Fall Newsletter 2009

“Our First 100 Days”
“We left the states a little more than 3 months ago. It has been quite the journey but God has proven Himself faithful in every way. We are adjusting well here in Chiang Mai. Our days are mostly filled with going to school, studying language, homeschooling the kids, studying language, playing with the little ones, studying language, taking care of a new baby, studying language, trying to find our way around a new place, studying language (I think you get the point) haha.
Our Language study is going better than we ever expected. We have almost completed 3 modules/books. Each book was suppose to take around 8-10 weeks but we have completed 3 modules in 12 weeks. These modules taught us Phonetic Thai, Cultural acquisition, and Conversational Thai about topics like - food, medical, directions, colors, family, weather, dates, time, money, and lots more. We will begin studying how to read and write Thai script in the next few weeks. It is essential for us to speak Thai well before being able to move home to the mission station with family there. We long to be with them and days here can get very lonely. However, we are confident that we are exactly where we should be and will push thru till the task is finished.
The kids are doing well. They miss home a lot but have found a good group of friends here which we are thankful for. Wesley & Leigha are studying Thai language 3 days a weeks as well. They have finished the first module and working in the second very diligently. The sentiment in our house is, man we really want to speak the language. So, everyone is trying very hard. It helps that we now have a Thai only speaking house helper so we are forced to use what we know and learn new words from her everyday as well.
Approximately 8 weeks ago, after a few bouts with the normal preterm labor our new little blessing chose to make his appearance. David Watson Tolar was born 5 weeks early on July 27th (Lydia's Birthday too) and did very well. He was 2.370 kilograms and 45.7cm (which is 5lbs and 18 inches). Our Family is now complete for sure!!!
Having a baby is definitely different in a third world country than in the States. I had many bouts with extreme fear but was always reminded that I had “ The Great Physician,” at my beckon call. God is good and gives us those times with Him to teach more about how He can care for us. I had one such time the Sunday before David was born. The pastor was teaching about “David and Goliath” and on fear. I don't remember a lot of what was said but I know that morning was just for me. Here I was about to give birth to a preemie baby, in a foreign land, away from any family, with bare basic medical facilities and didn’t have a clue how to communicate with my doctors and nurses. You talk about Satan planting the spirit of fear in me - I was ready to catch the next plane home, until that morning when God talked directly to me. He reminded me of why I was here, who He was to me and how He wanted to care for me. Thank You Lord for those personal moments.
Two weeks ago, David was diagnosed with pneumonia in his right lung and was hospitalized for three days. He has still been having some problems with breathing but over all he is doing much better. Thank you for prayers. Here is our family and our newest addition…..
First 100 Days Cont……...
Last month my parents were able to come for a visit and that was a great blessing. It was wonderful to see them and it was a great encouragement that was much needed. We were able to show them around town, eat at some American friendly restaurants, and we also exposed them to some of the more common outdoor Thai eateries ("aroy" or "delicious" as they say here). We went to a Buddhist temple to see the relics, many postures of Buddha, statues of Buddha’s mom and dad, and other religious items. The "wat" is perched up on a mountain top that looks over the southwest corner of Chiang Mai and where our house is located. The natural beauty and temples around us are spectacular. It only saddens us further as we can only sit and watch these people worship and give there lives to a god who is dead. However, if Christians in America only had the devotion, dedication, honor and respect for there families, beliefs, and daily lives as they do here how the world would be different.
One of the greatest joys as a parent is too see your children follow the Lord. This past month while mom and dad were here Leigha asked that she be publicly baptized to show the world that she wanted to follow Jesus. So, we headed to the public pool and had a great family worship time. We are overjoyed to see our children continuing to embrace the Lord during this time when others might fight against such changes.

News from the front lines...
Our family was just in this exact location about 10 weeks ago with these people.
Authorities in Laos last week jailed a church leader in S. Province for embracing Christianity and threatened to expel him unless he renounces his faith – and kill him if his arrest is made public, according to a human rights organization. Officials from L. village, from Sa. sub-district and from Ad-Sap. district on Sept. 3 arrested Thao Oun, an elder at Boukham Church, at his home and forced him at gunpoint to the Sa. sub‐district office, according to Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF). The organization said the officials turned him over to the chief of police of Sa. sub‐district, Thao Somphet, who detained, interrogated, and terrorized the Christian for early six hours. Oun was charged with bringing destruction to the Lao nation and government by embracing Christianity, which the officials consider a “foreign religion to be abhorred,” according to HRWLRF. The chief of police demanded that Oun immediately renounce Christianity or face expulsion from the village. He “further threatened Thao Oun that if word of his arrest and interrogation get out to the international community, he will be put to death,” according to HRWLRF. The organization decided to publicize the mistreatment, a spokesman told Compass, citing international exposure as the most effective way of preventing Lao officials from carrying out threats. The sub-district chief of police also told Oun that his harsh treatment would end “only after the death of all believers in Boukham Church,” according to HRWLRF.

To further pressure Boukham Church, L. village officials and security forces along with Sa. sub‐district police on Saturday (Sept. 5) arrested Thao Aom, who became a Christian 10 months ago. He also was interrogated and intimidated at Sa. sub‐district police headquarters, with authorities telling him, “You have believed in a foreign religion, so you must sign an affidavit to renounce Christianity – if you do not recant, you must vacate the village.” HRWLRF reported that after three hours of police interrogation, Aom still refused to sign the affidavit renouncing his faith. He was expelled from the village. He has sought refuge in a village about six kilometers (nearly four miles) away, where he had previously lived, according to HRWLRF.

On Sunday (Sept. 6) at 6 a.m., P. district police authorities joined the officers from Sa. sub‐district, in Ad‐Sap. district, to surround the Boukham Church worship site in S. village – blocking church members from entering for Sunday morning worship. Members of Boukham Church rotate worship sites among three locations, according to HRWLRF: in L. village in Sa. sub‐district of Ad‐Sap. district; in Boukham village in Ad‐Sap. district; and in S. village in Ad‐Sap. district. Elder Oun lives in L. village, where he leads the worship service when Boukham Church meets there. To punish Boukham Church members for following Christ, Lao officials have denied schooling to 10 of their children and cut off access to water at village wells, according to HRWLRF. They have also deprived all area Christians of protection and rights and threatened to deny public medical care for Christians who get sick or injured.

Laos is a Communist country that is 1.5 percent Christian and 67 percent Buddhist, with the remainder unspecified.

The actions against Boukham church violate the Lao Constitution as well as the 2004 Law on Criminal Procedure, the 2006 Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Children and the 2005 Penal Law, according to the organization. The officials who arrested Oun and Aom have violated Article 5 of the Law on Criminal Procedure, which prohibits the arrest, detention or building search without an order from a public prosecutor or from a people’s court, according to HRWLRF. “Any individual who arrests, detains or conducts any search of buildings or persons in contravention of the laws shall be subject to criminal proceedings and shall be criminally liable,” the law states, according to HRWLRF.

“In addition to violating the Lao Constitution that guarantees religious rights of an individual Lao person, the arrest of Thao Oun by gunpoint was clearly an abuse of authority, and the officials should be punished for this criminal act,” HRWLRF said in a statement. “Article 154 of Penal Law stipulates, ‘Any civil servant engaging in the intentional excessive use of the authority provided by law, thereby [adversely] affecting the interests of the state or society or the rights and interests of citizens, shall be punished by three months to three years of imprisonment and shall be fined from 500,000 kip to 5 million kip [US$60 to US$600].”

The law further states that if such abuses of authority are committed with the use of force, weapons, torture, indecent words or acts affecting the honor and reputation of the victim, the offender is to be punished by three to five years of imprisonment and fined from 2 million kip to 7 million kip (US$240 to US$840).

The denial of education for school‐age children on the basis of religious affiliation violates Article 3 (5) of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Children, the organization asserted. Article 6 further states, “All children are equal in all aspects without discrimination of any kind in respect of gender, race, ethnicity, language, beliefs, religion, physical state and socio‐economic status of their family.”

Last year officials in Boukham village detained three Christians from the church – Pastor Sombong Supatto, Boot Chanthaleuxay and Khamvan Chanthaleuxay – for several weeks before releasing them on Oct. 16. Authorities initially arrested Pastor Supatto and four others on July 20, storming their house church and ordering the 63 Christians present to cease worshiping or face prison for “believing in and worshiping God.”

Police targeted the church because it was not officially registered. Such registration comes with strict limitations on church activities, so many Christians avoid doing so.
This Persecuted Country was listed as one of the top 10 persecuted in the world!!! Keep the persecuted in your prayers daily….
Care of the (HRWLRF)

Ways to help:
Help us Network & make connections with other individuals, churches and organizations
Join our Immediate Support team
* Help us plan support trips
* Help us build contacts
* Advisory/Prayer team
Pray for us
Give financially (initial &/or monthly)

Prayer Needs:
Emotional strength, Loneliness in Chiang Mai where we don't have a community of people or support is difficult
Continue to find new Financial & Prayer supporters
Children's schooling & language training
Children’s health
Financial Needs::
We are still short on monthly support by about $1,000 ($2,750 in monthly support while on the field )
One time Set up needs still $ 3000
(fridge, bed, wardrobes, dresser, AC unit..we are borrowing these things from our Land Lord)
Visa/School cost this month $2800

Any and all financial contributions and gifts needs to be made out to Mekong Evangelical Mission with a separate note stating for the “Tolar Family”.
Send gifts/support to:
Compassionate Hope Foundation
Tolar Family Support
111 Gloryland Lane
Antioch, TN 37013
615-941-1392

Baby Boy Tolar "David Watson" has Arrived!!!

After long hard pregnancy (which is rather normal for us) baby David chose to make his appearance on July 27th at 10:28am (also Lydia's Birthday). He was 2.370 kilograms and 45.7cm (which is 5lbs and 18 inches). Our Family is now complete for sure!!!

Summer News Letter 2009 "Now in Country"

Sawatdee “Greetings” from Thailand
"Hello" from Thailand!  We made it! Thank you for your prayers and support.  We could not have made it without you.  We do miss each of you and love you deeply. Some days are harder than others but we are convinced that we are in the center of God’s will. Leaving Nashville was the toughest yet most rewarding experiences that we have ever had. Selling all material possessions and leaving everyone we love and placing our future completely His hands has been such an emotionally, mentally and spiritually stretching time for the entire family. Yet, His providence, grace, and your prayers alone have been our driving force and strength.
As we are settling in here and trying to prioritize our most essential household needs. We have a few more things we need but waiting on them to fit in the budget. We are find the cost of living here in Chiang Mai higher than expected and still need to raise our support level another $1000.
Imagine moving to a place where nothing is familiar, life styles are totally different, everyone acts and reacts in a posture of respect and honor (even if they are right or being wronged), you cannot communicate well, most foods are different, smells are sometimes tough to bear, and you are the minority everywhere. Yet this is forcing us to learn the language, learn a new culture and way of living, and adopting this as our new home and culture and way of living. It seems hard to imagine and difficult to bear yet God’s grace and the skill-sets and talents that he predestined us to possess is causing our adjustments to be as smooth as possible. However, none of our adventure has been without opposition from the enemy and only He knows what tomorrow will bring into our lives.
As we have many new experiences, adventures and obstacles current and ahead we are daily reminded of the dark lost world in which we are surrounded. Their animistic superstitions that we are daily confronted with are hard to avoid and remind us of the ultimate purpose and goal for our being in Chiang Mai and on to our final destination.


News from the front lines...


After our team provided bibles and ministry training for the Christian leaders from K. village they went back to their village with a zeal and led others to Christ. A total of nine families were converted and it all took place in spite of the forbiddance of area officials to convert to Christianity.

At approximately 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, 2009, the village chief, volunteer security force, village elders, and some villagers of K. village in T. district of S. province, broke into pig pens of new believers in that village and confiscated a pig from each of the nine families (53 members) after they returned home their place of worship.

Later, those who took the pigs slaughtered them and divided the pork among themselves. The officials stated that the seizure of the pigs was a form of punishment imposed on the nine families who had ignored the officials’ order forbidding them from believing in the Christian faith. By choosing to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed freedom to believe in God and practice their newly found faith, each of the nine families must suffer an economic loss of a pig, which is an equivalence of one and a half months salary for one working person in this area.

The incident of seizing and slaughtering the pigs appeared to be a follow-up response to the previous warning made by the officials. Almost 10 months ago, on September 12, 2008, the K. village chief, security force, and other local officials broke into an animal pen of a Christian believer, and took possession of his water buffalo (equiv. value of approximately US$ 350). This was done while he and his family were in their house watching helplessly as their personal belongings were taken from them. The authorities told Mr. B. that if he and his family recant of their Christian faith, their buffalo would be spared. The village authorities claimed that they acted in accordance with the order of the T. district governing authorities. After Mr. B., however, refused to renounce his faith, the village authorities took possession of his buffalo. On the following day (September 13, 2008), the authorities slaughtered his buffalo in the village square and distributed the meat to all the non Christian families in the village. The village authorities additionally warned that they would continue to take possession of animals of believers who refuse to renounce their faith until none of the animals are left standing. Keep the persecuted in your prayers daily….


After Arriving in Country…….

Since we have been here it has been mostly work and adjustments. All the kids have met friends here in the neighborhood and really doing quite amazing. Dawson seems to be picking up the language faster than the rest of us. We will ask him if he wants something and he replies in Thai, even though we cant understand him. It is so cute. His blonde hair and ability to understand some Thai gives us an immediate inroad with a lot of local Thai's. We can not wait until we can communicate more so we can explain why we are here in Chiang Mai and share the love of Jesus with them.
Our language classes are going well. We just finished Thai Phonetics and will start conversational Thai this week. This means a lot more memorizing and more field practicum's. Every morning we review the prior days lesson with the kids so they will learn what we are learning. It is an enjoyable and often funny time as a family. A bunch of southern, North  American, English speaking people trying to speak Thai. We should record it for you to hear, but we're "not gonna do it"!
Added to all the normal adjustments and stress to life in a new place, Lacy went to meet her new doctor, visit the hospital, see the labor and delivery room and the recovery room. Needless to say she was not overly excited. It is definitely not Centennial Medical Center. However, what they lack here in "state of the art equipment” they more than make up for in the way they care and serve. So, Lacy is resting in Christ and has become confident that THE GREAT PHYSICIAN is fully able to care for her and the children.
After being here only a few weeks we faced one of our biggest challenges. Dawson had to be hospitalized. He was running an uncontrollable high fever for several days, dehydrated, would not eat and extremely lethargic. The Doctors believed that his body was fighting microorganisms that Asian immune systems are already used to. These are the same microorganisms that cause E.coli, Dysentery and Salmonella that were attacking and controlling his little body. We just took this as the Lord allowing this to strengthen and acclimate him for our future here. This has been our posture because any other would be disbelief in that His will be done.
On Dawson's last day in the hospital I (Daniel) had to leave for a very important meeting in Bangkok to continue and hopefully expedite our permanent visa process. Unfortunately, the EFT agency said the process would take 3-4 months. We only had 9 days remaining on our temporary visas and could only get two 15 day extensions if we traveled to a neighboring border every two weeks . Knowing that this was not a viable option because Lacy would not be able to travel much longer and language school just started. I called Lacy and told them once they leave the hospital go to the airport and meet me in Bangkok so we could fly to the mission station and cross the border to apply for our 1 year student visa. As we went into the neighboring country the spiritual warfare and bondage was evident and overwhelming. You could tell that there was an internal struggle within the officials at the Consulate toward us our and our visas. Nevertheless, God worked in them to say yes after much persuasion and uncertainty. We returned to the mission station (where we will be moving to next year) and so enjoyed being with our extended family there for a few days.  It was hard to leave to go back to Chiang Mai but we are now even more determined to be diligent students in our language training so we can be useful servants at the mission station when we move there next summer.
Have you ever felt that you where in a movie? Say like Star Wars and the power of the force was so strong with you that you felt invincible. Well that is what we have felt like many times these last few weeks. Our Father is so guiding our paths that it is like He is doing all the work. No really! We are so blessed and touched that He loves us so much to always provide the way. We are back in Chiang Mai and back to work it is. Lacy has had a few bouts of preterm labor but God is even working in us through this time to strengthen out faith and trust in HIM alone.


You want to help? This is how you can get involved with us...
Ways to help:
* Help us Network & make connections with other individuals, churches and
organizations
*Join our Immediate Support team
* Help us plan support trips
* Help us build contacts
* Advisory/Prayer team
*Pray for us
*Give financially (initial &/or monthly)

Prayer Needs:
*Emotional strength, Loneliness in Chiang Mai where we don't have a community of people or support is difficult
*Continue to find new Financial & Prayer supporters
*Children's transition and schooling
*Lacy & new baby’s health

Financial Needs::
We are still short on monthly support by about $1,000 ($2,750 in monthly support while on the field )
One time Set up needs still $ 2000
Visa and travel cost this month $1800
Unexpected/ Expected Upcoming Medical Expenses $2500

Any and all financial contributions and gifts needs to be made out to Mekong Evangelical Mission with a separate note stating for the “Tolar Family”.
Send gifts/support to:
Compassionate Hop Foundation
Tolar Family Support
111 Gloryland Lane
Antioch, TN 37013
615-941-1392

Leaving Home :(

Watch this video about where we are living and why we are going there!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXh_tgjnYJw&feature=related

We left our home, family, friends and everything we knew and loved June 4th 2009.

We are Having a BOY!!!!!!

Spring '09 Newsletter

Our Family's Last Newsletter from the States....

The days seem to be racing by. Time is precious and it seems that we are being pressed from every side lately. Now the time has come that we begin to clean out and pack up for the big D-day which is June 2nd. Passports have arrived, plane tickets are purchased, visas are applied for and the anticipation in our home is definitely rising. This will be our last newsletter written from the states. The next time we sit down to write all of you it will be from Chiang Mai, Thailand, where we are going first for language and cultural acquisition training.

Our latest news is that yes we are expecting a new baby in late August‘09. We have already contacted and aligned an OB doctor in Thailand. Our current state side OB says that Lacy and baby are fine. He also says, “that he has no concerns about Lacy delivering in Thailand, since they have babies there everyday”. God has given us an overwhelming amount of grace and peace about traveling and giving birth in Thailand and the potential benefits for delivering there could prove to be great.

Our family was shocked to hear about the new addition but now can not wait to hold the new blessing God is giving us. God has used this time also to further our dependence on Him in so many ways. We are full time raising support and I had to stop working yet God has more than provided our needs. One example is how He used a small church in Peytonsville, TN, who gave so sacrificially that their gift provided for our families needs for an entire month. We are so humbled to see God moving in so many ways, everyday.

As we are continuing to raise monthly support and make new contacts we are reminded that God is in control and he provides as he sees fit. We are very thankful for the provisions and blessings that He provides through all of you. Thank you so much for your care and support for our family.

The Widow's Penny: Faithful Recession-Proof Giving

Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. Mark 12:43-44

We only share with you these thoughts because God allowed us to experienced “the Widows mite” in a gift that we recently received. So this New Testament story became alive to us in a way that only God could reveal. There was a single parent mother who came up to us and wrote out check/love gift for what we found out later was all that she had left in her bank account at that time. You want to talk about feeling small yet blessed and honored. Yet, the lesson God taught us through this divine appointment was that it doesn’t matter what is going on in our countries economy or the world around us we are living under GODS ECONOMIC PLAN and that still includes sending us going to the other side of the world and he will use people that we least expect to help us accomplish the task of the “Great Commission”.

Even though she gave "all she had to live on," the widow somehow trusted that it would not mean the end of her. She knew that what you give away comes back (in unexpected ways, sometimes multiplied), and that what you receive is not yours finally to keep. It all gets deposited into and disbursed from God's "treasury" for the good of all. It seems that, for generous people like the poor widow, helping others doesn't depend on how much or how little they think they have to spare. They have a strong sense of Gods economy and His faithfulness so giving isn't painful because they know that their gift will reap eternal returns. One of the greatest lessons we have learned and are still daily learning is that abundance comes from one source, which is God. It's up to us to let it flow through and not dam it up.

We are asking and need you to help us with the last final push to leave June 2nd (that’s just 7 short weeks away). We are still about $1200 short per month. We are looking for people to contact their home churches and see if we could present our ministry and if the church is supporting new missionaries at this time or in the near future. If we can get 15 new churches to support us we should be ready to leave when June roles around. It takes one or two phone calls for you or hundreds for us alone. If this is a way you can help please send us a quick email and let us know. We are thankful for your partnership in prayer, so also we are thankful that many of you have been able to partner in our financial support. We are grateful for the support we have been given, to be able to serve the Lord is this way.

Winter Newsletter '08-'09

Our Family’s Reflection
As we come to the end of another year and the beginning of a new one, we are so grateful and thankful first for a merciful God who can use broken vessels. Also for you – the people who are praying for us, caring for us and standing with us in ministry. As we reflect on this last year we have had some great times and some very difficult times yet the Lord has been our constant, reliable stability in the midst of the storm and our cheerleader in the victories.
We give praise to Him for those of you who have stood with us. Your ministry to us has kept us going and your prayers have spurred us on to continue by His grace. And even though there have been difficulties, it has also been an incredible year of growth and personal spiritual development. For this we can truly look back on it with complete thanks-
giving!
However, God has taught us one major lesson this year. That is, what it truly means to live simply and by God’s provisions.
I read a saying once that said if you were willing to pick up a penny lying on the ground, you were rich beyond measure for God has filled our world with shiny new pennies, free for the taking, that others simply ignore: a sunset, a hug, a birdsong, the smell family dinner cooking…all these shiny, free pennies! ―Less stuff‖ is not such a bad thing. It has caused us to rely com-pletely on God’s mercy and provision. We can have those necessary daily conversations with God because we don’t have as many distractions to get in the way. We are also more open to His leading and the recognition of His sovereignty. We are also free to develop those relationships with each other that are so very important.
When we are ―rich‖, I think we tend to rely on ourselves or on the market or something other than our Lord. It clouds our judgment and distorts our vision and makes very ungrateful people. It is an awesome thing to see the hand of God at work on behalf of His children without our meddlesome behavior. This has been the greatest lesson this year: To live simply and know that God will care for us in a way only He can.

“Our Prayer for the Persecuted Church”
I love you, o Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. O Lord our deliverer, deliver us from evil. Sovereign Holy God, we marvel at Your work amongst the nations and we trust You. As we bring our requests to You, please forgive our sins, and our fleshly weaknesses and hear and answer our prayers for the sake of Your kingdom and glory.
We pray today for our brothers and sisters who live with sadness, trauma and fear, and who live with daily hardship, discrimination and persecution because they have taken Your name and are Christians in a world that hates Christ. We bring before You our persecuted brothers and sisters whose lives and security are under threat daily. We bring before You especially those who are imprisoned and those who are branded 'apostate' and sentenced to death because they have turned to Jesus. Lord our deliverer, deliver them from evil.
We bring before You our persecuted brothers and sisters whose lives have been shattered by religious repression, violent religious hatred and jihad, as they now face the daily struggle to maintain faith, hope and grace to forgive, as Satan attacks their hearts and minds. Lord our
deliverer, strengthen their faith and deliver them from evil. We bring before You those who through ignorance, blindness, demonic interference and sin have set themselves against Your Church and yet are merely sinners in need of the Savior. Lord our deliverer, convict them of sin and deliver them from evil.
We bring before you all those who profess Christ and yet are soft, lukewarm, uncaring, unregenerate, fearful or lazy. Lord, may Your Spirit awaken, revive, reform and embolden us all to seek and embrace Your call upon our lives as ambassadors for Christ, no matter what the personal cost. Lord our deliverer, forgive us our sins and deliver us from evil.
We pray to you, the only living God, the Sovereign Almighty God for whom nothing is impossible. We ask that You, the God of Peace, will intervene in the conflicts in this world.
We pray especially that You will 'frustrate the ways of the wicked' and disrupt, expose and destroy terror net-works and the illegal trade in weapons and ammunition. Put an end to this trade in death, shatter its foundations and strike its roots, disrupt its progress and starve it in the field, for the sake of Your kingdom and glory.
Lord, may Your Spirit embolden and compel Your church to preach the whole gospel. May conviction of sin abound, may righteousness spring up, may persecutors of the church be trans-formed into preachers of the Gospel , may liberty fill the earth so that the sower may overtake the reaper and may all who see it rejoice in the Lord. We thank you for Your grace and mercy. Deliver us from evil o Lord our deliverer, so we may live to serve You, for the sake of Your kingdom and glory. In the name of Jesus. AMEN

Ministry/Family Update
This new year will bring about the biggest and most changes our family has seen yet. Here are some of our plans. We will be traveling most of January—March to places in Kansas, Michigan, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Colorado, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee & any where else we can get someone to let us share the passion God has put in our hearts.
We will be buying our plane tickets & travel necessities, applying for passports, and getting lots of necessary paper work together for the next big step of getting on the plane early this summer. When we leave we will be headed to Chiang Mai for language and cultural acquisition. We are so overwhelmed at how God has in many ways already paved the way for us there, by having people we already love and trust in Chiang Mai. We grew to love them while at Tennessee Temple . They are currently helping us locate housing, doctors/hospitals, schools, tutors, and any-thing we can think of to ask they are trying to answer.
As far as on the home front, the anticipation of leaving is brewing. In the house we are getting rid of lots of stuff and making lists of things we may need. We are all very excited to continue seeing God work everyday in our lives. Pray for us and especially the children as we begin the transition now and leave in a few short months. Right now we have only 5 months before we are scheduled to leave for the mission field. We are still about $1200 short per month. We are looking for people to contact their home churches and see if we could present our ministry and if the church is supporting new missionaries at this time or in the near future. If we can get 15 new churches to support us we should be ready to leave when June roles around. It takes one or two phone calls for you or hundreds for us alone. Thanks for supporting us in this way…

The Tolar Family Fall 08 Newsletter

Part of Our Family’s Journey
God has for many years been in the process of preparing us for cross cultural service. We have obeyed some but more often times we have abandoned the process He wanted us to walk through. This resulted in many years of wandering in a way and when the road was tough we would run in the other direction. About 3 years ago through a series of events God really got our attention or maybe we just decided to start listening with no reservations for the first time. Either way, we made a conscious choice to stop our busyness and seek after what it was specifically, God wanted from our family. We then took drastic yet quiet steps to change our life in order to prepare us and our children for the journey God was to take us on. Some of those decisions were: 1) Lacy not working outside the home 2) Selling and getting rid of unnecessary materialistic things 3) Home schooling our children 4) Getting debt free and much more. In other words simplifying our lifestyle to have more time to listen and prepare both physically and spiritually. God has shown us a lot by being proactive. However, the best times are just sitting back and watching Him have His way instead of us and our agenda.
The next major step of faith we took was attending a Next Step weekend at Cross-world in January 2007. While in Philly God made it very clear to us what He was asking us to do. That was to serve Him in a full time capacity, in what ever way we could, with the mission work in Thailand and _____. We were both extremely humbled by this task that was placed before us, especially after being unfaithful to Him for so long. During this time God showed us many areas of weakness and struggles we both had. Yet, God gave us a lot of grace and mercy to walk through those few days and know that He was looking at our availability and not at our abilities (or lack thereof).
We know now this was just the beginning of a great journey with the Lord and our family….

Our Mission to “the Persecuted”
Here is one story, of many, unfortunately of recent happenings to share with you.
The believers belonging to the Evangelical Church of ___ Village in ___ province, in a closed country, were all summoned by the village authorities, ordering them to desert their Christian faith. The authorities further directed followers of Jesus Christ in that village to cease holding services and religious gathering of any kind or face immediate imprisonment. The church leader, So..., had been encouraged by our ministry leadership to stay steadfast in the faith. So, the people defied the authorities’ orders to abdicate the Christian faith by holding Sunday worship service. The authorities’ impending threat of imprisonment was soon carried out.
Pastor So..., Bo.. and Kh… have remained in police custody since their arrest in Aug.08. On Aug.24th family members of these brothers went to visit them at the police station. When the families arrived at the detainment cell, the officials began tightening handcuffs around the wrists as well as wooden stocks around the legs of all three prisoners. The family members expressed to us that the tightening of handcuffs and leg stocks was to inflict pain in front of family members for the purpose of punishment for not renouncing their Christian faith. As the district police officials were tightening the handcuffs and leg stocks, they remarked these words to the three prisoners: “This is the consequence of not signing documents to renounce your faith. We have already given you three opportunities to sign these documents but you have refused.”
Please pray for the believers in ___ Village that God will make His face shine upon them and make known to the nation of ____ of His hand at work in their lives.

The Status of the “Great Commission”

1. The Biblical mandate is to “make disciples of All the nations” (every tribe & tongue)
2. 28-30% of people groups have yet to be reached with the good news of the Gospel
   
3. 80+% of missionaries are going to the already Christian or evangelized peoples
   
4. ONLY 1/2 of a penny of every dollar given to missions goes to the unreached areas
   
5. If we do not redirect our going and our giving the statistics prove to still be the same (of 28-30% unreached) in the year 2030

Ministries of Mekong Evangelical Mission in THAILAND & "a closed country"
The majority of the work carried out by Mekong Evangelical Mission is among the Issan people group of Thailand. This is around a twenty-two million people group with a dialect that is very close to that spoken in ______. Only the alphabets are different. Though very hard working, the Issan people are generally poor, mainly involved in agriculture, and mostly living in villages. Church Planting is the heart of the ministry in which the majority of workers are involved in the planting of churches in the main towns or villages of districts. Besides the main church at the mission station, daughter churches have been planted in 10 other locations. Training of national pastors and Christian leaders in regular biblical training settings is done at the well-equipped training center at the "Mission Station". Where there are also two newly furnished dormitories that will accommodate both singles and families. Our Christian School provides a Christian education for the children. This is critical to the future of the church in the Issan area. The school has nearly 1000 students in K-5 through the 8th grade. There are around 60 teachers plus staff members on site. They have already outgrown their first facility and two additional facilities are now complete. A new playground is also in place. One grade will be added each year until they have grades K-12. The school serves as a model now for future village schools. Mercy Home for children is where 293 orphans and abandoned children from the area are cared for in foster homes and 13 in a new facility with a homelike setting in the community. A Radio Station where two half-hours of Bible teaching programs on Saturday and Sunday for several years, have drawn large listening audiences in both Thailand and _____. Because of continued persecution, we can give only general references to how the church in _____ is being supported. Biblical materials are provided to our key _____ pastors to help train the people. Through a variety of means, nearly 70% of the unregistered and persecuted churches are provided oversight and help. This has encouraged Christians leaders to stand boldly even when their homes and property are confiscated, torched, or they are thrown in prison. New churches are being planted constantly even as church buildings are taken away by the government and sometimes given back. Villages of refuge are being set up for those forced to flee their homes under threat of death. In addition, support is provided to the families of pastors who are imprisoned or even murdered by authorities. A recent concern is that the government is trying to get all churches to register so the government can appoint their leaders from among those who are not of the family of faith. Please continue to pray for these believers for courage and faith.

Ways to get Involved with us...We are not merely looking for financial contributors but rather ministry partners who understand our vision and passion for the world. We need your friendship, prayers and sincere deep interest in God’s mission more than we need monthly support.
Ways to help:

• Help us Network & make connections with other individuals, churches and organizations

• Join our Immediate Support team

* Help us plan support trips
* Help us build contacts
* Advisory/Prayer team

• Pray for us $15,000 for school/language training for both our children as well as us
• Give financially (initial &/or monthly)

Prayer Needs:

• Personal & Spiritual development
  
• Financial & Prayer support
  
• Children's transition and schooling
  
• Ministry partners & team

Financial Needs:

• $15,000 for school/language training for both our children as well as us
• $30,000 in one time cost for travel, visas, passports, housing, set-up cost, etc…
• $2,000 per month in pre-field salary for 4-6 months
• $2,750 in monthly support while on the field
  

Any and all financial contributions and gifts needs to be made out to Mekong Evangelical Mission with a separate note stating for the “Tolar Family”.
Send gifts and support to:
Compassionate Hope Foundation

Tolar Family Support
111 Gloryland Lane

Antioch, TN 37013
615-941-1392

Do You Shop At Kroger??? Then we need your help!!

Please Read and see if you can help us by doing what you may already do so often... shop at Kroger!!!!!

One of the ways we are raising support for our mission is with the help of Kroger charitable giving program. It is simple and very beneficial it will not cost you anything just a minute of your time to recharge a gift card when you shop. So if you already shop at Kroger for your Groceries, Fuel, or Prescriptions then ask us for a card and use it at the time of purchase and we receive 4% of all recharged on your gift card. This can quickly add up for our family and the Mekong Evangelical Mission team.

The Easiest Way to Earn Money

In 2007, Kroger paid out over $4.1 million in charitable contributions. Out of this total over $2.3 million was for school organizations.

Kroger Gift Cards - The EASY Way To Earn Money For Our Non-Profit Organization & Team

Below are the simple instructions & Frequently asked questions:

Instructions:

1. Ask us for a gift card you can't get them at the store that are linked to us.
2. Simple Recharge your card . . .
• You can recharge your card for ANY amount up to $500.
• Pay for the recharged card with cash, check or major credit card. It's That Easy!
3. We earn 4% on everything you recharge.

Questions

1. How much of a profit is made with the Kroger Gift Cards?

When cards are recharged at the store, organizations earn a 4% rebate from Kroger. This needs to be emphasized with the participants since most people throw away cards after the value is depleted. Non-profit organizations need to encourage their supporters to continually recharge (or add value to) their cards each time they go to Kroger. Gift Cards may be recharged in any amount up to $500.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is important to keep activity on gift cards for organizations to earn their rebate. A gift card with a zero balance for 90 days will be voided out of the system.


2. How convenient is it to recharge the card? Do the supporters need to go to Customer Service to recharge before they start their grocery shopping?

We have made it very convenient for the organizations to recharge their card. Gift cards may be recharged up to $100 at ANY REGISTER. To recharge for more than $100, gift cards will have to be recharged at the Customer Service desk prior to doing their grocery shopping. IMPORTANT NOTE: If the supporter wishes to use the gift card to pay for his or her groceries, the gift card must be recharged AND PAID FOR prior to being used as payment for the groceries. In other words, the supporter must tell the cashier that he wishes to recharge his/her gift card before the groceries are rung. IF the gift card is recharged within the grocery order, it cannot be used to pay for them. The gift card recharge must be done as a SEPARATE TRANSACTION first.


3. What if a supporter loses or throws away their card?

Just like with the gift cards for sale at your store, we cannot be responsible for the card value if someone loses or throws away their card. If someone throws away their card they will need to purchase another card from their organization in order to have it linked to that organization. Gift cards for fund-raising CANNOT be purchased at stores.


4. What can be purchased with gift cards?

You can purchase anything, including fuel and prescriptions, in a Kroger store with the exception of services. Services include: money orders, Western Union, lottery tickets, hunting/fishing license, Ticket Master.

Money does come from heaven!!!!

So we were eating breakfast out this morning and the kids were being friendly with everyone around as usual. Anyway, a long story short we began talking to this sweet old couple about the mission and journey we are on to the mission field. They were asking a lot of questions and we were able to share honestly all that is going on with the Issan people and we were able to share our hearts and the small part we get to play in Gods grand plan there. We sent our son to the car to get them a pray card because they wanted to take a picture of us and we told them we had a better on they could have. So after we were all done eating and talking he came up to our table and asked if Lacy was the secretary of the family and she said "yes I guess I am". he then preceded to put $100 bill in her hand and said put this in your treasury. See God is not only good but He keeps His promises to never leave us or forsake us. He knows our every need and when we make His priorities ours, He takes care of everything...What an amazing God we have....