While our first furlough has been a blessing so far, we look forward to beginning the second phase of our ministry when we return to Thailand. We long to reach families as opposed to only individuals, and we are ready to add more formal discipleship to our ministry in addition to our introductory events and outreach.
Our goal is to plant home churches and third space churches, where we will teach people to be disciples from the beginning. The idea behind the third space, a concept put forth by author Ray Oldenberg in his book The Great Good Space, is that people spend their lives in basically three spaces: the first is the home, the second is work or school, and the third is the social space (such as coffee shops, gyms and shopping or community areas) where people spend time between their other two spaces. Christian leaders and authors know that the first space, the home, is a private space that is hard for churches to access. The second, work or school, are places where Christians have limited influence. The third space, the social space, becomes a place where Christians can connect and build relationships with new people, turning strangers into neighbors and neighbors into followers of Jesus.
We have seen the reality of this third space at work with Peace Music Academy (PMA), the center of influence AFM missionaries have planted in Khon Kaen. Many young people regularly go to PMA after school, and I often wonder if they find more community there and the international SDA church than at home.
Through all the different activities we have hosted at our home, I can see how so many of our friends have found a community with our family and feel comfortable in our space (home) where they feel valued, and everyone is the same (sons and daughters of God).
When we return from furlough, we plan on trading in the AFM truck for an 11-passenger van which we will use for various activities. Our family volunteers at a children’s home. Each Sunday, we have worship for the children and volunteer with various activities. But on Sabbath afternoons, we bring the children to Adventurers at the international SDA church. We usually shuttle 12 children for these weekly events using the AFM truck and a car we borrow. We also use the truck for camping and other church activities, using the back of the truck to carry people—but it is too dangerous, and we do not feel comfortable with that. Having a van would be safer for everyone riding with us and allow us to try to follow Thailand’s newly implemented seatbelt laws. We spend a lot of time with people, and having the extra space an 11-passenger van provides will be helpful for our ministry and other outreach conducted by the rest of our AFM team.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
