Our Miracle Baby makes her debut: After a crazy pregnancy including 2 hospital stays, our house flooding, several months of bedrest, emergency surgery, a very long international flight, and a fun-filled busy holiday season, we finally have a baby to hold.  She’s amazing, of course!  Miss Kora’s due date was January 8th & our doctor scheduled to induce labor at midnight on the 10th.  Just like her brother, Kora decided to come on her own just a little before the set induction.  Mommy had been praying (& begging) to go into labor, so we were all thrilled when the contractions started coming regularly on Tuesday morning the 10th.  We got checked into the hospital around 12:30 & Kora was born at 6:46 pm.  The labor and delivery were AMAZING!  Everything Mommy had hoped it would be and more.  She weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, the exact same birth weight as Kees!!!

So far Kora is a very happy girl!  She’s almost 3 weeks old and already sleeping pretty well at night, thank you LORD!  At her two week check up she had already put on a good amount of weight and grown 3/4 of an inch.  We’re about to grow out of our newborn clothes.  Kellee’s birthday was the 15th of January and we were able to have Kora dedicated that day by her Grandpa.  It was a special day to thank God for Kora’s life and his future plans for her.  We feel so blessed to have a healthy and beautiful little girl.

We have been enjoying our time in the states with family, but it’s quickly coming to a close.  Our return flight to Thailand will be on March 6th, so we just have a little over 5 weeks left.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be visiting a few churches to share about our first year in Thailand.  We’re planning a road trip to Wisconsin and Michigan in February and hope to see many of you then.

Our prayer requests over the next few weeks would be that we’d make the most of every opportunity God gives us, but also that we’d be getting plenty of rest, physically, emotionally, and mentally.  Most of you are aware of the many challenges we faced during our first year in Thailand.  As we return, we want to be refreshed and ready to pour ourselves into the work God has for us, building relationships with our fabulous neighbors and the overwhelming task of learning to speak the language.  We are going to have to be very creative with our scheduling, trying to make sure Mommy gets plenty of time to study.  It’s been challening because, just like every other Mom, sometimes it’s hard to balance all the many demands.  But we know that God is going to go before us and continue to show us grace as we go forward.

In closing, we want to say thank you for all the support and encouragement we’ve experienced being back home. We’ve had countless cards, gifts, and emails from all over.  We don’t deserve all these blessings, but we sure appreciate the way YOU all have been used by God to touch our lives.  We absolutely could not do any part of our ministry without God’s people standing beside us.  We love and appreciate you so much!

The next 9 hours were pretty horrendous at our house.  After we left the restaurant I refused to let Doug take me to the doctor because I KNEW I had two cysts that could cause the pain to return, but there was nothing the doctors could really do for me.  At home, I tried everything, showering, sitting, standing, walking, lying, heating pad, deep breaths, you name it.  To no avail, after puking, feeling better for about 30 minutes, and then having the pain return, I finally decided we’d better go to the hospital.

After an ultrasound, that couldn’t determine much, and blood tests that revealed an elevated white blood cell count, the doctor said it could be my appendix, but it could be a number of other things too.  They also told me they found NO cysts on my ovaries, they guessed they had disappeared on their own.  With an obvious infection somewhere, but no way to isolate where, the doctor thought it COULD be my appendix, but doing surgery would put the baby at risk. He also said if we didn’t do surgery, and my appendix ruptured there was an 80% chance the baby wouldn’t make it.  So with no “easy” choice, we called home and took about 30 minutes to decide if we wanted to have surgery or wait to see my OBGYN doctor in the morning.  We reluctantly opted for the surgery.  I kept thinking that if it WAS my appendix, I basically had a ticking time bomb about to go off right next to our sweet Kora.

After that, everything started happening so fast.  They were removing my wedding band and fingernail polish and having me sign my life away on a few forms.  As they wheeled me back to the operating room I could hear Kees crying for his Momma and I couldn’t help but cry…just a little.  But surprisingly, throughout the whole frantic emergency surgery decision making haze, I felt calm, peaceful even.  Not calm, like I knew Kora would be fine, but calm, like I knew God would take care of it.  Regardless of the outcome, I knew from experience that he was in control, that even if my worst nightmare came true, he’d be there, “…to work all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” (Ephesians 2:10).  As they took me back for surgery, I prayed, I thanked God for the wonderful blessing of being Kees’s mom, the gift of motherhood that we’re not all guaranteed.  Most of you remember we lost a baby due to miscarriage before we had Kees.  There was a time I wasn’t sure I’d be able to have any kids.  God has already given me 2 1/2 years with Kees, my sweet fabulous gift!  So I thanked God for the child I do have and asked that he give me a chance to hold Miss Kora in my arms and see her grow. Then I whispered to Miss Kora, “You just stay in there, don’t worry about what those doctors are doing poking around on Momma, but if I don’t get to keep you sweet girl, I know you’ll be in heaven with Jesus and that’s better for you, and I want you to know your Momma loves you.”  Of course I’m weeping as I write this now, and so VERY thankful that the outcome has been so good, but in the midst of it, I was calm, steady, and ready to face whatever may happen.  Not because I am strong, but because HE is strong.

When I woke up, they told me they had taken my appendix out, even though it was fine, but they also removed my right ovary because it had a 7 cm cyst on it that had twisted, was cutting off the blood supply, causing the infection, and had already killed part of the tissue in my ovary.  Basically, it needed to come out and couldn’t have waited.  Oddly enough, if they had found the cyst during the ultrasound, we might not have operated…thinking it could wait till after the baby was born.  It’s just so hard to determine without x-rays that can’t be done on pregnant ladies.  Again, God knew, he was in control.  And Kora stayed put, PRAISE the Lord!

I guess through all of this, I have been reminded again, that we have so much to be thankful for that we have done nothing to deserve.  Being Kees’s momma for even just two years is a blessing I’ve done nothing to deserve, to be living in Thailand for almost a year with support from fabulous friends and family like you, only our God!  “Every good and perfect gift comes from God.”  This verse is something I say almost daily when I thank God for the wonderful blessings in my life.  God has blessed me to be Kees’s mom for another day and allowed me to carry Kora a little while longer.  Each day is a gift! This week as I slowly recover in some pretty intense pain (no good drugs for the pregnant ladies), I’ve been thinking of the song, “You are God alone…and right now, in the good times and bad, you are on your throne, you are God alone!”  Sometimes it’s hard, when you don’t know his plan just yet, or you don’t understand the reasons.  But we have to acknowledge that HE is God, he’s in control, he has a plan, and he is GOOD…even when our circumstances don’t feel good.  As I was re-listening to this song, actually being sung and not just on repeat in my head, I was struck by the part about him being on his throne.  This shows his supremacy, his power, and his GREATNESS.  But when I was in the center of my storm, it didn’t feel like he was on his throne, it felt like he was right there with me, guiding me, holding my hand!  So thankful that he’s both!  He’s all powerful, all knowing, HUGE, but he cares so much for us too.

Thank you Lord, for loving us, for teaching us, for allowing us to be a part of your plan.  Thank you for friends, family, and strangers who have prayed for me and loved on me in such a huge way over the past week.  Thank you so much for one more day to be a Mommy to my sweet babies.  And thank you for being a God who cares about his people and uses every thing in our lives, good and bad, to mold us and shape us.  Thank you for taking the horrible things in life and finding a way to “…work (them) together for the good.”

We trust you, we love you, please allow us to serve you today.

The lyrics to the song I mentioned above:

You are God Alone (Phillips, Craig, and Dean) :

You are not a God

Created by human hands

You are not a God

Dependant on any mortal man

You are not a God

In need of anything we can give

By Your plan, that’s just the way it is

[chorus]

You are God alone

From before time began

You were on Your throne

You are God alone

And right now

In the good times and bad

You are on Your throne

You are God alone

You’re the only God

Whose power none can contend

You’re the only God

Whose name and praise will never end

You’re the only God

Who’s worthy of everything we can give

You are God

And that’s just the way it is

[chorus]

[bridge]

Unchangeable

Unshakable

Unstoppable

That’s what You are

Latest update on our recent hospital \”adventures\”

At the Hospital

When Dreams Come True

http://www.ministryupdates.org/tomlinson

Good-bye, easier said than done.

My Ban on Bicycling Has Been Lifted

The irony found on a Ferris wheel in Thailand

A Day in the Life of Your Favorite Missionaries (wink wink)

Kellee\’s Thai Immersion Selling Kui Teow with Pi Noi

Well it\’s time for a note now…

Christmas in Thailand

Things I Find Quirky About Living in Thailand

The Silent Majority Meets the Loud & Clear Minority

The Full Story on Our New Car!

The Culturally Appropriate Way to Eat

Kellee and her first squatty adventure!

If I could go back in time and re-pack my suitcase I\’d….

My thoughts on culture shock and jet lag…

We’ve just finished the first stage of our language learning curriculum and are very encouraged with how much we’ve learned so far. It’s excited being able to understand and respond to multiple questions in Thai! Pray for us as we go into the second stage and deepen our understanding. We are committed to spending as much time as necessary to be able to effectively communicate the truths of Scripture to our dear friends here.

It’s been a joy building relationships with our neighbors and Thai church family. Keep praying for our neighbors to be open to the Gospel. Pray for us as we are ambassadors for Christ, warts and all. Pray for our partnership with the Thai church as we look to reach out with His love to the community and peoples throughout Thailand.

Thank you again for sending us and being a part in reaching Thailand with the love of God.

Your missionaries,

Doug, Kellee and Kees Tomlinson

(P.S. Follow us on Facebook for more pictures and notes: facebook.com/tomlinsonstothailand)

We have finally come home.  We had no idea what home would be like, but God has wowed our socks off.  We are loving every minute!  Our last update was mainly about the flight over, so this note will give you an idea of what we are doing so far.

We landed at 10:45 am in Thailand.  We were greeted by several of our fellow missionaries at the airport.  One of the families, the Burts, have been helping us with literally everything.  They are such a blessing to us.  They took us from the airport to our guest house as they call them here.  They asked if we were hungry, tired, or up for some house shopping.  We decided to go ahead and take quick showers and go look at our housing options.  First we had lunch, got a little of our money converted, and set up Doug’s cell phone.  Then, we looked at 4 different places and chose the first & smallest place.  But honestly when it came right down to it we wanted to know our neighbors and we did not come here to have a nice house…one of them was honestly my dream house, but it had a privacy fence and would have been much harder to get to know our neighbors.  We are also saving quite a bit of money this way, however, we are pretty far off the beaten path, so we are still looking into motor bikes.

After that we had some down time, we planned to only sleep a couple hours from 4 pm- 6pm, but didn’t wake up till the next morning.  We had a financial orientation, set up our bank account, signed the lease agreement and then moved right in to our new place.  Our land lady said Thursday is believed to be a good day to move in Thailand.  So we did.  As soon as we unloaded our stuff, the landlady brought over sheets and towels for us to borrow and even made our bed for us. They invited us to come down to their “party” to eat with them and hang out.  We got to eat authentic food with sticky rice of course.  They loved entertaining Kees and teaching him Thai words.  He’s going to be so far ahead of us!

Today, we went shopping for some household items like pillows, sheets, towels, powerstrips etc.  We also bought our washing machine and drying rack.  We still have lots of shopping to do, but we got a few things done.  Doug, Kees, and I also got special official photographs taken, still not exactly sure what they are for.  Doug used a couple of them today when we went to the immigration office for him to get some kind of paperwork he needs to be able to take the motorcycle driving and written test.  I guess he will be finishing all of that up on Monday.

Tomorrow we will have a Thanksgiving meal with our co-workers. Not sure if we will be able to visit our church this Sunday or not.  We also still have to set up a language helper and buy a motorcycle, helments, and a seat with a strap for Kees.

So far we are making pretty good progress, but still have lots to do.  Keep those prayers coming, we greatly appreciate them all!!!

Love you guys!

I know I am always saying thank you, but I hope it never gets old because I am so very thankful for all of you.  We had an amazing trip, with only one small hitch and it was not related to a crying baby!

Okay, so I will do my best to just give the highlights, but sometimes I’m not very good at that, so if you’re not interested feel free to just scan this one ’cause we’ve got a lot to cover!

We left as scheduled from OKC airport.  My (Kellee’s) parents, sister and brother-in-law, and Doug’s dad were there to see us off.  We ALL did surprisingly well.  Only a few tears.  I think we’d all cried leading up to that day, so we were trying to keep our happy faces on for Kees.  He was very emotional, clingy, & possibly teething before we left, I think he knew something was going on.  So we had all agreed to try not to focus on good-bye, but focus on our new adventure.  The first leg of our trip was the worst out of the 4 as far as Kees was concerned.  He was a bit fussy and unsatisfied, but it was very short lived and then he slept.  We landed in Houston and that’s when it got interesting.

We had to catch a tram, get our tickets transferred, and then wait to board, or so we thought.  We got to the ticket counter by our gate only to find out that somehow they had forgot to book Kees on the flight.  He’s under 2, so he doesn’t need a seat, but you still have to pay a small fee.  We’re still not sure how he did not get book, and why nothing was said to us in OKC, but everything happens for a reason.  Doug specifically mentioned over the phone each time he was making arrangements that we would have a baby with us, he even mentioned to me that we had to pay a small fee for him to fly.  We had an hour once we landed and spent every bit of that and then some at the ticket booth trying to get it worked out.  They finally agreed to let him fly, but we’d have to pay for him again, $83.  No big deal, we didn’t pay any overages, we’re carrying lot of cash to open our new bank account in Chiang Mai, but wait they’ll only accept credit cards.  Doug and I have gone back and forth about whether or not to have a credit card, after our experience in Houston perhaps we’ll get one for situations such as these.  But as always, God is in control.  We may not know the rhyme or reason, but he does.  There was a group there waiting with us that just happened to be missionaries as well, with a group called Pioneers.  One of them was having trouble with his paperwork.  If they had gotten on no problems, we’d still be in Houston.  They’re friend agreed to purchase Kees’s ticket and we just paid her cash. PRAISE the LORD!  I can’t help but feel remorse for the couple who was left behind.  I don’t know their first names, I just know they are the Coopers headed to Indonesia.  I’ve been praying for them!  They had to stay behind in Houston and are hoping to get everything in order and fly out soon, they hopefully already have.  God used their “waiting” to end ours.  I hope they know that God will get them there in just the right time. I’ve been praying they will have a divine appointment on their flight or in an airport that they would not have otherwise had.

After we finally were rushed on to the plane, we breathed a small sigh of relief, but to be honest I still worried about what would happen in Singapore.  The lady and the desk and then the man that whisked us to the plane both indicated we might have trouble there.  The lady mentioned we should have round-trip tickets and they might make us purchase them once we got there.  The man said we’d probably have to go through customs.  My comfort was GOD and knowing we had a three hour lay over once we got to Singapore.  Before we got to Singapore we had a scheduled stop in Moscow to refuel. We thought we’d be staying on the plane, but we actually had to get off and go through a check point, then basically got right back on without a hitch!

We landed in Singapore and went straight to transfers.  We braced ourselves for another stressful “Houston” type experience.  And wouldn’t you know, none of those fears became a reality.  They switched us over no problem.  We were even able to get on facebook and give a quick update.

And now, what we’ve all been waiting for, the final flight and landing!  That dream I talked about is REAL.  Thailand is beautiful, beyond my imagination.  I cried as we were landing, I actually thought to myself, “Even if we crash land at least I got to see Thailand before I die.”  I wish I could describe the beauty here.  I have some video footage of our flights and landing in Thailand, but I’ll let Doug edit them together in the next few days.

As always God has taught me so much.  I was thinking of missionaries who have gone before us on boats, truly leaving there families behind with no facebook to keep in touch.  For a while I felt sorry for all they lacked back in those days, but then I realized something.  They may have been lacking in many ways, but they were never lacking in FAITH.  My faith may never be tested like their was, but it will never be as strong either.  Isn’t God good?  He was good then, and he’s so good now!

More to come, but I hear Kees is up–2:30 am our time, but he also went to bet 10 1/2 hours ago, so I think we’re getting there!!!

Keep praying, we love you, your prayers have been answered already!

God has been so good to us.  We often feel overwhelmed by where he has taken us on this journey.  We’ve got only 5 days left till we leave.  Can you believe it?  I think it’s snuck up on all of us, but it’s taken so long too.  It’s such a paradox.  How can it feel so long, but be coming up so soon?

For so long, this was a far off dream.  Something we’d talk about with stars in our eyes.  That far off dream becomes our reality in just 5 days.  I’m thrilled.  And yet, with most things, we tend to idealize our dreams, believing things will finally be perfect once our dreams become realities.  You’ve got to be careful with that.  This week, knowing that this is REAL, has started to scare me a little bit. Like, wow, it’s been really fun talking about this, but now we have to actually do this, and it’s gonna be hard.  We are very close with our family and rely on them for so much.  That support system will be shifted in a big way.  We know they are still supporting us in what ways they can, but it will be very different.

A fabulous lady in our church sings a song I love called “He’ll Do it Again” (lyrics below).  I remember when I first heard it I didn’t really get it.  I guess I’d just somehow avoided going through really hard times.  But now, when I hear it, it has such depth of meaning for me because I know God really has gotten me through.  I can see where he’s brought me and where I’ve been in the past.  I am not naive enough to believe everything will be “sticky rice and mango” once we get to Thailand.  But I’m not stuck in fear, not even too stressed about the impending toddler-like state I’ll be putting myself into.  Yep, just like a toddler, we’ll be frustrated with our lack of communication skills.  We won’t be able to run to the store and get what we want, we’ll have to figure out how to get a tuk-tuk and try to do mental math to figure out new currency.  We’ll be laughed at and have people stop us in the street to touch Kees’s hair or pinch his white face.  We’ll fall flat on our face far more than we ever have here in our culture.  But you know what?  God will do it again.  He’ll get us through just like he always has.  So glad we aren’t going into this alone.

I woke up in the middle of the night a few nights ago.  I’d had a nightmare about being in Thailand and not being able to say anything.  I felt a rush of panic and then I quickly calmed down because I know God will be there.  No matter what happens, he’s there.  He can’t be taken away. Even if Doug and Kees soar past me in language and I feel helpless and alone, I know I NEVER am, God’s always there!  My job is to seek him daily and rely on him.

So the current prayer requests are:  That 32 hours flight starting November 22 @ 1:30 pm, and our hearts and attitudes–that we’d be tuned in to HIM and never try to figure it out on our own.  Pray that our relationship with God will always be priority one in our lives and families.  We’re praying for you too!  We are committed to giving back through prayer as much as possible, so never hesitate to email us with your requests.

Like always, I’d like to say thank you to all our supporters.  We know God has put each of you in our lives with great purpose and we love you dearly.  We absolutely have been humbled by your commitments to God, to us, and to HIS current & future ministry to those we will meet in Thailand.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Just know, that we love you and could never come close to thanking you enough.

Lyrics to “He’ll Do it Again”

VERSE 1
You may be down and feel like God
Has somehow forgotten
That you are faced with circumstances
You can’t get through
But now it seems that there’s no way out
And you’re going under
God’s proven time and time again
He’ll take care of you

CHORUS
And He’ll do it again
He’ll do it again
If you’ll just take a look
At where you are now
And where you’ve been
Well hasn’t He always come through for you
He’s the same now as then
You may not know how
You may not know when
But He’ll do it again

VERSE 2
God knows the things you’re going through
And He knows how you’re hurting
You see he knows just how you’re heart
Has been broken in two
But He’s the God of the stars, of the sun and the sea
And He is your Father
You see He can calm the storm
And He’ll find some way to fix it for you

CHORUS

BRIDGE
Oh He’s still God and He will not fail you
Oh He’s still God and He will not change
Know, Know that He’s God and He’s fighting for you
Yes, just like Moses, just like Daniel,
And just like Shadrach and Meshach, Abednego

You may not know how
You may not know when
But I know that He’ll do it again
He’ll do it again, again

www.ministryupdates.org/tomlinson

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Thank you for your prayers and support!