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.

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.

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement for us as we look toward returning to Thailand. A lot of people have been asking where we are at in that process. Here’s the scoop.

Financial Support Update

We are really thankful to have gained a new church partner within the past month and are hoping to hear something from a few other churches who have indicated strong potential interest in partnering with us but have not been in touch in some time. It would really help to shore up our financial position if we had an additional $1000/month or so by the time we leave for the field. Though more support is needed, we got really good news from OMF U.S. that our financial position is good enough for the OMF Thailand field office to start processing our visas. Woo hoo! Countdown to departure can begin!

Visa Applications and Departure Date

OMF Thailand is beginning the process of applying for a religious affairs (or “missionary”) visa for Karl which takes about 5 months. That feels like a long time, but then again there is a LOT of running paperwork between different government offices and other entities for signatures, stamps, approvals, etc. I won’t bore you with all the gory details of visa paperwork, but here is the plan.

Visa Extension Stamp for Thailand Missionary Visa in a Passport