Hey guys! Sorry we’ve been MIA, it’s been a little busy adding a fourth little girl to our #girlcrew. Here’s a quick update of what we’ve been up to over the past few weeks.
Chris was able to secure a work permit; we hosted our dear friends who also happen to be the Directors of Interns at our missions org., traveled to Bangkok to register Frannie as an American citizen, renewed our visas (by the skin of our teeth), and started the new school year.
Just before Frances was born Chris applied for a work permit, which allows us to be able to minister here in a legal way. This process was fairly easy, praise God; the next day he was able to pick up his documents!
Getting Frannie’s birth certificate proved to me more challenging. We chose to do a home birth, which requires us to have the Puyai Baan (Village Elder/Leader) of our village to sign a document as a witness. That was a long process and rather confusing, especially because our Thai at this point is very limited. God is so amazing how he works everything perfectly together! It was such an inconvenience on every level, but God opened up doors and now on the other side of it we see how God used it for good and His glory! Amazingly enough, we had an english speaking neighbor, who is a professor at the university, really take charge on our behalf, translating, finding the right documents, individuals, and legal offices we needed!
We traveled to Bangkok to the US Embassy where we had to do more paperwork to register Frannie. That process took ALL DAY! Our girls were such troopers! We decided to do some exploring while we were in the big city, and visited Dusit Zoo, Bangkok Children’s Museum, and SeaLife (an aquarium).
Our second 90 day visa ran out, so we had to go into immigration for an extension, after which we would request to extend for a year, therefore securing our one year visa (which means we would only have to renew our visa once a year, rather than every 90 days, saving us time, but also a lot of money). However we ran into a problem and the immigration office wouldn’t extend our visas. We went in the next day to sort out the problem, they reluctantly extend our current visa for 90 days and said that if we couldn’t get the paperwork they requested that they would not gives us another extension. So thankfully we were able to get another 90 days, unfortunately we still have a dilemma. Our organization we are under with our visas is looking into the legal ramification, but nothing solid has come yet. We know and trust God is in control. We know that He called us here to Thailand. He opened doors, and provided the way. We would still like to ask you to please pray God’s favor in this matter, and that we would be able to get our visas this next go around. If we can’t get visas then we can’t be here in Thailand.
Summer has come to a close in the states, sadly we will not get to experience the bliss that is autumn; it’s consistently in the upper 90’s here! Although fall will be a little different for us in Thailand, one thing that hasn’t changed is the start of a new school year! We are entering into our fourth year of homeschooling. Addie, our oldest is at the second grade level. Exciting enough, this year is Emma’s first “official” year of school, she’s at the kindergarten level. This is another area you guys could pray for us. Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart, especially with a 2.5 year old and a newborn in the ranks.
Our goals over the next few weeks are:
- to focus on language. Chris is diving hard into this area with daily lessons; I will not be working at his intensity as of right now.
- reconnecting with our mentors who are arriving back to Khon Kaen the beginning of October from their furlough. We are excited to be with them.
- Chris will be venturing back out to the rural villages!
Also, we want to give a big THANK YOU to all those who gave when we expressed needs for the baby! We were so blessed by all those who communicated their willingness to help! To all those who have given in the past and those who give every month, thank you! We couldn’t be on this crazy journey, fulfilling the great commission without your prayers and generous support! You’re meeting physical needs, but also investing in the kingdom by investing in us and empowering us to share the gospel in a place where Jesus isn’t yet known! We are so blessed to be partnered with you!
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Area’s you can give/upcoming expenses:
- Travel expenses (ongoing)
- Visa renewal costs – $360.00
- School curriculum for the year – $800.00
- Language School – $200 a month
- Washing Machine
You can give securely online here. If you want to give to one of these areas, or to a specific area you can indicate that in the “other comments” box.
The Crazy Lawson Tribe 