Greetings once again from the Rutle
dge 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 1st 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 1st and 15th 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 1st 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 15th 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 3rd our support account balance is $71.69 and we do know that there will be some more money coming in before the 15th 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 14th 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.
