Dear friends,
It’s been almost a month since our return to Singapore. We served a two-week stay-home-notice at a dedicated facility, and are now living at Jan’s parents’ place while we await the key collection to our BTO.
While we did struggle slightly with the lack of fresh air during our stay-home notice and the swab test, we were actually really thankful for the two weeks by ourselves. It was a much-needed period of time that allowed us to process our experience in Chiang Mai, as well as rest and slowly transition back to life in Singapore.
We also received lots of food and drinks from our friends who knew the kind of local food we missed, and we are incredibly grateful! 😋
Taking a Pause
During the second Saturday of our stay-home notice, I (Jan) suddenly felt pretty homesick—as in Chiang Mai-sick—which caught me by surprise as well. I had a really strong longing to return to living in Chiang Mai which I never thought I would have. In fact, both of us hadn’t been feeling much because we knew that we could continue to connect with the people there and that we’d be back someday.
It wasn’t until some of the farewell sessions that we started to feel it more.
The boys at Pastor J and A’s children’s home (TFH), whom we were doing the design workshop with and helping with the filming, prepared barbecue and even sang a couple of songs.
The kids at Little Lamb and Boys’ Brigade also did some performances, sharing, and made cards for us that really touched us.
On Sunday before we left for the airport, we were able to share our thanksgiving and offer a song close to our hearts (Heart of Worship) to God and as an encouragement to our Churchmates. It was a real blessing to have them pray for us as well.
Looking back at all these relationships, truly, only God could have brought us all together. And till we meet again, we’re thankful for technology for keeping us connected, and for the ability to pray for one another even while physically distant.
Journey On
My first quiet time in Thai yesterday morning led me to Psalm 61. The devotional topic was about how we need God’s leading, and it articulated exactly what we needed at this point in time.
Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!
— Psalm 61:2-4
While our situation is not even remotely close to what David was experiencing when he wrote this Psalm, this is exactly our prayer for this season—for God to lead us, not only in the way forward, but more importantly, to Him, our Rock.
What's Next
This week marks the second month of my (Daniel) sabbatical. I’ve been reading voraciously, consuming 2-3 books per week and opening up my mind to so much, as well as catching up with friends. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to share my experiences and learnings from living abroad and the books I’ve read with the people I’ve met!
I’ve also begun to notice that I can be more “present” and engage more deeply in conversations as my mind space – formerly colonized by work – opens up, and I’ve been enjoying them a lot more. Maybe I’m not as much of an introvert as I thought I was…
At the same time, I’ve also been picking up new skills in video/documentary making, as we continue to help Pastor J and A’s children’s home raise funds for their new hostel building project.
It’s impossible to overstate how thankful I am to enjoy a period like this. Praise God!
In the meantime, I (Jan) will be applying for the Master of Divinity (MDiv) course at Trinity Theological College at the end of this year. The semester officially starts in July 2021, but I’m still seeking advice and praying about whether to go for occasional studies prior to that, i.e., taking up some modules in advance from January to May 2021 (the previous semester).
We’re also continuing our work at With Content, where we’ve started trying to work with a Thai youth on a mini design project, hoping to provide him the opportunity to earn his own university fees. Honestly, there’re many challenges with that, including the language (since our work at With Content is mostly in business English), and the coordination. But we’re still in the initial stages and we’re optimistic about it working out, and prayerfully, be able to open up more opportunities for other youths later on as well.
At the same time, our support for Puhada carries on, albeit from a distance! Thank God that we were able to plan some of the production items in advance before we left and hand over some of the operations to the locals. It’s really heartening to see their growth in business management, including being able to use Google Sheets more effectively now in recording expenses and inventory and being able to think more broadly about finances and profitability amid being a social business.
On our end, we’ve learnt not to look at growth from our own lens, but to zoom out and notice what God is already doing. Oftentimes, what we gained through the process or at the end of it all might not be what we had initially aimed for, and that’s alright because life is an adventurous journey.
Pray for us as we continue to adapt back to life in Singapore!
We always thank God for you, for journeying with us over the past year. It hasn’t been easy going on this journey independently, and we’ve seen for ourselves the importance of having a community of believers praying for and supporting us.
We also hope our little snippets of sharing have been encouraging you in one way or another.
May our Lord continue to lead you as well, in your life journey, and more importantly, in your everyday moments.
Your partners in Christ,
แดน & แจน
(Dan & Jan)
