Ouellette Newsletter January 2010 Print

An official "Happy New Year" to all of you, from the 6 of us - reporting live from Phuket, Thailand!

We are here. The trip back was amazing! Thanks to a wonderful connection, we had a traveler's dream come true, and all 6 of us were "bumped" to business class for both legs of the journey! We truly felt God smiling on us with this wonderful gift!

The first day back was the hardest. We found ourselves tired, hot, and a bit shocked with how suddenly we found ourselves back in the midst of life here. One day in, we found our emotions stabilizing, and by God's amazing grace, began to settle in. Emma and Caleb were literally immune to jetlag! The rest of us switched over almost as quickly.

It feels really good to be back here. We are confident that God has led us back here, and so we are full of anticipation for what God has in store for this next term. Having said that, it has been a challenging journey that we have traveled through to get here. Many of you are aware that our time in Canada began with the news that Kevin and Karlene Klassen and their family would not be returning to Thailand with us. We love the Klassen family dearly, and wish them all God's best for their future in Canada, but you can well imagine that this was a big blow to our family. They will be missed by all of us. This began a new journey for our family. When our circumstances change in ways we do not like, or would not choose for ourselves, do we give up? Do we become bitter? Do we question God's trustworthiness? We can answer these questions with a resounding NO! Though we have cried, we have grieved, and even questioned, we have come to a more confident place of knowing God IS trustworthy, He IS faithful, and He will continue to provide what we need, in His time. This has been a particularly difficult journey for Caleb, our oldest. We are grateful that God has been taking care of him in ways that even Caleb can recognize and acknowledge.

Just one month before we returned to Thailand, we faced another significant challenge, when our team leaders, Rob and Judy Griffioen asked permission to step away from our team. Rob and Judy are currently in Chiang Mai, and are continuing ministry with MBMSI. Again, we faced more tears, more grieving, more questions, but the same faithful, trustworthy God has met us in the midst of this challenge too. So, our team, Operation Second Wave now includes our family of 6, as well as Cynthia Friesen.

So, our second term really is a fresh start in many ways. We are trusting God to bring Thais alongside us who are willing, open, and excited to join with us as we begin a new church, as well as initiate ministry through the Thai Mennonite Brethren Foundation in Phuket. God is present and active here! We are therefore truly excited and expectant. God has good plans for Phuket, and we get to be a part of them! So we acknowledge our weakness, and rely on His strength to accomplish His purposes here, in and through us.

A Scripture that has given us much courage during this time is Isaiah 41:9-10:

"I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant', I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

May 2010 be an exciting year for each of us as we see God's purposes accomplished in and around us.

Trusting Him,
Greg and Becky
 
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