Friends and Family,
The end of the year is a time of reflection and celebration. We look back at all that
has taken place over the last year, reflect on the lessons God has taught us, and
praise God as we recognize that He is good and faithful. 2015 has been a wild ride
for our family. But thankfully you all have been a part of this journey with us, so we
want to celebrate together as we recall all that God has done.
2015 started with a bang. We received our first placement as foster parents on New
Year’s Eve of 2014. We had the privilege of caring for Kendell, a 5-year-old little boy,
for what we now see as the most formational and personally sanctifying 4 months of
our lives to date. Despite the challenges we faced in this season, we thank God for
how He used the experience of being a foster parent to conform us more into the
image of His Son Jesus, and we are incredibly thankful for the opportunity to serve
Him by loving Kendell as if he was our own son for the time and season that God
allowed. We praise God that Kendell was placed back with a previous caregiver
where he is reunited with his siblings and is well taken care of.
After a few months of praying and seeking much counsel, we made the decision in
April that we would be moving to Bangkok, Thailand and joining the Saturation
Church Planting team. This was a difficult decision that put an end to my 5 years of
service at Summit Church, but in the months leading up to our July 28th arrival in
Bangkok God affirmed our decision and provided everything we would need and
more. In a matter of 3 months we were able to sell our home, Leeza received a
teaching position here in Bangkok, and we were able to develop a ministry team that
prayerfully and financially supports our ministry here in Asia. You will have to take
my word for it, but trust me; this all happening in just 3 months is miraculous!
In August we began the slow and difficult work of planting SCP Bangkok, an
international church with the vision to see all of Christ’s people in this city
mobilized in order to give every man, woman and child a repeated opportunity to be
reconciled to God through Gospel of Jesus Christ. Utilizing a decentralized model, it
is our hope to make the gospel accessible by having a representation of the body of
Christ in all of the 169 sub-districts of Bangkok. This is a God-sized vision, but we
are trusting God to see it happen. By God’s grace, to date we have 4 groups meeting
in homes in different pockets of the city with about 60 people connected to one of
these groups. We have met with dozens of other churches and ministries throughout
the city, which has led to many friendships. We are praying that some of these
friends would become strategic partnerships that will join us in taking ownership
for Gospel representation in the city.
We continue to mobilize and train church leaders in Asia through SCP Global. I was
able to go on to Sri Lanka in September where we did envisioning sessions with
groups of pastors in 3 cities across the country. In 2016 we will be starting coaching
relationships with some of the most receptive leaders in those places. In November I
traveled with a colleague to India. We met with pastors and leaders that are
potential candidates for a new holistic training we will be launching in 2016. God’s
Spirit is continually at work, going before us and behind us, as He leads our
initiatives and vision in Asia.
As Leeza and I have talked over the last few weeks, one thing we are very thankful
for right now is the feeling that we are right were God wants us to be. We are
confident we walking His will for us. So much so, that we have decided we will
definitely be staying in Bangkok for at least another year. We are learning and
growing so much and are thoroughly enjoying the ministry opportunities God has
put before us, so we feel like we need to stay and continue in the things the Lord has
put before us. Our budget for August 2015 – June 2016 was about $40,000, which,
praise God, we were able to raise in gifts and commitments before we left in July. We
now know we will need to trust God again to provide $50,000 for our 2016-2017
budget. Would you begin praying and asking now how God would have you partner
with us for next year’s budget? And as many of you consider your yearend giving for
2015 we humbly ask, would you prayerfully consider partnering with us to enable
us to continue to serve here in Bangkok and throughout Asia with SCP? We are have
been so blessed by the generous support and prayers we receive from so many of
you. As you know, we could not be faithful to the ministry God has called us to if it
weren’t for people like you getting behind us and making it possible. If God does
lead you to give this can be done at www.Reliant.org/cp.be
We pray the Lord’s blessing over you and your family. We love and appreciate you
all so much. May you have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
In the joy of the Lord,
Carl, Leeza and Tripp Belcher