Overcoming Adversity at LTC

Gonzalez Family Going to Thailand Vol.1, No. 9

"There is no gospel apart from the sovereignty of God - the all-controlling sovereignty of God."

-John Piper

Classes Resume at The Lanna Theological Center (LTC)

Despite the uncertainty of the times in which we live, God's work continues to be done. While Sara, the kids and I continue to prepare our hearts and minds to make our transition to Thailand, the ministry we are excited to be a part of reopened last month as a new school year began. Thanks to the strong leadership of the staff and faculty at LTC, returning and new students started classes on July 1. All personnel at LTC are taking necessary and appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of their fellow students and staff members. These efforts have ensured that our mission of making disciples and raising up leaders for the church in Thailand will continue despite the challenges presented by the global pandemic.

These laborers of the Gospel are an inspiration as they press on to follow their calling to serve the Kingdom of God and preach the message of Jesus Christ. Remember, these students will eventually graduate and seek to proclaim the Gospel in a country where less than 2% of the population are evangelical Christians. Their perseverance is a powerful testimony of the love and power of God working in them.

Looking Ahead

Sara and I are a little disappointed that we did not make it to Thailand before the beginning of the new school year. However, we continue to trust in God's timing. As we approached a new academic year we had to evaluate how to balance our transition timeline with the educational needs of our children. Thus, we have decided to delay our transition to December. Our plan to move to Thailand during the summer was in large part so that our children's school year would not be interrupted. Since that window has closed because of international travel limitations due to Covid, we decided that trying to make our move between the fall and the spring semester of this school year would be the next best option. Asking our children, particularly Katie who is enrolled in dual credit courses, to make this transition in the middle of the semester simply did not seem like the best approach to the beginning of this ministry endeavor. Furthermore, we still aren't sure when we will be permitted to enter Thailand. This new timeline provides our kids with a little stability and it gives us the space to navigate the additional bureaucratic hurdles that have been put in place regarding getting a visa for Thailand. With that said, our resolve to answer our calling to Southeast Asia is as strong as ever. Until December, I will continue to serve on staff at Wellspring Church and I am working remotely on a few projects for LTC.

Specific Prayer Requests

• For Covid to go away - I'm guessing you are already praying for this.

• Thanks to God that he is providing - We built our fundraising budget for our living expenses in Thailand, not the U.S., but God has been an amazing provider. This has been a major concern for me as our departure date keeps getting pushed out. Yet God has given us everything we need when we need it. He is a good Father.

• That we will be able to get on a plane to Thailand in December - At this point I would even settle for a boat.

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39

Onboarding Interviews with New Students

Class on Covid-19 Mitigation Efforts