Dear family and friends,
Two months have come and gone since we’ve moved to Chiang Mai! We’ve been pretty busy during this period, so much so that it almost feels like two years instead đ
Amidst the Christmas and New Year activities, we’re thankful to have had pockets of time to seek God and our local counterparts on our direction ahead, particularly for this year of transition.
During one of the Sunday services at Nong Yaeng Methodist Church (NYMC), pastor-in-charge Pastor Santi preached about the importance of intentional preparation and planning to meet spiritual goals that we have set for the year.
Many peopleânot just Christiansâset goals that remain unfulfilled even 10 years later, he shared. This is all the more so for Christians, who can sometimes lean too heavily on the grace of God and not put in the work necessary to achieve those goals.
What stood out for me (Daniel) was his use of the metaphor of the axe. Pastor Santi quoted Abraham Lincoln:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
The action-oriented Singaporean in me had to turn this idea over in my mind several times. I realised that this was the reason why I was kind of uncomfortable with the idea of us taking the year to focus primarily on preparing ourselves for the work to come. And not simply in terms of skills, but also rediscovering the joy of life and ministryâthe spark that set us on this path in the first place.
It felt counter-intuitive, even self-indulgent, to spend a year “sharpening our axes”. Yet these words, this sermon, felt like God patting me on the shoulders and saying, “It’s really okay! I don’t just care about the work you do. I care for you. I want you to be joyful and ready for the work ahead.”
To be sure, leaning into this direction that God is drawing us towards for the year hasn’t been easy.
Within a week of arriving in Chiang Mai, we hosted our home church’s missions team and a group of friends for a week each. Following that were Christmas events at various churches that we attended and helped out at.
As such, we were only able to begin Thai language classes and start the process of settling downâfrom getting our local mobile numbers to finding a house to rentâtowards the end of December.
Thanksgivings
We thank God for our friend’s recommendation to study with his Thai teacher. Not only is her method for teaching Thai very helpfulâshe incorporates listening, speaking, reading, and writing all at the same time, she is also patient and engaging. Daniel especially enjoys lessons and looks forward to it!
Since she is a Christian as well, she slowly introduces words that are commonly used in the Bible, which is essential for our work and ministry.
As a couple, we are also experiencing a new joy of studying together, like giving each other spelling tests, correcting each other’s pronunciation đ
We are also really thankful that in the midst of the busyness, God was still tending to our souls in ordinary ways.
For instance, we were still able to play pickleball with the local communities here and thereâwhich provided us with much-needed exercise and recreation. Pickleball has been a great way to meet new people (and Singaporeans tooâwe met Daniel’s uncle whom he hasn’t met in years!). Daniel also participated in a competition with our missionary friendâtalk about staying fit in ministry together đ
We were also able to catch up with some of the people we’ll be working with closely in the year ahead, such as the pastors and members of NYMC and Mettakit Church Association (MCA), potential partners for our retreat business, and friends who have been such a strong support to us during this period.
The discussions we’ve had have also helped us clarify our roles and responsibilities for this year. With this clarity, we’re slowly but surely starting to feel like we’re getting on the right track.
SKMC Missions Exposure Trip
A missions team from Sengkang Methodist Church (SKMC) came just ten days after we arrived in Chiang Mai. The team was made up of a mix of members in their 20s to 60s as well as seasoned and first-time missions trippers.
Amidst the diversity, we were so encouraged by how each person brought their unique gifts and passions to serve together as a team. We had prayer warriors, admin masters, logistics experts, humorous storytellers, and the list goes on. All of whom simply carried willing hearts.
At NYMC, the team readily helped with replacing old bamboo fences, filling the carpark and garden with gravel, organising team building activities, Sunday school children activities, and a government school programme, alongside visiting and encourage the community leaders.
This time round, beyond serving in Chiang Mai city, we brought the team to Maephaphai Methodist Church, 2 hours away up in the mountains, as well. In partnership with the pastor’s family and their vision to start a preaching point 30km away, we did an outreach event with the school near the potential gathering place. We also got to visit some families and pray over each family during the worship night in church.
After all the activities for the day, Jan was listening to the pastor’s wife share further about their daughter’s condition and sensed the urge to pray further for her. Along with another team member, we laid hands and prayed over her. We thank God that the pastor recently texted to let us know that their daughter’s symptoms have disappeared! While she used to have seizures a few times a night, she has not gotten any since then. Praise be to God!
We usually incorporate at least one retreat/reflection and sharing session for our teams whenever we plan missions trips because we believe that sitting with God is as important as working with him. It was our privilege to be able to hear how God has spoken to each of them, or for some, how God has retuned their ears to hear His voice.
Beyond witnessing God’s mighty works in the field through the team, being able to journey with our home church’s missions teamâeven for just a weekâhas brought us much joy too. We pray that the experiences they have received in the field, with the help of the Holy Spirit, will spur them on in their daily Christian living back home.
Christmas & New Year Outreach Events
Christmas is one of the busiest and most festive seasons in the Thai church calendar. It is also a great opportunity to invite the surrounding communities to join in the feasting and celebrations, and share the message of Christmas with them.
This year was no exception, and we had the chance to join the Christmas events of four organisations: NYMC, Shineforth Methodist Church (SFMC), Nawai Church (in Chiang Dao), and Baan Dem Raak (House Full of Love).
The new year has its own set of unique events here in Thailand as well. On the first Sunday of the year, NYMC held a thanksgiving service, where every member brought the “first fruits” of their harvest to offer to God.
These itemsâsuch as vegetables, fruits, and even live chickens!âwere then put up for auction, with the proceeds going to the church fund. It was a fun and entertaining time, while at the same time touching to see the members offer whatever they have to the Lord.
We also helped out with a Children’s Day event held by the Nong Yaeng municipal office. Typically, Children’s Day celebrations in Singapore tend to be fairly small, so we were caught by surprise upon arriving at the location, which was flooded with children and game booths set up by various organisations.
NYMC had its own game booth as well, and it was a joy to be able to bless the children with snacks and goodies! We found out that children who live in the outskirts of Chiang Mai don’t usually get to eat snacks often, and this was one of the rare opportunities to do so, so it was especially meaningful to be able to share this moment with them.
Our H1 2026 plans for NYMC, MCA, and recreĂ”
Much of our time in these two months were spent doing two things: 1) discussions with stakeholders across NYMC, MCA, and MMS, and 2) attending ministry events and getting to know the members of each organisation.
Through these, God has revealed both the needs on the ground and the desires of our heart, putting together a clearer picture of what our roles will be in the first half of this year. As there are many needs and corresponding activities here, determining this is essential for us to be able to stay focused on God’s call to our hearts now and in the long run.
NYMC
For NYMC, the pastors have shared with us their vision for the year, which includes building up a strong leadership for the church, as well as developing the worship team in skills, cohesiveness, and theology.
With this in mind, our goal for the first half of the year is to attend some of the regular ministry eventsâsuch as cell, prayer nights, and bible studiesâto get to know both the members and potential leaders personally.
We will also be running a workshop for the worship team in May, which will be supported by a couple of our friends from SKMC, and developing a plan to support the worship team’s growth in the long run.
MCA
We started serving in the MCA as part of the self-sustainability subcommittee a couple of years ago while we were still in Singapore. As the name suggests, the goal of this subcommittee is to help MCA and the churches under it to be able to support themselves financially by developing and running key business projects.
This year, we will continue working with the committee to research and plan for the launch of potential projects that are currently being proposed.
recreĂ”
For recreĂ”, we have two main objectives for this year: 1) registering a business entity and 2) developing and running trial retreat programs and activities.
The first objective is harder than it seems. Business entities in Thailand require majority Thai ownership, which is why finding local partners is key to achieving this. However, this requirement aligns with one of the core goals of recreĂ”, which is to work closely and journey with the Thais in every aspect of the business.
As for the second objective, we will be working closely with one of our potential Thai partners to begin developing trial retreat activities for family and friends who will be visiting us this year.
Pray With Us
Since arriving, literally everyone who knows us has asked us to join or do something. All of them have good intentions for us and for the communities they serve with. Admittedly, with so many needs and responsibilities, and our kraeng-jai/paiseh selves, it has been a challenge for us to say no. Yet, we thank God for timely reminders from pastors and friends who encourage us to focus.
As we continue to take time to sharpen our axes, please pray with us:
- That God will help us protect our time, to be able to focus on the areas above as well as our Thai language studies
- For us to continue to walk in step with the Spirit and with each other as we serve in existing and new grounds
Thank you for journeying with us đ
Partners in Christ,
àčàžàž & àčàžàž
Dan & Jan
