Hello, avid readers! It’s Jess! Yes, we’re still alive. Yes, we’re still in Thailand. Yes, we’re so sorry for taking so long to update our blog. Maybe someday I’ll be good at it. But for now, here are the updates:
Life in Chiang Mai:
We are really adjusting to life in Thailand. We’ve begun a language class that we attend twice a week and we’re about halfway through it at this point. It’s not the most comprehensive course, but it’s a great start. We’ve learned enough to make small talk at the market, negotiate prices, etc… And Alex is the teacher’s pet so that’s… something. ;) (*Sawatdee kha is "hello" in Thai, khrap instead of kha if you're a boy)
We’ve been attending a small house church made up mostly of couples our age; led by Buddy and Jen. It’s been great. We went through a study on Philippians, and now we’re going through Colossians and the group is really uniting and beginning to mesh together. It’s been so great for us to have so many awesome people our age around us. I had no idea we would find anything like the community we’ve found here in Thailand. God is good.
To prove just how much we’re adjusting, ...I, Jess Sartore, am learning to drive a manual pick-up truck. Believe it. I even drove a friend to the salon the other day where we spent $6 on haircuts. I felt so accomplished. I’m still not good at it, by any means. I’m used to smaller cars, automatic transmission, and… driving in places that AREN'T Thailand. But I’m getting there. After living here six months, it’s about time I’m able to drive a mile down the road to 7-11 by myself.
Pregnancy:
I am six months along at this point! Baby boy Sartore will be here in less than three months. 78 days, to be exact. I am a mixture of nervous/excited/calm/overwhelmed, but more than anything I think I’m just curious to see what he’ll look like. Alex and I are both half-Japanese and half-white (American). It’s statistically possible for our baby to look super Asian OR super white. My dad is somewhat fair-skinned and had WHITE blonde hair until he was in elementary school, so the baby could totally take after him. Or maybe he’ll just look like a halfsie. Like us. And I’m excited to hold him. And put him in cute little onesies with cheesy phrases on them. And hear his little baby noises. And okay I’m excited.
Life in Chiang Mai:
We are really adjusting to life in Thailand. We’ve begun a language class that we attend twice a week and we’re about halfway through it at this point. It’s not the most comprehensive course, but it’s a great start. We’ve learned enough to make small talk at the market, negotiate prices, etc… And Alex is the teacher’s pet so that’s… something. ;) (*Sawatdee kha is "hello" in Thai, khrap instead of kha if you're a boy)
We’ve been attending a small house church made up mostly of couples our age; led by Buddy and Jen. It’s been great. We went through a study on Philippians, and now we’re going through Colossians and the group is really uniting and beginning to mesh together. It’s been so great for us to have so many awesome people our age around us. I had no idea we would find anything like the community we’ve found here in Thailand. God is good.
To prove just how much we’re adjusting, ...I, Jess Sartore, am learning to drive a manual pick-up truck. Believe it. I even drove a friend to the salon the other day where we spent $6 on haircuts. I felt so accomplished. I’m still not good at it, by any means. I’m used to smaller cars, automatic transmission, and… driving in places that AREN'T Thailand. But I’m getting there. After living here six months, it’s about time I’m able to drive a mile down the road to 7-11 by myself.
Pregnancy:
I am six months along at this point! Baby boy Sartore will be here in less than three months. 78 days, to be exact. I am a mixture of nervous/excited/calm/overwhelmed, but more than anything I think I’m just curious to see what he’ll look like. Alex and I are both half-Japanese and half-white (American). It’s statistically possible for our baby to look super Asian OR super white. My dad is somewhat fair-skinned and had WHITE blonde hair until he was in elementary school, so the baby could totally take after him. Or maybe he’ll just look like a halfsie. Like us. And I’m excited to hold him. And put him in cute little onesies with cheesy phrases on them. And hear his little baby noises. And okay I’m excited.
A few of you have been asking about a registry/baby shower. Unfortunately we won’t be able to have an actual shower in the U.S. or Japan before the baby comes. BUT we are doing an online virtual shower. My sister, Jennifer, has been gracious enough to host one for us. There is a facebook event page you should be able to find fairly easily through my facebook if you're interested, or if you comment with your email address, we can send you an e-vite.
We are registered at Target (you can go to registries on the Target site and search Jess Sartore, June 2014 or go to this link) and everything will be sent to my sister in Illinois. Once she has everything together, she will send it all to Thailand for us to save on shipping. We mainly registered for small things like onesies, bedding, burp cloths, toiletries, etc…
Another option for the shower is to donate through our Stop Slavery account. Any donations made through that account will go to pay for bulkier things we can buy here that would be way too expensive to ship from the U.S., such as: a crib, stroller, car seat, dresser, etc…
The best way to get to our Stop Slavery account is to visit the Donate page at the top right corner of this page, or by visiting this blue link and choosing "Alex & Jess Sartore Support."
Business:
Things are coming together! When we first got here to start Stone in Shoe, there was a website template already set up for us to work with. The more we worked with the site and figured out the logistics of our vision, the more we realized we were going to have to start over from scratch. So, that’s what we did. We now have a completely new website, things are coming together with the printing and shipping companies, and I’ve become a novice graphic designer - something I’ve always been interested in. We are really excited about how things are working out. There are still quite a few kinks, but overall things are going well and we should be fully functional in the very near future.
In case any of you are new to the blog and wondering what Stone in Shoe is, read on! Stone in Shoe - Art that Irritates is a company dreamed up by our team leader, Buddy Rathmell. Buddy heads up an organization called Stop Slavery that is part of a coalition that fights human trafficking here in Southeast Asia. One major roadblock in the fight against trafficking is funding. Our vision for Stone in Shoe is that it will be an art company that not only raises awareness through art, but funding for anti-trafficking work as well. We sell high-quality canvas print art. Art that starts a conversation. Art that opens people’s eyes to the immense injustice going on in our world. Then we take 100% of the profits from all our sales and, through our partnership with Stop Slavery, put it directly into local anti-trafficking projects. It’s really awesome. Visit www.stoneinshoe.com to see for yourself how awesome it is. And then tell all your friends about us!
Prayer Requests:
As always, we truly appreciate and are continually desperate for your prayers. We believe God is at work here and we know He hears all our prayers. We cannot over emphasize how valuable and appreciated your prayers for us are. Here are some specific ways you can be praying for us presently:
- Continued personal growth and development
o That we would first and foremost cling to the cross and grow deeper in our personal relationships with the Lord
- Continually strengthened marriage
o That we would make each other a constant priority, especially as we prepare for the arrival of little guy
- Healthy pregnancy, delivery, and baby
o We have been so blessed with this pregnancy. I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories. So far I’ve honestly felt really great. I’ve been sick a handful of times, but I’ve felt pretty great overall, and Alex has been so good to me throughout it all. It has truly been a breeze. Please pray that God would keep me and our baby healthy, that the delivery would go well, and that mom and baby would continue to do well post-delivery as well.
- Stone in Shoe:
o That we would work well as a team, that we would seek Godly wisdom in the choices we make, that the business would take off and be a powerful tool in the fight against human trafficking, that everyone will buy a canvas print! ;)
- Visas:
o Our visas allowing us to stay in Thailand expire three days (!!) after the due date. This is a problem. Right now we are working on visiting Kuala Lampur, Malaysia for a few days next month to extend our visas, giving us a little more wiggle room to get out of the country once baby boy makes his debut. As will all red tape, this could very well turn out to be a nightmare. But please pray that it does not turn out that way. We’ve heard that it is possible for these things to go smoothly. Please pray that God would go before us and that everything with extending our visas would go over well.
- Financial support:
o God has been so faithful to us and our monthly support has increased significantly since our arrival here six months ago. However we still do not have enough of a regular income to sustain a life here and we are living primarily off of our savings from our time working in the States. Please pray that God would continue to provide for us, that doors would open for us to generate some income, that people would be willing to partner with us, that things would come together
o On that note, we are considering taking a trip to the States and Japan this summer, soon after the baby’s born. Many friends with little ones have told us that the best time to travel with a baby is when he is only a few months old. We are hoping to spend some time this summer visiting friends and family around the country as well as visiting churches to share our heart, how God is at work in Thailand, and how people can partner with us. Please pray that all the details surround that trip would go smoothly, that it would be a restful time visiting loved ones, and that it would be fruitful in increasing our monthly support.
We want to thank you all so sincerely for your thoughtfulness and faithfulness in partnering with us. It means the world to us to have you all support and believe in us enough to pray, financially support, and read these lengthy, infrequent blog updates. You are all so great. We truly, truly appreciate all you do for us.
Please feel free to leave a comment, share this blog, or contact us any time. We'd love to hear from you all.
Peace,
the Sartores
We are registered at Target (you can go to registries on the Target site and search Jess Sartore, June 2014 or go to this link) and everything will be sent to my sister in Illinois. Once she has everything together, she will send it all to Thailand for us to save on shipping. We mainly registered for small things like onesies, bedding, burp cloths, toiletries, etc…
Another option for the shower is to donate through our Stop Slavery account. Any donations made through that account will go to pay for bulkier things we can buy here that would be way too expensive to ship from the U.S., such as: a crib, stroller, car seat, dresser, etc…
The best way to get to our Stop Slavery account is to visit the Donate page at the top right corner of this page, or by visiting this blue link and choosing "Alex & Jess Sartore Support."
Business:
Things are coming together! When we first got here to start Stone in Shoe, there was a website template already set up for us to work with. The more we worked with the site and figured out the logistics of our vision, the more we realized we were going to have to start over from scratch. So, that’s what we did. We now have a completely new website, things are coming together with the printing and shipping companies, and I’ve become a novice graphic designer - something I’ve always been interested in. We are really excited about how things are working out. There are still quite a few kinks, but overall things are going well and we should be fully functional in the very near future.
In case any of you are new to the blog and wondering what Stone in Shoe is, read on! Stone in Shoe - Art that Irritates is a company dreamed up by our team leader, Buddy Rathmell. Buddy heads up an organization called Stop Slavery that is part of a coalition that fights human trafficking here in Southeast Asia. One major roadblock in the fight against trafficking is funding. Our vision for Stone in Shoe is that it will be an art company that not only raises awareness through art, but funding for anti-trafficking work as well. We sell high-quality canvas print art. Art that starts a conversation. Art that opens people’s eyes to the immense injustice going on in our world. Then we take 100% of the profits from all our sales and, through our partnership with Stop Slavery, put it directly into local anti-trafficking projects. It’s really awesome. Visit www.stoneinshoe.com to see for yourself how awesome it is. And then tell all your friends about us!
Prayer Requests:
As always, we truly appreciate and are continually desperate for your prayers. We believe God is at work here and we know He hears all our prayers. We cannot over emphasize how valuable and appreciated your prayers for us are. Here are some specific ways you can be praying for us presently:
- Continued personal growth and development
o That we would first and foremost cling to the cross and grow deeper in our personal relationships with the Lord
- Continually strengthened marriage
o That we would make each other a constant priority, especially as we prepare for the arrival of little guy
- Healthy pregnancy, delivery, and baby
o We have been so blessed with this pregnancy. I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories. So far I’ve honestly felt really great. I’ve been sick a handful of times, but I’ve felt pretty great overall, and Alex has been so good to me throughout it all. It has truly been a breeze. Please pray that God would keep me and our baby healthy, that the delivery would go well, and that mom and baby would continue to do well post-delivery as well.
- Stone in Shoe:
o That we would work well as a team, that we would seek Godly wisdom in the choices we make, that the business would take off and be a powerful tool in the fight against human trafficking, that everyone will buy a canvas print! ;)
- Visas:
o Our visas allowing us to stay in Thailand expire three days (!!) after the due date. This is a problem. Right now we are working on visiting Kuala Lampur, Malaysia for a few days next month to extend our visas, giving us a little more wiggle room to get out of the country once baby boy makes his debut. As will all red tape, this could very well turn out to be a nightmare. But please pray that it does not turn out that way. We’ve heard that it is possible for these things to go smoothly. Please pray that God would go before us and that everything with extending our visas would go over well.
- Financial support:
o God has been so faithful to us and our monthly support has increased significantly since our arrival here six months ago. However we still do not have enough of a regular income to sustain a life here and we are living primarily off of our savings from our time working in the States. Please pray that God would continue to provide for us, that doors would open for us to generate some income, that people would be willing to partner with us, that things would come together
o On that note, we are considering taking a trip to the States and Japan this summer, soon after the baby’s born. Many friends with little ones have told us that the best time to travel with a baby is when he is only a few months old. We are hoping to spend some time this summer visiting friends and family around the country as well as visiting churches to share our heart, how God is at work in Thailand, and how people can partner with us. Please pray that all the details surround that trip would go smoothly, that it would be a restful time visiting loved ones, and that it would be fruitful in increasing our monthly support.
We want to thank you all so sincerely for your thoughtfulness and faithfulness in partnering with us. It means the world to us to have you all support and believe in us enough to pray, financially support, and read these lengthy, infrequent blog updates. You are all so great. We truly, truly appreciate all you do for us.
Please feel free to leave a comment, share this blog, or contact us any time. We'd love to hear from you all.
Peace,
the Sartores