Dear Keith,

We grew up expecting that life would slow down once we reached sixty-five and there would be plenty of time for us to relax. Sixty-five disappeared from the rearview mirror quite a while ago. Boy were we wrong!

Two years ago, we decided our next home assignment should be in the winter, so Kathy could represent Cornerstone at the annual late-November Mental Health and Missions Conference, we could see a different cross-section of partners than is typical in summer, and we could enjoy the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holidays with family. We departed for the States 9 November and arrived back in Chiang Mai shortly before 1 a.m. 9 January.

Basing nearly half our time in Michigan allowed us refreshing opportunities to connect with relatives, lifelong friends and ministry partners in the Midwest, whom we've longed to see for years. Connections occurred by plan in 8 states, by surprise in a 9th; more surprising was dinner with a former student whom we'd not seen since her high school graduation in 1983!!. God blessed those visits after lengthy periods of being unable to sit down and talk face-to-face and heart-to-heart. Rich and fruitful it was. Relaxing and slow paced, not very.

Jared and Claudine at the Staples Center on December 30th.

Before we moved to Thailand, JD & Claudine shared several Christmases with us in the Seattle area. Finally we could receive their hospitality and celebrate both Christmas and New Year with them in SoCal. Marvelous! 

In January we enjoyed an all-to-brief side-trip to Idaho to visit Jonathan and his fiancé, Elizabeth Berge. Jon has long dreamed of being a husband and father; Libby is a strong, sweet bride, with a son, Ethan, ,and daughter, Sophia.

They plan a 2018 wedding. Stay tuned. Pray that God will richly bless them and be the foundation and center of their home and family. 

Kathy, and colleagues Dr. Bill Hoppe and Haley Chitty, represented Cornerstone Counseling Foundation at the Mental Health and Missions Conference in Angola, Indiana.

Cornerstone extends professional mental health services to cross-cultural workers and a growing cohort of Thai ministers in Jesus' name. 

Whatever your circumstance and perspective, you've certainly noted that societies everywhere are undergoing fundamental change, for better and for worse. Politics. Deception. Terrorism. Genocide. Displaced peoples. Mass migrations. Culture wars. Sexual behaviors and identities. These tides of change are global. They create major stresses for individuals and teams of people serve Jesus cross-culturally, calling people to be reconciled to God and to one another. So earlier this week, Cornerstone hosted a 2-day conference for 90 member care and agency leaders, to consider: Sexual Challenges in Cross-Cultural Contexts.

The topics were earthy. Raw. Complex. But God blessed the presenter and participants with gracious wisdom. Attendees were hugely appreciative; some even suggested a six-month follow-up meeting. 

Cambodian Crossings: Monday Averill flies to Phnom Penh, to visit our team there. They plan to prayer walk in a sadly-neglected new focus neighborhood, meet several new local partners, and seek to discern how God wants to bind up the wounded, raise up and multiply disciples of Jesus in that place - and wherever their relationships lead. Thursday he hopes to connect with a Khmer man who may help us build capacity in rural Khmer Jesus followers who want to disciple their communities and regions, but are struggling.

Friday he heads up-country to Kampong Chhnang for an overnight visit and time of prayer and communion with a good friend and member of Canadian MUP at the Tahas Bible Institute. Saturday it's onward, 6 hours by bus, to Battambang and then Siem Reap for meetings Sunday and Monday morning with our Western Cambodia team.

We'll worship together Sunday morning, then meet as a team, with couples, and individuals, Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, prayerfully seeking God's plan to best re-configure team leadership, While I and the team had advance notice, the team leader and her husband will leave the field in June to resettle in the US, then travel to thank prayer warriors and financial partners who have undergirded their work in Asia for several decades, before entering retirement in early 2018. Please pray for us: we must have God's presence and wisdom and vigor, in order to forge ahead, calling families, neighborhoods, cities, and peoples to join us in discovering the pathway to Life, as followers - disciples - of Jesus.

Praising and thanking God for:
> your love and prayers and financial support!
> opportunity to serve ambassadors of Christ! 
> sufficient health to rejoice in serving others!

Praying and trusting God for:
> wisdom to help ambassadors of Christ thrive.
> new prayer and sustaining financial partners.
> travel mercies/understanding new situations.

With love and blessings!

**Revised Giving Options**

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Attach separate note: 

“Preferenced for AKATH01”

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