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 21st 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 10th 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 1st 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.
