The Last Mango in Chiang Mai

Greetings from Los Angeles, CA. Hard to say goodbye to all our wonderful friends (and delicious fresh fruit) under such strange circumstances. Our last church service was heavy on the hand sanitizer and light on hugs and handshakes. The warm friendly atmosphere was what initially drew us to this international body of believers. Our canine friends in the parking lot of our apartment building didn't seem to have gotten the word about social distancing so our good byes with them were sweet! 

Thanks to all who have been praying for our exit from Thailand.   It felt like a race against time, having to make 5 changes in our itinerary to stay ahead of the declaration of national emergency that will go into effect there tomorrow (March 26). Member care is in high demand these days in mission organizations as we found out on the first leg of our flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. We were alerted that a 20 yr. old missionary intern was stuck in Bangkok after her Eva Air flight was abruptly cancelled. She was quite distraught so we agreed to meet her when we arrived. As she poured out her heart, Alberta looked at her and asked her "Do you need a hug?" The girl melted into Alberta's arms. We got word from her earlier today that she had "just stepped into the door" at her home in Houston.

So, tomorrow we hope to complete this journey. Thanks again for your prayers. You are our partners in this ministry.

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for Heather as her roommate from Denmark needed to return home to ensure she didn't get stranded in Scotland. She will miss not having a companion to ride out the isolation that we are all going to be dealing with. 
2. Pray for Krista as her graduation from the Savannah College of Art and Design has been called off and that is a disappointment. Pray for her as she finishes up her thesis and continues in the job application process.
3. Pray for my and Alberta's trip tomorrow to go smoothly into Johnson City, and that we would use our two week quarantine time wisely. Please also pray that we would remain healthy after all these legs of travel and 2 overnights on the way. 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta