Happy 2024! Wow, we can’t believe a new year is upon us. We pray this year you would experience a new depth in your relationship with Jesus as you seek to love Him and others. 

We want to share a quick update from the last month and a few things you can be praying for in the next 2-months. We will share photos in our next update!

Closing Out 2023

My (Ross) trip to Ukraine was short but one I will never forget. Getting to the eastern front is a full 3-days of travel at minimum – from airplanes to overnight trains to driving. Though our transit time was almost half of our mission, this provided opportunities to prepare our hearts, plan, encourage one another, and then debrief our time. We spent about 6-days at the frontlines – focusing our time on one battalion while building new relationships with local church leaders and foreign workers. We were partnered with Christian Hickey and Triple A Authority. You can check out more about Christian and the mission God has called him and his family to in Ukraine by going here. 

Everything we did from training to meeting with military unit leaders to buying presents for local families to leading a youth group was a means for us to encourage and build others up through the gospel of Jesus Christ! It is a gift to give and we felt like we received 10x from these opportunities. Every training we started, finished, and wove throughout applications from the gospel. We experienced a real softness in the hearts of those we shared. Several confirmed a first time commitment or redication of their faith in Jesus Christ. 

We are not used to people giving their lives to Jesus on the spot. Living and working predominantly in SE Asia we find that it is quite a journey for people to begin following Jesus. An entire worldview must be shaped in the process to even begin to understand at times the power and hope of the gospel. Ukraine’s Orthodox roots has created a different type of “soil”. One that still has challenges to receiving and responding to the gospel (i.e. burdens of religious conformity) yet different challenges from what we are used to. 

You can read one story from Ross’ mission at the end of this newsletter that highlights one way he experienced Jesus’ light and love despite the chaos of war. 

Eirenee’s extra days with family was a tremendous gift. We are so thankful for wonderful trips to Texas to see Ross’ side of the family and for the time in Virginia with Eirenee’s side of the family. Our family blessed with opportunities to enjoy all the elements of the Christmas season from shows to concerts to food, food, and more food and even squeezing 27 people into two houses in North Carolina. The best best is always just being together. It was a Christmas season we will never forget! 

We just arrived back in Chiang Mai after a short layover at a friend’s in France. Who knew it costs the same to fly directly home as it does to break the trip up a little? We know now and are so thankful for the hospitality shown to us and the chance to welcome in the new year in Europe! 

Next Up

Eirenee’ turned 29! Last year in her 20s. We are gonna go big! Starting with…heading back into Burma. We will spend about 6-weeks ministering at the FBR training camp and on mission.

The first 10-days was spent debriefing and encouraging the Rangers who just graduated and returned from their first relief mission. This is at the same place we spent time in October and November. We will head out this week on a relief mission with about 43 ethnic Rangers and a few other volunteers like ourselves. This will be the first relief mission in Burma that Eirenee’ and I will lead alongside our ethnic leaders. It has been 7-years since any foreign volunteers have visited some of these areas. We are so excited and thankful for the trust to do this! 

We will spend about 4-weeks with packs on our back and walking to make a giant loop in northern Karen State. This will be the most physical mission we have completed thus far. During this time we have prepared to conduct nine different relief programs in local villages, encourage local leaders and FBR teams, and report on the situation for the world to know. Each activity we engaged in by our foreign volunteer team is just a means to share and build up others with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is truly the hope of the World – wars can wage around us but we can experience true freedom in our heart and mind through Him!

We will return late February. Expect an update from us sometime in March. Feel free to always reach out. It may take us a little bit to respond but we are always blessed by you. 

Prayer

Here are a few ways you can pray for us. 

• God would open the hearts and minds of the people we will be with to the love, goodness, and power of Jesus!

• God open us to see His movements and give us courage to follow in faith where He leads – especially if it is something we didn’t envision or plan before!

• God would unite our family as we lead our first extended mission into Burma and unite our team in bringing help, hope, and love in Jesus name! 

How can we pray for you? 

Below is a story from Ross' trip to Ukraine.

Love Came Through A Generator

We spent a lot of time with an officer from on of the Territorial Defense Units. I will call him Mike. 

Mike is in his late forties. Mike used to be a company XO but has now switched recently to be the company supply officer. Mike’s days are very full. 

No matter the tasks on Mike’s list, Mike always has time to host. He has a gift for hospitality that revivals the best in Burma and Kurdistan. He welcomed us late our first night and proceeded to put out coffee and snacks even though we could almost physically see the burdens he was carrying and the bags beneath his eyes. 

Mike goes by the nickname Chaplain. His nickname is fitting. He truly has a shepherd’s heart. Mike doesn’t just go out of his way to serve guests. He serves his men. He serves the communities and people around him. 

Mike has initiated and maintained sponsorships for local elderly and children still living in the vicinity of their company command post. There command post is within missile range and was in an area previously controlled by the Russians. He goes out of his way to buy necessities, even gifts for children as Christmas was approaching. Mike allowed me and another volunteer to tag along for one particular visit when we were on the front lines.

An elderly couple in the late 70s or early 80s decided to never leave their home. They are only 7km from the trenches and well within artillery range. The husband is severely handicapped and they feared their house would be looted. So they stayed. It seemed like they were the only non-military that did. 

They also did not have access to electricity. Winter in Ukraine is cold. Freezing temperatures daily. The elderly woman was too weak to be able to start the old crank generator they did have. In comes Mike. Loving in practical yet extreme ways. 

Mike purchased with personal funds a brand new generator that only required the push of a button. We helped Mike unload the generator and set it before the woman. We watched as the woman’s eyes lit up - removing the wrinkles of age for a brief moment before she burst into tears. Mike and the woman embraced in a tearful hug and shared words that I didn’t understand. I didn’t need to understand what was being said. Their embrace said it all. 

The woman invited us into the house. We met her husband. Prayed together for his healing and for Jesus to protect their home from shelling, missiles, and any other forms of evil. We watched Mike lovingly ask if the woman needed anything else. She couldn’t figure out how to charge the audio Bible Mike left the week prior. He took care of this for her. 

The most extreme acts of love are sometimes the most practical. Love came through a generator.