July 2023 Prayer Letter

Written by: Karl Dahlfred on 11 July 2023.

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Dear Family and Friends,

We wanted to give you a brief update on our progress towards returning to the mission field.

We are still planning to leave at the end of September and are planning accordingly.

One Million Forms

The OMF Thailand office has started the visa application process for us which should be approved by the time we fly from the U.S. In terms of official documents, we are also still waiting to receive from the U.S. government a couple of renewed passports for the kids, and from the Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. a couple of identity documents legalized for use in Thailand. There is so much paperwork involved in moving overseas. Please pray that all necessary documents will come in a timely manner. Nothing in life is guaranteed.

Connecting with Mission Partners

At the recent General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America in June, I (Karl) had the chance to connect with leaders from both long-term and new partner churches, sharing meals and fellowship together. Also, in early July, I preached at a Reformed Baptist church in our local area and we all enjoyed visiting with the leaders and members there. We have been encouraged to see their interest in partnering with us in mission.

OMF has given us financial clearance to return to Thailand, though we could really use some more regular monthly support, for which we ask you to pray. We are really thankful for all of you who pray for and support our ministry in various ways. Without God’s grace through you, there is no way we could return to Thailand or do what we do.

Writing and Translation

One of the ways that God often makes his Word known and grows disciples is through the written word. For that reason, I’ve been glad to provide some long-distance assistance to Kanok Bannasan (OMF Publishers Thailand) in recent months. When living in Bangkok, I spent one or two days per week at the Kanok offices, helping the editors and staff with translation, research, and writing. Through the miracle of the internet, I am still able to do some of that. Currently, one of the editors is preparing a translation of Tim Keller’s Shaped by the Gospel and has had lots of questions about difficult to understand English sentences, theological terms and concepts, or cultural references. Keller can be an insightful writer, but his erudition does not always make for easy translation. As such, I’ve spent many hours working through the editor’s questions on a marked-up PDF of Keller’s book, thinking about things like how to explain the difference between “organism” and “organization” in Thai, or what’s the best way to succinctly translate phrases like “mainline church” or “Kuyperian Reformed church”. Fortunately, it is not up to me to come up with a polished Thai translation for such things, but merely to try to explain what the author meant so that a skilled Thai editor can come up with something in Thai that sounds good to Thai ears. Nevertheless, the Thai-English translation part of my brain has been getting a good workout.

Another writing project that I’ve put a lot of work into recently is a biographical article about 20^th century Thai church leader Boon Mark Gittisarn. He is not very well known today but I think there are many lessons, both positive and negative, that can be learned from the life of this colorful and controversial Thai pastor and evangelist who, at various times, was associated with the Presbyterians, fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and Seventh Day Adventism. The article will be published online in an open access journal this fall and I hope that both foreign and Thai Christians will read it and learn something helpful for life and ministry as they serve Christ and his people.

Thai pastor Boon Mark Gittisarn with wife Muan and child, 1938

Please continue to pray with us and for us, for God’s provision and wisdom for the logistics of our upcoming move. We’re really looking forward to reconnecting with God’s people in Thailand later this fall as we move to Chiang Mai and I begin teaching at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary.

Thanks for praying for us, and with us, on behalf of the Thai people. Soli Deo Gloria.

Blessings in Christ,

Karl & Sun Dahlfred