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 21st, 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 t
o 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 t
his, 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.
