Bye, Bye, Thailand....

Paul told us in Romans 12 that we were to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices. I don’t mind giving up stuff, food or whatever for His Kingdom. I don’t mind sleeping on cement floors on outreaches ( I might now! I’m older), I don’t mind too much the times we’ve been taken advantage of, abused and even had our lives threatened…. You can get over stuff like that. What we really mind is one, simple little word: “bye.”

Today after church we got Bum and her boyfriend and told them that we’d be moving back to Florida in May or so. She looked up at me and said, “Are you leaving me?” That hurt. It still hurts. It may always hurt. It’s like telling your own kids, “Bye, we’re moving to Thailand for a year” (it’s been 4 now!). Now, to go back to Florida (FL) we have to tell our kid over here (Bum) “Yes, we are leaving you.” Think about those words for a few minutes, “leaving you,” and see how you feel about them. Jackie will be telling her little guys, “I’m leaving you,” and they’ll deal with it as kids do. But they will hurt and so will she.

So, perhaps you are wondering “why are you leaving?” Well, that’s what this blog is about and we want to share with all of you who have been hanging in with us through your prayers and support what’s going on.

Got to have at least one photo. Jackie and I joined
Chuck and Janet and went up a mountain to
explore. We're on the red bike and, by the way, most
signs don't have English translations!

About 8 months ago we thought it might be time to return to FL. We prayed and could get no peace about leaving, so we stayed. We do things one year at a time and that year will be up in May. Here’s what we believe God is asking of us. We are going to move back to St. Augustine for a year and rethink and reassess what we have been doing and what we will be doing in the future. As we see it right now, which is kind of like, 1Co 13:12: For now we see in a mirror dimly…, we have 3 options. 1) live in FL and be parents and grandparents again; 2) Move to Montana and work with YWAM/Montana again or 3) move back over here. Regardless of which door we choose, we’ll spend a year in FL because….

My lovely wife needs some R&R. Her heart is still a small issue we have to deal with. While it’s OK, it’s not OK. Does that make sense? I think she’s fine but the doctors at the last check up gave her a split decision. We think a year in our own culture might do wonders for her health. Truth is, there’s stress no matter where you live. But we feel like we are carrying a load over here and it’s time to put it down for a bit. We also feel like whatever it was we were supposed to do or be over here, we’ve done it. At least for now anyway.

We don’t think it’s time to turn in our missionary cards yet, but it is time to give ‘em a rest. But the rest doesn’t really start until we get back, find jobs and find a place to live and even that won’t be too restful. With the way housing prices have escalated in FL, we are reeling like a drunk on a sailboat thinking about how we can do it. Truth is, we can’t. When we look at our financial resources and what we have to come up with to make this move, it’s impossible. We do, however, still have a very wealthy Father in heaven who has consistently and faithfully met all our needs in Thailand these last 4 years.

Will you please, pretty please with sugar on top, pray specifically for us. 1) This hurts a lot. 2) We want to find our niche in FL for a year and hear God explain to us what it is we are to do next; 3) We would like to have jobs when we get off the plane cause we don’t have the savings to live without them; 4) We need a place to live. We don’t have a house anymore so we are going to have to rent. Leah has a place for us but it’s one bedroom in a garage for $600 a month! Seems kind of scary when our stuff would fill up one bedroom. 5) That through this transition, which is pretty high on the stressometer, God keeps our hearts in perfect peace.

So, that’s the news for February, or the end of January if you want to be accurate. We still have a few months over here and plenty of stuff to keep us busy. But, as always, we love praying for all of you. The highlight of our day is the beauty of spending the morning with Father in prayer. What a joy it is to know He keeps us in our sleep and joins us in the morning watch. May He ever be with you guys too. Blessings…

Bob and Jackie