SPOTLIGHT ON MISSIONS: Brandon & Brittney Lingle • Thailand

On Aug. 29, we will be boarding a plane and heading to America. It’s been two years since we have been back. The kids are excited to go. Our family hasn’t met baby John yet. They can’t wait to get their hands on him. Joy, now four years old, can’t remember anything from our last trip to America. She keeps telling everyone here we are going to Africa! We are thankful we can spend time with family and friends, especially during the fall and holiday season.

I do need to be honest and upfront before we meet you and your church, though. Our family has been through many trials these past two years, and the past two months have been extra difficult. We will take this time in the States to try to rest, heal and spend time praying to see what the Lord will have for us to do when we return to Thailand.

Even though it will be difficult, and I won’t be able to go into details, we still plan to visit some of our supporting churches and give a report on the past two years.

• Thankful for Friends — One of God’s greatest gifts in times of trouble is friends. They stick with you no matter what. I am so thankful to the Lord for precious kids and their families who have helped us recently. What a blessing they have been to us!

• Numb — “When it rains, it pours” is a saying I hear people close to us keep saying. I guess it’s because it seems like the hits keep on coming. A few weeks ago, we had someone hit our van. We were going about 60 mph. The car swerved to miss a big 10-wheeler coming into their lane, and they hit us. Thankfully, they just got us on the side, not the back end. The young lady who hit us was crying and kept repeating how sorry she was. The thing is, we just felt numb in that moment. We had already been through some really hard things that month. This was nothing. We tried to calm her down and praise God that everyone was okay. The van is just a van, and it can be fixed. We are thankful for God’s protection and provision during this time.

• Thai Pastors — It is an honor and joy to get to serve some of the Thai pastors here. They encourage and challenge me all the time. It really is a joy to serve the Lord alongside them. One of my brothers brought his family to encourage and minister to us. He is one of the Thai pastors we support through Thai IM (Thai Indigenous Missions). If you want to know more about that, you can check it out by visiting thailandindigenousmissions.com.

• Thai Language Helper Coming to America? — P Nang has been teaching our kids Thai for about four months now. The Lingle kids are homeschooled, and they study in English in the mornings and Thai in the afternoons. Our family loves P Nang, and we are so thankful for her. She is a dear sister in Christ.

We have never brought someone to visit America with us. Since she has been such a great help, especially during these past few hard months, we have offered her a trip with us. She has never traveled to another country. She is excited and hopes she will be allowed to go. Pray that she will be granted a visa and can join us. We hope you get to meet her.

• Going to miss Thailand — Seeing family and being with our friends and churches for four months will be a blessing, but at the same time we know it is four months we are not here telling people about the hope we have in Christ. Pray for the Thai people and the Thai church. We have witnessed some serious spiritual warfare here. It grieves us, but we can’t give up! Christ is worthy, and God is good!

• Prayers & Praises — Pray for us as we prepare for our trip to America. The flight will not be easy, especially with an infant. Pray that the Lord will allow our friend to get her visa and come with us. Pray that the Lord will help us rest and be refreshed with our time in the US. Pray for Brandon’s mom. She was recently in a car accident. I’m ready to get back to take care of her. She had neck surgery a few days ago. We are thankful for the Lord’s faithfulness to get us through trials and for the opportunity to visit some of you soon. (brandon.thaimissions@gmail.com)