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.

Day After Day

“In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” Selah

Psalm 62:7-8

WOW, I can hardly believe it, 2010 is almost over and the year 2011 is only one month away. This past year flew by so fast, and I find myself wanting more time so that I can reflect more on the Faithfulness of God He has shown our family throughout 2010. This past year is just one of the many which God has been faithful to our family, and our time here in Thailand. I have been blessed to call Thailand my home for the past NINE years, and have also been blessed to be able to serve in full time ministry for over the past THIRTEEN years. Many of you have so faithfully supported me during those first few years while I was single, you have continued supporting me as I wed my beautiful wife and wonderful partner Maam in 2004. Your support continued as our family grew with the addition of Gracie in 2005, Joy in 2006, Hope in 2008 and our newest addition Kyle born earlier this year. Through your prayers and your financial support, the Rutledge family has been able to serve full time in Christian ministry here in Northern Thailand. From the time I boarded a plane from Pocatello to Orlando, Florida to join the JESUS Film, we have been a team, working together to share the wonderful message of God’s love to those we meet. As a new year approaches, I want to take this time to personally thank each of you. Your prayers are so vital to our work here, your financial gifts are such a sweet offering to God, and your letters and emails are always so encouraging. We would not be here without you, and I am not just saying that. The truth is 100 % of our financial income comes from you our supporters. Your prayers keep us healthy, give us strength and wisdom, and your emails and letters give us hope and a desire to continue to press on. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

You have been so faithful over the years, and God is always faithful. We know that God is always there, and will always provide, and time and time again He has provided. But as 2011 is approaching and the preparations for our move back to the States progresses I am starting to feel the stress of uncertainty. In about five months time I will be taking our family of six and moving back to the USA to live for about two years. This move is going to be the biggest step of faith I have ever taken. When I first moved to Thailand, back in 2001, I only had to be worried about myself. If the move didn’t work out, or the finances were not available, I would be alright. I could live on rice and water if needed. But now I am a husband, and a father of four. This move back to the US is a huge challenge to my faith. We are leaving all that we have here, to move back to the US were we have nothing. No house, no car, no clothes, no beds, nothing. In Thailand we live on about $1600 a month all of this from your financial gifts. Well we be able to live in America on that amount? To be honest, I am scarred. This move is a huge challenge, and we are only doing it because we believe the Lord is calling us to. Our goal for the move is to spend more time with my parents as they are getting older, and I would like them to be able to spend some time with my children. Also I know it would be really beneficial for our children to spend some time in America and for us to spend some time getting reacquainted with our family and supporters. Also, we feel the time has come to further our education with the goal to enhance our ministry opportunities. Maam and I both feel the need to reach out to families here in Southeast Asia, and I am looking at working on my Masters in Christian Family Counseling during our two year stay, in hopes of returning to Thailand and using that education to train and equip local pastors and church leaders to care for their families and those in their church body. This is a lofty goal, since there are very few family councilors in Thailand and no Christian ones. Our vision is a strong family, a strong church, a strong village, a strong country, a strong world. God started with the family before he started with the church, and that too is where we would like to focus. But in order to achieve this goal, we first must relocate back to the US and I need to go back to school. While we are states side we desire to remain in ministry as I am working on my degree, and so my church has offered me a place on their ministry team. We will be working with my church while I am also doing distance learning for my degree. In order for all of this to take place we do need a LOT of help.

First we need you prayers as we make finale plans and preparations for the move and for our time in the States.

Second we need your continued financial support. You all have been so faithful and we are grateful for all you have given. Currently we have 12 partners who give monthly and I feel bad asking them to give more. But as expenses are going to increase and I know we are going to have to raise more support. So I ask if you are giving now, please continue to give and invite your friends to give as well. If you are not yet on our team, but feel led to give, please contact me. I am looking at spending the first month back trying to visit as many people as possible to help meet our support needs. So please let me know if you or someone you know would like to partner with us.

Third we need stuff: I hate saying that, but it is true. We need a house, we need a car, we need things. Our goal is to stay Stateside for about 2 years, so we only want what we need, and second hand or borrowed is best. If you have a house for rent or that we could use in Pocatello, please let me know. If you have a van we could buy or borrow please let us know. Or if you have things that are needed for a house, please let us know. We are fully dependent on two things; God and Him working through others to provide for our needs. He has been faithful over these past 13 years, and I know He will continue to be faithful. Our hope is in the Lord.

I leave you now with the words from a song I heard the other day. I was feeling down, and a little stressed about our finances and how was I going to provide for my family. Then a new song came on that I had never heard before and the words penetrated my fears and brought light to my day. The words were these and as you read them, remember where your Hope is.

“Day after day our God is reigning, He’s never shaken. My hope is in the Lord. Time after time our God is faithful. Trustworthy Savior, my hope is in the Lord.”

“But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

Psalm 71:14-16

Grandmas Coming to Town.

Him we preach, “warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Colossians 1:28-29

Greetings once again from Thailand, I trust that God is actively working both in and through you to help proclaim His greatness to the world we live in. Since our last update, life here has been busy but also very blessed. Our new son is growing more and more each day, and the girls are also getting bigger and bigger. The two oldest are on school break, and so that means each day brings adventures with the kids. Both Maam and I are working overtime keeping up with the four little ones. This past week has been extra busy as we are also getting the house ready for my parent’s upcoming visit next week. My parents arrive on the 16^th and will be here for about two weeks. It is always special when my parents come to visit, and this trip is extra special. My younger sister is traveling with my parents and they are coming over to join in the celebration of my younger brother Joes’ wedding. The baby of the family is getting married, and there is no way my parents would miss his special day. My brother has been living and working in Thailand now for five years, and God has blessed him with a beautiful Akha woman who has agreed to be his bride. They will celebrate their love for each other on the 23^rd of October. We are all very excited for this upcoming wedding, and also for the chance to spend some time with my parents and my sister while they are here. During their stay, my parents and sister will be staying in our house, and so we have been working hard cleaning up for Grandma and Papas’ visit. The girls have been a huge help and are eager to spend time with my parents and Auntie Dawna. I am really looking forward to my parents visit because after the wedding, the whole family will be traveling together to the beach for a four day vacation. I have lived in Thailand now for 9 years, and Maam has lived here her entire life, yet neither of us has ever gone to the beach here in Thailand. Thailand is known for their beautiful beaches, and there have been countless times Maam and I have talked about going to the beach, but due to lack of time, finances, and an occasional pregnancy we have never been able to make it. Now we are preparing for a move back to the States, and this could be the last chance we get to go before the kids grow up. So on October 24^th, I am taking Maam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, Kyle, my parents, my sister, and Maams niece for a four day vacation to the Hua Hin Beach. We will be staying at a Christian guest house, and are looking forward to spending time resting and relaxing with my family. There is one problem though, and that is the need for finances. In times past we have tried to go to the beach but lack of time or finances kept us from going. I am trusting that this time that will not be the case. We have the time, but now we are need of some financial help. I ask you to please prayerfully consider giving special towards this family get away. It feels strange asking for financial gifts so that I can go to the beach to rest, but I know that I do need to take this time and spend it with my family. And we have planned so as to keep it as affordable as possible, but as I look at our current finances, it would be doable but extremely difficult to pay for this trip without some extra support. Please prayerfully consider joining with me in helping to pay for this beach get away for Maam and the kids. I have figured the costs, and I believe $1000 would be enough to cover our plane tickets, the hotel, food, and some spending money to use while we are at the beach. If you feel like you could give please make your check out to UBC Worldwide Ministries, and mark on the for: Family Vacation. Be sure to mail it to the new address which is University Bible Church 4700 Philbin Road Chubbuck, ID 83202. Time and time again, you have given to help meet our needs, and we are so thankful for your gifts. We trust that once again God will provide through the gifts of His servants. If you do feel led to give, please email me and let me know so as I can be sure to email you some thank you pictures from the beach.

2 Timothy 2:2

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

So that is what is happening on the family front, now let’s update you on how God is working through our ministry here. Last update, I shared with you how God had opened many ministry opportunities for our family and we are already beginning to see some fruit in the lives of those we are serving. At the university where I am currently meeting with 20 young and dynamic collage students who are passionate about their love for Christ and sharing that love with their fellow students. These 20 young men and women are key students who have willing accepted the responsibility of leading a small group Bible study with others in their classes. Each Sunday afternoon I spend an hour and half meeting with them and helping them grow in their relationship with God, each other, and those they are leading. The collage students are just returning from a mid year break, and last night we had a cell group party, hoping to provide an opportunity for all the groups to join together and invite new students to join with us. It was a fun night, and I forgot how much energy collage students have. Sadly by 9 PM, I had to leave to take my children to bed, but many of them stayed up until midnight talking with each other. The party was a success and we had six new students join with us, who now are plugged into a Bible study group. I am also excited at two young men who have expressed their desire to be discipled and to disciple others. This morning I spent three hours with them, talking about discipleship, and how best we can use the remainder of the school year to disciple some of the younger men in our group. Please pray for Smart and Ben, and they join with me in spending the next six month actively studying God’s Word and teaching it to others in hopes that they too will teach it to even more students next year. I am thankful for this chance to meet with these key students, and am looking forward to updating you on how God is working in and through them to help reach Chiang Rai University for Christ.

If the ministry at the university wasn’t exciting enough, I was blessed with an opportunity to share the gospel with some people at the coffee shop I am currently teaching English to the owner of. During one of our English sessions, some of his friends began asking questions about my work. That led to a two hour discussion on religion and the difference between being a believer in Christ and following a specific religion’s teaching. It was great, and there was one lady named Ann who had lots and lots of questions. She even asked me if I ever dreamed about Christ, because when she first moved into her house, she had a dream about a cross and it was hanging on the door of her house. She saw the cross but didn’t know what it represented, and so she wanted to know. Her having a dream is huge, because for most Buddhist, it takes something spectacular like a dream, before they will believe. So she is searching and I am trusting that God will continue to prick her heart. Please pray for her and the others at the coffee shop, I meet with them three times a week, and the group has grown from one person to four as we start with studying English and most often finish talking about Christianity.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this update, and I trust that you are all doing well. Please email me back and let me know of any prayer requests you might have. We would love to hear from you. Also if you do find the time, we would love an updated picture of all our friends and supporters, so if you would like to email an updated picture of you and your family, we would love to post it on our prayer wall and keep you in our prayers.

The time has come to go to bed, morning comes early and we still have a lot to do before my parents arrive. Keep your eyes open, for in the next week or so I will be posting pictures from my brothers wedding and our trip to the beach. I also am looking forward to sharing with you more on how God is working in and through the Rutledge family while we are here in Chiang Rai, and also how our plans are coming for our upcoming move to the States in March 2011. Until then, may God continue to bless and protect you as you shine His glory through your lives day by day. God bless and we miss you all.

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

For HE is GOOD!

PRAISE the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise?

Psalm 106:1-2

It is 10:30 PM and the house is finally quiet, Mam and the four kids are asleep, and I too am feeling the weight of a busy day on my eyelids. The bed is calling to me, and my body is assuring me that this update can wait until tomorrow f
or sleep is important and the morning comes quickly. NO! Tonight I will not give in, time and time again I have tried to write this update, only to be pulled away by a busy day or a sleepy night. Yes, sleep is important, but so are all of you. The faithful followers of this Blog, you who have grown to know our family through the updates we post. You have been zealous in you prayers for us when hard times came. You have joyfully celebrated when God has showered us with His countless blessings. You have given so bountifully to help provide for ALL OF OUR FINANCIAL NEEDS! And you have waited patiently for the latest updates to appear. Tonight, I will fight the sleep, and will write this update for YOU, that we can rejoice together at the wonders God does with the lives of those who follow His call. Now with the Holy Spirits leading and a cup of coffee by my side, let’s get writing.

THE QUIVER IS FULL!!!!!!!!!

The best place to start is with the most recent development in the lives of the Rutledge family. Maybe you didn’t notice in the opening paragraph, I did mention that the FOUR kids were asleep. Last update, we only had three, but since then God has blessed our family with a new little one. I would like to introduce you to little Rutledge number four: Yutapahn Kyle Rutledge. HE was born on August 20^th at 7:20 AM. HE is a strong healthy BOY, and over the past three weeks has already doubled in size. The three girls love their BROTHER, and always are asking to hold HIM. HE sleeps really well, and eats a lot. I know HE is a BOY, because HE also farts a lot. By now you have noticed that we had a SON. So our quiver is blessed with three daughters and one son. Before his arrival, we weren’t sure if we were going to have daughter number four or son number one. Everyone assured us it was a girl, and even Mam was 98 percent sure we were having another daughter. I had some hope it might be a boy, but Mam was right on the other three, so I was leaning towards us having another daughter. Don’t get me wrong, I love our daughters and if we had another one, I would be so excited. Girls are easy, we already have all the clothes and she would fit right in with the other three girls. But I was worried about when all four of them hit teenage years at the same time, what would I do then. I needed some help, and a son would be nice. God had mercy on me and blessed us with a healthy baby boy. We didn’t have any names picked for a boy until we got to the hospital and found out it was a son. Yutapahn is his Thai name, it comes from Ephesians 6: 11 and 13, and it means ARMOR or Armor of God. We chose this because we want him to be strong in the Lord and to stand firm in the Lord during his days on this earth. His English name was also an easy choice, we both agreed that we should name him after a man we admire with Godly character, so we named him after MY HERO, and someone I hope and pray my son grows up to be like, MY FATHER, KYLE. So our new boys name is Yutapahn Kyle Rutledge, we hope you all get a chance to meet him before he gets too big, and we welcome you prayers for guidance as we seek to raise him into a man of God.

CHRISTIAN GRACES:

In March 2010, when we left Akha Outreach Foundation, or plans included a short two month stay in Mam’s village with her family before our move back to the States in June. But God had other plans, and through His working we have been blessed with many opportunities to serve others while we wait for the big move to the States in March 2011. We decided to wait until March for the move, because that is the end of the school year here in Thailand, Gracie and Joy will be able to remain at their school with their friends before we move. Waiting for the girls schools to close before moving back was no problem, but we needed to find ways to continue to minister while we were waiting. I knew Mam would be busy with the new baby, but to be honest I wasn’t too sure what I would be able to do. We must remember though, that we are God’s workmanship, created for good works, which God prepared before hand that we should walk in them. I didn’t know what I was going to do during this year, but God had already planned it out. Within the first week living in our new house, God opened up a handful of ministry opportunities. Before the end of that month, I was faced with the problem of not having anything to do, to having to decide between the many opportunities that were presented to me. During this year, I will be ministering in a handful of ways.

First and foremost, I am focusing on my family. Leading them and help us grow together in the love and power of God’s truth. As a family our goal is to allow God to work in and through us to share His truth to others and proclaim His glory to those who we meet. All of our neighbors are Buddhists and everyday in the way we act with each other and with them is a testimony of God at work in our lives. I love watching the three girls go and practice saying their memory verses in Thai with the neighbors. John 3:16, Matt 7:7, Romans 3:23, and Ephesians 2:8. Also, as the neighbors watch me hang up the laundry, change diapers, vacuum the house, cook dinner, help the girls with their homework, always commenting to Mam that I am a good husband and must really love her, because these are all things that a normal Thai husband would never do. Ministry starts with the family, and if I can minister to my family, then our family can minister to others. I have also been blessed with an opportunity to help out with some collage students through Campus Crusade her in Chiang Rai. I have been meeting with and discipling the leaders of the nine Bible study cell groups which are on campus. I have also been able to help out a small church that most of the collage students attend, through teaching and sometimes preaching. It has been a real blessing meeting with the students, I forgot how much energy and also potential university students have. I have also been volunteer teaching English at a local jr. high school and also to four staff members who work with a ministry to the Wa people group. If this wasn’t enough, I have also started to meet with an owner of a coffee shop three times a week, teaching him English and sharing the gospel with him, the price for his private English lessons one cup of ice coffee.

So God has opened up many different ministry opportunities and I am able to spend the hours my daughters are at school ministering to others in the community. I have also been so blessed with the opportunity to spend quality time with my children and my lovely wife, being able to minister in their lives and we seek to grow in our relationship with God.

Please continue to pray that God will work in and through our family and me as we seek to share His glory among those He brings into our lives. Thank you again for your financial support and your prayers. 100 percent of our income comes from people who give, and even with the addition of a new child, we have continually had our needs met each month.

THE CHRISTIAN HOME:

As I mentioned earlier, ministry starts with the home, and that is why the next chapter in our life involves equipping myself to help lead my family in ministry and also teach and help enable others to do the same. In March 2011, we as a family will be moving back to the States, were Lord willing I will begin working on my master’s degree in Biblical Family Counseling. In my next update, I will share more about this move and why we have decided for me to go back to school. It was not an easy decision to leave Thailand, but we feel God’s lead and a looking forward to spending time living in the States and strengthening our relationships with you and other ministry partners. This is only a temporal move as we are already working on ways we can use the things we learn while I’m working on my masters to help minister to the lives of the families here in Thailand and Lord willing throughout Southeast Asia. I ask you to please pray for us as we spend these next few months preparing for our move. There is lots of paperwork to do before we head back. Passport and birth certificate for the new baby, updating old passports and making sure everything is in order before we leave, trying to deal with our things here, what to take back and what to sew back into the kingdom of God, also preparing things for our stay in America. We are looking at a minimal of two years in the US, so that means we need a house to live in, a van to drive, and everything else you need for day to day life. In America we currently have one box of clothes which we wear during our visits, that is it. We are looking at starting from scratch and we need your help. Please keep you eyes open for the next update, in which I will be sharing with you some very specific needs and asking you to join us in trusting God to provide them.

Well it is 1:20 AM and the coffee is wearing off. I must turn in now and I pray that as you read this you will see how much your giving has done to bless our family, and to touch many other lives we reach out to everyday, trusting that together we can proclaim clearly the wonderful name of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Good night (morning) and God bless

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