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.

Rejoicing in Rest and Relationships.

Colossians 1:28-29

“We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

God is so good, and it is His greatness that our family is grateful to be able to proclaim not only to those we are ministering with here in Thailand but also with all of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who partner with us as we serve our amazing God in this wonderful country. This update is going to be full of praise for God’s wonderful workings. I have also included a lot of pictures to help you experience some of the wonderful things we have been blessed to be a part of over the past few weeks.

Currently in Thailand most of the schools are on break which frees our family up to rest a little from the pressures of school and also enables us to connect with some of the college students who are enjoying their break from studies as well. The actual break is only three to four weeks long depending on what school you attend, but as most of us remember from our college days, any break is a welcomed break no matter how long it is.

Most of the students returned to their homes for this break, but for those that have stayed here in Chiang Rai we were able to spend some time, seeking to deepen our friendships with them and working together to plan out meaningful ways to interact with other students once the new semester begins.

One of the first things we were able to be involved with was a three day trip to a nearby village, where about 20 college students went to spend time evangelizing with a church in the village. The students helped by offering some children’s programs and showing the JESUS film in the villager’s native language of Iu Mien. Our family was blessed to be able to help provide transportation for the team to the village and we wanted to stay and minister with them for the whole time but our children still had three more days of school left before their semester break and so that meant that we had to return to the city and be diligent helping our daughters study for their finales. It was a blessing though to hear the excitement of the students who went on the outreach and to be able to serve them by providing transportation to the village. We are already making plans for the next outreach which will be taking place in December and this time, Lord willing our family will be able to stay with the team the whole time in the village.

The next great adventure was finales week, and we are thankful that God helped Gracie, Joy, Hope, and me as we finished up our studies for the semester and were able to pass our finale tests. The girls did amazingly well on their exams considering it was their first semester studying at a Thai school and all the tests were in the Thai language. Their teachers all said they did well on their tests and were looking forward to teaching them again once the new semester starts on October 24^th. As for me, I too was able to finish my second round of classes which included one final exam and two research papers. One of the papers was on hope and the other one was on the sufficiency of Scripture. Both papers were challenging but the material I studied to enable me to complete the papers was priceless and I am so thankful for the chance to gain a deeper understanding and a greater appreciation  for the hope we have in Christ and the sufficiency of Scripture to enable us to live godly lives which are glorying to God. With the completion of this last round of classes, it means that I am 2/3rds of the way through my degree in a Master’s in Biblical Counseling which I have been working on. I have at least one more year left and then my Thesis, so Lord willing we are hoping I can finish my degree by May of 2015. Thank you for your prayer for our family over the past few months as we have been working hard in our studies. We ask that you will continue to pray especially for the girls as they start the new semester and continue to grow in their understanding and use of the Thai language.

 The third adventure our family has undertaken during the month of October involved a short four day trip to Chiang Mai, where we spent time resting as a family and also visiting some fellow missionary friends who live there. The highlight for everyone was the trip to the 3D art museum from which I have included some photos. The kids really enjoyed it and it was something Mam had wanted to visit for a long time, so it was a blessing to be able to enjoy the gallery together as a family.

Following our trip to Chiang Mai, our family returned to Chiang Rai and spent the last few days of vacation working around the house and catching up on a lot of little things which have been left undone over the past few months. The kids are helping out a lot and every morning they are actually fighting over who gets to wash the dishes. Crazy kids I have, but I do love them. Mam and I have also been busy helping a young couple who are getting married at the end of November get ready for their wedding. Mam was able to go with the future bride and help her shop for the wedding dresses and I have been helping the future groom prepare for his part in the wedding. This is the couple we have been doing some pre-marital counseling with and it has been such a blessing getting to know them and watch them grow in their love and understanding of each other based on the truths of Scripture. Please continue to pray for them as they wrap up their last few preparations for their wedding and as they begin their life together as a couple? I have also been starting a men’s ministry with some of the college guys and other guys in the church who have recently graduated from college. One of the young men named Ben has been meeting with me weekly as we study through Ephesians and grow together in the truths of God’s Word. The other men have started to come to our house twice to three times a week for some soccer (football) and fellowship. This Friday night we will be having our official back to school night and have invited the college students to come to our house for praise and worship time followed by games and fellowship. Please pray that God will bring many students to our house this Friday and that we will be able to continue our ministry among them as we seek to instruct them in the ways of God.  

Schools opened again on the 24^th and it has been a good first week at school for the kids. The universities also opened this week and so we are looking forward to continuing our ministry among the college students. At the church we have been helping with, we will begin an adult Sunday school class next week which I will be teaching and we will be doing a study on the overview of the Bible, since many of the students have little to no knowledge of the Scriptures. Mam is also starting to work with some young female students who will be helping lead the children’s church and Sunday school times. This will help Mam be able to rest and enjoy the sermons and also enable some of the college students to learn how to serve the church through helping with children’s church and nursery care. 

Well I believe that is enough for now. I am looking forward to updating you more as the new semester continues and our ministry with the college students and the local church we are attending kicks into full gear again. We have been thankful for this short break and also for your financial gifts which make it possible for our family to live and minister here full time in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Our family has been richly blessed throughout our years in full-time ministry and we are so thankful for the faithful financial gifts and prayers of supporters like you which make that possible. Your prayers and support are used by God not only in our family’s life but also in the lives of those with whom we are reaching out to with the Gospel through Hearts Redeemed Ministries.  Thank you for taking the time to read this update and may we always hold to the truth recorded for all believers in Romans 8:28 where we read, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Amen and Amen

Your fellow servants in Him

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

Seeking to serve and share the Gospel with the people in Thailand and faithful proclaim God’s glory through our service with Heart Redeemed Ministry.

High Five (Part 2)

"Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods." 

Psalm 96:2-4

  

Kyle is enjoying life in Thailand, especially since he gets to stay home with Mommy while his sisters have to go to school. He loves riding his bike, helping Mam around the house, and watching Thomas the Train videos while he plays with his train tracks and trains. He is not as fond of the Thai food as his sisters are, but he loves the Thai fruits. Every chance he has to eat fruit, he devours it. His favorite is pineapple and he also loves bananas and NGA which is rambutan fruit. He misses Grammy and Papa and his cousin Elias, but he is also making good friends here in Thailand. Actually everywhere we go he is the center of attention. All the Thai girls want to hug him and kiss him and buy him snacks. He acts shy around them and I hope that continues throughout his teenage years as well. He understands Thai but is content in speaking English and that is good. We wanted him to be grounded in English before he starts school next year and so the fact that he only wants to speak English right now is ok for us. He will pick up Thai from his sisters and the other kids at school next year. Every time he sees anything shaped like a cross he says, “Jesus got hurt on that”. Wow what an amazing observation and a great way to share the gospel with this precious 3yr old. He also refuses to eat before praying for the food by himself and will not go to bed until I pray with him as he prays for his friends Zoe and Phoebe. He really wants to ride an airplane again and to also ride a train, but his favorite thing to do is to ride the motorcycle with Daddy to the market to buy ice cream.

Mam is doing well and is really enjoying the wonderful Thai food. She too misses Pocatello, especially this time of year. She loved to watch the leaves change colors and really enjoyed going to family camp. She is happy to be back closer to her family but misses her friends she made while in the States. She really misses attending University Bible Church and helping out with Cubbies. She has been working overtime to help make the house we are renting into a home. I feel bad because there are many things which would make her job easier but we just do not have the finances right not to buy them, so we are making do with what we have. She is really thankful for the oven we were able to buy with the special gifts some of you sent. We were able to find a second hand oven which some missionaries were selling for a good price and she is enjoying using it. We made cookies in it for Kyle’s birthday last month and she is looking at doing some more cooking once life slows down. The house we rented came partially furnished and we have been slowly trying to get the things we need. We did get a bed for Mam and I, and also some storage cabinets for the kitchen to help hold the dishes and cooking supplies, but we are still looking for a kitchen table and some more pots and pans to help her with her cooking. We are grateful for what we have and are trusting that God will provide the finances to buys these items when it is needed.

If keeping up on house hold chores and watching Kyle were not enough to keep her busy, she has also been going to the girls school and spending the whole day with them helping them understand their school work. The teachers are really thankful she is willing to come and help and often times the other students ask her for help with their assignments as well. She is also developing a relationship with some college students who she is going to start a Bible study with next month. If being an amazing mom and an awesome wife were not enough she is also teaching Sunday school at the Thai church we are ministering with. During the month of July I had to return to the States for four weeks to attend classes for my studies. She was able to keep everything going during that time without missing a beat. I truly did marry way above myself and am grateful for such a wonderful partner to enjoy life with. She sends a special greeting to all of her friends at UBC and to her sisters in laws Dawna and Catherine. She also misses Pocatello and would love to take a drive through the mountains to see the autumn leaves while drinking a strawberry shake from Sonic, so if anyone can arrange that for her, she would be appreciative.

 

What have I been doing you ask? I covered the rest of the family first because they are the ones people ask me about most of the time. I too have been busy and until the past week it seemed like I was treading water and working as hard as possible to keep my head above the drowning point. Since returning back to Thailand I have been continuing my studies for a Masters in Biblical Counseling degree. I have also been trying to reconnect with a local Thai pastor and have become involved in helping his church grow. Another area where my time and energy has been focused is in getting Hearts Redeemed Ministries (the ministry Mam and I started) up and running. The aim of HRM is to connect the hearts of the Thai people to the redeeming truths of Scripture. We aim to use the information I am learning in my classes to begin to offer biblical counseling and discipleship to the local Thai churches and the families which attend them. In order to accomplish this, we have been focusing on evangelism and discipleship with college students attending the two universities located in Chiang Rai.  

Some of the college students who attended the "First Step" Camp our church held at the start of the school year. These are some of the young men and women our family is reaching out to.

The Streams of Blessing Church which we have been attending over the past five months is made up of mostly college students from these two universities. On top of preaching one Sunday a month at the church and translating for other speakers, Mam and I have been busy getting to know the college students and beginning to invite them into our home as a way to mentor and instruct them in the ways of God through a family setting. We have also started pre-marital counseling with two couples within the church and are looking at doing a dating and relationship conference early next year. My class work load has been really heavy over the past five months and that included a mandatory 2 weeks in-class study during the month of July in California which I traveled back for. The class work is hard but oh so practical. Almost all the stuff I am learning I have been applying to my own life and my own family as well as with the students we have been ministering with at our church. I am so thankful for the sufficiency of Scripture and that the truths of God’s Word are all we need in order to live a life that is pleasing to God and a blessing to others. In order to help those I counsel live a godly life I do not have to first translate a book for them to read, rather I must first know the Scriptures and then take the counselee to God’s Word and let His truth instruct them and sanctify them by producing lasting change in their heart and life. I am 2/3 of the way through the program and have one more year of classes along with my Thesis to write in order to complete the degree. God has been so good and I am grateful for this chance to study and to become better equipped to accurately handle the Word of God as I desire to minister to fellow sinners who have been saved by God’s amazing grace so that we can live lives that glorify Him and honor one another.

I too miss Pocatello and all my friends and family in the States. It was nice to visit with some of you during my short visit in July and please know that we are so grateful for everyone who helped make our family’s two year stay in the States a wonderful blessing. We also are thankful for your prayers and financial support. Your special gifts for the truck cover and the oven for Mam came at the perfect time and we were able to purchase both upon my return from the States. I would like to send a special thank you to everyone who helped me during my four week visit to the States in July. From Boise to California I am grateful for those who picked me up at the airport, transported me around the cities, provided places to sleep at night, and most importantly blessed me with friendly fellowship and Christlike love.

Here is the new black back on our truck which your financial gifts paid for. We are now able to carry up to 15 people in the back without them worrying about falling out or getting wet during rainy season. It has been a huge blessing as we are able to pick up college students and transport them to church on Sundays. Thank you for your gifts!

The truck we are using every day and on Sunday we are able to use it to transport some of the college students to and from church during the rainy season. We are finally getting settled into the house we are renting and have two extra rooms ready for guests to come and visit. If you would be interested, then please let me know, there is so much we could put you to work doing, but if you just want to come and visit then know you are welcome as well.

It is hard to believe that our family has been back in Thailand for five months now. Time does fly when you are having fun and are busy and that is true for us. We are thankful for the chance of not only being a child of God, but to also being vessels used by Him to help show His love to others. I want to close this update with a few prayer requests from some specific needs and also offer you a chance to partner with our family and Hearts Redeemed Ministries as we aim to connect the hearts of the Thai people with the lasting and redeeming truths of God’s Word.

Your prayers and financial support along with God’s mighty hand are what makes it possible for our family to live and minister here in Thailand. We ask you to please continue to partner with our family by committing to give a financial gift to help meet our need of $2500 in monthly support. We have been blessed to have received close to $1700 monthly over the past five months, but we are still short of our goal of $2500 a month. Would you prayerfully consider committing to give to help raise the remaining $800 of support our family is in need of to cover our daily living expenses. God has always and will continue to be faithful and provide for all our needs, and it is in Him we place our hope, but we also know that this is a great way for the body of Christ to minister to others by giving of their finances. If you would like to join our support team then please email me at dan.rutledge@gmail.com so I can contact you personally and give you some more information about the work we are doing through Hearts Redeemed Ministries. You can also send your checks made payable to UBC Worldwide Ministries and send them to UBC Worldwide Ministries 4700 N Philbin Road, Chubbuck, Idaho, 83202. (All gifts are tax deductible and 100 percent of the amount given goes directly to our family as we serve here in Thailand).

Thank you for taking the time to read this update and I want to make you aware of some specific needs our family has and also some prayer requests which we ask you to pray for.

1. Please pray for the two young couples Mam and I are meeting with for pre-marital counseling? This is an exciting opportunity because it is not common for the Thai people to seek pre-marital counseling, they would most likely go to a palm reader before seeking counsel from their pastor and that is why we are grateful these two couples are seeking biblical counsel from Mam and me.  It also challenging because this is the first time I have ever done this and I also have to do it in Thai. Again I am thankful for the sufficiency of the Scriptures and the truths of God’s Word which are valid in all languages and cultures. The two couples names are Click and Wahn and then there is Pahn and Suu.

2. Please continue to pray for Gracie, Joy, Hope, and Kyle as they adjust to life here in Thailand. Pray especially for Gracie and Joy and that they will become more comfortable at their school and will be able to make good friends which will aide them as they adjust to life in a Thailand. Pray for all of our children that they will be able to not only hear the gospel taught in our home but they will also see the gospel message lived out in the lives of their parents. We are praying that God will work in their hearts leading them to a realization of the seriousness of their sins and their personal need for a savior the same way all of us are in need of a savior. I do desire to see my children succeed in their new life in Thailand, but more than that I long to watch them grow through the saving and sanctifying work of Christ in their lives.

3. Please pray for Mam as she tries to balance family, home, and ministry in a way that is glorifying to God. Pray that as she ministers to the young college ladies that God will be able to work through her to instruct them how a woman of God should live according to the Scriptures. Also pray that we will be blessed with some extra finances so that we can by purchase a kitchen table, a toaster, some more storage cabinets for the kitchen, some larger pots and pans for cooking, so that she can be blessed with a kitchen where she can minister to our family and those we invite into our house through her gift of cooking. She is looking at starting to teach some of the younger women how to cook and so some of these things for the kitchen would be a huge blessing for her.

4. Please pray for me as I continue my studies and begin using the truths I am learning in a way to minister to others. The local Thai church we are attending is full of young believers and I ask for wisdom on how best to minister to them and to the church as a whole. Also I am asking for wisdom on how to handle some counseling cases which I am currently dealing with and I need God’s guidance more than ever. Please pray that I will not look past the mission field of the hearts of my own family and that I will be diligent to live out at home that which I am teaching in public.

5. Please pray for Thailand. I ask you to pray the prayer recorded by Paul in the book of Philippians chapter 1. Starting in verse 9 we read, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Thailand is in need of the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ. There are plenty of churchs and missionaries here but very little fruit of righteousness is being produced. The Thai church and believers need to grow in three things: love for one another and non-believers, real knowledge of God’s Word, and discernment in order to reject the false teachings found in many churches and search out the true gospel message recorded for them in the Scriptures. Please join with me as we continue to pray for God’s mercy on this country and that He will work in the hearts and minds of the Thai people for His glory.

6. Specific needs our family currently has.

a. Our camera died last week and when I took it to the shop to see about fixing it, they said it would cost around $300. We really enjoyed our camera and were looking at starting to do a monthly video update introducing our supporters to the sights and people of Thailand. We do not have an extra $300 lying around and so we are asking for anyone who would like to give a special gift to help cover the cost of repairing our old camera or buying a new one.

b. Dinner time is a special time and one thing I really enjoyed about our family while growing up. We always had dinner together as a family around the kitchen table and the table was also used every time we had guests over to visit. It was the place for meals, for games, for family discussions, for birthday parties, and even homework projects. Since moving back to Thailand we have not been able to afford a dinner table large enough for our family to sit around. I am shocked at how expensive tables are here in Thailand and have been looking for second hand ones that we could afford but have not found one yet. We are asking people to consider giving a special financial gift to help purchase a dinner table for our family. Currently we are sitting on the floor which is not bad, but it just seems like something is missing when you do not have a dinner table.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this update and I pray that it was not only informative but also encouraging for you as you read how God has been working in and through the Rutledge family during our first 5 months back in Thailand. We look forward to sharing with you more in the future and please know that we are eternally thankful for everyone who supports our family through prayers and financial giving. If you are ever heading to Thailand, please let us know, we will have a room ready for you and some of Mam’s amazing cooking prepared to help welcome you to Amazing Thailand. Until next time we pray that, “our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) Amen and Amen. God bless and Good night.