Moving On Up

Thursday evening I saw Dad as he walked across the parking lot & thought to myself, "Something doesn't look right." He was wearing a cap, but it was the hair... or lack thereof that I was noticing. I usually cut his hair & I knew it was time for another cut, but suddenly I realized that it was gone! I motioned to my hair as he neared & he started grinning. Seems that tradition has rookies shaving their heads as they begin fire school & now that Dad's class has completed the EMS portion, the time was now. Even for the girl!

The cap he's holding was earned by completing the 2 mile run in the allotted amount of time.

This Week at Home

Jordann is visiting this week from California! She is the first Tatum to meet Elizabeth!!! She has been a good helper, too. She attended Family Swim with us on Thursday night and David really enjoyed having her to play with... or spinning him around in the water until they became dizzy!




Jesse also joined us this week while his mom was doing a little summer teaching.. er... consulting. I got a kick out of his shirt. Very appropriate as the baby in a family of 3 boys!




I forgot to post this last picture last week. I think you just can't beat the love between little bitty brother & sister.

Thailand

I haven't seen any new pictures, but here are just a few of the updates from students on Andy's trip to Thailand.

6-21-07
Today we went to CMU (Chiang Mai University) and to tell you the truth my whole team just seemed to be wiped out from the night before. So we prayed that God would just completely use our bodies as tools instead of us speaking, let Him speak. Leah and I sat down with these two girls. We began to talk, but the language barrier was beginning to cause a problem. We had gotten deep into a conversation about Buddha and Buddhism. Leah and I prayed that God would bring us an English speaking Thai person. A few moments later, their friends, who just so happened to speak perfect English, joined our conversation. One of the girls had went to a Christian school, but believed none of it. When asked a question about why they pray to Buddha, all they could say is “protection.” I asked the girl what they had taught in her school and she told me. However one major thing that school left out was the sacrifice Jesus made for them. So Leah and I explained Jesus’ death to them with the “evangacube.” They had never been told Jesus died for them and that He loved them. The boy became very curious. He asked us to explain to him why Jesus would do that. We read John 3:16 to him. He now understood. He wanted more information to learn, but did not know how to get it. Leah handed him a small Bible that was Psalm and Proverbs. But there was something telling me that the Bible wasn’t the one he needed. My Bible was the one he needed. With a few tear in my eyes I handed it to him and said, “this is for you” and with a smile on his face he left and said, “thank you, I will never forget you.” – Katie


6-21-07
Today we were teaching commands to the second graders. We tried so hard explaining to them that when we did the action, they should say what it was, such as “listen, work, stop…etc.” They did not understand so Joy went into the crowd of students and pretended to be one. She said the commands that Jeff and I were showing. It was then that the students knew what to do: by following Joy’s example. I just thought that this was amazing. It was exactly like when Jesus came to earth. He left the comforts of Heaven to come join us so that we would have an example to follow. This is what the Thai students have helped me better understand. – Jill

6-22-07
Tonight we had our parties with the University students that we have been building friendships with all week. With the two teams, we had about 50 – 60 people attend our parties and about 20 gave their lives to Jesus. The churchplant team also had a party to begin building relationships with the people not associated with the school where they have been teaching English. Many testimonies are coming from these parties and they will be posted as soon as possible! Pictures will be posted soon also! So keep checking back!! God is certainly moving in Thailand! - For Thai souls, Lisa

Lauren's in Peru!

Lauren's missions team has arrived safely in Peru and have begun their 30-hour trek up or down the Amazon River. I'm not sure which direction they're going. Because their location is so remote, we will get no photos until they return and other updates will probably not be as frequent as we'll have for Andy's trip. Her location in Peru has no Internet access. The leader will have to use a satellite phone to send reports back, but I'll keep you posted here. Please continue to pray for her safety and the mission of their trip!

See some of Lauren's research about Peru including current weather conditions!

"The Cutest Baby..."

Dad says that I (Mom) look like my Grandmama... a.k.a. Great to my kids. Elizabeth looks just like my baby pictures at the same age. I wonder if that means Elizabeth looks like her Great Grandmother did when she was a baby?

My Grandaddy used to tell a tale about when he was a teenager. He remembered seeing a baby on a pallet at church and thinking to himself, "That is the cutest baby I've ever seen." That baby was Grandmama... Grandaddy was 13 years older than her... and he waited until she was old enough to marry!

Thailand

I know Bubba and Global Expeditions are both blogging Andy's trip also, but you might not read their blogs, so just get used to it! : ) Here is a picture of Andy's team to Thailand. Andy's laying down in the blue stripes.

Here are a couple more testimonies from some of the teens in Andy's group:

6-17-07 We were walking through the market doing a prayer walk. One of our main focuses was that people would realize they need something other than what they had. After about an hour, my MIG decided to take a quick rest, so we stopped on the side of the street. Soon after, a Thai man came up and started talking with us about just random things. After the conversation was over, I stopped him and asked if I could give him something. He agreed and I pulled out a Bible that I brought with me. His eyes immediately lit up as he promised to read it. He then asked us to pray for him and his finances, that God would help him. We prayed and he is believing for a miracle and we are believing for his salvation through that Bible. – Steven

6-18-07 Since being here in Thailand I have learned so much about things I need God to do in my own life. As I sit back and watch others build relationships with people I realize that God needs to break down the wall that I have built so strong around me through not trusting people in my past. I have also come to realize that maybe love isn’t always bad. My leaders say that we should love each other as a family, and while everyone agrees together as this is a good idea, I really feel strongly that I would never be able to feel this way about the people on my team. But recently God has showed me that love can be good. I know that maybe God could do a miracle in my own life on this trip that could change me forever. Loneliness doesn’t always have to be for me. I have also learned through Anne, with the Hope Church here in Thailand, that we need to have faith even though we may not see. I realize I need to work on my faith through building relationships with my team and Thailand people. Even though I can’t see how this can help me and them get closer to God, I know that through faith it can. – Bryanna

Here is another picture of Andy. He's in the black cap looking at the camera. Looks like they're playing cards in the airport.

My Kids on Father's Day

Elizabeth plants a big juicy kiss on Dad

on her first Father's Day.

Uncle Bubba playing with David.

Thailand Update

Saw this update from Andy's Thailand trip on the website this evening (not written by him, but someone on his trip):

6-17-07

On Saturday, we went to a huge temple. The purpose was to prayer walk. In order to get to the temple we had to climb about 300 stairs, and on each step, as the temple became more and more into view, I became more and more ready. Once I was at the top I began to pray, even before I removed my shoes. As my MIG and I walked, I saw people on their knees in front of the statues! I almost cried at first, and then I became furious at the idea of how much Satan was in charge. Afterward a sentence came to me, “Why not for me?” It was God saying, “Why are they down on the floor praying to others?” I felt and still feel so convicted to make God known.

In early Romans it talks about a place that was deceived. The people worshiped idols such as men, animals, birds and reptiles. The girls were into prostitution and everyone refused God. That passage practically screamed Thailand. In the end God, turned from them and they were condemned. I thought maybe God has begun to turn away already…but after going to church this morning and seeing almost 2,500 seats filled I was reminded “all things are possible through Jesus our Lord.” I am ready. We are on a battle field – on the front lines and I believe we will see miracles, we will see salvations and we will leave the eternal impression.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads reading this post today... especially mine!

This is Dad's 2007 Father's Day Collage! It's not as colorful as in years past, but all my pretty papers are in storage! We love you, Dad!

The Great RR Heist

Perhaps only a rail fan (or the wife of one) could understand the joy Dad had today when he, Curt and Phillip dug through the dumpster at the rail yard! With the Union Pacific's OK, the three of them panned for gold in the scrap metal dumpster and did not leave empty handed. They ended up with 3 signal heads and this huge mast to mount them on. Yeah... you're gonna see pictures of that thing mounted in my yard in a few years...

Don't they look like a motley crew?

I don't know how they got that onto the trailer!

In other news, Andy called home from Thailand today & is doing well. His team is called the Tuk Tuks. I think Lauren is still at her training camp.

BTW... Have you met CPR Teddy yet?