One month young today!

 Evangeline is 1 month old today! It's hard to believe that this little bundle came into the world- this crazy city of Bangkok 4 weeks ago! Oh how time goes by fast... This month she has had so much fun because her Mimi came ALL the way from Florida to be with her for 3 weeks. Mimi and Evangeline have had quite the adventures! They have gone to the mall, the American Embassy to get her passport, the Thai markets, rode in tuk tuk taxis, had dinner outings with our Thai neighbors, and even went to a Rabbit cafe (yup with actual real bunny rabbits). Evangeline has been so blessed by having her Mimi here and having so many visitors love on her. She has had friends from Nepal, Japan, Thailand, and America come to hangout. 

Evangeline came two weeks early so we had to reschedule our baby shower and she got to be there too. She is like her mommy, she doesn't want to miss out on anything!

Her mommy and daddy have been so deeply blessed already by her presence in their life. Words do not do justice to describe the immense love and honor they feel to be her parents. They can not wait to see how her little life will grow and impact the world. May Evangeline Nora truly live into her name and see the greatest honor in this life is to be a message bearer of the gospel.

Our Birth Story: 

My water broke at 1:30 AM on February 9th, however I wasn't sure if it actually broke because it was a small amount of fluid. Throughout the night I was having contractions but they're just small ones at this point.  The next day Josh and I got up because we had a training with our ministry, Dton Naam. We woke up at 8 AM, got dressed, got on our motorcycle and rode it to the Bangkok Train System to get to DN. During the training I was in a little bit of pain, the contractions were feeling a bit stronger, but I just sat through it.  I was sitting there trying to focus but all I could think of was, I feel like this could be the real thing. After the training ended I went downstairs where our social justice cafe is located. You wouldn't believe it, it just so happened that there was a group of Bangkok midwives meeting in our cafe (no coincidence right). When the midwives finished their conversations amongst each other, I thought I would ask one of them for their opinion about whether or not my water had broke. I told them, "I think it broke in the middle of the night, but I am not positive." One of the midwives named Haley, who was is total stranger was willing to check me in the restroom to see if indeed my water broke. After she checked she said, "yes it definitely seems to be your amniotic fluid." Haley said, "you better call your doctor and go see her right away to get her opinion." At this point Josh had just left the cafe to go to language school so I called him to come back and meet me so that we both can go to the doctors together. He agreed to meet me at the hospital. After I got off the phone with Josh I grabbed a motorcycle taxi and jumped on the back of it with my little Thai taxi driver. Moto taxi's are the quickest way to get through traffic. As we were weaving in and out of the Bangkok traffic I was thinking and laughing to myself, "I could be having this baby today and here I am riding on the moto, this is crazy!" Anyhow, I made it safely to the doctors and Josh got there a few minutes after me. We walked up to my doctors office, she checked me out and confirmed that my water broke and that I will be having the baby tonight or tomorrow. At this point, I was only 2cm dilated and I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. My doctor agreed and suggested that we go home and try to stimulate the labor process. She told me, "come back to the hospital when your contractions are so intense that you can't talk." Josh and I jumped into a taxi and headed home, it was about 3pm. 

Side note: One of the cool things about my birth story is that I always thought if my mom wasn't able to be here in time for the labor then I would really want my friend Pam Attaway to come and help me because she's a nurse and a sweet friend of mine who also works with The Mission Society in the Northeastern part of Thailand. So after we got done with my doctor we called Pam to ask her a few questions about labor. However, to our surprise Pam was actually in Bangkok that day!!! Pam agreed to come help us throughout the labor if we wanted her help. She told us to call her back if we needed anything.

Anyways, Josh and I got home at 3 o'clock and we began to stimulate the labor process, I got on a birthing ball and I took a warm shower. We also tried resting just a little bit because we knew this would be our last time to get a good sleep. I fell asleep for just a few minutes in between contractions and at one point the baby moved really hard and a huge gush of water came out. I knew that labor was really in full swing now. We continued to labor through the contractions and Josh was a huge help to me. I would lean on him and hug his neck while I was going through the contractions. He would help me focus and breathe. About 8 o'clock at night the contractions were getting really really strong and like my doctor said, "come to the hospital when its so strong that you can't talk." Welp... I was definitely not wanting to talk at all, I was in the zone and focused, but I did I tell Josh I think it's time now that we go now. He began packing up the rest of the things we needed for the hospital and then we both decided we would ask our next door neighbor Pii Pat if we could use his car to drive to the hospital. Pii Pat is our closest neighbor and has always said, "if you ever need to use my car, it's yours." Pii Pat is also the Muay Thai instuctor who has a mini training gym in his patio, so every night the neighbor kids and their parents come to hangout and train... Well, when Josh went over to ask him to borrow his car, in his state of anxiety he mumbled in Thai, "BABY COMING NOW!" All of our Thai neighbors of course were interested in seeing the "farang" (which means foreigner) in labor. At this point 5 people follow Josh into our house to see all of the hustle and bustle. There was a grandmother, a seven-year-old girl, teenage guy and girl and Pii Pat. It felt like the whole neighborhood popped their heads in to see how I was doing. The grandmother was giving Josh advice, she was telling him, "hurry you need to take an ambulance because traffic will be bad, stop packing your bags and just go!" Poor Josh, he was so overwhelmed, he was speaking to the grandmother in Thai, packing our bags, AND helping me through my contractions that were every 2-1/2 minutes apart. He was great, what a champ for handling all the people and pressure. Me on the other hand, I was so focused and my contractions were too strong to even talk to people. But I do remember looking up and seeing the little Thai seven year old girl peeking through the crack in my door. I somehow mustered up a smile to her and she grinned back. Finally we got all of our things and jumped into Pii Pat's car. Both of us were a little concerned because traffic in Bangkok is nuts! It was 8pm and a true miracle happened... there was no traffic at all which is so unheard of at this time of night! Anyhow, we zipped down the street and made it to the hospital in 20 minutes, by 8:30pm I was checked in. They checked me and I was only 4 cm dilated, the roads were really bumpy and I think it caused my labor to slow down and I was a little bummed out, but Pam joined us at the hospital and she encouraged me to move around as much as I could. I decided to get on the birthing ball and rock my hips back and forth and then I would hug on Josh's neck during the contractions and Pam would rub my lower back. I stayed on the birthing ball for about an hour and then I started feeling like I wanted to push, so Pam went and got a nurse and within that one hour on the birthing ball I went from 4 cm to 9 cm. The nurse called my doctor in and she checked me and saw that my cervix was slightly swollen so she pushed on it to create more space for the babies head and it worked I was finally at 10 cm and my doctor said, "OK you can push now!" Strong contractions came on and I took two deep breaths and began pushing. I could feel the babies head crowning but I didn't have the enough energy to push her all the way through- it was really difficult, but I remember saying "I can do this, I can do this." Pam put a cold cloth on my forehead and Josh continued to encourage me to take deep breathes and push. At one point I whispered, "Jesus help me" and Josh and Pam thought that I said to them please help me and I told them, "no Jesus help me." I kinda laughed inside and then we all began praying and the next contraction I took three deep breathes and pushed. I could feel the baby's head moving forward and I saw that her head was out and then I pushed again and her whole body came out, it was beautiful. They placed the baby on my belly and Josh got to cut the cord. Since the baby was in my womb for such a long time since my water had broke, they needed to check her to make sure she was healthy. She didn't cry very much and they were concerned that amniotic fluid was in her lungs. I was with her just for a few minutes and then they had to take her away but Josh stayed with her the whole time. I was just in awe of what happened, it all went by so fast! I was only at the hospital for about 2 hours before Evangeline came and I pushed for a total of 45 minutes. I was on cloud 9, I was so happy to be with my baby girl and her sweet daddy! Our hearts were full of praise! God really did answer all of our prayers, I wanted to try having her all natural and I wanted her to be healthy, there was no traffic, and our sweet friend Pam was there to help... the whole 9 yards! It was amazing!   

We stayed at the hospital for 2 days and had so many sweet visitors. Evangeline was surrounded by the nations- we had friends that were Thai, Japanese, Nepalese, and Americans came to love on her! One of the students that we have been working with in the cafe came to see her and he said the most precious thing. He said, "Josh and Bekah, I know when you first moved to Thailand you were not expecting to have a baby soon, but I know that God has a plan for you guys. Evangeline is a gift to us!" This brought tears to my eyes because we have given Evangeline a Thai nickname called "Kong-kwang" which means gift. We have been praying over her that she will be a gift and source of light to the Thai people. When our student said this, our hearts rejoiced to feel the confirmation from God through him. Our hearts are full!

A Place to Call Home!

Do you ever have those weird moments when you feel like time is flying bye so fast, but then at the same time it feels like it's been forever? I feel like that right now! It's so weird. It's like I blinked and got here a few days ago, but it's already been 3 weeks since arriving!

A lot has happened... One thing that has been such a blessing is that 

we found a place to call HOME! 

It has been quite beautiful to see God's hand in this whole process. Since arriving, we have been able to stay with some Thai friends which has been a huge gift and now we rather quickly (considering it's Bangkok) found a place to rent.

This home is ideal especially for our first year! The neighborhood is all Thai, it has a great marketplace, it's a friendly community who is eager to speak Thai with us, and there is a park close by! (Yahh for some trees, right?!!) Another great thing, our next door neighbor is a old Muay Thai fighter. He is about 60 years old and he has a mini gym on his patio! Clearly, Josh was excited about this and quickly made friends!

Our landlords are 'kon jai dee' very kind in Thai! They have even given us a mattress to use so we don't have to buy one! We can officially move in on April 29th! We are so thankful for this timing too  because it gives us a little bit of time to settle in before language school starts on May 6th.  

Please continue to pray for us and our new home! 

Our desire is that this home becomes a place of warm hospitality, renewal for the weary soul, safety for the unsettled and just plain fun for whoever walks in our doors! 

Our 1st Week in Bangkok!

I can't believe it has already been one week since we landed in Bangkok! 
Our week has been, hmmm... how could I describe it? 

Amazing. Crazy. Hot. Beautiful. Welcoming. 

There are so many ways to describe this new transition! We were welcomed so graciously by our Thai friend, Kumtorn. He and his parents have been hosting us. They live on the outskirts of the city and they are allowing us to stay with them while we look for a place to rent. They have taken such great care of us; feeding us & teaching how to speak Thai. 

We have jumped right into language.

We have been very adventurous with our tastebuds. 

Pig intestines & cow stomach just to name a few. 

We also enjoyed reconnecting with our Thai friends at the coffee shop. We celebrated Good Friday together; painting easter eggs and watching the movie 'Passion of Christ.' 

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we really get into language learning & building friendships. 

This is NOT the Blog Post You're Expecting

I am not going to ask you the obvious question. "Can I be honest with you?" Of course you would answer. "Yes, Bekah. I want you to be honest with me." Well here goes my attempt to bare my soul...

We would all probably agree that everyone wants honesty from everybody, but unfortunately in this world- honesty and transparency is far from our minds. Hiding our insecurities and protecting ourselves is first on the agenda. I will confess, I AM so guilty of this! 

So often I am afraid to be completely vulnerable about the messy raw parts of my life. 
I am afraid to tell people "no" as if I am letting them down. 
I am bad about setting up healthy boundaries. 
The list goes on... I am scared, insecure, and I am swamped by fear. 

Recently, I have felt the Lord speak to me about this issue of fearing what others think of me. Over this past year, He has been saying to me. "Bekah, stop worrying. I love you with an earth-shaking love and I am never going to give up on you. Set your eyes on Me, not on what others think of you." So often I care way too much about what others think of me.  

This scares me.

 And I know there are a lot of people out there that love Jesus fiercely but are completely crippled by the fear of man. Because of this, I thought it would be healthy to come 'out of the closet' myself and say, "THIS IS ME!" I am one of those people. I fear rejection. I fear being disliked. I fear looking foolish. But I am tired of being paralyzed by the fear of man! I might have "good intentions" to love people with a sincere heart but I have realized that many times my concern for people & what they think has overtaken and overshadowed my devotion to Jesus. I need to get back to the place where my deepest desire is to love & fear God with a holy pure passion!

Psalm 33:18

The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him

Proverbs 29:25

People are trapped by the fear of others
 but those who TRUST in the LORD are SECURE

As I read these verses, I am confident that there is security and rest for the soul! Jesus is that rest. And I desperately want His eyes upon me. I need Him. So, I have prayed about this for awhile now and I felt the Lord speaking to me saying. "Ok, Bekah. This is the time to start taking off the layers of fear and insecurities. Invite people into the depths of your soul and share these struggle with them. You're not alone." So guys, here I am... I want to invite you into this journey with me. I want to move into a deeper place of wholeness. I would be honored if you join me. Here's what I am thinking...

1. Let's first start by being BRAVE enough to be real and honest with each other.  
2. I'd like to hear from you. Write a comment in the blog. What are your fears or insecurities? Do you struggle with fearing what others think of you?
3. What tools have you used to overcome this struggles?

I am excited to learn from you and grow together! I fully anticipate God speaking and releasing freedom in the messy raw parts of life. 
(And thank God that He is okay with the messy stuff!:)

Jump On!

Do you remember being a kid and playing on a 'merry go round'? I do. I remember I was about 5 years old & I was a total dare devil. I would grab onto the medal bars and run in a circle as fast as I could, getting that thing to spin like crazy! Once my little legs couldn't run any faster I would jump on the merry go round and let it spin me til I was dizzy.  One particular time I got it spinning so fast that it flew me off 10 ft in the air. (Ok, maybe not quite 10 feet but when you're 5 years old it feels like the end of the world!). Anyhow, I hit the ground with a serious crash! It was ugly. Really ugly. I remember being afraid to get back on. My one friend looked at me as if the crash was no big deal and she extended her hand to me and said, "JUMP ON!" I had bumps and bruises! I was hurting- there was no chance I would get back on that thing! But there was something inside me saying, "get back on, don't miss out on an adventure." The fear only lasted a moment so I decided to reached out for my friends extended hand and I jumped back on. We had blast that day!



We meet and ministered to these young boys during our vision trip last year

Many of you have heard by now that we have been accepted as career missionaries with The Mission Society. Over the past several months God has affirmed our steps and we have humbly and joyfully accepted His invitation to serve in Thailand. We are committed to serve for 5 years and we look forward to making our home among Thai people and starting our family there! Right now, we are preparing to move to Bangkok within the year!


Our vision as cross-cultural workers in Thailand is to walk alongside the exploited and the vulnerable and see them restored through a relationship with Jesus. This is not a simple task, but together with the local Thai church we believe God will accomplish His powerful work of healing. As we serve, we will focus on providing education and discipleship to Thai children and young adults, as well as create employment opportunities alongside an existing Thai foundation and coffee shop business.  As we labor with the Thai foundation and coffee shop, we will be discipling Thai’s so that together we can reach the nation for Jesus. Our ultimate vision is to see the Kingdom of God expand in the least reached places throughout Thailand.

During this season of preparation and fundraising God has been so incredibly faithful and we have learned a TON! We have currently raised 70% of our monthly need! We have $1,000 a month left to raise. Praise God! We are also getting ready to travel to India this July for cross-cultural training. We are very excited about this training- everyone who has gone before has said 'it is invaluable!' We believe it! We can’t wait to learn and dive right in! :)

Please be praying for us and our team as we travel. Pray for:

• Safety
• Good Health
• Agility of mind as we learn & are equipped
• Most importantly, for steadfastness/peace in this season of transition & for our eyes to be fixed on Jesus- the author and perfecter of our faith!

If you would like more information about our mission work or if you would like to join our team of monthly supporters, please click on ‘The Mission Society’ link at the top of this page.  We will be updating our blog every few months, especially as we get closer to moving to Thailand. So on that note... We want to extend our hand to you and say "JUMP ON!" We want to invite you to journey with us, pray with us, and learn with us! I am sure we will have bumps and bruises along the way but part of the adventure is doing it TOGETHER :) We would love nothing more than for you to journey with us as we follow Jesus to Thailand!

New Seasons

Many people have been asking, 'When are you and Josh going to return to Thailand?' 'What is the next plan for your future?' Well, we don't have all the answers but hopefully this blog entry can help answer a few of them. First of all, we can't express how unique and special this season has been for us since being back in the States. We have a great community of wise people to process our experiences with: fellow missionaries, our small group, and our church has been so encouraging! Although, our hearts desperately miss Thailand and our dear friends, we can clearly see God's hand and purpose right where we are at! We are loving this season of preparation, learning, and we are embracing opportunities for ministry here in Venice, FL!

 A Street  Food Vendor

I, Bekah am currently working at our church as the Director of Missions and Josh is working with the same company, AquaLeak. It has been good for us to reconnect with friends while we are here in town. We are truly gratefully for this season of life, but as you all know seasons change! Just like the world has it's changing of seasons: fall, winter, spring, and summer; we too are sensing a shifting of seasons in our lives!  In fact, we are walking into a new season which holds new adventures & possibilities for growth!

This week we are exploring the possibility of working with an organization called The Mission Society. The Mission Society is based in Atlanta, Georgia. TMS exists to mobilize and deploy the body of Christ globally to join Jesus in His mission, especially among the least reached and marginalized people groups. This Saturday, Sept 21st-25th Josh and I will be driving to Atlanta for 5 days to attend a 'Candidate Assessment Orientation'.  These 5 days will consist of interviews, psychological evaluations, and just some good times getting to know & hanging out with TMS staff members.

As we go please be praying for us! We desire to hear the voice of God and follow wherever He may lead. We definitely see God confirming our hearts to go back to Thailand. We both have envisioned the palms of our hands being completely open before God, asking him to guide our every step over the next 5 days. There are still a lot of unknowns, but we are fully confident that God will lead us where He wants us to be. Will you please join in praying for us and our future in cross-cultural missions? That would mean the world knowing that we have our friends and families praying on our behalf. We love you all and are excited to journey with you!

I put up a little video of when Josh and I went to celebrate the King of Thailand's birthday! It was a great day for Thai people, they love their King and they love to honor him. There were thousands upon thousands of Thai people waiting in the streets to see him. Some people camped outside for 2 days, waiting to get a glimpse of their beloved King, some were waving banners and flags in celebration! It was a great experience being among the people and learning more about their culture! Who knows...Maybe the next season of life we will be living there again! One thing is for sure, our deepest desire is for Thai people to celebrate & rejoice in the true King Jesus, forever and forever!

Psalm 47:1-2,8

 "Clap your hands, all you nations;
    shout to God with cries of joy.

For the Lord Most High is awesome,
    the great King over all the earth.

God reigns over the nations;
    God is seated on his holy throne!"

When Reality Hits You

Red Light District in Bangkok

Reality hit Josh and I that we only have a few more weeks here! Life goes by way too fast! For our last month in Thailand Josh and I are spending time working with a few other organizations that help people recover after leaving the sex industry. We are honored to be able to get to know these brave individuals who are seeking a new life of freedom! This past week was very eye opening to us. We spent a good chunk of the week with an organization called the Dton Naam Foundation (Source of Water). Dton Naam seeks to help Thai 'lady boys' and women get out of the sex industry, but much of their focus is on helping lady boys. They offer a program that provides counseling, job training in a coffee shop, art theraphy, and discipleship.

When Josh and I first walked into this ministry we could feel that it was a safe place for people to heal, grow, and discover who God made them to be. During the week we had the opportunity to get to know the young guys that are in the program. Josh and I helped out in the coffee shop, ran errands with the Thai staff, and also got to learn more about the guys stories. The life of a lady boy is heartbreaking- filled with much abuse and abandonment. Often times these boys are sexually abused at a young age, they are made fun of by the tough boys in school and are labeled as 'lady boys'. Drug and alcohol addictions are common. I remember my first trip to Thailand I saw a young boy who was 9 years old out in the red light district. He was high on drugs, dancing in the street with the other women. He was only 9 years old. This was one of the hardest things I saw. These boys grow up not knowing who they are and the reality is these young men are maybe the most marginalized people in Bangkok. Not too many people are working with these young men and often times the Christian rehabilitation centers choose not to take them in. The other reality is, these young men are created in the image of God; therefore deserving of love no matter what they are struggling with. This week our eyes were opened even wider to the fact that we need more people to walk with the hurting. There is a massive need of God's people to rise up and move into the darkest places!

This week I had the chance to meet two mom's of these teenage boys. The truth is that the pain these boys face goes much deeper than just the boys- it affects the whole family. I met one mother while doing home visitations in Klong Toey, Bangkok's largest slum. We spent part of the day cleaning and helping around their small home. We sat and prayed with the mother on her little bed. She opened up to us realizing how desperate she needs hope and healing like all of us!

The second mother came into the coffee shop right as we were about to close up. We could tell that she was shaken up. A few nights ago we actually ran into her son while doing outreach in the red light district. Her son is 16 years old. When we saw him was intoxicated, he cried, and told us he left home and had nowhere to go. This mother's son has an ongoing battle with addiction and he has recently relapsed and headed back to the streets. This mother is a believer, so we sat around the table and listened to her story. We prayed with her as she cried. Our prayer that night was that God would woo her son and bring him to a place where he knows and feels God's love.

Here in Thailand, the reality is there are a lot of people without hope. Jesus himself told us,  the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. The other piece of this truth is that God has told us:

* To go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28). 

* We are told that we are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). 

* We are called to comfort others in their afflictions (2 Cor. 1:4). 

We are praying what our response to this truth should be. We pray God will rise up an army of saints here in Thailand that are committed to the marginalized and seek to comfort them so that they will know the reality of God's enormous love.