The Crawford Chonicles #32

Prayer Requests

Graham - We are thankful that he is often told he is doing well in speaking Thai. Please pray that he will continue to grow in his Thai proficiency. 

Kathleen - Please pray that she would be able to rest over her summer break. Please pray that it will be a smooth beginning to the new school year.  There is a lot of information to hand out to staff and parents.  School starts again on August 5th. 

Austin - Austin would like prayer for the new plants we bought.  Pray that they would grow strong and be a beautiful addition to our house. We are glad he did well in school this year. Please pray as he continues to work on his ability to focus and his reading skills. 

Duncan - Duncan would like you to pray that he gets good toys for his birthday (July 16). Please pray that he will adjust well to kindergarten in August. 

Prayer Update including Videos and Photos

It is hard to believe how quickly the second semester flew by!! We are thankful that it went well though. A lot has happened so we hope you enjoy hearing about all our adventures. 

January

In an effort to burn off some of the boys’ energy we enrolled them in a Muay Thai class (Thai Kick Boxing). This gym was recommended to us as Austin’s teacher and classmates also go to this gym. We have been so pleased with the two instructors.  During the first few classes the boys were the only ones in the class. It was helpful for them to learn the basics.  Lately they have had up to 15 kids in a Saturday morning class.   The instructors have done a great job remaining so calm and patient with the kids. 

Austin had a technology class. He was learning how to type and insert pictures into a google document. He was very proud to show off his skills.  Graham was able to turn his old Macbook into a Chromebook so he can use the same type of computer at home as he has at school.  

Graham got 100% on his first Thai exam!

February

Graham’s sister Lori was able to come visit for a week after her mission trip to Cambodia. We all love having her here! We got to show her some of our favourite places. We went to a waterfall called "Sticky Waterfalls" because the rocks are sticky enough to walk up. It get its famous grip from calcium carbonate deposits bubbling up from a natural mineral spring.  As this mineral-rich water cascades over the boulders, it coats the rocks in a rough, sponge-like limestone crust that completely prevents moss and algae from growing on it.

We also celebrated Kathleen's birthday.  She turned 35 this year!  They had a birthday celebration with the  Canadian staff from Grace International School to celebrate Kathleen as well as 3 others that have birthdays in February. Duncan was very excited about all the cake! 

Graham got another 100% on his 2nd Thai exam!

March

March was a big month in our house. Austin lost his first and second tooth. He also ended up with a cut forehead from a rock and then a concussion from falling off his bike.

Tooth #1

Tooth #2

Duncan graduated from Preschool and was then accepted into Grace International School! We are happy that both boys will be attending the same school.  We have been working on his letter sounds and numbers. Kindergarten here we come!

The boys had their first Thai massage.  They loved it and were able to sit quietly and patiently during the 30 minute session.

Graham got 100% again! 3 in a row!  

He also started playing on the worship team at church. 

April

April was a quieter month. We celebrated Songkran (Thai Water Festival) with friends at a community block party. We visited a few new places for the boys to play; Beaver Club (pool with playgroung and diving) and Blockland (pay per hour to play with massive Lego sets).

It took Austin a few visits to finish this Lego guy.

And the streak was broken!  Graham got 97.5% on his 4th Thai language test.  He was still happy with the result.

May

Austin’s art was included in an art show at school. Pieces from all grades were included. His art teacher often commented on how creative he is. 

The end of year staff party at Grace International School had a dress theme this year of "Superheroes".  We decided to dress as Batman and Poison Ivy.  Our costumes were such a hit, we even won a prize!

We planted a mango tree in our yard and we were able to harvest an entire bucket full from it.  They weren't the greatest tasting mangoes but it was fun to watch them grow.

Kathleen's parents arrived for a 5 week visit! We were so blessed to have family come visit us. We went on many adventures…some planned, and some not haha!

We went on a small hike at the Royal Park Rajapruek

Kathleen and her Mom did an "Airfit Bungee Class".  

We went together to the Chiang Mai Night Safari and saw lots of animals.

At the Night Safari Duncan rode on a horse for the very first time.

Austin and Kathleen had a half week left of school after Kathleen's parents arrived. They were able to join Austin for lunch in the school cafeteria one day which he enjoyed very much. 

Austin on his last day of Grade 1

Graham finished the 5 month basic Thai program at the school he was attending. He passed every exam with a 90% or higher. He has now started attending a new school where he will be studying more advanced Thai for the next 6 months.

We will be attending the SIM Spiritual Life Conference the first weekend in July. Please pray that this time would be blessed as we travel to another city and hear about how God is moving in the different SIM ministries here. 

Kathleen will go back to work the last week of July to get things ready for students and help with staff orientation. Austin and Duncan will start school on August 5, 2026. 

I hope you enjoyed our long update and enjoyed the pictures and videos.  I hope it gave you a good glimpse into how life is going for us here in Thailand.  As usual, we want to send out a big thank you for all of you who are praying and supporting us.  We couldn't be here without your help.  Until next time!

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Online donations can be made at sim.ca/workers/graham-and-kathleen-crawford

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