“But as for me, the
nearness of God is my goal; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell
of all Your works.” Psalm 73:28
Greetings in the name of our
wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we trust that you are doing well and
our family is blessed that you have taken the time to read our latest update.
Since the last update, our family has been busy enjoying the countless gifts of
God and especially the wonderful gift of the fellowship with believers. We are
grateful for all that our family has been able to enjoy during our times in the
US. We have been so blessed with the
gifts of your faithful prayers and financial support which makes it possible
for us to live and serve in fulltime ministry as a family. Moving from Thailand
back to the States proved to be a huge step of faith for our family, and we are
humbly amazed to see how God has continued to provide for all of our needs
through the faithful giving of fellow believers. Over the past few months our
family has been enjoying as many wonderful summer activities as possible since
this will be the last summer spent in the States prior to our moving back to
Thailand in 2013. Our family has enjoyed
this time in the States and especially the chance to fellowship with so many
wonderful people within the body of Christ. I have been amazed at how so many
people have opened their heart and their homes to our family. I am also humbled
at the amazing opportunity I have been given to further my education and I am
excited to use the truths I have been learning and to the opportunity of
teaching them to those we minister to when we return to Thailand. We serve an
awesome God, and here are some exciting highlights of what God has been doing
in and through our family over the past few months.
Campgrounds and Critters:
As I mentioned earlier, this is our
last summer in America for a while as our family is planning on moving back to
Thailand in April 2013. Our plan was to live in the States for about two years
and spend time with family, visit supporters, reconnect with our church, and work
on my Master’s degree in biblical counseling with the desire to return to
Thailand refreshed and better equipped to enhance our ministry among the Thai
people. They say that when you are having fun, time flies by and I guess that
is what happened because we are quickly approaching the 2 year mark and there
is still so much our family would like to do before we fly back to Thailand.
Many of the things which our family wanted to experience while here in the
States we were able to accomplish during the past two months. I really wanted
to take Mam and the kids camping up by the places I used to go camping as a kid
with my family. Mam and the kids also really wanted to go fishing and visit
Yellowstone national park. In July and August we were able to go camping in the
Sawtooths, catch lots of fish, and enjoy the beauty of Yellowstone with my
parents and my sister’s family. We are so blessed to be able to live in a State
with such natural beauty and to also know personally the God who created that
beauty. There still are many more things we would like to do before we head
back to Thailand, but I am thankful for the things we have already experienced
and the opportunity to spend time as a family enjoying the creation of our
King.
Classrooms and California:
If taking exciting road trips with
my family was not enough to keep me busy, work for my classes and the
international student’s ministry with our church has kept me occupied. In July
I traveled to California and spent two full weeks doing the in class portion of
my classes which consisted of studying from 8:30 till 5:30 five to six days a
week. The material was very informative and the professors were very
encouraging. It was a great two weeks of studying God’s Word, meeting and
fellowshipping with other students from all over the world, and being challenged
in my personal walk with Christ. It was hard being away from my family during
those two weeks, and the traffic in California reminded me how blessed we have
it here in Idaho, but I am looking forward to going back again next July for my
next 6 classes.
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| Enjoying the 4th of July with two international students from Nepal. |
Cross-cultural Contacts:
Our family has also been blessed to be ministering to international students here at ISU, and have really enjoyed spending time getting to know students from all over the world. We are hoping to try and schedule one more camping trip before the fall and want to bring along some of the students from Nepal with us. I will be traveling to Salt Lake on Saturday to pick some students up at the airport, and we have been working hard helping getting the new students set up with things they need to start their schooling next week. Last week we held an international student free giveaway, where we were able to give items which were donated from people in our church for free to international students who needed things for their apartments and dorm rooms. We gave away two beds, three couches, a lot of plates, cups, pots and pans, and many other useful items for international students. It has been a blessing working with international students during our time here in Pocatello, and we are excited for the ministry of International Crossroads to continue when we return to Thailand in the spring of next year. Please continue to pray that we will have meaningful contacts with international students over the next few weeks and also that I will be diligent to complete all the homework assignments for my current classes which finish in October. Also pray for time to spend as a family enjoying the wonderful recreational activates Idaho has to offer.
Our family has also been blessed to be ministering to international students here at ISU, and have really enjoyed spending time getting to know students from all over the world. We are hoping to try and schedule one more camping trip before the fall and want to bring along some of the students from Nepal with us. I will be traveling to Salt Lake on Saturday to pick some students up at the airport, and we have been working hard helping getting the new students set up with things they need to start their schooling next week. Last week we held an international student free giveaway, where we were able to give items which were donated from people in our church for free to international students who needed things for their apartments and dorm rooms. We gave away two beds, three couches, a lot of plates, cups, pots and pans, and many other useful items for international students. It has been a blessing working with international students during our time here in Pocatello, and we are excited for the ministry of International Crossroads to continue when we return to Thailand in the spring of next year. Please continue to pray that we will have meaningful contacts with international students over the next few weeks and also that I will be diligent to complete all the homework assignments for my current classes which finish in October. Also pray for time to spend as a family enjoying the wonderful recreational activates Idaho has to offer.
Challenges and Change:
God has been really good to our
family, and we are thankful for all of you who pray and support our family as
we serve Him fulltime. We are in the process of making preparations for the
fall and also for our return to Thailand in April 2013. One thing that is a must is the
need for new supporters to join with us as we minister in Thailand. Our family’s
goal is to raise $3,000 in monthly support. Last month we received $1,800 in
financial donations, which means that we are still $1,200 from our goal. We ask
to prayerfully consider joining our support team and help our family continue
in full-time ministry. September is going to be a challenging month
financially because we have back to school expenses for our two oldest
daughters ($60), we have to reapply for Mam’s visa extension ($290), we have
some repairs on the suburban we use to transport our family and international
students ($120), plane tickets and conference fees for a counseling conference
Mam and I would like to attend in October ($700), plus the day to day expenses
our families faces. Please email me at dan.rutledge@universitybible.org
if you would like to join our support team by giving a monthly gift of $25,
$50, or $100 or a one-time gift to help cover some of the above mentioned
needs.
Your prayers are also greatly needed, as we begin making
plans for our return to Thailand in 8 months. We are looking at different
ministry needs and opportunities and are looking forward to sharing with you
next time where we will be ministering when we head back in April 2013.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update and please
know that our family is eternally grateful for everyone who offers prayers and
financial support which enables us to serve full-time for the Kingdom.
Have a great day and God bless.
Your fellow servants in Christ:
Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle Rutledge
