Thailand, the Land of Smiles! 95% of the population is Buddhist. There are 41,205 Buddhist temples throughout Thailand. It's our joy and privilege to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the Thai people. Thank you for helping to make it possible to live and serve in Southeast Asia.

A big reason we live in the "Buddhist World" is that when someone dies, they'll spend eternity with Jesus, rather than to be separated from Him forever. Last month, a believer, "Boot," from Wiang Hang (where I lived for 5 years from 1985-90), who became a Christian as a teenager and was a part of our "youth group," passed away unexpectedly.

Boot is in the above photo, taken in 1990 on a youth outing. She's in the front row on the far right (facing); I'm in the red shirt (and lots of hair!) on the opposite side. Boot is the birth mother of our co-worker's (Rick & Kathy Walden) son, Sam. It's a long story, but Sam is a miracle baby. Years ago, up in Wiang Hang, Rick and I interceded together that God would spare Sam's life - and He did! Although Boot had a difficult life, throughout all these 30-some years, she remained faithful to the Lord until her death. And now she's in the presence of Jesus! No more suffering and sorrow! Having the opportunity to play a small part in her life - especially at the beginning of her journey in living a life faithful to Jesus, makes it all worth the effort of living overseas and laboring for souls to be saved! THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AND SERVING WITH US!

On the first evening of my arrival to the States on July 30th, I was interviewed by Pastor David Morrison at The Altar in Johnson City, TN (above picture – NOT a video). Fun!

KOALA LOVE OUTREACH PROJECTS UPDATE

Earlier this month, Kelly and I meet with our colleagues, Zippy and Dong (above picture), to plan future Koala Love outreaches this fall. 3,000 children are killed each year riding motorcycles on the roads in Thailand (below picture).

In August, floods hit North and Northeast Thailand, the worst flooding in the area in 80 years.

Above picture: recent flooding in Chiang Rai, located two hours northeast from us.

Through our Koala Love outreaches with iServe, your donations enabled us to send funds this month to Christians in Chiang Rai help to clean up flood damage at their church (above picture). Another Koala Love project donation went to a young, new Christian family living in the Fang area north of Chiang Mai, where the father is still seeking employment (picture below).

If you're not already partnering with us on a regular basis, we invite you to prayerfully consider doing so. We also welcome one-time gifts! To donate, please click the below "DONATE" button to direct you to a PayPal link at our EI website. Alternatively, you may write a check to "Extend International," and mail to:

Extend International

P.O. Box 5046

Kendallville, IN 46755

Please know that EI is a non-profit 501(c)3 and we receive 100% of your donation. We're excited to participate in what the Lord is currently doing in the "Buddhist World" and are honored to invite you to participate with us in what He's accomplishing. Thank you again!

RHYTHMS IN MOTION UPDATE

I'm excited to announce that Kelly and team prepared ten (RIM) table runners (above pic) to sell during my time in the USA. All ten sold quickly! We were both encouraged by how many people told us how much they loved the table runners. We're continuing to move forward with the RIM project. Last week, we met with Tom Counsell (pic directly above) with his wife Emily and their twin boys). Tom, who owns two businesses, has been offering wise business consultations in helping us to move forward with RIM. Just this morning, Kelly met once again with our Thai graphic design artist, Mr. Gonechai, who's designing our RIM logo. We’re also getting ready to develop our RIM website so we can sell our products online. All proceeds are going back into supporting our outreach projects. Thank you again for your prayers.

In His Grace, For His Glory,

Joel, Kelly & Janaya