body as we work with the international community here at ISU. Cross-cultural communications are always difficult, and our constant focus is to show them the love of Christ without offending them, in hopes that we can share the gospel of Christ with them receiving it. Every student is unique, and as a team we are working together to try to create opportunities to deepen our friendship with these students and help them to see that we truly care about them as individuals and want them to feel a part of our families. This can be extremely challenging, and we need your constant prayers for wisdom and creativity as we seek to minister to these students. I am thankful for this opportunity to work with international students, and we are praying that God will continue to lead us to those who He has brought here to reveal who He is through the lives of His body ministering in His name. Thank you for your prayers and I am looking forward to updating you of God’s workings over the next weeks.

Yutapahn:

“above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Ephesians 6:16

On August 20^th, our family celebrated our son Yutapahn’s 1^st birthday. When he was born, we were 99 percent sure he was going to be a girl and so we had a lovely girl name picked out for him. We were excited to see he was a boy but we had to rush to find a name for this new little guy. His English name was easy, I always knew that if I had a boy I would name him after the man I admired the most and that would be my Father. But finding a Thai name proved to be a little harder. We knew we wanted it to be a name that was masculine but also Biblical. I had no ideas, but my wife suggested we name him Yutapahn, which was a word I didn’t know in the Thai language. She showed me Ephesians 6:11 where it was used and what it meant, “Armor of God”. Instantly I knew it was the name for our son and that is how Yutaphan Kyle got his name. I share this story with you, because God has been teaching me a lot about Yutaphan, not just our son, but mainly about the armor of God.

Starting in verse 13 Paul writes, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

These five verses found in Chapter 6 of Ephesians are well known to most of us. From our earliest days in Sunday school, even during our teen and adult years at conferences and camping retreats, we often hear talks on the armor of God. But knowing something well doesn’t mean we will do it well. And this is often the case with this passage of scripture. We can all probably name all the pieces of armor listed here, but can we honestly say we live our daily lives with them on. Think about it, do you daily wear the belt of truth or put on the breastplate of righteousness? How about having the readiness of the gospel for our shoes or carrying the shield of faith? Do we wear the helmet of salvation and carry the sword of the Spirit or are we worried about messing up our hair and looking silly carrying the Bible around with us? The truth is that Paul urged his readers to daily take up the whole armor of God so that they will stand firm and be able to withstand when the days are evil. The days are evil, and sadly we see many believers not standing firm but rather bowing to influences of this wicked world we live in. I am not writing this to condemn others but instead to share how I too have been struggling and how God has graciously been using these verses to remind me to daily live my life with the whole armor on and not just parts of it. The one piece that I seem to forget to take with me daily is the shield of faith. I’m not saying I don’t have faith, but I need to daily hold up the shield of faith in order to extinguish ALL the flaming darts of the evil one. Not some, not most, but ALL of the darts. We are at war with a determined and cleaver advisory, which is always attacking us with the newest weapons on the market. Thankfully God promises us that through faith we will be able to withstand anything Satan throws at us. Doubt, Criticism, Uncertainty, Fear, Worry, Anger, Reproach, no matter what it is, God will protect us and that is why we need to daily take up the shield of faith.

As I mentioned before, that God has been teaching me a lot over the past few months, and most of it is dealing with faith. I have always believed that I had great faith, and sometimes people even complement me on my faith, but the truth of the matter is that I too struggle with a lake of faith. In fact it is not something new, but has always been an issue in my life. I was not going to do something unless I first make sure everything will work out. There is a place for planning and seeking council, but we sometimes justify not acting in faith by saying we are acting responsibly. Take for example our families move back to America. Yes, I knew it was time to come back, yes I knew God would provide a way, but I still tried to put it off as long as possible because in all honesty I was scared. Being a missionary living in Thailand was hard, and we had to have faith that God would provide for all of our needs in this distant land. In all honesty though it was easier to live as a missionary trusting God to provide 100 percent of our financial needs in Thailand then it was going to be living in the US and still trusting God to meet that same 100 percent mark. In Thailand our family could live off of $1200 a month and if we had months where that much didn’t come in, we could still get by without worrying too much. But I knew moving back to America, it was going to be nearly impossible to live off of $1200 a month and if we ever had less money come in then we needed, then it was going to be very stressing. So for months before the move back across the seas, I was stressing and trying to figure ways to help us find enough money to support us while we were in the States. We have been here in the States now for five months, and every attempt I have made to try to increase our support level has failed. So here is where the shield of faith comes in, Satan is attacking me, he is throwing darts of feelings of doubt, rejection, uncertainty, anger, despair, and even feelings of giving up and moving back to Thailand. Daily these darts are flying at me, and if I am not daily taking up the shield of faith, then I am in danger of my life, my family, my ministry all being destroyed by these fiery darts. But if I stand firm with the whole armor of God including the shield of faith, then I will be able to continue serving the Lord full time during this time in the States. I ask you to please continue to pray for me and our family during this time in America. Finances are a huge concern, and if we allow these worries to penetrate our thoughts then our faith will be shaken and our ministry affected. May we continually take up the shield of faith and trust that He who has called is He who will also provide for us. Every night we pray as a family asking God to lead us to more people who will be willing to financially give to help provide for our daily needs and to partner with us in our service here at University Bible Church and our ministry to the international students of ISU . We daily thank Him for the supporters who are currently giving and how God has used them to provide food, shelter, clothing, vehicle, and other necessities for daily living. Please, please prayerfully consider joining our support team? Also if you know of friends or a church who might be interested financially supporting us, would you please contact me and help me make contact with them. By faith, our family has moved back to the States for the next two years, and by faith we are trusting that God will provide for all of our needs during that time. So by faith we are asking you and others to partner with us during this time through financially supporting our family as we serve with University Bible Church through the ministry of International Crossroads. All financial gifs are tax deductible and checks can be made out to UBC Worldwide Ministries and sent to: University Bible Church 4700 Philibin Road Chubbuck, ID. 83202

Please also email me at dan.rutledge@universitybible.org and let me know if you would like to:

Join our support team.

Join our prayer team.

Find out more about International Crossroads.

Like to remain on our update list and receive emails and blog updates on our ministry.

Would like to be taken off our update list.

Thank you for taking the time to read this latest update, and thank you for all of your prayers during the past five months we have been here in the States. Mam and the children are doing well and we all are slowly adjusting to life here in America. Please join with us as we daily put on the full armor of God so that we can boldly stand firm as witnesses in this world we live in trusting that others will clearly see the glory of our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Hope He offers for everyone who calls on His name. Let us daily stand firm for our Lord through His strength.

Your fellow servants through Christ

Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle Rutledge

Time to Rejoice

Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Hello again from the beautiful state of Idaho, our home over the past two months. Wow how fast time flies, when I think back to April 21^st as our family boarded the plane which was going to take us stateside, how we were filled with excitement and anxiety at what life in America for the next two years was going to look like. Where were we going to live, where would the girls go to school, how fast would they be able to pick up the English language, how was Mam going to do living in a new culture, how would we be able to furnish our house and feed our family, and how would we be able to survive financially in this new economic system we were moving into? We left Thailand with more questions than answers but we knew that God was leading us during this time, and that He would be faithful to provide all of our needs as we continued to follow Him. We have been stateside now for two exciting months. The first month we spent traveling around the State visiting friends and family and sleeping on many floors as we waited for our housing situation in Pocatello to be worked out. Praise God He provided a van for our family to use, which was a huge blessing especially during those four hour trips between Boise and Pocatello. He also provided a wonderful 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house for us to rent in Pocatello close enough to my work so I can bike and save on gas. We also were blessed with couches, dinner tables, chairs, beds, clothes (lots for the kids), bikes, pots and pans, food, and even some extra spending cash to help us settle in. There were days when we looked at our bank account and wondered how we would have enough money for the next week’s food, and then God would provide what we needed, and sometimes a little extra. We are still trying to increase our monthly support level from $1,200 to $2,500 monthly in order to cover our day to day expenses, but God has been so faithful, and we have been so blessed to watch the body of Christ work together to help provide for our family. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, your gifts, and your love for our family during this time of transition. Mam and I feel so welcomed and the kids love getting to experience life in America. I am amazed at how fast they are picking up this new language, and am thankful that by the time school opens in the fall, Gracie will be able to communicate with and understand her teacher and class mates.

Thank you all again for all your help, and please rejoice with me as we reflect on the goodness of our God and how He truly does provide for all of our needs. I think of Paul and his words of encouragement; “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” It is hard sometimes not to be anxious, and to be honest leaving Thailand to move to America caused me some anxiety. I knew the cost of everything was more expensive than Thailand, and I knew that Mam and the kids would have some difficulties adjusting to American culture and language (Me too). I also was very anxious about what our ministry would look like here in the States and what exactly I would be doing with my church. God knows our thoughts, and all of our needs. Let us trust Him, and He will guide, He will provide, and He will give us peace which will abide. I have been blessed to be in full time ministry for 14 years now, and time and time again I have witnessed the faithfulness of God and how He has worked through the body of Christ to provide for ALL my needs. Still though I do find myself being anxious, that is why it is important to stay in God’s Word and let your thoughts be refreshed by the promises of God, also to continually be thankful for what you have received and to share how God has worked in your life with others. This will help you remember the faithfulness of God and also to encourage others who might be feeling anxious. We serve a living, a powerful, a loving and a GOOD God, who knows our needs, wants to provide for our needs, and will provide for those needs. Remember though, that He often works through the body of Christ, and that is a special gift for us, not that we serve a God who can provide, but a God who uses us to help bless others. Thank you again for all who have done to help us, and remember that God is using you and will continue to use you to bless the lives of many people.

Let us together “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!” and “Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.”

Our family has committed the next two years to the Lord, and we are trusting that He will work in and through our family to help show others how great He is and how worthy He is to receive our praise. Please join our family as we continue this American adventure over the next two years, rejoicing in the goodness of God, placing our requests and our concerns at His feet, and trusting Him to faithfully provide for us and through us to help meet the needs of other’s.

Your faithful prayers and support are such a blessing to our family and we know that without your support, there is no way apart from a miracle of God we could serve in full time ministry in Thailand and also in America. Thank you again for all you have given and I ask that you will please continue to lift our family up daily in your prayers, and please continue to give to help meet our financial needs. We are currently receiving about $1200 in monthly support. In order to provide for a family of six in America we believe that this is not enough, and so we are aiming at increasing our support to $2500 a month. If you would be interested partnering with us to meet these financial needs, please email me at dan.rutledge@gmail.com .

Thank you again for taking the time to read this update, and I am looking forward to sharing more with you as we complete this transition stage of our journey to America. I am praying that by next month, we will be completely settled into our home, so that we can have you over for some yummy Thai food.

Please do continue to pray for our family during this transition time and also as we are seeking new support partners to join with us. For those in the Sun Valley area, I will be visiting a church in Carey, Idaho on the 10^th of July. Please come and hear what God has been doing over the past few years, and what is ahead for the Rutledge family.

In conclusion I will give you an updated ministry overview for our time spent here in America.

Dan: For the next two years I plan on being busy serving the Lord and also working on improving my knowledge of God’s Word to help further my service. I will be working as an apprentice at University Bible Church, focusing on ministry to international students who have come to the States to study. I will also be working on my Master’s degree in Biblical Counseling from the Master’s College in California through a distance program they offer. This means that I can do most of my studies here in Pocatello, and then during June, travel to their campus for classes held there. This is a program that can be completed in two years, but I just missed this year’s June classes, so I might have to take closer to two and half years to complete the program. We will have to wait and see. (Also I have just sent in my application, and am waiting to be accepted, so please pray that God will grant me favor and I will be accepted and can start my class work right away). I will also be taking time to minister to Mam and the kids aiming to help encourage and shepherd them in the ways of the Lord. Once we return to Thailand we are praying about working with families and we are praying that things we learn and use here, we can translate and transfer over to be effectively used in the Thai family.

Mam: Mam will be working on improving her understanding and use of the English language. This will be important in helping us back in Thailand to communicate with mission teams and other missionaries living in Thailand. She will also be able to spend time with mothers and wives in our church, who we know will be able to encourage her as she is raising our four children. Please pray especially for her, to develop some close friendships and also adapt well to life in America. English is a challenge for her, she wants to learn and we welcome any woman who wants to come by and spend some time talking with her. Mam can teach you some Thai cooking in return.

Gracie: Gracie will be going into 1^st grade and our goal for her is to really strengthen her English before returning to Thailand. Having a strong Thai language base already; her being able to speak English will help her in her schooling back in Thailand. We are waiting to see if she gets into a charter school here. She is number three on the waitlist and we are praying God will provide a way for Gracie to be able to get in.

Joy: Joy will be going into preschool, and like Gracie we really want her to develop her English, while we are here. She is really excited about learning English, and even before we moved she was asking me how to say different words in English. Please pray for wisdom for us wither to place Joy in a preschool or not, and if she does go, which one and the finances to cover it.

Hope: She just wants to play, and we are encouraging her that over the next two years before she goes to school, that she will help Mommy in the house and also take care of her younger brother Kyle. She needs to work on her English as well, and if you have young 3yr olds who want to play, please feel free to swing by and let them play with Hope. She loves playing with others and it will help with her English.

Kyle: Well he just learned to crawl, so next is teaching him to walk and talk. His English will likely be better than the girls because it will be his first language. The concern for him is once we return to Thailand getting him to speak Thai. He is a great baby, and we trusting for a healthy two years while we are stateside.

As a family we want to be used by God to serve everyone we meet. As we get settled we will be looking for ways to help minister and serve to the church body, our neighbors, and others God brings our way. Our number one goal is first to instruct our children in the Word, to shepherd them to a personal relationship with Christ, to equip and encourage them to allow Christ to work through their lives to minister to others and proclaim the greatness of God. We aim to see our family minister together both here in America and also in Thailand once we return there.

Please continue to life up our family in your prayers and if there is anything our family can do to minister to you, please feel free to ask.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and please know that we will continue to pray and thank God for all you have done to bless our family. Have a great day and remember to Rejoice always, again I will say it Rejoice.

Your fellow servants of the King

Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, and little Kyle Rutledge.

Back in the U.S.A.

Philippians 4:19-20

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen

The Rutledge’s have landed! On April 21^st, after four stops and over 25 hours of travel, we finally arrived at Boise international airport at 11 PM. Needless to say we were all extremely tired, but greatly relieved to have finally arrived at our destination. Traveling internationally always is a challenge, but doing it with four little children is crazy. Praise God, the kids did great and were a huge help to Daddy and Mommy who were wiped out even before they stepped on the plane. I wasn’t sure how we were going to make this transcontinental journey alone, but by God’s grace and the help of our wonderful little travelers, we did alright. The only problem really was the fact that I lost my voice the day before the flight, so I couldn’t even talk to anyone during the whole trip. We sure did get some funny looks going through customs; an Asian woman, three excited little girls, one sleepy baby, and a white guy who can’t talk. Somehow we were able to make it to all our flights, through customs, and home to Idaho with all of our bags. God is Good!!! Thank you all for your prayers, and also thanks to my Dad and Mom and their friends Gary and Judy who meet us at the airport and helped us get to a warm bed for a good night’s sleep.

Since our arrival we have been blessed to continue to see God’s goodness and how He so wonderfully works through the body of Christ to help His children. We are still waiting for a house to call home in Pocatello, but we have had a place to lay our heads everywhere we go; Boise, Twin Falls, and Pocatello. There is also a garage full of things for us to use in our new house at my sisters. We need to find a place soon, because here garage is getting fuller and fuller by the day thanks to the generous giving by many of her neighbors, friends, and church body. I am in awe at how people can so graciously give to people they have never met before, my sisters Bible study group has blessed us so much with clothes for the kids and Mam, food to help us get started, soap, shampoo, cleaning material, and gift cards to Wal-Mart for other things we might need. We feel so blessed, and so welcomed, thank you again for everyone who has given and have helped us feel at home during this transition time. To be honest, there still are a few things we are in need of, but I am reluctant to list them because first we have already been blessed with so much, and second until we are moved into our house and see exactly what we are in need of, it would be better to wait. For now, please continue to pray for direction as we work on our housing in Pocatello, and also wisdom as we look to help settle our family here in Idaho. Our hearts are still in Thailand, and for the kids and Mam this is a foreign land, even to me in some areas. We know that this is a time that we can come back and spend time with my parents and my family who have been so gracious in letting us live so far away for all these years, it is also a time for the kids and Mam to understand a little bit more about American culture and why Dad sometimes does things differently than the Thais. We are also looking forward to being able to be ministered to through the body of Christ and also serving others while we are here. Remember, I may be a missionary coming home on furlough, but my wife and children are missionaries heading out to the mission field in a foreign country. It is going to take us awhile to adjust, but by Gods help, your prayers and support, and lots of patience on our part I am sure that the Rutledge Family will do just fine. Thank you again for all your prayers and your help during this time, and please know that we are looking forward to spending lots of time with you during the next two years here in America.

Thank you for taking the time to read this update, and I am going try to continue to update you regularly as we adjust to life in America and begin our service here during the two years we call Pocatello home. In closing I will share with you briefly why we chose to come back to the US, what we are going to be doing here during our stay, and how you can continue to be actively involved in serving the Lord with us while we are Stateside.

The main reason why we decided to come home was to be closer to my parents and our family. My parents are getting up there in years, and a couple of months ago my Mom had a small heart attack. We really want to spend time with them while they around and give a chance for our children to know their grandparents. Also my parents have done so much to help us over the years, we want to return the favor and help them while we are here. Yes we will be in Pocatello and my parents will be in Caldwell, and four hours is a long ways away, but it is sure a lot closer than 24 hours away. So first and foremost we came back to spend some time with my family. Second we come back to help the kids and Mam with their English and also understanding of American culture. There is no better schooling then being immersed 24/7 in the subject you are studying and I am already amazed at how fast everyone is picking up English. Once they learn English, there are many opportunities for them to serve the Kingdom of God through the use of multiple languages. In Thailand people pay 100’s of dollars to have their kids learn English, here it is free day to day conversation. The third reason why we have come back is to seek Gods lead for future ministry opportunities and also spend time equipping ourselves to help with some of the different needs we encountered during our past few years in Thailand. Currently we aren’t 100% sure what we will be doing once we return to Thailand, but we know it will most likely involve working with families and helping Fathers, Mothers, Children, Husbands, Wives, Brothers, and Sisters working together to grow in their personal relationships with God and helping those in their community know more about Christ through their relationships with each other and God. In order to best equip our family to help serve other families, we have decided to relocate here to Pocatello, and spend the next two years being built into by other families in the church and also I will be pursuing a Master’s degree in Biblical Family Counseling, praying that what we learn we will be able to take back to Thailand and use it to minister to the families there. While we are in Pocatello, I will also be interning at our home church, University Bible Church and as a family we are praying about an area we can serve during our time there. The fourth reason why we have moved back is to reconnect with our supporters and our friends as well. You have been so faithful in supporting us over the past years, and even as our family grew we still were able to daily provide food and shelter for our family. Thank you so much for all of your giving, and we are looking forward to spending time visiting you and getting to hear how God is working in your lives and how we might be able to serve you during our time here. This move back is a huge step of faith, all of our needs are still dependent on a God who knows them, and provides for them through people like you. In Thailand it was possible for our family to survive on $1200 a month, but now we are in the States I am quickly seeing that we are going to have to increase our support in order to stay here. So I ask you to please pray that God will lead us to other men and women who are ready to team up with us helping to serve the people of Thailand and others in Southeast Asia who don’t know Him. Also please prayerfully consider continuing your monthly gifts to help cover our expenses. Our goal is to try increasing our support base to $2400 a month and raise an extra $24,000 to cover my schooling expenses. Even as I type those numbers I am feeling like I am asking the impossible. I know these are tough times, and everyone is struggling financially, how is it possible to raise these much money during these times? Well, we must look at what the Bible tells us, and remember God is the same yesterday, today and forever. In one of my favorite stories from 2 Kings 6 and 7. The children of Israel are starving because the Syrians are besieging them. And God tells them not to worry, “for tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flower shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” Remember, they were so hungry that they were selling a donkey’s head for eighty shekels of silver and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver. They were so hungry they were eating bird poop to put it in modern English. Yet, overnight God changed everything thing and that is the same God we serve today. He never changes; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yes these are tough times, and we do need to be good stewards with our finances, but I know that God will provide for our needs and he often does it through the giving of others in the body of Christ. Increasing our support by double and raising $24000 to pay for my schooling is a huge step of faith, and I am asking you to please pray with me and ask God to help meet all of these needs and lead me to people who are ready to give for His glory.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I now have two options for those who want to keep up with what God is doing in and with our family. There is the shortened three page newsletter that I will send out monthly, and then there will be the longer Blog entrees that you can read at your own pace. Please remember our family in your prayers, and once we have moved into our house, please know that you are welcome by anytime. My wife makes wonderful Thai food and loves to cook, and our children love being with people, so you are always welcomed at the Rutledge home. With that I will wish you good night and look forward to sharing more with you later. God bless

Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle Rutledge.