As 2017 finalizes, we hope you had a joyous Christmas, full of thanks and enjoyment in everything the Lord has done. We write to you from Hartford, Kentucky, where Sarah’s mom and dad have opened up their home to us so many times over the last two years. We had an old-fashioned, American Christmas, full of long-lasting memories. However, we see home as the beautiful Kingdom of Thailand (formerly Siam), where 60 million people are looking for answers about eternity and most do not have the Word of God, which was only made widely available 13 years ago. If we have already presented at your church, we hope you will consider supporting our ministry to help reach those 60 million souls.
Praises
Our support is at 83%. By faith and direction, we purchased our plane tickets to fly home to Thailand in late April. In Thailand, the Lord opened up a house for us to live in, months in advance. We occupied this very house in 2012, making so many possible unknowns upon arrival now known. The Lord directs our path, and with the following of that path comes increased faith, security, and joy in serving our great God. We near an extra 100,000 miles placed on the van since the beginning of our deputation, with no major signs of weakness. Thank you for your prayers in all of these areas. We are amazed and thrilled to know so many dedicated Christians pray for us. Perhaps your prayers are why we have had a much healthier year as a family and are looking forward to entering the mission field with renewed vigor and a fervent desire to see our Lord broadcasted and represented with optimism, compassion, and endurance. Our travels recently took us to Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Montana, Calgary, Alberta, and Kentucky four days before Christmas.
Every meeting is an opportunity to serve and encourage. My kids enjoy so much making friends with other children in the churches. The Lord gives them peace knowing that it may be some time until they see them again. Many churches either have expressed a desire to support us (based on the future church giving levels) or have committed already. The Lord uses both situations for good. We just appreciate the opportunities, encouragement, offers of prayer, and friendships made within each ministry.
In Poplar Bluff, Missouri, I was asked to preach to the teens of the Christian school on the Monday following our Sunday meeting with the church. About three hours away on that Monday morning was a funeral we wanted to attend in Arkansas. I told Sarah ahead of time that we would let the schedule of this church and school decide if we were to attend the funeral, as our meeting with this church and pastor was scheduled over a year in advance. Since the preaching time for the teens was during the funeral, we trusted in giving our all towards the 50+ teenagers. Upon the end of an invitation, I saw two girls raise their hands together in the back for salvation. Afterwards, I went to talk to the girls and found out that four of them wanted to hear how to be 100% sure they were saved and going to Heaven. My wife Sarah then took a good window of time and gave all four of them a complete presentation where they could ask questions and have salvation settled in their hearts. The four girls rejoiced. Praise the Lord!
Shortly afterwards, a super-kind couple, Joe and Judy, took our family out to lunch. We enjoyed making friends with this dear family, and Judy, being from Minnesota, gave me many great memories of the nice people there, as I lived in Minneapolis from 1997-1999. When we left the restaurant, Joe told me to call him anytime we needed a place to stay when traveling in the area. As we drove away, the van had a strange vibration. I turned around and found a good shop in Poplar Bluff. The van needed a new brake caliper, but the part had to be delivered the next morning. I called Joe and Judy, and in five minutes Joe pulled up, so happy to help us. They had everything and more to take care of us for the night. The next morning, we said goodbye and headed to our next church in our smoothly running van. Just a couple hours later, the pastor of that next church texted us to see if we could join his family for a nice dinner buffet at 3:30 p.m. I looked at my GPS, and it said we were scheduled to arrive at 3:25 p.m. God is so good.
Prayer Requests
We have attended conferences together with many great missionary families on deputation. Please take time to pray for missionaries on deputation—their health, support, and planning for the field. Also, please pray for our church staff and members in Thailand, for growth to continue and broaden. The recent Christmas celebration service in Hua Hin, Thailand, saw 310 souls attend. May the Lord give each of you a special, revived, refreshing new year full of growth.
Grateful to serve,
Chad Inman and Family
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- Pastor Smith
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- Sarah and the four girls
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- Pastor Buekert
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- Joe and Judy
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- Pastor Eddy
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- Pastor Carr
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- Thank You!
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- Pastor Brown
