The Crawford Chronicles #22

   

Praise and Prayer items

1) Graham - For the first time, Graham was able to go through the process of interviewing and hiring an employee for the school.  The IT team has now grown by one more member making Graham responsible for managing 3 employees.  Khun Benz (the new employee) is fitting in well with the team.  Please pray for Graham that he would continue to serve and lead the IT Department well.

2) Kathleen - Please pray for wisdom and Kathleen is trying to figure out how to schedule nursing needs for after school events.  Pray that she would also lead and serve well as she manages the Health Services Department.

3) Austin - Please pray for Austin as he sometimes struggles getting motivated to go to school in the morning.  Pray that he would continue to learn and grow and do well at school.

4) Duncan - We praise the Lord that Duncan gets along so well with his nanny (Lek).  We are thankful for the blessing she has been to our family.  We are also thankful for new neighbours that will be moving in soon with a child the same age as Duncan.  Pray that they would become good companions.

5) In-laws Visit - We praise the Lord for the time we were able to spend with Kathleens' parents (John and Diane Davidson) here in Chiang Mai for 6 weeks.  It was good to have family around for an extended period of time.

6) Christmas Break - Pray for rest and relaxation for Graham and Kathleen.  Pray that we would both feel refreshed and ready o lead our teams when we start back at the school in January.

7) Trip to Canada - We would like to travel back to Canada as a family in 2024.  The original plan was to come for the summer break so we tried looking at tickets from the end of May to the middle of July (about a 6 week trip).  Unfortunately, ticket prices at the moment are extremely high.  The price for all of us to travel from Chiang Mai to Edmonton and back was over $8000 Canadian dollars.  This doesn't even include the traveling that we would like to do once we arrive in Canada.  This has led us to look at postponing our trip to sometime around Christmas 2024.  Our hope is that ticket prices will come down in price next year.  Please pray for us as we try to figure out how to get home for a visit without breaking the bank.

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Online donations can be made at https://donations.sim.ca/workers/Crawford

The opinions expressed are our own opinions. They are not necessarily the opinions or views of SIM (Serving in Mission).

The Crawford Chronicles #21

   

The Crawford Chronicles #21

“Returns”

Praise and Prayer items

1) Trip to Canada - We are thanking the Lord for a successful support raising trip to Canada! We currently have 100% of the support we need for the next year. Thank you to all the churches and individuals who partner with us. We couldn’t be here in Thailand without you. Please pray that we would be able to one day have 100% of our monthly needs met every month. 83% of our needs are currently covered every month so we rely on one time giving each year to make up the extra 17%. Pray we would be able to continue to grow our support team to make up this monthly shortfall (17% is about $982/month).

2) SIM Spiritual Life Conference (SLC) - We thank the Lord for a great time at this years Spiritual Life Conference. We are thankful we were able to afford to go and that we were able to have time to connect with other SIM missionaries here in Thailand. It was also great to see another part of Thailand.

3) Start of School - Kathleen and I have both been busy getting things ready for the new school year. Please continue to pray that we would have a great year at Grace International School. Pray that we would both be a blessing to the school and that we would see students grow in their faith or come to know Christ for the first time,

4) The Unexpected - We’ve been grateful for some of the unexpected blessings we have received here in Chiang Mai. Pray that we wouldn’t take these blessings for granted (please watch the video for detail on those blessings).

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Online donations can be made at https://donations.sim.ca/workers/Crawford

The opinions expressed are our own opinions. They are not necessarily the opinions or views of SIM (Serving in Mission).

The Crawford Chronicles #20

   

The Crawford Chronicles #20

“Settled”

Praise and Prayer items

1) House Setup - Praise the Lord we were able to get our house all setup during the month of December. We had hoped to have it setup before we both started working in January. We are so happy to have a lovely home so close to the school

2) SIM Orientation - We we’re grateful to have SIM Thailand take such good care of us when we arrived. We did orientation with the Personnel Coordinator and the Director. They helped introduce Thai culture to us and helped us navigate Chiang Mai. A big thank you to Ryan’s and Heidi Hannah for their hard work in making us feel welcome.

3) Jobs - Please continue to Pray for Kathleen and I in our new positions. We are both starting to feel more comfortable in our roles but it is very busy and we have a lot of responsibility at the school. Pray we would both serve Grace International School well.

4) Austin - Austin has started Pre-School here and is doing well. He struggles from time to time in wanting to go but is usually fine once he gets there. It is a bilingual Pre-School (Thai/English) so that is an added challenge for him. Pray that he would enjoy his new school (called Good Kids Pre-School) and that he would make friends easily with the other children despite the language barrier.

5) Duncan - We praise the Lord that we were able to be introduced to “Lek” (called Pi Lek by the boys as a term of endearment - “Pi” basically means “older sibling”). Lek is our “Mae Baan” (house helper) and takes care of Duncan while we are at work. She also cooks, cleans and does laundry. She is a big blessing to our household.

6) Kathleen’s Nursing Hours - We felt blessed that Kathleen was able to officially get approval for her nursing hours to count towards her license. There was some doubts in the beginning but thankfully it all worked out. To God be the glory!

7) Drivers Licenses - We were able to receive our Thai drivers licenses! There was a short test we both had to get through but we were both able to pass and get our beautiful photos taken. We thank the Lord that it was a smooth process for both of us.

8) Finances - Please continue to pray for our finances. Our current shortfall is about $1300/month. Pray that we would find cheerful givers willing to partner with us in our ministry.

9) Trip to Canada - Because of our current shortfall, Kathleen and I (Graham) decided it would be best if I did a trip back to Canada during our school summer break. I will be in Western Canada from May 9th - July 6th. Please pray for Kathleen as she will be alone taking care of the kids. Pray that Graham would travel safely and that he would have meaningful connections with friends and family. (See Graham’s itinerary below).

Graham’s Travel Intinerary

May 9th - Arrive in Parksville, BC

May 14th - Visit Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church

May 16th - Travel to Edmonton, AB

May 19th - Visit Cowboy Church in Sherwood Park, AB

May 21st - Visit Fort Saskatchewan Alliance Church

May 28th - Visit Fort Saskatchewan Fellowship Baptist Church

June 1st - Travel to Fort McMurray, AB

June 4th - Visit Northlife Church

June 8th - Return to Edmonton, AB

June 11th - Visit Redwater Alliance Church

June 18th - Visit Edmonton Chinese Alliance Church

June 25th - Visit Heartland Alliance Church

June 28th - Travel to Calgary, AB

July 2nd - Travel to Lumby, BC

July 3rd - Travel to Langley, BC

July 6th - Leave for Thailand

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Online donations can be made at https://donations.sim.ca/workers/Crawford

The opinions expressed are our own opinions. They are not necessarily the opinions or views of SIM (Serving in Mission).