When we accepted a fellowship with IJM, our plan was to spend 12 months in Thailand, and then return to Indiana and pick up right where we left off. At the time we left, one year felt like a very long time to be away from everything that we knew, and we didn’t anticipate being away for any longer than that. However, once we arrived in Thailand and fell in love with both the people and culture, it became easier to think about staying for more than 12 months. The staff asked us to consider committing to another year, and after much prayer and consultation, we said yes. We are now planning to continue working with IJM Chiang Mai until June 2018!
Many people have asked why we decided to stay for a second year. First and foremost, we feel we are fulfilling a need that the office has. The staff have worked very hard and made big improvements in their English, but another year would mean even more improvements for everyone. In addition, the office anticipates hiring several new staff members in 2017, and all those staff members will need to study English, as well. Having the same instructor for a longer period of time would be beneficial in many ways.
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| Learning English in our classroom |
Secondly, we have gotten some confirmation that this is where we need to be for this time. Our employers in the U.S. have been supportive of our work here, and for that we are exceedingly grateful. Some future plans that IJM has will make our staff’s English abilities even more necessary, and having us for a second year will be a great help in that regard. Since we already sold our house and one of our vehicles, it seemed like staying for a longer time was more logical than returning at a later point in the future.
Finally, Chiang Mai is a pretty easy place to live. We’re not saying that everything about living here is easy, because it certainly isn’t, but when we compare it to other possible locations around the world, there is a lot to be thankful for. We can eat at McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, KFC, or Starbucks if we are missing Western food. We also have access to most things we would want at local stores, so in many ways life looks the same for us here as in Indiana. There are many other expat families here who have shared experiences of raising kids abroad, and we are starting to feel like we have some community in Thailand.
If you have been missing our faces, don’t worry! We are still coming back to the U.S. in June for a brief furlough. We will be spending time with family and friends and visiting with supporters to update them on all that has been happening at IJM Chiang Mai. We’ll also be doing some fundraising for our second year. If you’re interested in more of those details, you can visit here. We plan to visit and speak at some churches, as well, and will let you know more of those details when we know them. If you think your church or other group would be interested in hearing about our work, let us know and we would be happy to talk!
Thank you to everyone who has encouraged us and prayed for us as we weighed this decision. We are grateful for all the prayer and support we have received these last nine months, and look forward to seeing all that God does through our staff in the coming year!
