Preparing for our Journey II
Updates
The past 4 weeks have been a blur of activity for Alyssa and I as we work through the tasks needed to enable leaving. Much of this is fairly mundane- answering emails, setting various details in place, packing, but God has been working in our hearts through this, answering prayers, and really confirming our mission and the support of our community! Three events stood out that I wanted to highlight:
IJM Orientation- In June, we virtually attended IJM’s orientation training, which was a 4 day event consisting of informational presentations, group discussion, and prayer. It covered a large range of subjects from IJM’s mission, and vision for the upcoming years, to their core values and theory of how to make lasting change. The whole experience gave both of us a deeper understanding of what our work in Thailand will look like, as well as language to speak to how and why IJM is such a successful and broadly recognized organization.
Housewarming/ Farewell Party- Although much delayed (it has been 2 years since we moved in), we finally reached a state in home repairs that we were able to have a housewarming party! This also doubled as our going away party, a birthday party for our downstairs neighbor, and a chance for our different friend groups to meet, so it was a big event! We were so blessed at all the friends and family that came, as well as two members of our community group that brought their pizza ovens and made ~30 pizzas! It was such a wonderful way to transition out of our time in San Francisco, and into our time abroad. Pictures above
IJM X Reality- We are so excited to announce that there will be IJM event hosted by our church (Reality SF) next month! The event will be held in the evening on Thursday, August 14, and will focus on the intersection of technology and IJM’s mission, highlighting work being done in Thailand and the Philippines. We believe that this will be very impactful for residents of San Francisco, as such a prominent technology hub. The event is open to any and all who want to attend- registration details can be found here: https://realitysf.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3018377
Praise Reports
Renting out our house- God has answered two huge prayers that we have had around renting out our house in San Francisco, which is a major enabler for us to be able to go abroad. The first is our prayer for renters, which God has answered in abundance! We have had a multitude of people apply, all of which seem qualified and agreeable people. Secondly, we were praying about our parking spot. Parking in San Francisco can be very difficult, and our immediate neighborhood is especially congested. Last year, we were able to work out a deal with our neighbor two doors down to rent a parking space from them (another huge answer to prayer), and we had hoped to be able to sublet this to renters along with our house, both to offset cost, and to make the parking situation more accessible for potential renters. In the past, the owner of the parking space has been very inflexible to changes, and we were very worried that they would not be open to a sublet arrangement. When we contacted them about this, however, they immediately agreed!
Support- God has really answered prayer in a big way around raising support for our mission. As the fellowships are unpaid positions, we are very dependent on the support and partnership of our community for raising the funds needed to enable us to go serve IJM’s Bankgkok team without diverting funds from the programs and staff already in place. Over the past 4 weeks since we sent out our last letter, God has really confirmed that we are moving in the right direction! We have raised ~35% of our giving target, putting us AHEAD of schedule for our giving targets!
Personal computer- Another big need in the time leading up to our departure is for us to have a personal computer, allowing us to work on the preparation and logistics work outside of (and unmonitored by) our work computers. We were anticipating a major expense to purchase a new one, however, we were successfully able to reformat Alyssa’s high school/college laptop and get it up and running again! This was definitely a praise report, as the laptop is over 10 years old, out of warranty, and the Apple store refused to service it due to its age.
Prayer, Wisdom, and Support Needs
Visa applications- The next big hurdle is to secure Thai work visas. The legislation in Thailand apparently changes often, and we have heard from the IJM Global team that it has recently become a more lengthy process. We would appreciate any and all prayer and advice from those with experience during this process.
Discernment around renters- Now that we have several people applying to rent our place, we are working through the process of evaluating applications, creating a lease, and selecting a renter. This is the first time we have gone through this process, and we are trying to learn as much as we can, but there are many implications in terms of taxes, liability, and local legal requirements. We would appreciate prayer and advice during this process, so that we don’t make any huge mis-steps. We are really hoping to focus all of our energy on the mission in Thailand, without our responsibility for the house becoming a major distraction.
Mental and emotional preparation- Going from the world of Silicon Valley technology to a non-profit is a big change of pace, and we are both trying to do all that we can to ready ourselves for it. Our biggest prayers are around humility and strength. Humility is not typically a value that is encouraged in the corporate world, but in order to be successful at learning new skills, meeting new people, and experiencing a new culture, we will need alot of it! Additionally, the work being done by IJM can often be dark, difficult, and emotionally draining, and we will need strength to be able to sustain and act as a light while serving.
We greatly appreciate and are incredibly moved by all of you, our community, and how much you have encouraged us this past month. Thank you for being in our lives!
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
-Phillipians 4:7
