A New Beginning...

Well here we are again...

We find ourselves standing at the fore front of another journey that the Lord has laid in front of us. And with expectant hearts and obedience we go.

Our desire is to be used, in whatever way He wills; with that being said we are very excited about what God has in store for us in Thailand and we feel very blessed to be able to join Pastor Al & Terry Purvis and their team in Asia.

The mission in Thailand is going to be quite different from our mission in Rwanda. The biggest thing for us is that we will not be alone. We will be surrounded by other like-minded missionaries. This is so very important to all of us! When we were in Rwanda we were off in the village, which is what we signed up for and expected. But what we didn't account for is how much we would miss fellowship and friendship with other missionaries. This is something that we will definitely have in Thailand! Pastor Al & Terry Purvis really have developed a tight knit group of missionaries that work together, live close to one another and genuinely care about eachother and we feel so blessed to be able to join them!

Aside from the added bonus of community our tasks will be quite different. In Rwanda our role was that of Mom & Dad, something that we had some experience with. And our purpose in going was to train a Rwandan couple to take over that role. In Thailand we will be able to have many tasks - or at least to try our hand at many tasks and see what we are best suited for - you see, the need is very great!

The main areas that we will be concentrating on for the first year will be travelling into the villages of Thailand with Pastor Al and the team and ministering to the families there. If you have done any reading on the sex slave trade in Asia you will know that the number one target is poor families in poor villages who are approached about selling their young daughters into a "better life" in the city. Many, many parents - too many, jump at this opportunity and sell their daughters - many times for the price of what a small TV costs. The girls are placed in brothels and then made to work the sex industry to pay back the "loan" that their family received. They are charged exuberant interest rates not to mention the rent that they pay to live at the brothel. Its a never ending cycle that the girls rarely escape. What makes this all the more sad, is that the Buddhist faith involves the belief in karma - believing that you are dealt the hand that you have because of how you behaved or treated people in your former life. So these girls accept their fate as punishment for how they believe they were in a previous existence.

If the families can be reached early enough and shown the love, forgiveness and acceptance of Christ then this cycle can be stopped! This is our desire, to work with the A&D team to reach these families and share the love of our Father with them and to show them that this love and forgiveness is available to them at no cost!

Another area that we see ourselves being involved in is with the young students and the youth in the area that we will be living. There is a very dynamic youth centre that Pastor Al & Terry have in Sriracha that we would love to be a part of and that will involve reaching out the families of our own community thru the salvation of their children - all very exciting! We are really excited for Baylee and Julia to become involved in this area of ministry, we think that it is something that they will really be able to take ownership of in their own ways.

We are leaving for Thailand on August 26th. Time is quite short before we go, and there is still lots to be done before we leave, not the least of which is raising the finances to even do this! But we know that when the Lord is behind something it just happens - He is not usually early but He is also never late!

We are so looking forward to sharing with you all of our experiences in Thailand and the amazing ways that the Lord is working there. We hope that you will think of us often while we are there and that as often as you do, you will lift our family in prayer. We learned very quickly while we were in Rwanda that a strong covering of prayer goes hand in hand with being on the mission field. Please remember us. We also ask that you will prayerfully consider joining our family with your finances. If God lays it on your heart to bless our family, please be obedient, our family is 100% dependant on the obedience of the ones that the Lord calls to help. When you join a mission with prayers and or finances, you receive the exact same blessing as the ones that are on the field. Not all are called to go, but all are called to be obedient to their part.

We love to hear from you, so if you have any questions or you just want to say "hi" please email us at torgersonsinthailand@yahoo.ca

We love and appreciate you all,

Dean, Kathy, Baylee & Julia