(triumphant music)
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- Hello and welcome
to Jesus for Asia Now.
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I'm Natalie Wood and today,
I've got two special guests
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on set with me and
I'd like to introduce you
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to Kasey and Hannah.
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Welcome to the show.
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- Thank you. - Thank you.
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- And we're so glad that
you could finally be with us
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and we could have
a firsthand report
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because I know we
talked before you went,
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and you've had some actual
experience in the field now.
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- Right.
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- So before we go any
further, where are you located?
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- We are in Sukhothai, Thailand.
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- And how long
have you been there?
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- It will be
two years in August.
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- And has it just been Thailand,
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go to the beach kind of fun?
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- Yeah, one big vacation.
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(all laughing)
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- Not really right? - No, no.
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- So start us out, I
know when we talked last,
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you were looking
forward to going,
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you had probably expectations
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that may or may not
have been fulfilled,
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but can you share with us
what happened when you first
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arrived in Thailand?
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- We cried. We arrived in
Thailand and we're overwhelmed,
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our senses were overwhelmed.
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We were just
immediately struck by
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what we had done and felt
like we had made a mistake.
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And surely what God was
asking us to do was too hard.
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Our plan was to be in
Chiang Mai for about six months
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to do language study
and as soon as we got there,
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I think he was
eight at the time, Levi,
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was struggling, his
health was struggling,
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and about three weeks in
he ended up in the hospital.
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So we
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realized that it seemed very
clear that God was leading us
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to Sukhothai
sooner rather than later.
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- Okay. So within three
weeks you were headed to?
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- Within three weeks,
we were in the hospital
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and that was a five day
stay, then and we had to leave
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to go to Vietnam to
get our visa extensions.
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So right around the one month
mark, we moved to Sukhothai.
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- Okay. And how did that go?
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You found a place easily
or what happened with finding
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a place to live there?
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- Jonathan and Hannah Hill
offered to take us to Sukhothai
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to see this was-
- Three days after?
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- Yeah. Three days
after arriving in Thailand.
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And so they made about
the five hour trip down there.
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And on the day that we
were going to come home,
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Jonathan decided we would
drive around and just look
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to see what was available
for housing and he ended up
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driving down a road
didn't intend to be on
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and then driving
down another road
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cause all the houses we
had seen were very dark,
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shuttered, they had
spirit houses all over and just
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nothing seemed as though God
was saying, this was the one.
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Until he turned
down these two roads that
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he has no idea why
and there was a big,
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bright, happy looking
house with no spirit houses
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and it was very
clear leading that day
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and we went back and prayed,
but we knew within about a day
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or so that that's
where God was leading us.
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- Wow. So then when
Levi was having trouble
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and ended up in the
hospital and all that,
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and you realized
you needed to move,
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then you contacted the landlord.
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- We actually
contacted him about a day or so
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after we got back to Chiang Mai.
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So before Levi was in
the hospital, we already knew
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that we were moving because
we had already rented the house.
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- So you mentioned
already the trip to Vietnam.
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Can you share with us how that
went because you had a child
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in the hospital and
then suddenly you're going to
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Vietnam. How was that?
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- So because we went in
on tourist, no, I'm sorry,
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visa exemptions, then
that's only good for 30 days.
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So then you are required
to go to a boarding country
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and apply at an
embassy for visa extensions.
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Well, that just so happened
to line up with the time
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that Levi was hospitalized.
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He was in there five
days, we got to about
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the three or four
day mark and it was clear
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he wasn't going
to be ready to go.
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And Robbie said, "I
believe we're supposed to
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get on the plane. I
believe we're supposed to go."
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And I was like, "No way.
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We're not getting
him out of the hospital,
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putting him on a plane,
taking them around new germs.
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We're not doing that."
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And our friend, he
called us and he said,
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"I've been praying
and I really believe
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you're supposed
to be on the plane.
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I believe that there's
somebody at that embassy,"
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because we're kind of high
risk for being denied the visas.
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- Because you
are a large family.
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We didn't say that already.
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- Right. Yeah.
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- How many children do you have?
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- Eight natural born
children. We had six in Thailand
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with us at that time.
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- Okay. So you were a
family of eight, essentially
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at that time. -
Yeah. All trying to be
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under one work
permit and so red flags.
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- Yeah.
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- When he said that I
knew I needed to pray.
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I needed to really
surrender my fears and trust
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that in this experience
that God took us there for.
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So very quickly I was
convicted that I needed
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to just let Robbie
lead and he was believing
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that we needed to go.
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So day five came and
Levi was still in the hospital
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on intermittent
oxygen, not continuous anymore.
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And we got the doctor to
check them out, to discharge him
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against as well, he signed
off, but wasn't happy about it.
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- He was like, no,
it's not a good idea.
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- Right. So we ran back to
the apartment in Chiang Mai
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that we were staying in,
we made it to the airport
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in just about enough time.
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Levi had to be carried
in, they got a wheelchair
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and he just kind of fell into
it, couldn't hold himself up.
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We're going through the
line at the checkout counter
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and they were
just questioning us.
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What is wrong with
him? What are you doing?
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And I'm thinking, I
don't know what we're doing,
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we should not be doing this.
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Please tell us we
can't get on the plane.
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I didn't say that, but
that's what I'm thinking.
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I know I can't trust myself
to say, "Robbie, we can't go."
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But they didn't.
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And so we boarded the plane
and it was absolutely miraculous
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to watch what God did as we did
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take that tiny
little step of faith,
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well, that's not tiny I
guess, that's a big deal.
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- No, it's a bit
deal. (woman laughs)
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- Levi got on the
plane and he immediately
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began to turn the corner.
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He gained strength, he was happy
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and we watched that
happen the whole time
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we were in Vietnam.
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He continually, by the
hour almost, just got better
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and better and better. - Wow.
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- And we quickly found
out when we got to Vietnam,
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we were told not to
expect to be given the visas.
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But we submitted our
paperwork and within 24 hours,
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we had all, I guess it was
eight visas that we needed.
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No questions, no problems.
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So it was very clear that there
was somebody in the embassy
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that day that we needed.
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- Right. Wow.
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That's amazing.
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So the next step, you
come back from Vietnam
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and then you moved to Sukhothai
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and what
started to happen there?
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What did you start to
see there because I know
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now you're starting to,
okay, this is going to be home
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and it's like, you're
almost like a deep breath.
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Okay, let's look
around and figure out
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how the world works here
because you'd been in the city
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before so what was
that like the first part of
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figuring out how to live
in Sukhothai in the new home?
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- Yeah. I think we finally
really began to see the people
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God helped us to come out
of ourselves a little bit,
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catch our breaths and
we saw the people around us
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and you're living in a
little village surrounded by,
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this was a probably
upper class neighborhood
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and it's government workers
and so these well-educated,
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well-to-do people
have these spirit houses
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inside their gates and our
neighbors directly across from
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us would go out and have, I
don't know what they call it.
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- Ceremonies. - Yeah.
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- Oh, with the
Monk every morning.
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- No, just with their
spirit house, which is actually,
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from what we
understand, not even a Buddhist-
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- It's Hindu. - Yeah.
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It's borrowed from Hinduism.
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And God placed us in a
house right next to a family
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that had two children, a
boy the age of our little boys
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and a girl, the
age of Hannah and Abby,
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about the same age and
they both spoke fluent English.
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So right away,
there was no barrier.
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It really, in so many
ways, helped our kids to adapt
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to being there.
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Their family helped us
to really begin to immerse
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into the culture and
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just in so many beautiful ways,
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took us under their wing.
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- Nice. Nice.
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Now I know at the beginning,
your landlord did a few things
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that surprised you.
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Can you share?
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- Yeah. We had no table
because obviously you're moving
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over there with your suitcases,
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you can't check your furniture.
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So we had all
these people and one day,
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Robbie and I were
out getting something,
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a stove or
something for the house
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and we came back and
some of the kids were gone.
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Hannah or Alex,
or a couple of them,
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the landlord had
come in and taken them
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to go haul this
huge wooden table
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and eight or nine chairs over.
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And he said, "This is for
your family. You can eat."
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(all laughing)
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Just the kindness and
then later there was a field
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next to our house
and it was overgrown,
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you couldn't play in it
but it was the only house
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in the village that
had a space like that.
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And he cleared it.
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He paid and brought
in tractors and equipment
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to clear it out then he
brought in dump truck load
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after dump truck load
of dirt and just filled it
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so the grass would
grow and the kids could play
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and he never wanted to
charge any money for it.
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The day or so after that
was done, it was so neat to see
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the people in the village
coming out into that field.
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Yeah. Other people were
utilizing it, playing badminton.
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- So it was a blessing
to the whole community.
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- It really was. Yeah.
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- Wow.
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Well, that's neat.
00:10:54.25\00:10:55.32
So as you're going through this,
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what is your focus
for the mission work
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that you're there to do?
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Are you going to do an
English language school,
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what is your focus?
00:11:05.06\00:11:06.29
Is a church planting?
Can you share the plans
00:11:06.29\00:11:10.80
that you had?
00:11:10.80\00:11:11.63
- We didn't have a plan.
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We knew we were
called to more of like
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a friendship
evangelism approach.
00:11:15.84\00:11:17.54
That we needed to go over,
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just learning to live among
the people and care about them
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and just to be
surrendering our lives
00:11:23.51\00:11:28.05
to God so that the Holy
Spirit could work through us.
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If we're praying and
we're inviting the spirit in
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then he can do a work that
we don't even know is happening.
00:11:34.79\00:11:37.46
And so in so many ways, I
think just being there bodily
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and praying is what
makes things happen.
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We've made more mess of
everything that we've tried to
00:11:46.43\00:11:50.47
do and yet we can see God
working through it in spite of
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it. So we had no
plan and we still don't.
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Every time we make
one, he changes it.
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- So being open to
what God wants to do.
00:12:00.15\00:12:02.28
- Right. - So
when you went there,
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you didn't know the
language yet either.
00:12:03.95\00:12:05.62
- Right.
00:12:05.62\00:12:07.06
- So you're praying and
seeing what God's going to do
00:12:07.06\00:12:09.76
and you're just meeting
the neighbors and the landlord
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and different people
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and what about the market?
00:12:13.66\00:12:16.63
I mean, everything's Thai
in the market, how did that go?
00:12:16.63\00:12:19.53
- Right.
00:12:19.53\00:12:20.77
The whole thing
was humbling I think.
00:12:20.77\00:12:24.21
Because we would
learn a few little words
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and then think
that we could use them.
00:12:26.21\00:12:29.31
I remember going out to the
gate, talking to our neighbor
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and I thought I had
this little phrase down
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and she was
going to understand me
00:12:34.75\00:12:36.22
and I tried it on her
and she just stared at me
00:12:36.22\00:12:37.79
and she was like.
00:12:37.79\00:12:39.25
But I think what it did is
it showed them vulnerability.
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They realized that we needed-
00:12:41.79\00:12:44.06
- [Natalie] Help. - Yeah.
00:12:44.06\00:12:45.09
And so they saw us as,
00:12:45.09\00:12:49.70
I think almost weaker than them,
00:12:49.70\00:12:51.90
which gave them the courage
because a lot of Thai people
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are intimidated by Americans.
00:12:54.94\00:12:57.04
- Or just white
people in general.
00:12:58.37\00:12:59.84
- Yeah. Yeah, white
skinned people in general.
00:12:59.84\00:13:02.64
- Well, we tend to
go over there and act
00:13:02.64\00:13:04.28
like we know everything.
00:13:04.28\00:13:05.08
- Right.
00:13:05.08\00:13:06.31
- Like there's somehow
a lower, not life form,
00:13:06.31\00:13:09.78
but you know, less than us
because we know everything.
00:13:09.78\00:13:12.52
- Exactly.
00:13:12.52\00:13:13.36
- But that's not true.
00:13:13.36\00:13:15.42
- They saw that we
didn't and we needed them.
00:13:15.42\00:13:18.19
And so we had people that
did take us to the market.
00:13:18.19\00:13:22.36
They tend to charge you more
if you can't read the signs.
00:13:23.83\00:13:27.47
God, he put people
in our paths that helped
00:13:29.64\00:13:32.71
and our neighbors especially,
they would buy groceries
00:13:32.71\00:13:35.58
and invite me over and
teach me how to make Thai dishes
00:13:35.58\00:13:38.18
and then send all that
food back home with us to eat.
00:13:38.18\00:13:41.22
So yeah, God was
very, very good through
00:13:41.22\00:13:43.69
the Buddhist people
that were around us.
00:13:43.69\00:13:46.19
And we still, we don't
live in that house anymore,
00:13:46.19\00:13:48.12
but we still- - Keep contact.
00:13:48.12\00:13:50.13
- And we still have the
house because we believe
00:13:50.13\00:13:52.63
very strongly, he put
us there for a purpose.
00:13:52.63\00:13:55.13
I don't know if
he's sending people
00:13:57.07\00:13:58.37
that are going to live in it.
00:13:58.37\00:13:59.87
We utilize it, but
nobody lives in it right now.
00:13:59.87\00:14:02.14
But the contact with
those people in that village-
00:14:02.14\00:14:05.01
- [Natalie] It
needs to continue.
00:14:06.68\00:14:07.78
- Yeah. It really does.
00:14:07.78\00:14:09.31
- Can you share briefly,
I know there was a situation
00:14:09.31\00:14:12.05
with the front gates.
00:14:12.05\00:14:15.02
So the house has a wall
around it or gate fence.
00:14:15.02\00:14:20.02
So can you share with us what
happened with the front gates?
00:14:21.49\00:14:23.66
- In America,
you don't have that.
00:14:24.83\00:14:27.13
We always lived in the
country, there were no gates.
00:14:27.13\00:14:29.46
And it felt counterintuitive
00:14:29.46\00:14:33.17
to what we had gone there to do
00:14:33.17\00:14:35.77
and to pull your gate
shut, even though that's
00:14:35.77\00:14:39.97
customary for them,
to us, it just didn't-
00:14:39.97\00:14:42.94
- It felt like nobody bother us.
00:14:42.94\00:14:44.51
- Right. - Yeah.
00:14:44.51\00:14:45.98
Stay away.
00:14:45.98\00:14:46.82
- So we kept it open.
00:14:46.82\00:14:48.52
And there were a few
people that were concerned that
00:14:48.52\00:14:51.19
somebody was going to
come in and steal our stuff or
00:14:51.19\00:14:54.66
break into our house
and there were people
00:14:56.32\00:14:57.93
that would tell us
you feel safe here,
00:14:57.93\00:15:00.16
but it's not actually safe.
00:15:00.16\00:15:01.96
Not only did it, I think,
00:15:04.13\00:15:06.17
show them that we
were open to relationship,
00:15:07.54\00:15:12.31
but also, again, it helped
00:15:12.31\00:15:14.38
open up conversations that
we wouldn't have had otherwise.
00:15:15.84\00:15:18.35
Because even somebody
telling you, "Be careful,
00:15:18.35\00:15:20.68
your motorbike's
going to get stolen."
00:15:20.68\00:15:22.45
It's still a conversation.
00:15:22.45\00:15:23.92
It's still a way that
they can reach out to you
00:15:23.92\00:15:26.55
with something which is a
gift of information or whatever.
00:15:26.55\00:15:29.72
Just leaving the gate
open, I think God was able to do
00:15:33.60\00:15:36.30
a work to break
down some of those walls.
00:15:36.30\00:15:39.97
- Right.
00:15:39.97\00:15:41.20
Now you had your
children with you.
00:15:41.20\00:15:43.07
And I know at one point,
you shared that your little ones
00:15:43.07\00:15:46.94
took a mind to prayer
walk the neighborhood.
00:15:46.94\00:15:49.48
Can you share a little
bit about how that happened?
00:15:49.48\00:15:52.31
- Yeah.
00:15:52.31\00:15:53.15
I don't honestly
remember what made them
00:15:54.98\00:15:57.92
come up with the idea,
00:15:57.92\00:15:59.52
but they were planning
to do it and on the morning,
00:15:59.52\00:16:02.42
the first time on
that morning, Levi was fine
00:16:02.42\00:16:05.83
and then all of
a sudden he wasn't.
00:16:05.83\00:16:07.30
He has asthma, or he
did, he pretty much doesn't
00:16:07.30\00:16:10.00
have any symptoms now.
00:16:10.00\00:16:11.43
And he suddenly
couldn't breathe,
00:16:12.83\00:16:15.50
we gave him a
breathing treatment
00:16:17.04\00:16:18.27
and we had to
give him some oxygen.
00:16:18.27\00:16:20.91
And we recognized,
this came out of nowhere,
00:16:20.91\00:16:24.81
he wasn't
outside running around.
00:16:24.81\00:16:27.12
We have these little
boys who were eight or nine
00:16:27.12\00:16:29.82
at the time.
00:16:29.82\00:16:30.65
Zach was five maybe
00:16:30.65\00:16:33.36
and they wanted to
walk in the neighborhood
00:16:33.36\00:16:36.12
and pause in front
of the houses and pray
00:16:36.12\00:16:37.89
and then suddenly, we have
a boy having an asthma attack.
00:16:37.89\00:16:40.60
And so we prayed
over him and he was fine.
00:16:40.60\00:16:45.57
They got up and my
natural mother inclination
00:16:46.90\00:16:51.17
was okay, you just had an
asthma attack and it's very hot,
00:16:52.54\00:16:53.84
he can't go out there.
00:16:53.84\00:16:55.28
Robbie and God
were able to help me see
00:16:56.88\00:16:59.88
this is what they need to do.
00:16:59.88\00:17:02.05
This is what the devil was
trying to stop from happening.
00:17:02.05\00:17:05.22
So they did go and
pray at the houses.
00:17:05.22\00:17:09.32
We have some pictures of
them standing at the gate,
00:17:09.32\00:17:11.23
looking so tiny and
powerful. (woman laughs)
00:17:11.23\00:17:14.73
- That's awesome.
00:17:14.73\00:17:15.96
So they knew and
they embraced the,
00:17:15.96\00:17:18.47
I don't want to call it
a method, but the direction
00:17:19.93\00:17:22.44
that God had been
leading your family.
00:17:22.44\00:17:24.17
That we're here to
pray and see what God does.
00:17:24.17\00:17:27.41
- Yeah.
00:17:27.41\00:17:28.61
- So did he get
better as they went
00:17:28.61\00:17:30.48
through the neighborhood?
- No problem at all.
00:17:30.48\00:17:32.45
- Wow.
00:17:32.45\00:17:33.38
So even with the heat, he was-
00:17:33.38\00:17:34.48
- Right. No problem.
00:17:34.48\00:17:35.98
- So you were
there living as a family
00:17:35.98\00:17:38.29
and seeing opportunities to
interact with your neighbors
00:17:38.29\00:17:41.69
and things and the
Lord was slowly growing
00:17:41.69\00:17:44.36
what you were doing
there, but then suddenly,
00:17:44.36\00:17:47.93
you had more children. - Yeah.
00:17:47.93\00:17:49.60
- So how did that come about?
00:17:49.60\00:17:51.47
- About two weeks
after we moved to Sukhothai,
00:17:51.47\00:17:55.00
so we'd been in
Thailand a month and a half,
00:17:55.00\00:17:57.91
we got a call from Josh Bauder,
00:17:57.91\00:17:59.77
actually I think
it was just a message,
00:17:59.77\00:18:01.14
and he said something like,
00:18:01.14\00:18:02.61
"So when you're ready to
take kids in, let me know."
00:18:02.61\00:18:04.98
And we had
already talked about it,
00:18:04.98\00:18:07.22
just about a week before,
we were walking through a store
00:18:07.22\00:18:10.85
and there was a thing for
adopting pets or paying for
00:18:10.85\00:18:14.16
putting money
toward helping pets.
00:18:14.16\00:18:16.32
And so the spontaneous
conversation between Robbie and
00:18:16.32\00:18:20.40
I about needing to be open to
00:18:20.40\00:18:24.40
if God were ever to give
us children to take care of.
00:18:24.40\00:18:28.37
And so we immediately responded
back, "Well, we're ready."
00:18:28.37\00:18:32.07
(woman laughs)
00:18:32.94\00:18:34.11
He, I don't think,
expected us to say that,
00:18:34.11\00:18:36.51
but he had two kids in mind.
00:18:36.51\00:18:40.48
- [Natalie] Okay.
00:18:40.48\00:18:41.42
So they came to live with you?
00:18:41.42\00:18:43.12
- [Kasey] Yes.
00:18:43.12\00:18:44.35
- And was this a
walk in the park?
00:18:44.35\00:18:46.19
- No. (women laughing)
00:18:46.19\00:18:48.82
- Because they
didn't speak English right?
00:18:48.82\00:18:50.46
- No. And we
still, at that point,
00:18:50.46\00:18:52.39
spoke very,
very, very little Thai.
00:18:52.39\00:18:54.30
And they were from
Islam and their parents
00:18:55.40\00:18:57.90
were both in prison at the time,
00:18:57.90\00:18:59.17
so they were just
basically street kids,
00:18:59.17\00:19:01.50
fending for
themselves, they were rough.
00:19:01.50\00:19:05.77
- So they had all the
attitudes that come with
00:19:05.77\00:19:08.08
being a street kid, but
also not having regular meals.
00:19:09.51\00:19:12.88
- And they were scared
because street kid or not,
00:19:14.28\00:19:18.52
you're taken out of
your familiar setting and
00:19:18.52\00:19:21.86
they love their parents.
00:19:21.86\00:19:23.19
Their parents were in prison,
00:19:23.19\00:19:24.69
but being taken away
from home, then you think,
00:19:24.69\00:19:27.60
when my parents get out,
I'm not going to be here.
00:19:27.60\00:19:29.76
So they had a
lot of hurt and pain
00:19:29.76\00:19:32.53
that they brought with them.
00:19:32.53\00:19:33.94
So yeah, it was a
challenge taking them in,
00:19:35.27\00:19:38.01
but I imagine that the
greater challenge was them
00:19:38.01\00:19:40.11
having to come to
strange people's house
00:19:40.11\00:19:42.78
that they didn't
understand what we were saying,
00:19:42.78\00:19:45.21
they didn't
understand why we had rules.
00:19:45.21\00:19:47.22
- Surrounded by a
bunch of white people.
00:19:49.32\00:19:51.09
- Exactly. - In
totally different area.
00:19:51.09\00:19:54.09
Wow. That must've
been hard for them.
00:19:54.09\00:19:56.42
- Yeah.
00:19:56.42\00:19:57.93
- In addition to the cross
cultural and cross language
00:19:57.93\00:20:02.23
and all this kind of
stuff, were there additional
00:20:02.23\00:20:04.30
spiritual challenges
that you saw with them?
00:20:04.30\00:20:06.47
- Yeah. Sky definitely was
dealing with demonic torment.
00:20:06.47\00:20:10.67
I don't want to say possession.
00:20:10.67\00:20:12.01
I don't know
enough about all of that.
00:20:12.01\00:20:14.81
She was being tormented.
- She was being attacked?
00:20:16.48\00:20:17.78
- Yeah.
00:20:17.78\00:20:18.61
So there was one significant
00:20:19.78\00:20:22.58
incident and it took
a bit for the light bulb
00:20:23.79\00:20:26.89
to come on what
we were dealing with.
00:20:26.89\00:20:28.66
But praying
allowed into the room,
00:20:28.66\00:20:31.86
she didn't immediately calm.
00:20:31.86\00:20:33.56
No, she did immediately calm,
00:20:34.56\00:20:36.06
but she didn't immediately
stop and it took a bit
00:20:36.06\00:20:38.23
of just holding and hugging
her for her to calm down.
00:20:38.23\00:20:41.87
But she was
00:20:41.87\00:20:44.04
able to go to sleep that night.
00:20:45.27\00:20:46.78
But then over the, I think
it was several months really,
00:20:46.78\00:20:49.61
that you would be talking
to her and all of the sudden
00:20:49.61\00:20:52.51
her voice would just change-
00:20:52.51\00:20:53.98
- And her eyes would do
something weird. I don't know.
00:20:53.98\00:20:56.89
- Yeah. Hard to explain.
00:20:56.89\00:20:58.82
And you knew it wasn't her.
00:20:58.82\00:21:00.19
Continually praying
and it didn't feel good
00:21:04.19\00:21:06.73
because it felt like
somehow the power is lacking.
00:21:06.73\00:21:10.00
This keeps happening.
00:21:10.00\00:21:12.00
But we were getting counsel
that sometimes that's the case.
00:21:12.00\00:21:16.07
There's all sorts of
different types of things
00:21:16.07\00:21:19.14
and I don't know
if at some point,
00:21:19.14\00:21:20.34
we were able to
get rid of something
00:21:20.34\00:21:22.21
that was giving the enemy
access to her. I don't know.
00:21:22.21\00:21:24.88
But eventually,
she was delivered
00:21:24.88\00:21:28.62
from it.
00:21:29.98\00:21:30.82
She's still a struggling
child who's trying to learn,
00:21:32.22\00:21:35.69
but she is just a struggling
child who's trying to learn now
00:21:35.69\00:21:38.89
she's free of whatever that was.
00:21:38.89\00:21:42.10
- Wow.
00:21:42.10\00:21:43.50
Wow.
00:21:43.50\00:21:45.03
That sounds like it would
be a little bit intimidating.
00:21:45.03\00:21:46.97
(all laughing)
00:21:46.97\00:21:48.47
Just keep praying, keep
praying, just keep praying.
00:21:48.47\00:21:50.64
- We had been warned
though, before coming,
00:21:50.64\00:21:53.04
there was a man
that came to church
00:21:53.04\00:21:55.54
and he told me he had
a message for me from God
00:21:55.54\00:21:57.75
and he said, "You're going
to encounter things when you go
00:21:57.75\00:22:01.15
that you couldn't wrap
your mind around right now."
00:22:01.15\00:22:03.42
And he said,
"God wants you to know
00:22:03.42\00:22:05.69
you are never to be afraid."
00:22:05.69\00:22:07.09
And he repeated
that over and over again.
00:22:07.09\00:22:08.76
And so many times when
this type of stuff has come up,
00:22:08.76\00:22:12.59
situations that
we would normally
00:22:12.59\00:22:14.46
have been afraid of.
00:22:15.43\00:22:17.07
There was a
peace, I think, knowing.
00:22:18.93\00:22:21.37
And he said, "This conversation
will come back to you
00:22:21.37\00:22:24.71
when you're over
there and you need it."
00:22:24.71\00:22:26.11
and it has
proven true many times.
00:22:26.11\00:22:29.28
- Wow. So I understand
that one of the challenges
00:22:29.28\00:22:31.71
when they came to live
with you was that they had
00:22:31.71\00:22:34.92
been used to not
getting enough food.
00:22:34.92\00:22:37.25
So what was it like
when they first got there?
00:22:37.25\00:22:40.32
How did they
deal with meal times?
00:22:40.32\00:22:42.39
Setting up the table?
00:22:42.39\00:22:44.53
- They hated the food.
00:22:44.53\00:22:46.06
We had to ease them in
by utilizing street vendors.
00:22:46.06\00:22:50.30
They would just scarf
their food down. Inhale it.
00:22:52.27\00:22:55.40
And it's so
funny now to remember,
00:22:55.40\00:22:57.17
especially how Sky ate then,
00:22:57.17\00:22:59.67
because she just ate until-
- She's our pickiest kid now.
00:22:59.67\00:23:03.18
- Yeah. She ate
until she was going to pop
00:23:03.18\00:23:05.55
and we would have to stop her.
00:23:05.55\00:23:07.68
And now she eats like a bird.
00:23:07.68\00:23:09.45
So we just thought she
had this huge appetite,
00:23:10.62\00:23:13.49
when really, it
clearly was, she didn't know
00:23:13.49\00:23:16.09
if there was going
to be more to come.
00:23:16.09\00:23:18.23
So yeah.
00:23:19.23\00:23:20.73
There was definitely food
challenges and trying to learn
00:23:20.73\00:23:23.53
to cook food
that they would eat.
00:23:23.53\00:23:25.90
I never accomplished that.
00:23:25.90\00:23:27.17
- Uh oh. (woman laughs)
00:23:27.17\00:23:28.67
Was there a hoarding kind of
thing with the food with them?
00:23:28.67\00:23:32.91
- I believe that they-
00:23:32.91\00:23:34.81
- I think they would take the
Ramen Noodles up to their room
00:23:34.81\00:23:37.05
and hide them under their beds.
00:23:37.05\00:23:38.28
- They did.
00:23:38.28\00:23:39.78
They would bring things
home from school and hide them.
00:23:39.78\00:23:43.18
- Okay.
00:23:43.18\00:23:44.02
Just so that we can
prepare, because we're not done
00:23:45.39\00:23:48.16
with our conversation
here, we're going to have more.
00:23:48.16\00:23:50.73
We have a lot
more to talk about.
00:23:50.73\00:23:52.16
So there will be another
episode that people can watch.
00:23:52.16\00:23:55.06
And I'm just wanting you
to share just kind of a quick
00:23:55.06\00:23:58.23
overview so that people
understand there's a lot more
00:23:58.23\00:24:01.70
to talk about.
00:24:01.70\00:24:02.84
So you got Wind and Sky
00:24:02.84\00:24:06.21
and how many
children do you have now?
00:24:06.21\00:24:08.94
- [Kasey] We have
nine Thai children total.
00:24:08.94\00:24:12.08
- [Natalie] Okay, so you
have seven more since then?
00:24:12.08\00:24:14.28
- [Kasey] Right.
00:24:14.28\00:24:15.78
- [Natalie] And each comes
with its own story I'm sure.
00:24:15.78\00:24:16.92
- [Kasey] Right.
00:24:16.92\00:24:18.15
- [Natalie] His or her
own story I should say.
00:24:18.15\00:24:19.12
- Yeah.
00:24:19.12\00:24:20.56
- Okay. And then you
were living in that house
00:24:20.56\00:24:22.99
and then the Lord
led for a church plant?
00:24:22.99\00:24:27.03
- Right. We were led to
a building in the business
00:24:27.03\00:24:31.27
district of Sukhothai.
00:24:31.27\00:24:32.97
A three story building.
00:24:32.97\00:24:34.47
And we rented that
in October of 2020.
00:24:34.47\00:24:37.44
That's got a small church plant.
00:24:38.37\00:24:41.18
It's got a, I want
to say English school,
00:24:41.18\00:24:44.68
but COVID keeps
shutting it down,
00:24:44.68\00:24:46.41
and a food ministry.
00:24:47.48\00:24:49.22
- All right. So
then a church plant.
00:24:49.22\00:24:52.02
Have you been
able to meet there?
00:24:52.02\00:24:54.02
I know with the ongoing
pandemic, there's lock down,
00:24:54.02\00:24:56.56
there's none, there's
lock down, there's not.
00:24:56.56\00:24:57.86
- Yeah. That's never impacted.
00:24:57.86\00:25:00.30
By the time we had the
church plant, they had lifted
00:25:00.30\00:25:03.63
the
restrictions on the meetings.
00:25:03.63\00:25:06.10
So we've been meeting in
there since, I don't know,
00:25:06.10\00:25:08.80
a week or so after
we got the building.
00:25:08.80\00:25:10.57
We just went in at first and
sat on the floor with the kids
00:25:10.57\00:25:13.11
and had church. (woman laughing)
00:25:13.11\00:25:15.58
Very awkward.
00:25:15.58\00:25:17.48
But it has since grown a bit.
00:25:17.48\00:25:21.42
Everybody that meets with
us was an existing Adventist.
00:25:21.42\00:25:25.12
So we don't have anybody yet
00:25:25.12\00:25:26.39
that's worshiping
with us that wasn't,
00:25:26.39\00:25:29.12
but the more that
little group of people grows,
00:25:29.12\00:25:33.19
we're in there gathering
and praying for the Holy Spirit
00:25:34.83\00:25:37.53
and I know that that in itself
is going to have an impact.
00:25:37.53\00:25:40.67
- Well, somewhat existing
because sometimes the monk
00:25:40.67\00:25:43.71
will come home.
00:25:43.71\00:25:45.37
And sometimes, On, from
downstairs who prepares our
00:25:45.37\00:25:48.34
food, also
comes. - This is true.
00:25:48.34\00:25:50.21
Our monk friend has come
upstairs during our church
00:25:50.21\00:25:53.25
service and stood in
the back and listened
00:25:53.25\00:25:55.18
on more than one occasion.
00:25:56.05\00:25:57.72
- Okay. You mentioned
also, you've tried to do
00:25:57.72\00:26:00.72
an English language school?
00:26:00.72\00:26:02.02
- Yeah.
00:26:02.02\00:26:03.22
- So because of
COVID you just can't
00:26:03.22\00:26:05.39
because schools are
supposed to be closed.
00:26:05.39\00:26:07.30
- Yeah. Well, we'll get
it started and there'll be
00:26:07.30\00:26:09.13
a good number of
students coming in and then
00:26:09.13\00:26:11.17
there'll be another,
where people are either scared
00:26:11.17\00:26:14.57
or they've locked
things down a bit again.
00:26:14.57\00:26:16.84
And so we just slowly,
00:26:16.84\00:26:19.34
it hasn't been so
much other than maybe once
00:26:19.34\00:26:22.28
that the
government has said you can't.
00:26:22.28\00:26:24.58
It's been more the people
are scared of gathering indoors,
00:26:24.58\00:26:28.28
so they just stopped coming.
00:26:28.28\00:26:30.09
So that's happened
three or maybe four times.
00:26:30.09\00:26:32.99
So yeah, we're
beginning to just pray and
00:26:34.09\00:26:37.83
maybe God is leading
in a different direction.
00:26:37.83\00:26:39.53
One of the biggest things
that we see a need for right now
00:26:39.53\00:26:42.66
is people are so
scared of this virus.
00:26:42.66\00:26:45.03
And so
00:26:45.03\00:26:46.33
reaching them with
the health message.
00:26:47.64\00:26:49.97
Even just a portion of it,
how to build the immune system
00:26:51.37\00:26:56.14
and what to do
if you do get sick.
00:26:56.14\00:26:58.08
We're praying for God to
direct in a different way
00:27:00.65\00:27:04.12
if English is not what we're
supposed to be doing right now.
00:27:04.12\00:27:06.62
English classes. - Okay.
00:27:06.62\00:27:08.09
So then, after the
church plant, what came next?
00:27:08.09\00:27:11.73
- We were led to a property
00:27:12.63\00:27:15.33
about 20 miles out of town
00:27:16.40\00:27:19.03
where we have moved and
have begun the development
00:27:19.03\00:27:22.97
of a children's
home and small school.
00:27:22.97\00:27:25.37
- Okay.
00:27:25.37\00:27:26.84
And just so our viewers
know that there's a lot more
00:27:26.84\00:27:28.51
stories coming
in the next episode.
00:27:28.51\00:27:30.81
Who's your best friend?
00:27:30.81\00:27:31.98
- A Buddhist
monk. (women laughing)
00:27:33.15\00:27:34.88
- Awesome. - Yeah.
00:27:34.88\00:27:36.42
- Well, there's a lot
of stories there I'm sure.
00:27:36.42\00:27:38.49
- Yeah.
00:27:38.49\00:27:39.92
- Well, I would like to
invite you to join us next time
00:27:39.92\00:27:41.99
for a lot more stories
from Kasey and Hannah Norton.
00:27:41.99\00:27:44.79
And if you would like to
support the Norton's project,
00:27:44.79\00:27:47.40
you can contact
us at Jesus for Asia.
00:27:47.40\00:27:50.00
PO box 1221,
00:27:50.00\00:27:51.03
Collegedale Tennessee,
00:27:52.00\00:27:53.67
37315.
00:27:53.67\00:27:55.54
Call us at (423) 413-7321
00:27:55.54\00:27:59.51
or visit our
website at JesusForAsia.org.
00:27:59.51\00:28:03.28
May God richly bless you
until we see you next time
00:28:03.28\00:28:06.15
on Jesus for Asia Now.
00:28:06.15\00:28:08.02
(triumphant music)
00:28:08.02\00:28:10.95