An Added Blessing

We had the joy of officially welcoming Jim Gustafson back to our meetings after a long season away.  In case some of you have lost track—Jim has been working in Thailand all along, with the same passion and creative energy as ever.  But now our executive director of World Mission, Curt Peterson, has asked Jim to help with strategic direction both in Thailand and Covenant world mission at large.  Jim related some of the exciting things God is doing among Muslim, HIV-positive people in south Thailand, as well as among tribal people near the Lao border not far from us here.  As young missionaries—and all through our careers, Jim has been a special mentor and friend.  It was good to have him back!

 

Covenant Family

Another big joy for us has been renewing friendships with our colleagues in the Thai Covenant missionary family—the Groot’s, Bevis’s, and Jim Gustafson.  While we have never been “out of relationship”, our living in Laos with its remoteness and different issues necessarily meant a certain distance.  But we really enjoyed two days of mission meetings (that might be an historic first!) where, yes, we took care of “mission business”, but mostly we shared from our hearts and ministries, prayed for each other, counseled each other.  

Plant Plans--Preliminary

Intentions and Plans

We sent you a picture in an earlier posting of a wonderful big building/warehouse which seemed ideal for the corn and soy bean processing factory we are going to set up.  This was the first place God led us to—on our first day in Chiang Rai.  Now we have signed a letter of intent to rent the place and are going through the process of seeking the appropriate permissions and clearances with the departments of zoning and industry.  With a lot of help from our friends in the Christian company from which we are buying the equipment, we’ve been drawing up multiple floor plans and equipment layout designs to give us maximum efficiency and flexibility.  This has been a very interesting, fun task (for me, Peter).

It's Official!

Mekong Valley Foods Co. is now a juristic entity in Thailand, a company which makes food for export to countries in the region!  With a registered capital of 6 million baht ($180,000), we can provide visa slots for up to three foreigners and are expected to have a minimum of 12 Thai employees.  Right now we are researching the pros and cons of becoming a project which qualifies for pro-investment policies under Thailand’s Board of Investment.  If we do qualify, we would be eligible for exemption from many taxes during our first eight years; but we would also need to meet ISO 9001 standards of manufacturing and administrative excellence, a time-consuming, bureaucratic process.  Please pray that we would have the wisdom to make the right decision.    

Is this the place?

We've asked many of you to pray about the right location for us to locate our ministry and mill-factory.  This is the first place we walked into the day we arrived in Chiang Rai--and it seemed almost perfect for what we need!  It is ready for us to occupy and begin modifications--for a very reasonable rental price.  Will you pray with us about this?  Our idea was to find a piece of land and build what we needed.  But this place would not only mean we could be up and running much sooner, but also we could do it without a lot of initial investment.  Please pray for us as we do a bit more research.  We don't want to wait too long because there are others who would also like to rent this facility!  

Where is home?

Twenty years ago a brand new missionary, missing home, asked me, "Where is home for you?".  I thought about it for a bit and finally answered.  Home for me is not a place, but people.  I’ve lived in so many places. They all became home for a time. 

As we arrived back in Thailand the night before last my thoughts again took me down that path.  Sunday we had a wonderful service with Community Covenant Church in Burke, Virginia.  It felt like family sending us on our way.  As Peter and I drove home, we took the scenic route and thoroughly enjoyed the rolling hills of Northern Virginia and the changing colors of fall.

Monday, I rushed to Target to buy a few luggage straps (which were considerably cheaper than new bags!).  And again I was amazed by this country and felt totally at home.  The US is a place where the shops never close, the roads are smooth, the driving easy, the food portions huge and drinking water free! 

By Wednesday, we were back in Thailand.  We never saw Tuesday (it was vaporized somewhere over the north Pole before we touched down in Seoul, Korea).  Again, we felt instantly at home.  Yes, the streets of Thailand are are narrow and crowded.  But the food!  Pad Thai for 70 cents, available every fifty meters, with fresh tropical fruit served for breakfast.  And did I mention the people?  Friendly and gracious!  

As Peter and I drove through the countryside from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, the rice is golden in the fields, the rocky limestone karsts still a deep green.  And--since we were in Thailand (not Laos), the roads were actually very good, with only a rare pothole.  Home again!

So, no need to ask us where home is!  It's back in Virginia with our daughter, Erin, Jason, and our grandson, Dominic.  It's in California in California with our son, Kevin and Ramona.  It's in Colorado where Mom and Dad McCurry are still going strong.  And--it's in Thailand now, this place God has put us for a season!  Life--always full....and maybe someday for us, home will be in just one place.

Ruthie