July Prayer Letter – Our Return Predicament

Our Return Predicament  

This morning our plane tickets were cancelled by the airline. 

That is one of the moving pieces in the attempt to get back to Thailand ASAP, so I will just try to delineate some of them here and ask you to pray with us so that we could return as soon as possible!

Predicaments: 

1. Thailand opened to international travel for people with work permits (us), but just before ours was set to expire, allowing us very little time to allow us to get back in time to renew––which means we must get back quickly and everything must go smoothly with our paperwork!
   
2. We had tickets (till this morning) for July 30th––but they were just cancelled by the airline.
   
3. We must get back in time to follow the government mandated 14-day quarantine before we can renew our paperwork that expires on Aug 18th (Visas and work permit).––meaning we must find a way to leave within 2 weeks from today
   
4. Our kids are enrolled in school, in Bangkok, that starts August 5.––they will be late.
   
5. Grace (our middle daughter) must renew her passport before she can travel––but passport offices are closed nationwide, and they say mailing it in would take 6-8 months due to Covid.
   
6. We have packed up our house, gotten rid of our transportation, and are in a sort of homeless limbo as we thought we were leaving in a few days.

Plans:

1. I am working to get an appointment with the Passport office via humanitarian means by taking medical supplies (masks, etc.) with us to Thailand, but still have not heard back from them for the appointment.
   
2. We may have to go alone (without our daughter) to renew our passports, and then come back to the States until offices open and she can get one.––Pray this will not be necessary!

Please Pray with us: 

1. We would be able to get to Thailand in the next few days!
2. We can reschedule to a flight that wont be cancelled.
3. We can renew our paperwork!
4. We wont have to make an extra costly trip around the world!
5. We can can get an appointment with the Passport agency quickly.
6. The remaining money would come in for our re-entry fund

Praise and Thanks

• Praise the Lord for many of you that have sent in to help with our transition back to Thailand! We are almost there!
• Our kids were accepted into a Christian school in Bangkok with a huge tuition discount that will allow us to afford it! That is a big deal to us parents, when the alternative is a Buddhist infused education
• Ministry in Thailand has been able to start live services back
• They also are able to take some Bible classes even while I am away

  Yours for the Gospel in Thailand, 

  Philip & Lori Bassham 

  (Claire, Grace, and Emma)

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