March 2026 Newsletter

At church today, I met a visitor who went to Union University in Jackson, TN (where Liz and I met), went to the same church as us in college, and before going to college, had the SAME YOUTH PASTOR as me. I called her my estranged cousin. As I reflected on this chance encounter, it reminded me of all the people we’ve met over the NEAR DECADE we’ve been in Thailand (June will officially mark 10 years). Here are just SOME of those people: 

God has truly done amazing things. I could have never imagined when I surrendered to God’s call on my life to be a teacher and minister, that I would have had the opportunity to travel to Canada, Seattle, Romania, Northern Thailand, Bangkok, Phoenix, San Diego, Cambodia, Vietnam, and to meet believers from other places all over the world. 

Recently, Liz and I have been watching a series from a YouTuber who travelled to all 50 states in 50 days in order to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. (Fun series– I highly recommend it.) That series, along with our 10-year anniversary of being in Thailand together, has had me reflecting a ton. Sometimes that reflection is painful. Those of you who know my story of origin know why. But at the same time, it’s amazing to think of all the places we’ve been, ministries we’ve been part of, people we’ve met, and tragedies we’ve survived. In a way, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. 

Here’s an update from the last 2 months.

Grace Language School

We’ve continued to serve and teach at Grace Language School. I’ve picked up some private classes, and we started leading “Coffee House” again. Coffee House is a time of the month I always look forward to. It’s when we bring all the students into the auditorium together, have a presentation, play games, and eat snacks. Even the kids love it, and it’s always a great time to share history and holidays which both expand their worldview but also gives a natural bridge for sharing about why western nations have the traditions that we do (which directly overlaps with church history). 

English Corner

I’ve also started going to one of our college campuses in town and hosting a weekly event called “English Corner” with the students. When I started this back up, I asked Mary Ella if she wanted to go with me, and she has loved it. 

Birthday & Valentines Day

Since it’s the end of March as I’m writing this, I almost forgot about our holidays in February. My birthday falls two days after Valentine’s Day, so it’s always a busy week filled with lots of dates, both kids dates and “mommy-daddy” dates. Here’s a post from the Dallas of February:

Elizabethan Euphony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA7lnT2LBTU

Liz has finally been able to jump back into both coaching and leading worship. She has been working with one staff member to help her, and she has had the chance to lead a few times these last few months. She’s also starting a new class for the next few months of teaching the worship team so they can get ongoing training. 

Baptisms

I wanted to share two videos from the baptisms of some of our friends’ kids. One of them is one of Mary Ella’s friends here in Chiang Rai, and the other is a girl we have known in Bangkok since she was in kindergarten. 

Chance Encounters

One of the most interesting parts of living in Thailand is meeting other missionaries, especially if they are just traveling through. I met a man named David at Dairy Queen one day (don’t judge me, I’m trying to break my addiction), and he told me that he is a Korean missionary living in Indonesia, and that he used to be the principal of a Christian school in Seoul.

Laos Visa Run

Every once in a while, we have to leave Thailand and re-enter in order to renew our visas. If you’ve ever lived internationally, you know how visas can be the most stressful part of the whole experience. (Well, I guess that is unless you live somewhere like North Korea.) We took a full day to drive to the Laotian border, then back into Thailand, this month. I was worried, as I always am on these runs, because the government is constantly changing rules and sometimes even the immigration officials don’t know what documents you’re supposed to have! By God’s grace we got in with no problems at all. 

Bonus: I wanted to share this post from OMF Thailand, because I thought it was so beautiful. A friend of mine in America asked about how long it normally takes people here to become believers after hearing the gospel. The truth is, sometimes it can be decades. Here’s the link.

Prayer Requests:

• My cousin's daughter has been in the hospital for some abdominal pain. 

• My friend’s mom just passed away. He has dealt with some painful tragedies in his family over the last handful of years. 

• A friend from college has been dealing with horrible back pain. 

• A Thai lady I know who lives in North Carolina is going through a divorce process.

• Our niece has been dealing with some health issues.

• Some of our friends here have a son who’s about the same age as Mary Ella and he has been having some intestinal issues so bad they had to travel and take him to hospitals in Bangkok. 

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THANKS FOR BEING PART OF THE TEAM!

By God's grace, we have witnessed many lives transformed, and some family legacies changed forever. But the story is not over yet, and we are anticipating and believing for even greater things moving forward. Consider becoming a financial supporter so you can play a significant role in sharing the gospel, serving those in poverty, and creating Christian resources.