March 20, 2007 Update

Dear Friends,

I hope your week is off to a good start. We have had our share of excitement this past week. In my last update I mentioned that My pastor From our sending church was coming over to spend a few days with us. Well, we were busy getting things ready around the house when the excitement began. On Friday afternoon Kaleb (1 1/2) decided to climb up in a chair and try standing up. He was ready fro a snack so I gave him a chewy granola bar. I turned my back for two seconds to get a cup when I heard a crash on the floor followed by screaming. Kaleb decided to stand up looking over the back of the chair, and it flipped over. He was still on the chair, but his face was over the back of the chair so when it tipped his mouth hit the tile floor. There was granola and blood everywhere. Lisa ran up to call the doctor because it looked like his teeth went through his lip. I was worried that he busted out his teeth but with all the granola in his mouth and on the floor I could not tell. Within one minute of the accident the door bell rang and our friend Kieran from church "just happened" to be stopping by. He said, "You take him to the Doctor and I'll take the rest of the kids to my house." We went immediately to the doctor who then sent us to the emergency room. At the hospital after about a two hour wait we were seen. The doctors cleaned out his mouth and called a plastic surgeon down to check on the hole that was through the lip and and the area below the lower lip. They said he would be fine and gave a course of antibiotic. Each day it has gotten better. It is amazing how fast his mouth has healed. We went back home Friday night and our friends brought the kids back home. It was then that we found out the Kari (6) had fallen at their house face down and smashed her nose. It was huge and bruised. She came in with a frozen piece of corn on the cob on her nose. What next! We were exhausted. Our pastor was to arrive first thing on Saturday morning. We put everyone to bed where I felt like nothing more could happen to any of them!

We had a great day Sunday for the Irish Mother's Day and baby dedication for Kaleb swollen cut lip and all. It was so good to have our pastor here to be able to do this for us. It was also good for the folks at church to observe as we have three ladies in the church here in Waterford who are expecting. They appreciated getting to see first hand just what a baby dedication was all about. Our sending church pastor was able to get a better perspective of the work in Waterford. We are grateful for our pastor who took the time to be with us and encourage us this past week.
Continue to pray for the Lord to open the door in the housing situation as soon as possible so that we can get things moved and settled in and then put our full effort into the Anchor Baptist Church there in the city of Waterford.

May the Lord find us faithful,
Don and Lisa Thatcher

March 15, 2007 Update

Dear Friends, Well it has been a few weeks since I have given an email update. We have had several things going on to keep us busy. We are trying to get things in order for our upcoming move to Waterford which is located down in the southeastern corner of Ireland. Please be in prayer for the Lord to get us into the right housing situation. We are praying for a house that has enough room for an office for me as well as an extra room for home schooling. We are also looking for a bit more outdoor space for the kids to be able do some things such as plant a garden, etc. I don't think any of us are looking forward to the work of packing up but we are getting excited about our own work down in Waterford. We have been commuting down to Waterford on the weekends. Praise the Lord for safe travels and many blessings along the way. Our hearts are being knit together with the people as we have been there for services over the past couple of months. We praise the Lord for provisions for the work there already. Some one anonymously provided us with a Lord Supper set. One of our supporting churches has taken on a project of helping with a tract order for Waterford so that we will have some first class personalized tracts ready to go upon completion of our move at the first of May. By the way the name of the church is Anchor Baptist Church which is very fitting for a coastal city located on the River Suir. There are numerous boats docked in Waterford all the time. Our theme verse for the church is Hebrews 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast. This is the message that we want to proclaim in Waterford-to anchor your soul in a hope that is stedfast and sure-that hope being Jesus Christ. Please also be in prayer that the Lord will provide the finances need for our relocation to Waterford. This is something that we do not have in hand and must trust the Lord to provide. We are sure that Waterford is where He would have us to be, and we are sure that somehow in His time He will provide our every need.

We are looking forward to this weekend. Not only is it St. Patrick's day on Sunday, but it is Mother's Day here in Ireland as well. We have a small gift for the moms and moms-to-be (presently three ladies are expecting) to give on Sunday. An extra blessing is that our pastor, Bob Wall, from our sending church in Fostoria, Michigan will be here for the service as well. With our pastor here we are also going to have a baby dedication on this Mother's Day Sunday for our son Kaleb. This is going to be a very special Sunday for our family as well as the folks at Anchor Baptist Church. We are so looking forward to having our pastor over for a visit and to be able to show him the work and the city of Waterford.

Thank you for your continued prayers and faithfulness on our behalf.May the Lord find us faithful,

Don and Lisa Thatcher