soon departing

my dear dear every friend,
soon i will be departing for thailand...in three days to be specific. i cannot tell you how blessed and excited i am to be able to go forth and share the name of Christ with the soon-to-be-saints of northern thailand. i have full confidence in the providence of God, and know that He will have His will accomplished in this as He leads dave and i in living out galatians 2:20. with this in mind, i speak for both of us in asking you all for your continued prayers, that we would be empty and used of the Lord, and that people would be saved discipled and freed. we seek intercessory prayer in a continued labor of love for the people of thailand. please please please keep them in mind in your daily lives, remember them in prayer, do not stop making mention of them to God as you go about life. prayer does indeed cause things to happen that wouldn't necessarily happen apart from prayer, and i cannot encourage you enough to be always mindful of this as the Lord moves. thank you all for being part of this.
in Him
derrick

answering a call

hello dear everybody, 

derrick reporting in. soon, very soon i will be heading off to thailand to meet my friend dave voetberg for a year of Christ-centered mission work. to be precise, i leave the states on february the 29th (leap year!). i am so blessed, excited, and privileged to be able to bring the sweet name of Christ and the message of His salvation to a people who have scarcely heard  the name of Jesus, let alone experienced His perfect love. to be able to help answer Jesus' call to 'make disciples of all nations' is such a wondrous, albeit weighty, honor. this trip will be, in every sense of the word, mission work. we will spend the first couple months in chiang mai (northern thailand), thereafter moving down to kalisan province for the rest of the year. this part of thailand is very poor (one of the poorest districts in thailand), and there is a huge need there--as there is everywhere--for the love of Jesus and the hope of salvation to be shared. as we will be on mission, working whilst abroad is not an option. in addition, as dave and i feel called to bring Jesus to the people of north thailand, we will be on the streets, in homes, in schools day in and day out spreading the hope of the Gospel. as thailand is a very dark place, we go onto the battle field in fervent prayer, knowing that the enemy of our God is at work and does not want them hearing of our Hope. already the enemy has been trying to discourage, tempt, and thwart me as i answer this call. the next year will not be an easy one, but God has promised His children rest and strength as they wait on Him. all this to say, as we won't be able to make any money while we are over there, we are both working very diligently to collect enough to get by for the year. on this end, i have been working whenever possible, selling possessions i do not need (pretty much everything), and of course asking for support. please understand that i do not take this lightly, and i have scaled down to the bare necessities for everyday living. i have been seeking the Lord on provision, and i know He has called me to be completely diligent and financially responsible to make sure every dollar is used for the purpose of making His name famous. i ask you, if it is on your heart or anywhere near, please consider donating to this mission. please understand, we are not going to thailand for a mission/vacation. we are not going to have a good time and share Jesus and goof off. we are ONLY going to share Jesus. that's all. this is by no means a fun getaway, it is a challenging, Christ-centered, intense labor of love for the people of thailand. derrick vachon, dave voetberg, we do not exist. this is for His glory, for His purposes, and not for our own. therefore we have resolved and are fully prepared to get by on the bare, basic necessities--food and raiment, as the Word says. we know He will carry us, He will sustain, and He will provide, and it is with this in mind that i have asked you, if you are feeling called to support this effort, please answer that call.

with much love, in Him, for His glory,

derrick