The Wonderious New Adventure

Psalm 92:1-2

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

To declare Your loving-kindness in the morning

And your faithfulness by night,”

It is good to give thanks to God, and to praise Him for all of His wondrous deeds. In this update, I am going to share with you how God has been blessing our family over the past few weeks and invite you to join with us as we declare His greatness and faithfulness daily.

The best place to start is with the last few weeks our family spent in America. During the two years we called Pocatello home, our family was blessed in many ways and are eternally grateful for everyone who helped us during our time in the States. Our kids still talk about their friends that they made during Sunday school class, Awanas, and also in our life groups. Today in the car they were singing a wonderful song talking about once having a heart of darkness, but being able to praise God because Jesus had washed away their sin and made them white as snow. I had never heard the song before and they told me that they learned in in Awanas. My heart was greatly touched and I am so grateful for the two years we got to spend in America. The last two months of our time in the States was crazy and I know that there are some of our friends who we did not get a chance to say a proper good bye to, for that I am sorry but please know we do miss everyone and are looking forward to returning for a visit in about 3 years’ time. We would like to offer a special thank-you to the Lovelace family for letting us use your home for the time we were in Pocatello; also Grant and Cathy for letting us use the van to transport our family. We are also grateful for everyone at University Bible Church who ministered to our family and helped us during the last few days before our move. You will be greatly missed and continually in our prayers. There are so many people to thank, and we are so blessed to have so many wonderful people helping our family. Your prayers, financial support, and friendships are so vital to our family and we are truly grateful for all that God has done to bless our family through your lives. Thank you and please know that we truly do thank God for all of you.

Praise God for His faithfulness does not end, and we have already seen His hand at work during our travels back to Thailand. The flights were long, but God was merciful and the kids did an amazing job traveling, even though I caused us to miss our connecting flight from Bangkok to Chiang Rai because I kept going in the wrong direction in the airport, my family was so gracious with me and everyone kept a good attitude during the extra 5 hours they had to wait in the Bangkok airport. We were tired by the time we arrived in Chiang Rai but were also so excited to see some very good friends who met us at the airport. Our bags missed the flight but we were grateful to finally be here and to be able to lay down for a much needed sleep. God’s faithfulness was again seen the next day when we were able to visit some other deer friends and to also get our luggage back. I know Mam was thankful for this because I was still wearing the same clothes I had on when I left America three days earlier. She and the kids had changes of clothes but I did not and was spelling kind of funky by the time we got our luggage. Since our arrival, God has been blessing our family with opportunities to reconnect with friends and family and to also begin ministering with the local Thai church we were worshipping with before we moved to the States two years ago. The pastor and his wife are excited to have us back and we are already looking at how we can partner together to help connect the hearts of the Thai families with the redeeming truths of scripture. There are 4 young couples who are dating and are talking about marriage who are currently attending the church, and this is exactly the people we want to begin ministering to with the truths of God’s Word. We are excited to begin working to help the families in Thailand through Hearts Redeemed Ministries by applying the truths I am learning in my classes to help disciple and counsel fellow believers with the scriptures. I am looking forward to sharing with you more about the work of Hearts Redeemed Ministries in future posts and ask you to please continue to pray for our family as we minister in the lives of other families.

God is so good, and His faithfulness is never ending. When we first arrived in America we were facing many of the same needs which we are currently. We were in need of a house suitable for our family to rent at an affordable price which God provided. We were in need of a car to drive which was large enough to transport our family, again God provided. We were seeking wisdom on which school to put our children in, and God was gracious and provided a wonderful classroom experience at Greenacres for both of our daughters. We were also looking for stuff to furnish our house, and yet again God provided abundantly. God is good, and we know that He will provide for all of our needs. We ask you to please be praying for us as over the next few weeks we have a lot of decisions to make and needs that need to be meet, and we are totally dependent on Gods wisdom and provision. Here are the top five prayer requests for our family:

1. Pray for a house to rent which is located close to the church we will be ministering with (Ban Du area of Chiang Rai), will be large enough for our family and to host bible studies (4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large kitchen for Mam, and a large living room area to host bible studies), and will be affordable (10,000 baht or less).

2. Pray for wisdom on which school to send our children. (A Thai School is cheaper, but Gracie needs to relearn Thai before she can go. Joy and Hope will be alright in their age group but Gracie would be behind) (An English school would be easier for the girls but would also be expensive. Some as high as 20,000 a semester for tuition which is $725 per kid per semester and we do not have that kind of money to spend)

3. Pray for furniture and appliances to furnish the house we will be renting. Most houses in Thailand come unfurnished and so we must buy everything: refrigerator, stove, couches, beds, dressers, etc. We are praying for some good second hand things which we can purchase cheap and use a long time.

4. Pray for a car to transport our family. We still have my truck and we are so grateful for it, but it is getting older and currently just barely fits our family. We are praying for a small four door SUV or van that we could use to safely transport our family and visitors around in. This will cost money and so we are starting to set aside some to try and save up for a vehicle soon. (If you would like to donate special towards us being able to purchase a vehicle big enough for our family, please email me and let me know).

5. Ministry with Hearts Redeemed Ministry. We have already made some good contacts and we are ask for your prayers that we will be able to settled in quickly as a family and begin ministry to the young singles and soon to be marrieds in the church we are attending.

6. I know I said 5 prayer requests, but this one is important as well. We are grateful for everyone who is supporting us financially and we currently have $1800 in monthly support committed. Our goal is to have $2500 in monthly support and so we ask you to please pray that God will lead us to people who will be willing to help support us so that we can raise the remaining $700 needed to reach our goal.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this post and I pray that you will continue to sing with me God’s praises and share with others His faithfulness towards His children. God is so good and we are blessed to be able to serve in fulltime ministry as a family here in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Thank you for your prayers, your support, and your friendships. We are eternally grateful for what others have done to bless our family.

Have a great day and may God continue to work in and through you for His glory.

God bless and love always from your fellow servants of God.

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

Heading Out SOON!!!!!

Greetings from the frigged city of Pocatello.
The weather has been super cold and living the past decade in a tropical climate has destroyed my ability to handle it. I am looking forward to being back in the warm climate of Thailand soon, but I do know I am going to miss the beauty of snow but not the freezing temperatures of the winter. We are in the final months of our time here in the States and are doing all we can to finish what we need to do before we leave on April 3rd for our return trip to Thailand.
Before our family leaves, there are so many people we would love to visit with and so I would like to try to schedule a time to meet with as many people as possible before our departure date. We are so excited for the ministry opportunities which are awaiting us in Thailand and looking forward to connecting the families in Thailand to the redeeming truths of Scripture through Hearts Redeemed Ministries (HRM). This is a new ministry which Mam and I have started and are eager to share with you how we are going to use HRM to minister to the Thai people.
Our time in the States is running short and so we are looking for people who would be willing to host a small gathering at their home in which others could be invited to attend if they were interested in hearing more about HRM. Mam is willing to offer her cooking skills if people would like to learn how to make Thai food or just enjoy eating Thai food. If you would be willing to host a small Thai party at your home or church then please contact me ASAP. My phone number is 208-242-6300.

If you are not able to host a Thai party but we like to schedule a time to meet with our family or to find our about a Thai party being hosted in your area, then please give me a call or email back soon.

Here is a current list of upcoming events and also locations where our family will be over the next two months.
On Feb 1st -10th we are looking at being in the Boise Area. For sure we have a Thai party scheduled for the 9th of February at Faith Community Bible Church. The other days during our time in Boise are still open and would love to visit with as many people as possible during our week in the Boise area.
During the weekend of the Feb. 15th - 17th, we will be in the Wood River Valley. We will be spending time at the Larkin Community Church on the 16th and at Calvary Bible Church on the 17th. If you are in the Wood River Valley and would like to get together, then please contact us soon.
The weekend of the 22nd-24th we will be traveling to Montana.
We will be in the Twin Falls area on the 25th - 31st of March and are praying for opportunities to meet with many of our friends in the Magic Valley.
The rest of the time we will be in the Pocatello area and are always eager to fellowship with others here in Southeast Idaho.
We fly out of Boise on the 3rd of April and are praying that we will be able to visit with many of our friends, family and supporters before then.
We are excited to return to Thailand but are saddened to leave Idaho. If we miss getting together before we leave, please know that you are always welcome to visit us in Thailand. We'll keep a light on for you.
We are looking forward to hearing back from many of you and praying for a chance to get together soon.
God bless
Your fellow servants in Christ
Dan, Mam, Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle Rutledge

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  Luke 2:10-11

Our kids were grateful to spend Thanksgiving with their cousins.

The holiday season is upon us, and our family is so thankful that we get to spend the holidays in America once again this year. Our kids are looking forward to Christmas and are praying that the snow comes soon because they so long to experience a truly white Christmas.  I too would love to see some snow, I was looking forward to introducing my kids to the joy of sledding, and so we are praying for lots of snow before winter is over. The holiday season is truly one of my favorite times of the year and I get so excited to sing Christmas carols, drink hot chocolate, decorate the Christmas tree, and buy presents for everyone I can. Christmas is a special time of the year but many of us will get caught up in the holiday cheer and forget what Christmas truly is about. This year our family is reading about the true meaning of Christmas and spending time discussing together the wonderful gift of Jesus Christ and what His birth, life, and death mean to all those who seek Him. It has been fun sitting around the cd player and singing Christmas carols together, the theology in those carols is amazing and I encourage you to set aside some time to really reflect on some of those amazing truths presented in those old carols. One thing that our family has been talking about lately is the blessings we have received from God and also the opportunity we have to pass those blessings onto others. I am grateful that our family has the opportunity to once again spend the holidays here in America and am also so grateful for all that God has blessed us with during our times in the States. In this SHORT letter I would like to share three things with you. First, how grateful we are for all that we as a family has received over the past two years. Second, we would like to share a little bit about some of our upcoming plans for the year 2013. Third, we would like to present to you some special requests for needs our family is currently facing. I ask you to please take a few minutes and read our short list of three, and then if you feel comfortable, email me with a short list of what you are thankful for, what your  plans are for the next year, and any prayer requests or needs we can join with you in seeking God to provide.

How thankful we are for all our family has been blessed with over the past two years. We moved here with a lot of questions and a lot of needs, but God was faithful and through the gifts of so many people we were able to live and minister full time for the Lord during our time here in the States. We have been blessed with a wonderful house to rent, a car to drive, furniture and other necessary items to help make our house a home. We have been blessed with the opportunity to make many new friends and also reconnect with some old friends. I am thankful for the health of our family and the chances we have been experience some of the natural wonders of Idaho. Our family is extremely thankful for the opportunities we have had to minister to international students, the children in our church, and also young families who have been a part of our weekly Bible studies. I am extremely thankful for the chance to work on my Master’s degree and also become better equipped for ministering to families and the local church when we return to Thailand. There is so much to be thankful for and I would love to share them all with you, but I wanted to keep this letter short so I will just add one more thing. Our family is so thankful for all the people who have prayed for us, opened their hearts and homes to us, and given sacrificially to provide the finances needed to help our family live and minister here in America.

After looking back on the past two years and all the blessings God has given our family, now I would like to share with what are some of the future plans our family is working on. For those who do not know yet, our family is planning on returning to Thailand on April 3^rd, 2013 Lord willing. When we return to Thailand we will be looking at starting a new ministry which will focus on helping local churches and the families of Thailand with the truths of God’s Word through the use of biblical counseling. I do not want to share too much with you right now, because we are working on a ministry name and information packet which we will introduce at the start of January. We are excited to return to Thailand and begin ministering again with the people of Thailand. I still have two years left in my schooling, which I will continue from Thailand and I am looking forward to applying what I am learning in my studies as our family seeks to help counsel other families with the lasting truths of God’s Word. From now until April our family will continue to minister with our church and to the international students at ISU. We will also be traveling to visit as many friends, family and supporters as possible before April and finally packing up our house and preparing for the move back to Thailand.

The next four months are going to be busy for our family and we are in need of some extra help from others. We would like to visit with as many as possible before we leave and so we need people who would like to visit with our family to contact us so that we can schedule a time to meet. Also we are in need of some help emptying our house of things we will not be taking back to Thailand, so if you are in need of couches, tables, beds, dressers, pot and pans, etc. let us know so we can schedule a time for you to come and take our things. We also are in need of some financial help. When we return to Thailand we will be looking for a house to rent and since the houses in Thailand come unfurnished, we are in need of raising some extra money to buy basic appliances and furniture. Our family is also in need of help financially to help cover our living expenses during the time remaining here in America. The past three months our support level has been low, and by God’s grace we have been able to pay for all our expenses. We are asking you to please prayerfully consider giving a special one-time gift during this holiday season to help cover some of our families living expenses and maybe some of our upcoming moving costs. Our family has been blessed to be able to serve fulltime in the ministry during our time here in the States through the giving of so many people. We are eternally thankful for all that we have received and are trusting that God will continue to meet our monthly needs and are inviting you to join Him in providing for our family. Please consider giving special during this holiday season and contact me if you are sending something special so that I can share the good news with our family.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this blog post and I am looking forward to hearing back from you soon. May you and your family have a wonderful holiday season and a very Merry Christmas?

Your fellow servants in Christ:

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

GIVING THANKS:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 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 thankfulness 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.           Colossians 3:15-17

This time of year is truly my favorite. The falling leaves, the changing colors, and the colder weather always excite me. As the warm long summer days turn into shorter cool ones, I find myself getting more and more excited for my two favorite holidays of the year. Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been my two favorites. As a child, Christmas always was number one with the long break from school and the excitement of wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. As I grew, the excitement of Christmas was joined by the gratefulness I experienced for all the blessings in my life. Thanksgiving has now replaced Christmas as my favorite holiday and I truly enjoy this special time of year where we can join with friends and family in expressing our thanks for all that God has blessed us with. I have noticed though that Thanksgiving is now being crowed out by the increasing materialism that starts before Halloween and lasts into the New Year. I believe it is important for us to remember to thank God for all His wonderful gifts He has bestowed upon us, not only during Thanksgiving, but daily throughout the year. In this update I would like to reflect on some of the countless blessings our family has experienced over the past year, and I trust that you too will set aside some time to thank God for all He does for us even though we do not deserve His gifts.

GIVING THANKS FOR FAMILY:

I would first like to thank God for the wonderful family He has blessed me with. My beautiful wife Mam is such a wonderful gift from God and not a day goes by that I am not humbled by her beauty and heart for God. Gracie, Joy, and Hope are so precious and I am so thankful for the gift of such special daughters. Then there is little Kyle, my son and a constant provider of excitement and humor for our family. Our family has been blessed with health and time to spend together as a family. There are days when the noisy kids and a messy house begin to weigh on my patience, but I would never trade those days for a quiet and spotless home. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and four amazing kids, and for them I am thankful.

GIVING THANKS FOR AMERICA:

The kids enjoying riding in Papa's cool car!

I would like to thank God for the past year and half that He has blessed our family with here in America. America is truly a great country and we as Americans are blessed with so many wonderful things that sometimes we forget how good life truly is here in America. Our family is grateful for the time we have been able to live here and experience some of the wonders of this great country. We knew that financially we would not be able to provide for our living expenses during our time here unless God worked mightily in providing for our needs. Thankfully since April 2011 all of our financial needs have been met and we have been blessed with opportunities to enjoy some of the fun activities America has to offer. Our family has enjoyed the time spent here in America and we would like to stay longer, but we are also excited for the chance to return to Thailand in April 2013 and continue our missionary work there. We are thankful for these two years spent in America and also for everyone who we have been able to fellowship with during our time here.

GIVING THANKS FOR SCHOOLING:

            I am extremely thankful for the chance to further my education and also enhance my ability to minister to the Thai people when our family returns in April. My classes have been very informational and also very challenging, but I am thankful for the truths I am learning and the time I have to study for my classes. I just completed my first 12 credits in the pursuit of a Masters in Biblical Counseling and I am looking forward to the remaining 28 credits I will be taking over the next two years. During the past few months there have been many long nights and early mornings, but by God’s grace I was able to finish all my reading, papers, and tests and still have time to minister to my family, my church, and the international students at Idaho State University. For the next four months I am only taking one 2 credit class and so that means I am going to have more time to spend with my family and in ministry before we move back to Thailand. In March I will register for my next 9 credits and will continue my studies from Thailand.

GIVING THANKS FOR MINISTRY:        

Some international students our family took to Scout Mt.to see the sights of fall.

I am so thankful for the chance our family has had to minister during our time here in the States. When we moved back to America we had three ways we wanted to spend our time during our stay. We wanted to spend time with family, we wanted to spend time studying and equipping ourselves for future ministry, and we wanted to spend our time serving our church and ministering to others in Pocatello. By God’s grace we have been able to spend time growing as a family and reuniting with my parents and siblings. We have also been blessed to be able to equip ourselves for ministry through my studies and other ministry opportunities at our church. Our family has been blessed with the opportunity to minister not only the international students  at ISU, but also serve others in the church through leading Bible studies and helping out in Awana’s and serving in the nursery. God has blessed us with countless ministry opportunities and we are so thankful for all we have been able to do during the short time we have been here in the States. By far one of the main highlights has been the ministry opportunities we have had with international students. We have been blessed to be able to serve them by providing transportation for grocery shopping, assisting them in their English learning, helping them get settled to life in America, and even providing them a place to come and enjoy some warm rice and spicy food similar to what they miss from back home. Currently we have around 15 international students that we are weekly involved with in ministering to them. This has been an amazing opportunity to serve with our church, and I am thankful that God has blessed our family with a chance to minister internationally even while we are here in the States.

GIVING THANKS FOR SUPPORTERS:

Some good friends and supporters our kids love to visit in Boise.

Our family has been so blessed and is thankful for so many things, but one thing we constantly are thanking God for is the wonderful friends and supporters who have prayed for us and given financially to help us continue in full-time ministry. We are so humbled that God has given us an opportunity to serve Him full-time, but also that others would give of their finances to help provide for all our living expenses. If you have given to help support our family, please know that we are eternally thankful for all of your prayers and financial gifts. Your faithfulness in praying and giving has enabled us to spend the past year and half serving God full-time here in Pocatello, Idaho. We are also thankful for your support which has helped me pursue my masters in Biblical Counseling and help our family become better equipped to minister to the families in Thailand once we return there in the spring of 2013.  We have been blessed by the willingness to give by our supporters and are thankful for the chance to partner with you as we seek to serve God together through His redeeming love.    

GIVING THANKS THROUGH CHRIST:

            There are so many things we are thankful for and it is important that we do take time to thank God for His countless blessings, but we must remember that our offerings of thanks can only be possible through Christ. Christ is the gift that enables us to find peace with God and freely receive the hope He brings. As we start this holiday season, let us not forget to offer thanks for the perfect gift which God gave the world over 2000 years ago in that lowly manger in Bethlehem.  Jesus Christ is God’s gift to the world and only through His willing sacrifice on the Cross and the shedding of His blood can we freely receive His gift of forgiveness which He is offering to all mankind.  Let us remember to give thanks for Christ and the countless blessings we experience through Him not only during this special time of year, but in whatever we do in word or deed seeking to bring glory to His name.

            Thank you again for taking the time to read this update and I pray that you and your loved ones enjoy a wonderful holiday season. I know our family is looking forward to spending our last Thanksgiving and Christmas in America for a while and we are praying that the holidays bring lots of snow and times of fellowship with family and friends. Thank you again for all of your prayers and financial gifts which you have blessed us with during our time in ministry. Our family would not be able to serve without the faithful support of so many wonderful supporters. We ask that as the end of the year is approaching for you to consider giving a special one-time gift to help provide for our family. We are preparing to return to Thailand on April 3^rd, 2013 and are in need of raising some extra money to pay for our airline tickets and other moving expenses. By faith we purchased our airline tickets last week and now we trust that the $3458 needed to cover those tickets will come in before we have to fly back. If you would like to give a special onetime gift to help cover our airfare or moving costs then please email me at dan.rutledge@universitybible.org . If you would like to hear more about joining our support team on monthly bases or about the ministry we will be serving in once we return to Thailand, then please also email us at the above address or call me at (208) 242-6300.  We would love to hear from you. If you would like to give financially then please make your checks out to UBC Worldwide Ministries and mail them to:

UBCWorldwideMinistries  

4700 N. Philbin Rd.

Chubbuck, ID. 83202.

All gifts are tax deductible and help to enable our family to continue to serve in full-time ministry.

May you and your loved ones enjoy a festive holiday season, and do remember that truth of James 1:17 which says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” God is so merciful towards us and we must not forget giving Him the thanks He deserves. We look forward to updating you on some exciting changes coming our family’s way in the next few weeks and we will continue to remember you in our prayers daily, thanking God for your faithfulness in giving to help provide for our family’s needs. Have a happy Thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season.

 

 

Your fellow servants in Christ:

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

Titus 2:11-15

A Trip to the Treasure Valley

A Trip to the Treasure Valley:

Our family is planning a trip to the Boise area from the 4^th to the 7^th of October. During our short visit to the area we would like to meet with as many friends and supporters as possible. We want to take time to update you about the ministry work that our family is currently involved with during our time here in Pocatello and also share with you the plans we have for using biblical counseling to minister to families and the church upon our return to Thailand in April 2013. We know that it is impossible to meet with everyone during the four days we will be there, and so we are in need of your help. In order to meet with as many people as possible our goal is to schedule some open house meetings to which we can invite 10 to 15 people to come and hear us at one time. Ideally we would like to set up this meet and greet opportunity around desert and coffee and so we are asking for people who would be willing to help host such an event in their homes. I also need to know how many people would want to meet with us and what days and times work best for them. We will be arriving on Thursday afternoon and will have to leave Sunday late afternoon. The time is short, but if you want to meet with us, then we will do our best to schedule a time during our visit. If it does not work out this trip to get together, do not worry because we will be trying to schedule other times to visit from now until April when we return to Thailand. This is what our family needs from you.

            First we need to know if you would like to meet with us. If so please email me at dan.rutledge@universitybible.org or call me at 208-242-6300 and let me know a time and a place that you are free for us to visit.

            Second we need people who would be willing host an open house meeting that we could invite others to attend. This will involve opening your house and working with me to provide some small deserts and possible drinks. If you have friends who you would like to invite, then please do. Also I need to know a day, time, and location of the open house meeting so that I can invite others. I know this is a huge request but I also know that many of you are always looking for a chance to minister to others and this would be a great opportunity. If you would like to open your house for a small get together, then please email me or call me ASAP so that we can get some invites out.

            Third we are always looking for opportunities to partner with local churches as we seek to provide a way for the local body to be actively involved in ministering internationally. This can be through financial support, short term mission trips, or both. If you or your church would be open to talking more about partnering with our family then please email me or call.

            Fourth we ask you to please continue to pray for our family as we continue our ministry here with international students through University Bible Church and also as we prepare for the upcoming move across the ocean and the start of our biblical counseling ministry in Thailand come April 2013.

I look forward to hearing back from you and I pray that we get a chance to visit together during our time in the treasure valley. God bless and have a great day.

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

Colossians 1:28-29.