September 2023 Prayer Letter

Written by: Karl Dahlfred on 05 September 2023.

DOWNLOAD PDF - SEPTEMBER 2023 DAHLFREDS PRAYER LETTER

Dear Family and Friends,

Lord willing, this is the last prayer letter we will write from the United States. Our tickets to Thailand are booked for September 28th, which is coming up quickly.

Visas & Travel Plans

We are glad to report that all the necessary paperwork for our visa application has come through so we will be ready to pick up our visas next month in Malaysia. At the end of September, we’ll fly to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, spend a few days to a week in Thailand, then fly to Penang (Malaysia) to get our visas from the Thai consulate there. For administrative reasons, it is better for us to get our visas in Malaysia rather than the United States. After our brief trip south, we’ll be back in Chiang Mai where we need to find a house to rent and a car to buy. We have furniture and household items in storage in Bangkok which we will need to get moved up to Chiang Mai as well.

New Term at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary

The new term at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary begins on November 7th and I am scheduled to teach courses in “Thai Church History” and “Intercultural Communication”. I’m really excited for the opportunity to get back into the classroom again with students in Thailand, but I have some prep work to do between now and November. I’ve taught Thai Church History previously, so I have a lot of material ready for that course, but I’ll need to do more work to be ready for Intercultural Communication. Please pray that I can find time to read and prep before classes begin in November.

Packing, Shipping, Moving

Between now and the end of September, our family has a lot of work to do. We’ve had two yard sales already and made some dump runs to get rid of stuff. We need to make some home repairs and otherwise prep our house to be rental-ready when we leave. We have a couple vehicles to sell. We are packing suitcases for the plane as well as boxes to send via ocean freight to arrive around the end of the year. Moving is both physically and emotionally exhausting as we say goodbye to people, places, and things that have become familiar over the past couple of years. Our kids are much older now than the last time we lived in Thailand, and this move to Chiang Mai is a new phase of life for our family. Please pray for God’s wisdom, provision, protection, and guidance (as well as lots of patience) for us. We have a busy couple of months ahead as we clear out of Florida and set up fresh in Chiang Mai.

Thankful

Though we didn’t think we’d be in the U.S. for as long as we have been when we moved to Florida after completion of my Ph.D. in Scotland, we are thankful for the past couple of years and all the wonderful people and churches that we’ve gotten to know. In God’s providence, no time is wasted.

Thank you all of you who pray for us and support us so that we can return to serve the Lord in Thailand. If all goes as expected, our next prayer letter will be from Thailand.

If you’re interested in more frequent updates and prayer requests, please join our private Facebook group for mission partners, “Karl & Sun Dahlfred - Missionaries to Thailand”. If you have trouble finding it or joining, let me know and I’ll help.

Blessings in Christ,

Karl & Sun Dahlfred