A Missionary Call is for the Whole Family

One of the internal debates in the world of evangelical missions is whether the missionary call extends to the whole family or to just the parents. I’ve written previously on why both husband and wife (and not just the husband) must be committed to mission work, so in this post I want to think a bit about the kids. Does the missionary call extend to them as well?

If I were living in my home country, and I answered a call to pastor a church there, my wife would need to be supportive, but the pastoral call would be to me, not to her. Likewise, the pastoral call would not be to my kids, but to me. Hopefully my kids would be okay with their dad being a pastor but whether I were a pastor or a carpenter or a salesman, our family could largely carry on with our regular activities and patterns of life that we were accustomed to. We’d be using the same language and living in the same culture that we had been. If we had to move to a different part of the country, that would obviously be difficult for the kids in terms of moving house, leaving friends, and more. I don’t want to ignore the fact that domestic moves come with heartache too but when compared to moving overseas, there is a lot more that changes for kids.

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

Written by Karl Dahlfred on 29 January 2024.

Cindy Jacobs’ Prophecy for Thailand

In late January 2024, traveling preacher Cindy Jacobs is speaking at a large event in Chiang Mai, Thailand. What she will say this time remains to be seen but at the end of 2008, a lot of Christians in Thailand (both Thai and missionaries) got excited about Cindy Jacobs' prophecy of an imminent coming revival in Thailand. The text of that prophecy has since been removed from her website, but you can still find her 2008 prophecy online courtesy of the Wayback Machine. Jacobs prophesied:

“Look to South Thailand. Revival is beginning to burn in South Thailand... In 2009, it will begin. In 2010, Fire begins in fullblown. 2010-2020, I will fill this nation. More churches will be planted, more than in all the years before...Prepare in 2009 with Daniels and Josephs bringing about market place revival...You have one year (2009) to prepare for the Decade of the Harvest. Prepare regional evangelists. There will be revival in all sectors, great transfer of wealth, wisdom and revelation.”

Written by Karl Dahlfred on 17 January 2024.

Christmas is the Time of Humility

บทความข้างล่างนี้ถูกแปลและปรับจากต้นฉบับภาษาไทย

The Thai language has an endless number of words related to emotions that use the word jai, or “heart.” And since most Thai are concerned about saving face (and losing face!), one of the common “heart” words is noi joi, which roughly translates as feeling slighted, hurt, or overlooked.

Have you ever felt slighted? At one time or another, all of us have felt unhappy and hurt because someone overlooked us or did not give us credit. Even though we have knowledge, position, and dignity, someone fails to give us the honor that we are due. We are someone that others should respect and honor, but instead they dishonor and disrespect us. Don't they know who I am?!

angry man ai generated 8413908 640 Image by rafiq23 from Pixabay

Written by Karl Dahlfred on 22 December 2023.

Navigating Officialdom and Trusting God

Returning to Thailand after a long time away, my family and I have had a lot more government related paperwork and encounters with government offices and officials than we have had in a long time. This has especially been true for visa applications and immigration related tasks as we’ve left the U.S. and come in and out of Thailand and Malaysia before finally coming into Thailand with the right kind of visas. We’re not done yet though, because even though we are back in Thailand on the right visas, a work permit needs to be applied for and additional paperwork and address verifications need to be accomplished certain tasks, such as buying a vehicle.

Royal Thai Consulate General, Penang, Malaysia