Dreaming of a White Christmas | November Newsletter

makayla h
Nov 3, 2024
4 min read

Dear friends and family,

It is with great joy and excitement that we share with you some exciting news! We will be seeing you this winter! We had originally planned to visit next spring, however, given some family reasons, we went back to the Lord in prayer about visiting this winter. We believe we have His blessing, and after discussing it with our leaders, we feel confident it is the right timing.

We can't wait to see you all and give you a big hug! These past two-plus years haven't been without their difficulty, from struggling with homesickness and culture shock, but we have come to know the true presence of the Holy Spirit in such a tangible way. And we are excited to share with you many exciting stories of God's faithfulness before we head back to continue serving in Thailand.

With that said, we will land in Las Vegas to be with Erik's family and friends from November 18th until December 17th. Then we will fly into Spokane from December 17th until January 20th to be with my family, where we will return to Thailand. We would love to get together and have you meet Hudson! Please feel free to reach out to us via our contact information at the bottom of this newsletter to set up meetings. We can't wait to spend the holidays with you all!

Love,

The Gonzalez Family

Updates

A Day In Our Lives

Missions life can be an exhilarating and hectic adventure with God, but sometimes it can look patient and steady. Our desire with this video was to showcase an honest look at the reality of missions life balanced alongside family life. It may at times seem monotonous (endless language learning, website maintenance, writing newsletters, etc.) however, it's during these times of faithful consistency that one is doing some of the most significant work.

Hudson Is 1 Year Old

It’s been one year since our lives were forever changed by the arrival of our son Hudson. We are so grateful for the incredible blessing God has given us in being parents and stewards of Hudson’s life. He brings so much joy and happiness to everyone he meets. We had a wonderful day celebrating his life with all of his friends. It was such a testament to God’s goodness as our YWAM base was filled with missionaries and Thai Buddhists, all of who are a part of Hudson’s life. We pray that his life would reflect the life of Jesus to the Thai people.

Hospital Prayer

One of the ministries that our base is prayerfully considering adopting is “Hospital Prayer”. There is a government hospital located in Trang where many people visit, often time from far-off districts. Every time I’ve ever visited, the hospital has always been very busy with patients essentially lined up bed-to-bed. This ministry offers the opportunity to meet people who are undergoing difficult times and bring the good news of Jesus to them.

Tyler and Trevor (From Transform Ministries)

This month we had Tyler and his brother Trevor visit our team from Coeur d'Alene Idaho. They were a huge help to the entire team as they helped with maintenance, ministry, and other practical needs. We're grateful to them, others like them, and the senders that make this possible. Please keep these two incredible young men in prayer as God leads them now into their God-given callings.

Outreach Teams

This December, YWAM Trang will be receiving an outreach team from Montana! They will stay the full month of December til the new year. The team will be engaged in various ministries ranging from compassion to evangelism and more. These are exciting times for our city as we lead these DTS students, to share God with the community.

Neighborhood Relationships

One thing is for certain: God uses children to build bridges with Thais like nothing else can! Hudson has so many Thai uncles and aunts who love him. Here are a few of his friends celebrating his birthday!

Newsletter Schedule

This was mentioned in a previous update, however, just in case you missed it, we recently have felt the Lord's leading to pray about releasing newsletters every 2-3 months. At first, we were apprehensive, but after processing and praying, we believe this decision will be a positive one. We will have more time to allocate toward the ministry here, and we hope this change will bring about more and higher quality content.

Current Prayer Requests

Erik and my relationship with God would continue to deepen with one another and with God. Growth in spiritual maturity, humility, and Christlikeness.
Pray that the Lord would give Erik wisdom in leading the communications ministry.
Wisdom for this new season of searching for potential ministries and preparation for the DTS as well as future DTS students.
Spiritual awakening in Thailand, many to come to Jesus. Pray for the city of Trang and that people will be transformed by the Gospel.
Wisdom and understanding in raising Hudson.
Missional communities, friends, and networks. Favor in our neighborhood and opportunities to share the gospel.
Pray against spiritual warfare
Humility and that Christ would truly be all and we would be nothing.
Team unity at YWAM Trang.
Promotional videos for upcoming DTS, and that God would use them to minister to potential students and the church.

Special Message For Our Friends and Family

Hello friends and family, Makayla and I are beyond excited to see you all soon! We have put in a lot of work to ensure we'll finish out strong here. It amazes us that it has been nearly 3 years since we have seen so many of you. Lord willing, we will sit down with most of you and hear all that God is doing in your lives.

Financial update

Reoccurring support: $2221.3

Monthly costs: $2,300

One-time donations: $928.29

Have any questions?

We'd love to hear from you. Comment below or reply directly to this email.