1-2-3 Lawn Care

What does Anders do on his single afternoon off from school?

He mows the lawn with hedge clippers.


Yep, this is Thailand and that's how it's done!! It takes about two hours to cut "our 10sqft lawn". He says its therapeutic. The neighbors think he's a little crazy, as most foreigners hire someone to do their yard. He does admit that he now sees the value of a lawn mower!

Lori's Surprise Birthday Extravaganza

Anders sure pulled a good one! After taking me out for a birthday date, he thought it would be best for me to go out shopping with my friend to "buy something pretty." Well, the plan was to come back and pick him up at our house and head back out for some more fun. But what he didn't tell me was that twenty of our awesome friends would be waiting at our house to suprise me! I did not see this one coming. We have the best friends! It was truly a special night of friends, fireworks and delicious chocolate cake!

Lori was surprised!


The surprise video footage:


Complete with trick candles:


Our good friend used to be a clown, so she made some balloon animal decor!


The box was in a little rough shape after traveling across the globe. She did actually dance to the "Chicken Dance" card that her kind parents sent along!


Afterward fun with fireworks show!



And, the lantern gang.


Releasing the lanterns in honor of the b-day!


Oooohhhh, Ahhhhhhh

Birthday Date!

For Lori's birthday, Anders took her out on a fabulous date. It really was the perfect evening of chocolate, foot massages, and fish nibbling, not in that order. And by fish nibbling, we don't mean we were eating the fish...

What a day!

Lori + Chocolate = A Happy Pair


Fish Spa?


For $3.50, these fish ate the dead skin (or supposedly did) off our feet!


It is one of my top twenty most odd experiences. I was wondering why I had paid for a foot tickling?

Moto Rentals

As we've been praying, for some time now, about how we can be more self-supportive of our living expenses, so that all donations can go directly to ministry projects, it looks like God is beginning to answer our prayer!

Three other MTI program students needed motorbikes to rent. Using the money we had set aside for purchasing a car, from selling our cars in America, we purchased three motorbikes, tuned them up and rented them out! Praise God for this opportunity He has provided. We are so excited to earn just over $600 for the rentals! Please pray with us that God will provide other opportunities for us to create a more permanent side income to support the work.

Our fleet

Ju Young Andrew Han (21 Feb 1988 - 10 Oct 2008)

This young man is the person who died in the tragic motorbike accident leaving the university campus last year and whose shoes we are filling in fulfilling God's plan for Payap University.

It is our aim that we emulate what Ju's friends said of him, "Everyday we could see the life of Jesus through him."

Ju's memorial page.

Khon Kaehn University Outreach with Mission SOS

Just returned from an awesome outreach with the Swedish Mission SOS Khon Kaehn team. Went, drained, from going-going-going 7days/wk and returned refreshed, reinvigorated, and with a renewed sense of purpose.

This Week's Highlights:
Outreaches to the local university & hospital
Performed some dances, skits and dramas

Anders shared his story with 300+ students, faculty, and patient's family
Made some friends at the gym & Badminton courts

Our new friend asked to pray with us
Lori shared an encouraging message on Trust to a small group

On the way back, the bus had a flat tire to make the trip just a little longer... 14hrs in all

From Oct '09 Web

The biggest lessons we learned:

1. Must take a day off to rest, even God rested when He created the earth! We sure cannot afford burn-out
2. Doing God's Work should not be viewed as "work".
• If it is looked at as being work, it will be treated like work and the heart, which is the basis of all, will be lost
•  It is a lifestyle, God's love doesn't just shine through while at work, in fact, the gym is where we made a Thai friend who has been wanting to learn more about God's love

Furniture Shopping!

Our kind Thai friend and owner of the local restaurant where we frequent, took us furniture shopping to the manufacturing district, 30min south of town. God provided a great bargain for us! We purchased a bed frame, coffee table, & three end tables made of solid wood & finished for $115! It is even far less expensive than the chinsy laminated particle board, sold here, there, and everywhere which falls apart, the first, or if you're fortunate- second time the piece is moved.



I remember years ago when moving into my house in San Luis Obispo, I had a laminated particle board desk in the back of my truck. Dumb me, I had not tied it in the bed of my truck, as was just traveling down the street a couple blocks. As I was accelerating out of the parking lot, the desk slid out of the back of the truck and pancaked into a 6" tall pile of rubbish. So much for the "great value" at IKEA.