“No Thai. Only English!” It’s my response over and over again when I am out and about.

We arrived in Thailand October 16 with our 12 suitcases and were picked up by our field directors, Bruce and Dorothy Hayward, who have been a huge blessing during this transition time. I am thankful for their help, as it is not easy to make a move to the other side of the world with children. My kids already love Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Bruce.

As you can imagine, our time here has been filled with all kinds of new things. We have restarted life from scratch. We have smelled new smells and seen all kinds of exciting new animals at the market. People start talking to us right away because they think the girls and I are Thai, or at least half-Thai. We are constantly telling everyone we are not Thai.

I am certainly experiencing culture shock, but that’s as expected. Our AFM trainers prepared us well for this transition, and I am thankful for them, because I certainly have had my moments of shock. In training, they also talked to us about finding a person of peace, a local friend to help familiarize us with the culture and teach us how to get around and function. Praise God, our first Sabbath here, I met a lady who has been a great help, teaching us about Thai culture and showing us around. I pray that through her we will meet many more people with whom we can share the love of Jesus and His power to save.

Please pray for our new friendships and for our language learning so we can become effective in the work God has called us to do here.
“Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone” (Col. 4:5, 6 NLT).

• Twitter