Spring is here; well at least I think it is. One day the sun is shining and I am tempted to go outdoors and play in the warm weather, but then the next day it is snowing and the last place I want to go is out into the frigid cold. After being away from Idaho for so many years, I have forgotten how unpredictable Idaho weather can be. Today the weather is nice and even though I would rather be playing in a park somewhere with my children, I know it is important for me to use this break in my busy schedule to share with you how God has been working in our family’s lives over the past few months. The last time I sent out an update was right before Christmas and since that time we have been blessed to see God’s hand at work both in and through our family. I am looking forward to sharing with you the highlights from the past months and I am thankful for your willingness to partner with our family as we minister here in Pocatello, Idaho.
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and many other firsts was what we as a family were able to experience over the last part of 2011 and the first months of 2012. In Thailand, holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are really not celebrated like they are here in America. It has been nice to spend the holiday season here with my family and give Mam and our kids a 
chance to experience an American Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone enjoyed the yummy holiday foods, the excitement of Christmas shopping, the 
beautiful Christmas decorations, the smell of a real Christmas tree, but the thing they loved the most was spending time with Grandpa and Grandma as well as with Uncle Matt and Auntie Dawna , and of course their cousins. We did have a wonderful holiday season and we are so thankful for the chance to share this experience with our children. We were also blessed with an opportunity to share some of these American holiday traditions with some international students we have been able to develop friendships with during our time here. Our children were not the only ones who were able to experience their first American Thanksgiving and Christmas, for most of the international students this was their first encounter with a truly American holiday season. Our family enjoyed being able to welcome some of these students into our home and celebrate the festive season with them, they were also able to attend some of the special church events that our church hosted. Sam, a freshman from Nepal, along with 15 other international students joined us for a Thanksgiving feast at our church and last week while talking with him, he told me that he had to write a midterm paper on all the new experiences he has had during his first semester in America. He told me that by far that Thanksgiving meal at our church was his favorite and he was so thankful that our family would take the time to invite him to go with us. We have had many opportunities to reach out to international students and have seen friendships develop between them and our family. Currently we are in the process of planning some fun activities our family and some of the international students can do during Spring break. There are 5 Nepal young men, who weekly spend time with our family and have been such a joy to get to know. Please continue to pray that as we reach out and minister to international students, that God will open their hearts to the saving message of the gospel. Pray also that our family will be bold in witnessing to them not only through our words but also through our actions. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. Colossians 1:28
The past fe
w months have also brought some changes to my life in the area of education. In November I officially began my pursuit of a Master’s degree in Biblical Counseling. My first class was an independent study class on Marriage and Family Counseling. In the four months I had to complete the class, I had to watch over 30 hours of taped teaching, write 15 papers on various subjects related to marriage and family counseling, memorize 20 passages of scripture, read six books, and then take a comprehensive finale over all of this material. It was challenging, especially since I had been out of school for so many years, but I am thankful for this opportunity and ALL the material I learned in this class will be vital when I return to Thailand and minister to families. Last week I finished all the assignments for the class and am now looking at what classes I am going to take this summer. Actually, my next classes will last from March until October with the majority of the work being done here in Pocatello, as independent studies. But in July I do travel to their campus in California and take one, two, or three weeks of classes on site depending on the number of credits I am going to take. I am excited to register for my next classes, but ask you to please pray for guidance as to how many credits to take. Time, finances, and ability are three areas that must be considered in regards to how many credits I can take. The most being 14 credits, which would, mean 24 hours a week of homework and also three weeks spent in California this summer. The financial cost is around $6,000. It would be nice to be able to take 14 credits because it would mean that I could possible complete my degree in two years, but I do have to consider that if I am having to spend that many hours doing homework, well I have time to continue to minister to international students. Also the challenge of coming up with $6000 in the next week to pay for the classes must be addressed. The other option is to attempt 9 credit hours this summer, meaning only 16 hours of homework a week and two weeks in California during the summer. I would still need to find $4000 to pay for the schooling but that is a little more manageable then $6000. If I chose this route, then I would be able to finish my schooling in three years instead of two. So please pray for me as this week I am considering both of these options and deciding on my next classes which I will be registering for next week. Please also pray for the finances needed to help pay for these classes. These classes will serve Mam and I when we return to Thailand and begin ministering to families there. The benefits of the material learned from these classes far outweigh the cost of tuition and I see this as an eternal investment, but I still need to have the funds to help cover the financial need. Please pray that the finances needed, will be provided.
Since my last update, we have seen the changing of seasons and the start of the New Year. It seems like only last week, I was putting away all the bikes and yard equipment preparing for winter; now the kids are asking me if I can get their bikes out since the weather is warm again. Seasons change quickly, especially in Idaho and time does pass quickly as well. Last week while I was changing the month on my calendar, I realized that last year at this time our family was still in Thailand trying to prepare for our move to Pocatello. I remember the weight of worry hanging over my head as I thought about what seemed like the endless list of needs we were facing back in America. We needed housing, a vehicle to drive, school for Gracie, clothes, furniture, and of course finances to cover our day to day expenses plus my schooling. This list of needs seemed to grow daily along with the concern as to how I was going to provide for my family in America. We arrived in America on April 21st still not sure how we were going to get by, but now looking back we can rejoice in the fact that there has not been one single need that God did not provide for. In fact we have been richly blessed beyond our needs and have been able to experience even more things than we had originally planned due to God’s limitless blessings. There have been tight months, where the support money we were depending on didn’t come in; but there has never been a day where we have not had a roof over our head, clothes on our back, a car to drive, and food to eat. We have also seen months where people have given far above what we were expecting and we were able to share that blessing with others in ways like having international students and others from our church over for some of my wife’s yummy Thai food. We have been blessed to not only have enough food to feed our family, but to also be able to help feed others. This is only possible through the financial gifts from people like you. We do not get a salary from our church; our only source of income comes from supporters who give to cover our daily needs. Before we moved to America, I figured that in order to be able to cover our day to day needs, we would need to have to raise close to $2,500 in monthly support. We still have yet to reach that goal and it is through special onetime gifts that have helped us have enough money to cover our needs during some of the months. In fact at the end of December we were blessed with two large donations which have helped us get by over the past two months, since our monthly support at the start of the year has decreased. Those two large donations have been helpful but they will not last us throughout the whole year, and so I am again seeking to try and raise our monthly support level to $2500. During the months of January and February we received in a total of $2780. That is the two months combined, so roughly $1390 a month. There is a need to try to raise more support and I wanted to take this time to share our needs with you and ask you to please pray about joining our support team. If you have been giving, we want to thank you and let you know that your gifts have been such a blessing for our family. If you have not been giving but would like to, then you can make you checks out to: UBC Worldwide Ministries and send them to 4700 Philibin Road Chubbuck, ID. 83202. All gifts are tax deductible and are used to provide for our family as we ministry through University Bible Church. If you have questions you can contact me at dan.rutledge@gmail.com or dan.rutledge@universitybible.org and I can give you more detail on our ministry here and how you can be a part of it. Please also pray that our family will continue to wait on God to provide all of our needs and find contentment in all He provides. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. I Timothy 6:8
It is time to bring this update to a close, and I am looking forward to sharing with you more on how God is working in and through our family during this time in Pocatello. I do have some special prayer requests and ask you to take some time to join us as we lift these requests to the Lord.
1. Boldness and opportunities to share the gospel with the international students we have been meeting with.
2. Finances and safe travel for Mam and our son Kyle as they travel back to Thailand on March 27th for four weeks. Mam has to renew her visa and she is taking Kyle with her. That means I will stay back with the three girls, so wisdom and patients for me as I look after my daughters while Mommy is away. The plane tickets cost over $2000 and is a large expense for our tight budget. Pray for the finances to pay for the tickets and also traveling costs during Mams trip. Pray also for safety for her, my dad and Kyle as they travel and for me as I watch the girls while they are away.
3. Finances and wisdom for my classes I will be taking for the next 8 months. My church gave me $2000 to help cover my first class, but there is still a need to help cover these new classes I will be registering for. Please contact me if you would like to give specifically towards my schooling or if you have questions about the program I am taking. It is very well done, and is designed to help people who work full time be able to get a sound biblically based education at the same time.
4. Continued guidance as we make preparations for ministering once we return to Thailand. We are currently praying and discussing ways we can use the material I am learning in my classes to be culturally acceptable yet biblically accurate in impacting the lives of the people of Thailand. I will share more about this future ministry in my next update.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this and partner with us in continuing to minister to those God brings our way. Our family is eternally thankful for you financial gifts, help, and prayers over the years and we are looking forward to continuing serving together with you until our Lord returns. Thank you and God bless.
Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle Ru
tledge
And pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Ephesians 6:19
