Leaving on a Jet Plane

But we DO know when we'll be back again (Lord willing!).

All eight of our bags are packed, weighed, and ready to be dragged onto the plane! We're headed off to Asia tomorrow, Lord willing. Thank you so much for all of your donations of toothpaste, soap, toys, monetary gifts, and most of all, THANK YOU for your prayers. We aim to update this blog as often as we can. No promises on amazing literature here, but at least you'll know what we're up to!

We plan to be visit a couple of different families in East Asia from Dec 1 through Dec 9th, then we plan to arrive in Cambodia Dec 10th, where we will stay until Jan 12th, Lord willing.

We appreciate your continued prayers for
(1) fruitful ministry - that we would truly encourage the people we are going to see, and effectively share the gospel with the people there.
(2) our children to love this trip, and truly enjoy being a part of sharing the gospel and encouraging the saints - that they would see how valuable this is and treasure Christ most of all
(3) our health and safety

What greater joy is there than knowing and serving the Lord Jesus Christ? He's the only one worth living for! We hope that this holiday season proves to present you with more and more opportunities to treasure Him more. Thank you so much, again, for your encouragement and prayers for our trip. We hope you are just as well cared for as you've made us feel!

In His Grace and in His Hands,
Kris and Julie Pate
Anna, David, Thomas, and Daniel

Happy Thanksgiving

Our family is headed to Arlington to celebrate with Janet's sister, June. What sweet sisters they are, and June was so gracious to invite our family and the Pates, too. We are so glad to be staying close to home this year.
Mom and Dad came this last couple of days, and Dad worked and worked and worked, helping us do anything he could find to help with, including dishes and laundry. What a huge help!
We aren't quite completely packed, but we have certainly made a dent, so hopefully we'll be able to relax and enjoy the next few days with our family. Today is Thanksgiving, tomorrow we're planning to celebrate David's birthday, which is next week, and Saturday is our Christmas celebration with both sides of our family here at the house. They have been such a blessing and encouragement to us. God is so good, and knew just what kind of a family we needed to sharpen us and encourage us, too.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Flattered by a Two-Year-Old

Monday, I set Daniel up in his room to have "room time" for much longer than normal so I could try to make a dent in some packing. After quite a while, he was ready to be free, and definitely wanting my attention. That's when I heard his sweet voice call from the bedroom, "Mommy, you're brewful (beautiful)." I will say, that's a terrific way to get a spontaneous hug from Mommy!

Crazy?

When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. Proverbs 10:19

I have been reminded of this verse more than once the last couple of weeks. I've opened my mouth, said something, only to regret it later. It happened again this morning during our worship service at church.

Pastor Hal called our family to the front to tell our congregation a little bit about our trip, and then to pray for us. Just before praying, he made a very-well-intended comment about me being very brave to take my children to Cambodia, to which I quickly remarked "or crazy." He repeated it and snickered, and then we went on. But it has hovered all day.

Why did I say that? If I really thought it was crazy, Kris and I wouldn't be going in the first place. But I do realize that the world would probably say it's crazy from a "safety" and "risk-taking" standpoint. I mean, why would you take a risk like that if you don't absolutely have to?

So behind my comment was an acknowlegement that, yes, I know that many people probably think we are a little crazy for planning this trip. But the flip side, and the side that I hold onto, is that God is the one protecting us each and every day. I know He will protect my children as He wills, and I would much rather lay them in His merciful hands than live with a pretense of their safety over here without much thought to the way He cares for them each day.

So, while, yes, I know that in a worldly sense we may seem crazy, when we remember God's rule and power and His desires for His children, we have much courage to face the conditions in Cambodia with our little ones.

But (or AND), I still am greatly encouraged when people tell me that they have been and will be praying for us. To all of you who have said that, may God bless you and grant your requests. You are truly a HUGE part of any fruit that could come from our efforts on this trip. Thank you!

Yum! Yum!

***WARNING: This blog post could cause you to get the creeps.***

A while back, I thought I would do a little research into what kinds of food dishes to expect in Cambodia. Kris and other friends have told me plenty about it, but I thought the good ole web would help me too. Well, let's just say that I think I made a mistake.


These are fried spiders! Thankfully, Kris says he has never been served spiders. Whew!




This is an item that our new friends Nick and Letty told us about, called "balut" or just "duck egg." Evidently, each egg has a "number," depending on how developed the chick inside is. If it is almost ready to hatch, with feathers and everything, it gets a 10. If it's barely anything but yolk and white, it may be a 0 or 1. What number are you? Take your number, crack it open, and enjoy!

Wow. I think I may try to stay away from this, too. I am totally trusting that if we are served something very, um, unusual, that God will give us grace in that moment to deal with it!

Getting Ready

We are enjoying the preparations for our trip! Last week I had a delightful visit with Mrs. Richard, Jennifer Hale's mother, when I took a car seat to her for delivery to the Hales. She leaves tomorrow (DV) for her trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to accompany the Hales as they await baby Isaac's birth. She was so encouraging about our trip, sure that we would be a blessing to the Hales and to the discipleship students in spite of how many little (and big) bodies we'll fill their house with.
Last Sunday we had the privilege of sharing some more about the ministry in Cambodia with Providence Church, and they were so warm and welcoming. Next week we plan to give a brief account of our trip plans to FBC Parker.
We have 4 suitcases packed at this point, with 2 or 3 more to go. The kids seem to be excited, but I think that Anna especially grasps the concept that we are going to be away for a long time and that we will be in a place we are not familiar with at all. I'm praying that God will help my children to adjust quickly to such different scenery, smells, and tastes; that He will help them to view these differences as part of the variety He has created in this world, and help them to appreciate and love the work that the Church of Mercy is attempting to do. I hope that they will enjoy the "taste" of mission work that they will get while we are gone, and that they will be amazed and excited about the work God is doing all over the world.

Lost Journal

Have you ever lost something really important to you? And you were afraid of someone finding it? I lost my journal about four weeks ago, and I am bummed. It had a detailed prayer request list in it that I daily worked through and amended as needed. And lots of personal notes and confessions and thoughts, written out but certainly not meant to be seen by any eyes but my own (and my Lord's!). I also had a list of medication that my sister-in-law recommended that we take to Asia, so I took it with me to CVS one day. That was definitely where I went wrong. *Sigh* It should never have left my Bible's side. Oh well!