Dear friends and family,
Unfortunately, we’re opening this letter once again with an apology for our tardiness 😅 A lot has happened over the past few months, and we finally have some solid updates for you to dig into!
As a quick recap of our previous newsletter, here are the four things that we wanted to focus on in 2025:
- Deciding which missions organisation to partner with
- Drawing up a business plan, getting feedback from experts in the industry, and raising funds for it
- Keeping an eye out for potential places in Chiang Mai that we’ll settle down and stay in for the long term
- Getting our personal finances in shape and budgeting for future plans
We’re happy to report that we’ve been able to make good progress in these areas so far! As such:
We’ll be moving to Chiang Mai, Thailand on 18 November 2025 , 135pm , on flight TR 680 at Changi Airport Terminal 1 .
Here’s what has happened leading up to this:
Partnering with SKMC and MMS
Most of our time this year was spent talking to different parties at Sengkang Methodist Church (SKMC) and the missions organisations we were exploring partnerships with, primarily OMF and Methodist Missions Society (MMS).
Complications arose mainly due to the fact that we wanted to pursue business as mission (BAM). Structure and policies in our church and missions organisations mainly catered to traditional missionaries (those interested in doing church planting, orphanages, etc), and so there were a lot of discussions on where to place us within these already-established systems. Within OMF, for instance, we underwent the exploration of multiple membership tiers, mission fields, and internal leadership changes over two years.
We were also seeking guidance and resources from these organisations regarding doing business as missions. However, we eventually realised that it might be better to use our own networks to find support in this regard, since both church and the missions organisations are structurally limited in this aspect. We’re thankful that God connected us with the right people over these months, who have provided us with sound counsel and are willing and able to continue guiding us in our missional business journey in the near future.
After countless meetings, we finally decided to apply to join MMS.
In our latest meeting with them, we had the opportunity to meet most of the directors at MMS, and felt that they had a better understanding of what we wanted to do and were willing to find ways to support us in it. Thankfully, SKMC was also supportive of this arrangement. We’re currently in the midst of the application process with MMS, which will likely take a few more months before the final confirmation.
To be honest, it was really exhausting to navigate this journey. But we’re extremely grateful for all the genuine and well-meaning support that all parties have extended to us 💛
Throughout this process, we were constantly reminded to simply listen to Jesus and follow him. In doing that, we find peace and joy.
Introducing recreõ retreats
Our business plan has also undergone multiple revisions over the past few months, thanks to feedback from advisors in the industry who we managed to get an audience with.
Our vision hasn’t changed, and has in fact been affirmed by the people we’ve met so far:
To create and curate space for guests and the local Thai community to rediscover being and becoming the Beloved of God, restoring shalom (wholeness) in body, mind, spirit, and soul.
Importantly, we’ve solidified 1) how recreõ will be a witness to the Thais:
And 2) what phases and milestones we will undergo to get there:
In short, our first two years will be dedicated to developing, trialing, and establishing our programs through recreõ retreats. If all goes well, we’ll then proceed with the building of the retreat center.
To find out more about our complete vision and concept, feel free to reach out to us for our concept deck.
The Steps Ahead
Upon arriving in Chiang Mai on 18th Nov, we’ll be staying with our missionary friends while we look for long term rental. We’re extremely thankful that our dear friends have consistently kept their doors opened to us over the past few years whenever we visited Chiang Mai, and now for a longer term. Their presence and partnership in the Gospel is such a comfort and blessing to us!
A week+ after, a team from SKMC will arrive for a week-long missions exposure trip (27 Nov to 4 Dec). We’ve been helping out in the preparations and will continue to support the team in the field. Apart from serving at Nong Yaeng Methodist Church in the city (which SKMC has been visiting), we’ll also head to the mountains for outreach this time round. We thank God that this will be the third SKMC team to visit since we started our goal of establishing a long-term relationship and partnership with the Thai church in 2024.
We hope to have time to slow down and settle in after the team returns home, while participating in the usual December/Christmas activities in the church. We also expect to be taking time to manage admin matters like converting our driver’s license, finding a place to stay, and so on.
As 2026 comes, we’ll be resuming Thai language classes. Most missions agencies and missionaries we’ve spoken to have encouraged us to simply focus on the language and culture immersion in the first year. We’ll do our best to do that, while getting some admin and legal work off the ground for the business. Ultimately, we’re learning to keep in pace with the Holy Spirit, participating in God’s work in Thailand in His way and in His time.
Partner With Us
Financially:
We’re so thankful that our home church will be supporting us with an intern allowance to cover some of our living expenses while our application with MMS is processing. Since this amount won’t be able to cover our full financial commitments, we’ll also be raising funds from friends and family to make up the shortfall.
As mentioned in our previous newsletter, the reason why we decided to raise funds for our living expenses is so that we can commit fully to recreõ and the next stage of our lives in Thailand. We also want to invite you, our supporters, to participate in our missions journey as well.
Eventually, we hope to be able to draw a salary from recreõ, but this will be some years down the road.
As we prepare to move to Thailand, we’re prayerfully raising S$7,000 to cover some of the upcoming expenses in the first year. This will include health-related costs (screening, vaccinations, insurance, etc), at least one year of Thai language classes, and some settling down expenses.
If God moves you to support us financially, you can do so by scanning the QR code below or PayNow to our mobile numbers:
Prayerfully:
- For the rest of the application process with MMS and SKMC to go smoothly
- That we’ll be able wrap up this chapter of our lives in Singapore—logistically, administratively, and relationally, and transit to Thailand well
- For our families to continue to be healthy and well and grow in their spiritual walks
- That we’ll be attentive to the Spirit’s voice and have the courage to be obedient all the days ahead
Gather With Us
A necessary part of putting our hands to the plough involves leaving our current life behind. While we’ve been assured by many loved ones of your support for us in the field and our families back home, there is still much to process emotionally. A huge part that we’ll miss dearly is our relationships here—the hangouts, food hunts, board game sessions, and countless chats.
As such, we really wanted to host you, our friends and family, as we give thanks for your friendship and love, at the space that God has so graciously gifted us with over the past few years.
You’re invited to our home cafe on 8 / 9 November!We’ll be providing a variety of sweet and savoury homemade bakes along with a choice of a cafe-style beverage for a simple cover charge of S$10 per pax. We’ll also be putting up some of our household and personal items for sale over these two days.
Join in the feasting, fellowship, and flea marketing with us by indicating your interest in this form.
The outpouring of support for us and our vision over this year has never ceased to amaze us. Our hearts are full of thanksgiving for each and every one of you reading this letter. If you have any questions or would like to partner with us in different ways, feel free to reach out to us directly! We look forward to connecting with you before we fly 🙂
Your partners in Christ,
แดน & แจน
(Dan & Jan)
