Times of Excitement and Exhaustion

"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands." Psalm 90:17

    Time is ticking away and the days are counting down to our family's upcoming furlough to the States. We are now less than 4 weeks (25 days) away from our departure date and even though our home is filled with excitement for the upcoming trip, we are also fighting off exhaustion as we continue to complete all the necessary preparations for the 2 months we will be spending in America. We ask you to please continue to lift us up in your prayers as our family is working to not only get everything packed and ready for our trip but also are busy prepping our house and ministry responsibilities so that they will be taken care of while we are away. On top of preparing things here in Thailand, we are also working on arranging necessary logistics for our stay in the States. That includes contacting and arranging times and locations to connect with family, friends, supporters and church bodies who have faithfully followed and invested in our family and ministry through the years. It has been challenging in contacting people because there is always the uncertainty of if they received our email or Facebook message, especially if we have not heard a reply from them. This is another area in which you can help our family by taking a few moments to email us or message us on Facebook and let us know if you would like to schedule a time to visit together. We would like to meet with as many people as possible during our short stay in the States and so in order to do that we are trying to schedule before hand as many times to connect with others as possible. Our current travel schedule looks like this, and if you live in any of the areas we will be visiting and would like to visit with our family, then please email me at dan.rutledge@gmail.com or heartsredeemed@gmail.com ASAP. (You can also connect with me through Facebook or this blog).

The Rutledge Family (Tentative) Travel Schedule for 2016

March 5th leave Thailand and arrive in Boise, Idaho on March 6th at 8PM. (We have a 6 hour layover in Seattle, if anyone would like to meet us near the airport for lunch, we would be willing or should I say thankful to get out of the airport for a bit and stretch our legs).

March 7th to March 12th: Rest and recovery time for Mam and the kids as I will be attending the Shepherd's conference in California from the 8th until the 12th. 

Sunday March 13th. Our first Sunday in the States and still open. We would like to visit your church and also share about our ministry if you would be interested. So please contact me if you would like us to possibly visit and share with your church body. (This Sunday we are not sure where we will be at exactly, most likely in the Boise area but are waiting for confirmation).

March 14th to March 28th. In the Boise area and willing to meet with individuals, families, small group Bible studies, youth groups, mission boards, pastors, and even church bodies during this time to share about the ministry here and how God is working through Biblical counseling and discipleship here in Southeast Asia for His glory and the growth of His church.

March 28th -April 4th. In the Twin Falls area. Again willing to connect with anyone who would like to visit together. 

April 4th -April 26th in the Pocatello Area (Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, Salt Lake City, etc.). We are really looking forward to this part of the trip since it will provide a special opportunity for the kids to visit with some of their friends from our time of living in the States 3 years ago. 

April 26th - May 2nd In the Wood River Valley (Carey, Fairfield, Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum, and Sun Valley:) 

May 2nd Back to Boise and then onto California sometime that week with the goal of arriving in California on the 5th of May to prep for my graduation ceremony on the 6th. Then on the 10th of May we fly back to Thailand because the kids start school on the 16th of May. 

(During our stay in different locations, Mam is willing to not only cook Thai food for any who would enjoy it but also teach and train any who would be interested in learning. These Thai meal times can be in the context of a single family, a small group of friends, a bible study group, or even a church body. If you would be interested in hosting or participating in one of these Thai meals, then please let me know soon. Mam has prepared new dishes to share with those lucky enough to taste them.)

     That is our tentative travel schedule and so if you would like to schedule a time to connect with our family, then please contact me as soon as possible. We are planning on being in the States a total of 9 Sundays, and we would like to visit with as many churches as we can during our time in hopes of sharing about God's work here in Thailand and how they can pray and partner with us as we continue to minister here full-time through our work with Hearts Redeemed Ministries. The good news for you is that there are 8 of the 9 Sundays still open, since we have not had anyone confirm yet, but that means the bad news for us is that we are still in need of trying to firm up dates and locations for those Sundays. Please pray for us and that we will be diligent in searching but also patient in waiting for the response from the different church bodies.   

     This short trip to the States is not only for our family's summer vacation, but it is for the purpose of: 

1) Visiting with my parents and siblings as we evaluate and plan together ways to help care for my parents (especially my mom and her current health problems) for the next few years. I ask you to pray for my mom as she is still in a full-time care unit and they are not sure if she will be able to return home anytime in the near future. So that is stressful for her, scary for my dad, and something us kids want to discuss and workout together while I am in the States. Also it has been 3 years since my kids last visited their grandma and so we are trying to give them time to spend with her as much as possible during this visit because we are not guaranteed another chance to visit her the next time we come back to visit.  

2) Attend my graduation ceremony for the completion of the Masters of Biblical Counseling program I have been working on the past 4 years. Originally it was planned that my parents would be joining us for the ceremony in California but due to my mom's current health problems, they will not be able to make the trip. But Mam and the kids are still excited to visit California and see me walk in the graduation ceremony. (They also would like to possibly visit Disneyland during our time there, but we will wait on that and see if we will have enough finances to cover a day visiting with Micky and his friends)

3) Visit with as many family, friends, current supporters, and supporting churches for the purpose of updating them on how God is using their financial gifts to help connect the hearts and homes of Southeast Asia with the redeeming truths of God's Word. We are grateful for everyone who gives financially to help support our family which allows us to serve in full-time ministry here in Thailand.

4) Connect with and invite others to join our support team as we are in need of increasing our support level to cover our day to day living expenses for our family and the ministry costs of Hearts Redeemed Ministry. In order to do this, it requires us being able to meet with people who would like to hear about our ministry work here and also how they can help. 

Those are our four main goals of this upcoming trip, but there are other necessary things which need to be accomplished during our short time.

1)Updating my Drivers license

2) Purchasing quality clothes for our growing children. (Socks and Pants are the two most needed items for all of our kids and me as well) 

3) Purchasing medical supplies which are not available in Thailand (Children's pepto, deodorant, etc)

4) Fellowship with like minded believers. Sometimes on the mission field it can become a lonely place as you are surrounded by people but very few of them you are able to communicate with a deep friendship and ministering level.) So for me especially I am looking forward to being able to sit down for a cup of coffee and a warm piece of pie and discuss the principles of Sanctification with a fellow brother in Christ. Also being able to attend a church where the Word of God is faithfully preached and there is child care so that your wife can attend service with me instead of having to lead Sunday School every Sunday. 

5) REST and RELAXATION. I know that the next two month will not be too restful as we will be traveling a lot, but at least in America the freeways are wide and almost everyone drives in their own lane, so even driving in the States is more relaxing than driving here in Thailand. 

     These are some of the goals we have for our upcoming trip and we wanted to share them with you so that you could pray for us as we plan and also maybe offer to help meet some of the needs to help us complete these goals. One of the main needs is our financial support. God has been faithful and over the past year our monthly goal of $2,500 has been reached almost ever month throughout the year. But due to increase in educational expenses for our children and also living expenses for our family we are aiming to increase our support to $3,000 monthly. So if you could please pray that God will enable us to connect with those who would like to partner with our family and support us financially so that we can continue to serve the churches and families here in Southeast Asia through the ministries of biblical counseling and discipleship. 

     It is time to bring this blog to a close, and I urge you to continue to look for further post in the near future as we update you with more details on our upcoming trip to the States as well as current happenings in our ministry work here. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I trust that it will encourage you and also excite you as the time when we will visit face to face quickly draws near. God bless and thank you for your faithfulness in serving our family through your prayers and support. We are eternally grateful for you and are thankful we can partner together to bring the life changing truths of the gospel to the hearts and homes of Southeast Asia for God's glory and the growth of His church.

Your fellow servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

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

Titus 2:11-14

COMING SOON!!!!!!

     Greetings from Thailand, where our family is beginning preparations for our upcoming visit to the States. It is hard to believe that in less than 8 weeks, we will be boarding a plane which will carry us to Idaho where we will be able to reconnect with our family, friends, and faithful supporters. Even though the time allotted for visiting with everyone will be short, we are still grateful for this upcoming trip. 8 weeks may seem like a long time from now, but those days and weeks will pass quickly and before we know it, the time for our departure will suddenly be upon us. So in order to help prepare as much as we can before March 5th, I wanted to share with you our tentative schedule of dates and locations where we will be visiting during our travels. I mention that the schedule is tentative because there are still many details we need to work out before we can set a firm plan. This is where your help will be greatly appreciated, since a lot of our plans will revolve around the desires of those who would like to meet with our family and hear about the work of Hearts Redeemed Ministry. We desire to meet with as many people as possible during the 9 weeks we are in the States, and in order to do that we need to begin arranging meeting times and locations as soon as possible so that we can firm up our travel destinations and dates. As of now our current schedule includes our arrival in Boise, Idaho on March 6th  and then our family leaving from LAX heading to Thailand on May 10th. So from the 7th of March to the 2nd of May we will be in Idaho and would like to begin scheduling time to visit with not only our family but also our friends, supporters, and local church bodies. So if you or your church would like to arrange a time to meet together, then please email me at dan.rutledge@gmail.com or heartsredeemed@gmail.com as soon as you can. Also we are in need of some people to serve as contacts in the different locations we are currently planning on visiting. Currently we are looking at spending time visiting the Boise area, the Twin Falls area, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, and Salt Lake area, and also the Wood River Valley. So if you live in any of those areas and would be willing to help serve as a contact person for us, then please let me know. Also if you live in any of those areas and would like to try and schedule a time to visit together, then please email me soon. Finally, if you live anywhere outside of those areas, and would possibly like to meet together, than please contact us and we will see if it is possible this trip to connect. Over the weeks leading up to our departure I will be updating information on plans and travel locations, as well as speaking times if you would like to come hear about the work of Hearts Redeemed Ministry and how you can be a part of connecting the hearts and homes of Southeast Asia with the redeeming truths of God's Word through the ministries of biblical counseling and discipleship. So be sure to keep an eye on the this blog and also our Hearts Redeemed Ministry page on Facebook. You can check it out at https://www.facebook.com/heartsredeemed/. 

     In addition to updates on our travel schedule, we will be listing specific needs which we are looking for people to help meet so that our family will be able to successfully visit as many people and places as possible during our short visit. Currently the two greatest needs are for transportation and housing for our family during our travels. We are looking for a vehicle to use during our time in the States which will help make it possible for us to drive to most of our destinations and also save money on the cost of renting a vehicle. So if you have a vehicle which can sit at least 6 people, and you would be willing to let us borrow it during part of or all of our time in the States, then please email me ASAP. Another need of ours is for housing in some of the different locations where we are traveling. We are in need of lodging during our time spent in the Boise area, the Wood River Valley, the Salt Lake Area and also the LA area during the week we are in California for my graduation at the end of our time in the States. So if you have a house with an extra room or some extra couches and would not mind hosting a crazy bunch from Thailand, then please let me know. We enjoy staying with others, as it gives us a chance to connect and fellowship together, but I also understand adding 6 new guests to your normal routine is a lot, so please let us know if you would like to host us or have an empty house which we can stay in for a few weeks. The benefit of hosting us is always an opportunity to enjoy and learn how to make some of Mam's amazing Thai food (hint, hint, hint). Would you please join with our family as we pray for these two specific needs as well as other ones which I will update in the upcoming weeks. 

      For now this is enough information and I just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to read this blog post. If you would not mind, after you have read this, would you please contact me with a short message if you are going to continue to follow the updates on this blog as we share about details of our upcoming trip. We want to make sure as many people who would like to read about our upcoming plans for our time in the States are receiving our updates. So if you would please email me at dan.rutledge@gmail.com or heartsredeemed@gmail.com or like and comment on our Facebook page?

      Thank you for taking the time to read this and I ask you to please pray for our family as we work extra hard to prepare for our upcoming travels as well as keep up on our daily responsibilities here in Thailand. I also ask you to please be in prayer for my family as my mom has been in the hospital now for over a week. She is suffering from a MRSA infection as well as some other serous health problems. The doctors told my dad that they do not know when or if she will fully recover and that she will have to spend maybe up to 2 months in the hospital and even after that she may have to be placed in a full-time care facility. This is hard news for all of us and especially as we are preparing to come back with the kids having lots of plans to spend time with Grammy. So please pray for wisdom for my sisters as they are in the States helping my parents during this time, Also pray for my brother and I as we are here in Thailand, praying that we will be able to make it back in time to spend time with my mom in case her condition does not improve. Also pray for wisdom and finances as we look at how to provide the best care for my mom both currently and in the future. Most importantly pray for my dad as this is extra hard on him and that he will turn to God and find the hope and strength to trust in God's sovereign and loving plan. I will update you on the status of my mom's health as well in upcoming post, but for now, please pray for her as well as all those who love her.

I look forward to counting down the days to our departure, and also to hearing back from you as we arrange times to connect together during our times in the States. 

God bless and may you continually hold to the true hope promised only in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

"Many plans are in a man's heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand."  Proverbs 19:21

Classes, Counseling, and Change:

Colossians 3:16-17 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thanksgiving in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Greetings from Thailand where life has been busy but blessed and we are grateful for the work God is doing in and through our family for His glory. I can hardly believe it is already July and time seems to be flying by faster and faster every year. I wanted to take some time to update you on what our family has been doing over the past few months and the work we have been a part of through Hearts Redeemed Ministries. I have been meaning to send this update for some time now, but there always seems to be something that comes up which prevents me from completing it. I guess Bruce Lee was right when he said, “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” So today, Lord willing, I will complete this update and get it sent out to our family, friends, and faithful supporters. Thank you for your patience and your prayers and I hope that you are encouraged by the reports of God’s working in the hearts of the Thai people through the truths of Scripture and the ministry of the local church.

Classes:

It is July and for the first time in 3 years I find myself at home with my family instead of in a classroom in California. It seems strange to not be preparing for a trip to the States and making sure I have all my homework ready for my weeks of study. I do miss the fellowship and the teaching I was blessed to experience during my times on campus, but I am grateful that my schooling in completed and that I can spend this time with my family and not have to leave them alone for four weeks every year. Yes, you read that correctly, I have completed my Master’s degree in Biblical counseling and am now able to focus full time on ministry and family without having to worry about homework assignments and test preparations. It was a wonderful experience and I am so thankful that I was able to take part in the MABC program from the Master’s College. I was not only able to learn more about the Bible and the ministry of biblical counseling and discipleship, I was also able to mature in my spiritual life and become a better husband, father, and follower of Christ. I highly recommend the SIP program offered through the Master’s College for anyone who desires to mature in their faith and also minister more effective to the body of Christ. You can check out more information at http://www.masters.edu/academics/graduate/mabc/

Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle in their new school uniforms.

As we are talking on the subject of schooling, there have been some other changes for our family in this area. This year, after much prayer and consideration, Mam and I decided to move our kids to a new school which is located nearby our home. It was a difficult decision mainly because they would have to move from a Christian Thai school to a Buddhist public school, and they would have to say goodbye to their friends which they had made over the past two years at their old school. The reason for the move was because the cost of the Christian Thai school was getting too expensive and the cost in finances and time to transport the kids to and from school every day was also too high. An average day at their old school would include everyone waking up at 6 AM and then leaving the house at 7 AM so that we could arrive at school after the 30 to 40 minute drive before they had to line up for classes at 7:45 AM. Then we would pick them up at 4:30 PM and drive back home arriving around 5 to 5:30 PM. Following an hour of homework, chores, dinner, and shower, it was 8:30 and time for everyone to get to bed. This left no time to truly enjoy activities as a family. Their new school has a more affordable tuition which we can pay and is located 5 minutes from our home. It also starts classes at 8:30 and is done by 4:00 so we have plenty of time to do family activities in the evening and for the kids to play and exercise after their chores and homework are complete. Their new school is also located on the campus of one of the universities we are ministering at, and so that makes it convenient for Mam and I to not only take our kids to school but also connect with college students who are attending our church. The kids have enjoyed their new school and are making new friends and for that we are grateful. Please pray especially for Gracie as she has always had a hard time making friends and talking to new people. She is doing better but still struggles with this and we are helping her talk more and more with her teachers and her classmates. Thankfully, her teachers are very patient with her and her classmates are kind as well. Gracie is making progress and for that we are thankful but please continue to pray for her to overcome her fear and begin talking and also for Mam and I to be wise and patient as we help her to be obedient to us, respectful to teachers and classmates and most importantly glorifying to God by talking to others. Joy, Hope, and Kyle love their new school and already are making friends and enjoying the extra time in the evening to play and exercise.

Counseling:

Some of the attendees at the introduction to
 Biblical Counseling Seminar
 

Even though I have just completed my biblical counseling degree in May, since we have been back in Thailand, counseling has been the main focus of our ministry. I along with the help of Mam have been offering pre-marriage counseling and discipleship to young college couples who attend our church here. We have been a part in helping prepare the couple as well as their wedding for 4 couples already and there are 4 more couples currently getting ready to begin meeting with us as they are looking at getting married later this year. We have also been able to help minister to the missionary community here in Chiang Rai and other cities in Northern Thailand. Our goal was to come and minister to the Thai families and churches through the ministry of biblical counseling and discipleship, but over the past year I have found myself counseling many missionary families who are experiencing difficulties in their ministries, their families, and even their personal life. It has been a blessing to be able to help serve fellow missionaries and also local Thai singles, couples, families, and churches with the truths of God’s Word. But during my times of counseling I have seen that there is a great need to not only counsel others, but also to train them how to counsel, mainly since I am not able physically to meet with everyone who has been seeking out help. So by God’s grace, Mam and I were able to connect with a local foundation here which has a heart to counsel others and begin a training session for those in the community who want to learn about and begin using biblical counseling to help their friends, family, church, and community. In April we held an introductory all day seminar on the ministry of biblical counseling and we had close to 30 people attended. Then in May we held our first of 12 one day sessions training in biblical counseling. There were 27 people who came and during the second session we held last month there were 23 people. Praise God because these are men and women who are Thai and Akha who are serving as pastors, pastor wives, ministry leaders, orphanage staff, and other ministries not only here in Thailand but also across the border into Myanmar and Laos.

Some of the students celebrating the completion of their
homework from the first training session we had in May.

Enjoying lunch together during the seminar.

            It has been such a great blessing to be able to share what I have learned through my schooling with others who are eager to not only learn God’s Word but to also live it out in their daily life and lead others to the sufficient truths of the Bible. The challenge has been trying to fit 4 years of schooling into 12 one day seminars and to also translate all that material into the Thai and Akha languages so that those attending can understand it. Thankfully, a friend of ours who is a local pastor has been able to help translate the material for us. There is a huge need for biblical truth within the local church here in Thailand and thankfully there are people wanting to not only learn more of the Bible but also begin ministering those truths of Scripture with others through the ministry of biblical counseling and discipleship. Please continue to pray for this training time. We are having our third training session the first week of next month and will be looking at biblical conflict resolution and peacemaking and how to help those who are in conflict with others. (Husband/Wife, Parent/Child, Employer/Employee, church members/staff, classmates, roommates, ministry partners, etc.) The local foundation who we are partnering with has also asked us to begin doing some training across the border in Myanmar, so we are looking at that for next year.

Changes and Conclusion:

There is still so much more to share but I will post that later this month since I am working on trying to keep these posts short. But before I go I just wanted to update you on some changes which we are trying to make in regards our contact with our supporters and friends. I am currently working on a new email way to send out newsletters and so shortly you may be receiving an invite, so if you would like to receive our updates via email, then please email me at heartsredeemed@gmail.com with the current email address you would like us to contact you with. Also if there are other ways which are more effective in contacting you, then please let us know so that we can make sure that we are connecting you with our ministry and family updates. Also I will be posting these updates on our family’s ministry blog which is http://rutledgereview.blogspot.com/. You can check it out to find ministry updates, prayer requests, pictures, praise reports, and also information on how to support our ministry financially and other ways. This blog will be specifically focused on our family and ministry here in Thailand through Hearts Redeemed Ministries. I will be starting another blog soon dealing with biblical counseling and discipleship topics for those interested in reading. It will be focused on how God’s Word instructs us on daily living and how God uses the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the church to help sanctify us and use our life to glorify His name and grow His church. So keep an eye out for that new blog which I hope to have started next month.

Thank you for taking the time to read this update and I pray that you not only found in informative but also encouraging. God is always present and always working and we are grateful that He has enabled us to not only know Him but to also be used by Him to help others come to a saving knowledge of His goodness and His glory.

Your fellow servants in the Lord

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

Titus 2:11-14       

Grateful for God's Goodness

Greetings once again from Thailand. I am excited to share with you some highlights and pictures from the past few months. Since our last post, God has been doing some amazing things here and we are grateful for the opportunity our family has to play a small part in the wonderful workings of God. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and so I decided to help keep this post short by posting a lot of pictures which will we hope will help you gain a greater understanding of what our family has been involved with over the past few months.
The first set of pictures are from the month of August in which we celebrated Kyle's 4th birthday and also the opening of the school year for the university students. Our church held a three day camp at the start of school and the theme verse was from Philippians 1:6 which says, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." This verse was chosen because we wanted to focus on the sanctifying work of Christ in the lives of the students and that He Who saved them by His grace, is also the one Who is sanctifying them and will not stop until He has completed His work. During the camp we had over 100 students attend and we closed the camp with the celebration of 5 students demonstrating their commitment to the lordship of Christ through their public display of baptism. The day of the baptism it rained non stop, but we were all able to rejoice in this special day with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Following a very busy August, the month of September was filled with lots of school work for me and the kids. I was working hard to finish up a few research papers for my classes and the kids were busy preparing for end of the semester testing. We were all busy with school, but we were also keeping active in ministry with the local church and the college students which attend there. For me this included meeting weekly for discipleship and biblical training with the four interns who are currently working at the church. I also was continuing my preaching once a month as well as teaching an adult Sunday school class every Sunday before worship service. On top of these opportunities to serve the church, I was also leading two small group Bible studies for the college students.

Mam was also busy serving the church, as she is leading the children's church every Sunday and is currently training some of the young ladies in the church to help teach the children during different Sundays of each month. The month of September flew by, and I am guessing that is because of the blessing of being busy serving the Lord and the local church body. On top of all these opportunities to serve with the church, I was also busy putting into practice the truths I have been learning during my studies by offering biblical counsel to some missionaries who were seeking help and hope during their trials. I am grateful that I have been able to serve them and am also grateful that as a family we are able to minister to the Thai and missionary community with the redeeming truths of God's Word. The following pictures are from one of our small group Bible studies which we have on Thursday night.

Now that we are in the month of October, our family is finally finding some time to rest and relax together. The children are out of school for two weeks, and I have completed all my class work and am able to rest until my last project for my Masters degree is to begin in November. Lord willing I should be finished with my degree in biblical counseling in March 2015. Our whole family is counting down the months to that completion date, especially Mam who is excited to have her husband back and not have to share him with late night homework assignments anymore. Someone asked if I would consider going on for my Doctorate, to which I calmly looked at my wife and assured them that a Masters degree was enough for now. I am ready to be done with schooling and to be able to focus full-time on family and ministry.

During this break in our lives, we were able to take a couple of days and get away for a short vacation as a family. It was a very relaxing time of just hanging out in the hotel and also letting the kids do some fun events. We went ice-skating, to the night safari zoo and kids play area. Kyle really enjoyed the zoo, since this was his first time ever going here in Thailand. He ran from animal to animal and had so much fun. It was such a blessing to be able to rest as a family and we wish we could have stayed longer than 2 days but due to lack of finances we had to come back home. We have had fun here at home though as well. We are playing UNO at night as well as reading lots of books. There are bike rides and walks with the dogs. It has been so nice just to relax as a family and reconnect with each other once again. Next week school starts again for the kids and so we are trying to enjoy every day off with them as much as we can.

Even though the kids are out of school, our ministry with the church and biblical counseling are still going. This Sunday I will be preaching and so I have been spending time preparing for not only that Sunday morning service but also the Adult Sunday school class I will be teaching before and also the small group Bible study I will be teaching that afternoon. For one Sunday a month I end up having to teach or preach around 5 hours and that is in the Thai language, so needless to say, on those days I am truly wiped and ready to rest in the evening. Even though it is hard work, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the body of Christ by instructing them in the Word of God.
Please continue to remember our family in your prayers as we finish up the month of October and get ready for the busy months of November and December. Already there are multiple Thanksgiving and Christmas outreaches scheduled for our church, and we are excited for the chance to use these two months to share with others the joy of Christ and the blessings of being thankful. Please also pray for our ministry in offering biblical counseling not only for the missionary community but also among the Thai believers. Starting in November Mam and I will be doing pre-marital counseling with a young lady from our church and her fiance from China. It should be interesting, but we are grateful to offer this young couple the truths of God's Word upon which they can build their marriage upon. Another prayer request is in regards to our families finances. The past few months, our financial support has been low, but by God's grace we have been able to pay for all our needs and even have some extra money to help out others and spend time away as a family. The concern I have is that if our support does not pick up, then come the New Year, I may have to look for part time work to help cover our living expenses. I am not concerned about having to work, but rather that it takes me away from other things, such as ministry, schooling, and family. For almost 19 years I have been blessed to be able to serve in full-time ministry and live by the faithful giving of so many wonderful people. Both as a single and now as a family of six, every month God has faithfully provided for all of our needs through the gifts of our supporters. So I am thankful for the past 18 years I have been able serve in full-time ministry and I am asking God to grant us many more years of full-time ministry for Him. So please pray that our financial needs will be provided for and that we will have wisdom as we evaluate and make plans for the year 2015. (Information about ways to help support our family is located on the side bar of this post).
Thank you for your willingness to take time to read this post and also for all of your prayers. If you would please take a moment and email me at dan.rutledge@gmail.com and let me know if this post was both informative and encouraging to you. Thank you and God bless you.

Here are some pictures from our family's 2 day vacation last week.

Hope for our Hearts

Greetings everyone, I trust you are doing well. I would like to thank you for all of your prayers during this time I am away from my family. I am really looking forward to being reunited with them next week. 5 weeks is just too long to be away from your loved ones. I am grateful for the time I did get to spend in the States and the chance to study here at the Master's College as well as spend time visiting with family, friends and supporters. I have posted our latest newsletter in the page above (Printable PDF versions of the newsletter) The latest issues is titled Hope for our Hearts and is a short update of what God is doing in our family and the ministry there in Thailand. Please feel free to print it off and share with your friends and family. Thank you for your prayers and please know that you are in our prayers often. God bless
The Rutledge Family.

Striving According To His Power Colossians 1:28-29

Happy Mid-year from the Rutledge Family, we are eternally grateful for all your prayers and financial support which makes it possible for us to live and minister full time here in Chiang Rai, Thailand. During the past 7 months since our last newsletter, God has been so good and our family would like to share with you 7 of the highlights of what God has been doing through the work of Hearts Redeemed Ministry. We know that nothing which has been accomplished could have happened apart from God and so we want to give all praise to Him, Who has strengthened us through His Spirit and enabled us to continue striving according to His power as we proclaim His gospel for His glory.

The first highlight we would like to share with you is the wonderful opportunity of being able to partner with a local Thai church in ministering to university students and young singles. Our goal with Heart Redeemed Ministries was to work with families within the local church to help strengthen their walk with Christ and also their witness for Him. The benefit of working with college students before they get married is to help lay a biblical foundation upon which they can build their future marriage upon. During the past year, we have been able to provide biblical teaching and discipleship through; Sunday morning preaching, Adult Sunday School Classes, Evening Life Group Bible Studies for men and for women, One on one discipleship and counseling, and even a couples class we held after Sunday morning service. Thankfully we have already begun to see some fruit from our time with the college singles, and we give all praise to God for the way He has been working in their hearts through His Word. There were two weddings over the past 7 months which Mam and I were blessed to be able to help provide pre-marital counseling for both the couples.

The second highlight deals with our children and the why that they are adjusting to a new culture through the help of God’s grace. It was slow at first, but once everyone got started their Thai language took off and now they are all fluent in Thai. Even little Kyle who started school in May, is speaking Thai. This is a huge answer to prayer, because I was not sure how they would adjust, but God has been gracious and we are thankful for their willingness to serve with us here in Thailand. They miss the States and are looking forward to coming back and visit soon, maybe when I graduate next spring.

The third highlight has to be the fruits which we are already seeing God produce through my studies and practice of biblical counseling. I have been humbled to see how the truths of God’s Word is able to change lives stuck in serious struggles and sins. Over the past 7 months I have been able to offer biblical counsel to Thai college students, Thai couples getting ready for marriage, Thai families struggling with choices, a married couple from Brazil, other missionaries from the States, and even members from Mam’s family. I am still working on my studies and am in my last session of classes, but I am amazed at how the skills I have been able to learn, God is using to minister to others.

The fourth highlight comes in the completion of one year back in Thailand. We arrived in Thailand in April 2013, with lots’ of dreams but even more questions. God as always was faithful and provided everything we needed for our families relocation back to Thailand. We are grateful for the house we are renting and the wonderful Thai neighbors who we have become good friends with. We are also grateful for my truck, which even though took some repairs over the past year, has continued to run faithfully and has been a great tool not only for transporting our family but also serving others in the body of Christ. I use it to pick up college students for church on Sunday, we have used it for outreaches in villages, and lot’s of other outings. God is gracious and we are grateful for a house to sleep in, a truck to drive, food to eat, and a chance to live and serve in Thailand full-time. We have been here one year, and we are trusting God to enable us to remain serving Him here in Thailand for many more years to come.

The fifth highlight is how God has been gracious with our schooling. I say our schooling because I am busy studying for my Masters in Biblical Counseling and all of our kids are now attending school. Gracie is in 4th grade, Joy is in 2nd, Hope is in 1st, and Kyle is in the first year of kindergarten. They start school here at age three and have three years of kindergarten before 1st grade. Oh and they go all day long, with a nap after lunch of course. So everyone is in school except for Mam, and she is enjoying her days free from kids and sticky fingers. She does miss them though and is always excited to pick them up from school and help them with their homework. God has been good, and we are grateful for the chance to grow in knowledge, I am especially grateful that my classes are coming to a close soon. I am taking my last four classes right now, and then after I write my thesis, I will be able to graduate. It has been lot’s of hard work but am so glad that I took the program I did and am excited to see how God is going work through what I have learned for His glory.

The sixth highlight has to be our health. God is so gracious and even though we live in a third world country, we have rarely had any major sicknesses. We are so thankful for God’s hand of protection over our family this past year and we trust that He will continue to provide protection and patience to help us deal with any health issues He brings our way in the future.

The seventh highlight is all of you who take the time to read our newsletters, pray for our family, give of your finances, and encourage us through your emails. We know that our family would not be able to live and minister here full time if not for the work of God in our lives through the faithful prayers and support from people like you. Our family would once again like to say thank you for all you have done to bless us throughout our years on the mission field. We remember you often in our prayers and thank God for the way He works through you to encourage and provide for our family.

Thank you for your willingness to partner the Rutledge Family and Hearts Redeemed Ministries as we continue striving through His power to connect the hearts of the Thai people with the redeeming truths of God’s Word.

Happy Mid-Year and God bless from:

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

Thankful Through Triumphs and Trials in Thailand

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving-kindness is everlasting to all generations.”                 Psalm 100:4-5

Greetings in the name of our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who has blessed us with countless blessings and the wonderful gift a new life in Him:

Our family is looking forward to the holiday season and is grateful for the way God has worked through your prayers and financial support to enable us to serve full time ministering with the people of Thailand. Since our last update, our family has experienced both blessings and difficulties and we are looking forward to sharing with you some of the highlights from the past month.

Doga the young man who is staying with us.

The best place to start would be with the exciting news that our family has grown. No we are not expecting another child since that would truly be a miracle; rather we have agreed to take in a 15 year boy who needed a place to stay until the end of the school year in February. Doga's older sister asked us if we would let him stay with us for the next four months until she was able to find a place to rent and could help take care of him. At first we were reluctant to open our home to a rebellious teenage boy, but after talking with him, his sister, and others we agreed to give it a try. This has been a great opportunity for me to begin practicing some of the discipleship principles for men which I am wanting to use with some of the male college students I have been meeting with over the past few months. My heart goes out to Doga, who like many 15 year old boys finds himself standing at a crossroads between life and death. We have talked about the current path he is traveling and if he continues to walk that path and follow the friends he has been following, then there is guaranteed destruction waiting for him. He may not know when that destruction will come, but by continuing to walk in rebellion he is assured that it will come. On the other hand there is hope for him in the life of Christ and if he is willing to submit to Christ’s lordship and allow His Spirit to change his heart, there is an assurance of living a life which will bless him and others as well as bring glory to God.  Doga has been with us now for three weeks and we are thankful that we had an extra room for him to stay in and also the time to study the Bible with him and help him begin to make better choices in the way he is living his life. I am still not sure of his salvation and that has been something we have been talking about in great detail, the gospel message and how it has the power to save us not only from the punishment of our sins but also from the power of that sin in our daily lives. Please continue to pray for Doga and our family as we spend the next few months together trying to minister to a life which was willingly walking down the path to destruction. We are praying that during his time living with us, we will be able to not only share the gospel with him through our words, but also with our lives. We are grateful for the kitchen table we were able to buy because of some of your special gifts, it is large enough to sit eight people and so we are glad that Doga can join with our family during meal times. We are also thankful that the house we are renting had a couple of extra rooms so that Doga can be a part of our family but also have some privacy from the busyness of our 4 kids. We look forward to updating you on how his time spent with us is going and ask you to please continue to pray for Doga as he faces the temptations which are common to all 15 year old boys.

If taking in another kid to look after was not enough to keep us busy, we have found ourselves expanding our ministry opportunities as well. For the past few months we have been doing some pre marriage counseling with a young Thai pastor and his fiancé. It has been such a blessing to get to know this young couple and study the truths of Scripture with them as they prepare for their future life together. During our time of counseling we realized that one, I need to be translating all the material I am using with this couple into the Thai language and make a small workbook which we can use with future couples. So that means that over the next few months Mam and I are going to try and create a pre-marriage counseling book and workbook to use with others. We also found ourselves not only offering pre marriage counseling but helping as wedding planners for this young couple. It amazed us at how much they were un-prepared for their upcoming wedding on November 30^th and we realized that this is a ministry we can offer to others in the future. So we have been busy not only counseling with this young couple but also helping them with their wedding preparations. It has been fun, but also very tiring. I forgot how much work goes into planning a wedding, I think that when it is time for my daughters to get married, I will give them a plane tickets as a wedding gift and send them to the States for a quick and easy wedding maybe at a drive through in Vegas. Please continue to pray for Click and Wahn (the young couple getting married on the 30^th) as they begin their life together and try to apply all the truths they have been learning about marriage from God’s Word. I have also seen that this is a young couple who are going to need a lot of help during their first year as a married couple and so Mam and I are planning on continuing meeting with them monthly and trying to disciple them as they begin this adventure known as marriage.

 

Some of the college students enjoying Friday Fun Night at our house.

The schools started their fall terms during the last part of October and so we have been busy getting our children back into the school routine and also connecting with the students from our church who attend one of the local universities. In order to help minister to the students from our church, we have started a prayer time on Sunday evenings which we have on their university. The first week we had 15 students come to pray, the second week we only had 1 (The others went to watch Thor 2 with the English club). But this last week we had 7 come and we are hoping that this group will continue to grow as they invite their friends and reach out to other students in their classes. On the 15^th of December we will be having a Christmas party for all the students from that university and we are praying that many of the students from our church will bring their friends since the theme of the party is the Peace of Christmas and we will be focusing on the peace God offers to those who believe in the gift of His Son which He sent for us on Christmas. Please pray that many students will come and that this will be a great opportunity for those in our church to share the gospel with others in their class. December 15^th is the date, so please remember to pray.

Please pray for our family, specifically two very important requests. The first is for our health but specifically for my health as I have been struggling with some physical problems which are painful and also limiting my ability to be active. The main problem is what I think is possible some gallstones or gallbladder disease. I am trying to get into to see the doctor early next week and am praying that they will be able to diagnose what is actually wrong with my body and provide a way to relive the pain. I do not suffer from constant pain, but from sudden burst of great pain in my stomach and back, so much that it makes it even hard to talk, let alone do anything else. The last flair up happened about two weeks ago, and it occurred right when my truck tire started to go flat because I ran over a nail. Trying to change a tire in hot humid air, while suffering from extreme stomach pain is something I do not wish for anyone to have to experience. Thankfully, I was able to get the tired change and after a few hours of pain, the hurting stopped and I was able to rest some before I had to go pick up the kids from school. I do not know what is causing it and we are praying that the doctor will be able to diagnose it correctly and provide some lasting relief for whatever it is that is causing the pain. Please pray for my health and also the health of our whole family especially now since many of us have small head colds and runny noses.

Hope, Kyle and Joy enjoying some fun with the can food

Gracie send her greetings

The second prayer request involves our family’s finances and the fact that over the past few months we have seen a dramatic decrease in the amount of support given. When we left the States we had a budget that needed us to raise $2500 in monthly support to cover all of our family’s needs. We left for Thailand believing that we had $2000 in monthly support committed to meet our costs of living, and were praying about possible supporters to help make up the remaining $500 of monthly support needed. The first three months back, our support was doing well and we had even received some special gifts which enabled us to purchase a cover for the back of our truck and a stove for Mam to use for cooking. But starting in July, the amount of support coming in monthly began to decrease and continued to decrease over the next few months. The past two months we have seen it decrees to the point where we are now onlyI ask you to please prayerfully consider giving an extra end of the year gift to help our family cover all of our needed expenses. There are two very big expenses coming up in the New Year which we currently do not have the finances to cover. One is the need to purchase a computer for Mam and the girls to use for doing their homework and ministry work in Thai. We currently have my laptop but since I use it so much for my schooling we do not want the girls to use it in case all my class work gets mistakenly erased. So we are praying for and trying to save up $400 to buy a laptop for Mam and the girls to use. The second need is a little larger and a little more important. My truck’s tires are over 6 years old and are needed to be changed, also the front breaks are at that stage to be changed, and I think the clutch is also going out. This is the joy of having a car that is close to 20 years old and has been used a lot. It has been a great truck and has taken many of trips to the villages to spread the gospel, now it is getting old and the cost to keep it running is beginning to add up. It is the only vehicle we have now besides a small motorcycle and so we need to keep it running as long as possible. For new tires and repairs I believe it is going to cost somewhere around $700 to $900. That is a lot of money when you are taking in only $1700 in monthly support. So we are asking first for you to join with us in praying for our family’s finances and the need to raise more support. Also prayerfully consider joining our monthly support team or giving an end of the year gift to help us finish off 2013 and also be able to cover the expenses of the computer for Mam and the kids and also for the truck tires and repairs which are greatly needed. If you would like to know more about how to join our support team or how you can give specially, then please email me at dan.rutledge@gmail.com . God is faithful and has continually provided for all of our family’s needs and we know that often times that is through the gracious gifts from people like you. We ask you to please, please help our family to continue to serve in fulltime ministry here in Thailand by partnering with us through prayer and financial support. Your gifts are what make it possible for us to be able to serve the Thai people by seeking to connect their hearts with the redeeming truths of God’s Word. Thank you for your prayers and past support and we ask you now to give a little extra during the holiday season.

receiving $1700 to pay for our living expenses. God has been faithful and we have been able to survive, but this last month we had to pay school fees for our three daughters, some medical bills, and other unexpected expenses which have forced us to wonder if there is going to be enough money to finish out the year. December is always a wonderful month and is a time when many people give a little extra.

Speaking of the holiday season, I guess I had better bring this update to a close before Christmas arrives. The months of November and December are my two favorite months of the year and I was so thankful that I was able to introduce my family to the joys of the holiday season over the past two years we spent in the States. It is always hard to be away from family and friends throughout the year, but to be away during Thanksgiving and Christmas is especially hard. Our whole family misses the festive times and the joys of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please pray for us as we celebrate a milder version of Thanksgiving and Christmas, since these are not national holidays here in Thailand. We all miss the snow, the lights, the yummy food, the fun Christmas show at church, the Christmas parties with our life groups, but what they miss the most is spending time with their Papa and Grandma, their cousins and Aunties and Uncles, and of course all their friends from school and church. Please pray for our family during this first holiday season back in Thailand and please pray that we will be able to use these two great holidays to reach out to others in our neighborhood and local universities with the blessing of giving thanks for what God has done for us and also the true meaning of the Joy of Christ.

Joy with some of the college students

Some of the wonderful food we had for Thanksgiving

The students singing Thank You Jesus

 

To close out this letter, I would like to share some highlights from the Thanksgiving dinner our church held last night. We invited all the students to prepare their favorite traditional food from their respective tribes and to present a short song or skit in their traditional language. What we got was a wonderful evening filled with amazing food and beautiful songs and dances. We had students who were Akha, Lisu, Lahu, Hmong, Iu Mien, Karen. We also had students who were from the eastern part, the central part and also the southern part of Thailand, all with unique foods and songs. We also had 8 exchange students from China who joined with us. It was such a blessing to see so many languages, cultures, and traditions represented in the church. Mind you our church only has about 50 to 60 regular attendees and most of them are college students. It was a special thanksgiving meal, no turkey but lots of wonderful tribal and Thai food. I have attached some pictures from the event. Praise God for a wonderful night and please pray as we make preparations for some upcoming Christmas programs and outreaches at the universities and also at our church.

May you and your loved ones have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Very Merry Christmas.

God bless.

Your fellow servants in Christ

Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle Rutledge.