For the last year I (John) have been studying Thai in two different cities, while Nuch has been completing her Masters in Bible at the same time. As Nuch already has the language, we’re sort of “half-ready” to move on to begin church planting in Southern Thailand.

Since we left Australia in January 2009, we have lived in so many different houses since then including a 1 bedroom “sauna” in Lopburi for 3 months, a chinese townhouse; also in Lopburi, and a 2 bedroom condo in Bangkok’s CBD. We’re really thankful that we had no sooner left our last home in Bangkok when the recent riots/civil unrest began.

The point of the story is that we counted around 20 different places/homes we’d lived in in the last 5 years (the whole of our marriage). You might hear that and think, “wow”!! “that’s crazy”!!

But truthfully, the hardest thing has been leaving our church(es). First our brothers and sisters in Geelong, Australia and now our brothers and sisters in Bangkok. This was John’s first real taste of “Thai church fellowship” and being a part of evangelism as an entire church. We were reaching out to the slum kids in a nearby suburb. We’ll miss these kids too.

So, although moving around and living in so many places/houses is hard; learning a new culture is difficult; and even for Nuch being Thai – having to out up with a husband as he struggles to learn more culture, makes mistakes with language and discovers that foreign jokes don’t translate so well (ha ha)….above all else, leaving close knit family (God’s church) is even more difficult. It’s these relationships (as well as our biological families) that count most. On that note, now we have finally arrived in the place where God has called us to…here in South Thailand. New brothers and sisters and a new team to work with…exciting opportunities to work with them and be led by our LORD to reach many more Thai people and lead them to Christ and begin a new close knit family in a different location…a community of the King, saved by His grace, obsssesed with Christ, filled with His transfomring grace, saturated with love (warts and all - problems still being worked through) – His family, His church.