Something to Talk About

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." ~ Hebrews 1:1-2

As our 3rd week of language school comes to a close, I find myself thinking about communication. Communication, in its numerous forms, permeates much of our lives. Talking, reading, singing, listening, praying, body language, TV, movies, music - just a few forms of communication that fill up our days. Truly, we are communicative beings.

Of course, this only makes sense as we have been created in the image of the Communicative Being. As the author of Hebrews points out, God, the powerful Creator & rightful Owner of the vast universe, has spoken to us. From the very beginning of time, God has intimately & creatively communicated with the people He loves, using a number of means to get His messages across: dreams, visions, angels, prophets, apostles, direct revelation, a floating hand and even animals. Even more amazing is the reality that God has also spoken to us in the Person of His Son, Jesus, the God-Man. During His earthly ministry, Jesus Himself equated hearing the voice of God the Father with believing in & knowing God the Son (see John 5:37-40). Jesus reminds us that the purpose of God's communication is more than simply the transfer of raw information. Instead, God is concerned with relationships. He knows us & wants us to know Him. So, He tells & shows us what He is like, in His Word & through His Son.

What is so personally significant about all of this is that we have come to Thailand in order to communicate with others about this personal, loving Savior. Of course, learning Thai is a huge part of achieving this goal. Yet, alongside understanding & speaking the language comes communicating the love of Christ through our daily lives by allowing the written Word & Living Word to transform us & determine how we live. The truth is people won't want to hear what we have to say about a Jesus who loves them unless they also see this loving Jesus in us. By God's grace, may our communication of Him be authentic & their perception of Him clear.
















Abigail & Chloe talking with their Heavenly Daddy

1st Day

It was a bit unreal sending Matthias off to his first day of 1st grade this morning. As I watched him ride away, a strange blend of emotions came over me: pride, sorrow, excitement, worry, anticipation. But, above all these feelings was an overwhelming sense of joy. I have joy in the reality that my son is growing up into a young man of God. Each day it seems he is maturing physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and spiritually. I must agree with the apostle who said, "I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth." Keep walking, Matthias.

Eternal Ruler

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathath,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity." ~ Micah 5:2

As we prepare to celebrate our first Christmas in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we are reminded of the crucial truth of Christ's eternality. We have learned that many Thai Buddhists connect a religion's value and accuracy with its age. Since Buddha lived some 500 years before Jesus was born, Buddhism is considered to be superior to Christianity. However, we believe the Scriptures which tell us that Christ had no beginning, but rather, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1, 14). As Ravi Zacharias wrote, "How can time argue with eternity?"

May you be blessed as you celebrate the Eternal Christ this Christmas season.

Fellow TCM missionary, Genesis Maraat, met us at the Chiang Mai airport on December 9


Our family enjoyed an afternoon at Krisdadoi, a flower park near Chiang Mai

Nebraska Summer

Chasing toads, fishing at the lake, eating corn on the cob, "Taco Tuesdays" at the park - these are just a few of things we enjoyed doing with our family during our time at Grandpa and Grandma Killion's this summer. However, the summer went by quickly (as all good things seem to do) and as August faded into September, we reluctantly said goodbye. We love and miss you so much Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Megan, Penny, and Aunt Rebecca.

Pretty Penny

Congratulations to Ryan and Megan Killion (my brother and sister-in-law)! They joyfully welcomed their beautiful daughter, Penelope Winn, into the world at 4:13pm on August 20, 2008. At birth Penny weighed a healthy 8 pounds 14 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Our kids enjoyed greeting their new cousin, even if Matthias initially bemoaned, "She's a girl?!"

Penelope and her Daddy

Matthias says, "Hello, cousin Penny."

On the Road to Boston

After 2 ½ weeks respite from traveling, we’re on the road yet again. Last Wednesday morning we set out from Nathan’s parent’s home in Nebraska for Boston to attend the Grace Gospel Fellowship Family Bible Conference. Along the way we visited and stayed with friends in Fort Wayne, IN and Altoona, PA. This weekend we stayed with Pastor Karl and Jennifer Records and their boys, Isaac and Benjamin, in Wayne, NJ. We shared our ministry with the Believers at Preakness Bible Church. What a blessing to see what God is doing in the lives of His people!

Pastor Mark Wright, an associate pastor of Grace Bible Class Church in Passaic, NJ, shares during the evening service at Preakness Bible Church on the importance of unity in the Body of Christ.

The birthday girl falls asleep on mommy.

Chloe asks Isaac, "Do you wanna play with me?"

Welcome to Our Blog

Greetings in the name of the living and true God! We’re glad you’re visiting our blog and trust you will find it encouraging and informative. Much of what will appear here will be of special interest to our family, friends, and partners in ministry. However, if you’ve just happened to come upon this site, we welcome you, too.

We intend to primarily use this space to share events about our family and ministry. Other things, such as thoughts from Scripture and general reflections on life, might show up every once in awhile, as well.

If you would like to know more about our family or Things to Come Mission, please click on the images to the right.

Grace & peace