2013

Our 2013 Joys

Having fun with our kids and watch-

ing them grow, learn, play and be-

come more like Jesus

Valentine’s Day with Deb’s mom - a

blessedly wonderful day together

shortly before the end

Being endorsed in April

Our wonderful MPT (see p. 3)

Visiting Thailand in August

Hanging out with other crazy mis-

sionaries at security training

Celebrating the holidays with family

Our amazing church family and all of

our friends

Moving so quickly from endorsement

to appointment, thanks to generous

supporters

Being appointed Dec. 1st

Our 2013 Sorrows

Saying good-bye to Debby’s mom, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in March

Losing our kitty of 18 years

Kyle resigning as pastor of Avoca Baptist Church, where he has served for almost 12 years

Greetings from our home to yours!

As we begin our preparations to celebrate the wonderful

coming of our Savior, it seemed like a good opportunity to

give you a glimpse into our lives and let you know us a little

better. You have been such an encouragement and support to

us, it is only fitting that you know the people whom you are

helping to send to work in the harvest fields of Thailand.

This year has been something of a whirlwind for our family,

from discerning God’s call to Thailand and becoming en-

dorsed in April, to taking the family to Thailand for our Vi-

sion Trip in August, and now to being appointed and begin-

ning our employment with International Ministries as of De-

cember 1. But along the way we have seen God at work in

amazing ways, speaking and confirming this call through

people like you who have been generous to give to God’s

work and dedicated to putting us on the field in response to

God’s call. Thank you for your partnership with us.

This Christmas season, may you know the peace and joy that

come from knowing and serving our Lord Jesus Christ.

Best wishes and God’s blessings for the New Year!

The Witmer Family

The Witmers in Thailand CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER

1

“May the God of hope fill you with

all joy and peace in believing, so

that by the power of the Holy Spirit

you may abound in hope.”

Romans 15:13

The other members of our family

One of the changes that came our way this past sum-mer was the loss of our kitty of 18 years, Moshe (pronounced Moh-shee). We are currently still home to an 11 year old lab/retriever mix, Maggie, as well as a fan-tailed goldfish named Rainbow. Difficult times are ahead for us, as we need to find a new home for Maggie after Christmas. This is hard for us, because we have had her since she was a puppy. Please pray for a wonderful new home for Maggie, and please pray for us as we enjoy our final days together and learn to say good-bye to her.

Homeschooling with the

Witmers Being a homeschool family has provid-ed us with many wonderful opportuni-ties. We love our time as a family around the breakfast table, where we take the crazy Woot.com polls each day before praying through Operation World and reading the scriptures to-gether. Discipleship is our number one reason for homeschooling. We also like setting our own schedules and dictating our own pace. When one of us struggles in a subject, we can take the time needed to figure it out. When we excel, we can move on and not be held back by the “class.” And we love being together each day. We have a few favorite places for field trips; Spring Mill State Park, the Children’s Museum and the Indianapolis Zoo rank at the top.

Getting to Know Us a Little Better

Hannah - Seventeen years old and a junior in high school, Hannah en-joys world history but isn’t so keen on math. She says the best part about homeschooling is sleeping in! She sings and plays guitar, helping to lead worship at church. She is a swimmer, and the breaststroke is her favorite stroke.

Brennan - Thirteen years old and a seventh grader, Brennan enjoys his position as the only brother for the most part, although he and Dad do sometimes feel outnumbered by girls. He and his friends are a tight-knit group that enjoys playing soccer, Legos, Minecraft and anything to do with the Lord of the Rings. He plays the bass with the worship team and is also learning to play the piano. For Brennan, homeschooling is great because you can work at your own pace.

Julia - Eleven years old and in the fifth grade, Julia is an avid writer and loves to create stories and plays. She is a beginning violinist and pianist and loves to sing. She enjoys reading, particularly the fantasy genre, but wishes math had never been invented. She likes homeschooling because she can be with her family all day.

Emma - The youngest at eight years old, Emma is in third grade this year. She enjoys history and reading, and she says that the best thing about homeschooling is having your mom to cry on when you’re frus-trated in math! She is a natural born comedian, and she enjoys drama (she plays an Elvis impersonator in the Christmas pageant!). She is learning how to play the piano, and she likes playing with Lego friends.

2

Introducing the Witmer MPT

Don and Marcia Scott, Convener - Don and Marcia have served the ABC of Indiana and Kentucky for 24 years. Although retired, Don serves as an Associate Region Minister for Pastoral Care and in the Region's Church Leadership Institute. They also have continuing in-volvement in various areas of ABC mission and stewardship as well as in their local ABC church.

Doris Richardson, Financial Advocate - Doris retired from the Naval Sup-port Activity Crane in March 2013, where she served 28 years in admin-istration, budget and resource analysis. She is happy to spend time with her husband, Mike, their 3 sons, 4 grandchildren and 2 dogs. Her hobbies include travel and golf.

Denise Farmer, Communications Coordinator - Denise is a mother of 4 and grandmother of 3 with a degree in elementary education, though her true passion has been Christian education. She learned an enthusiasm for missions as a child, and has served as president and program chairperson for her ABWM group, as well as participating in mission trips.

Robin Nolin, Network Developer - Robin says she has been American Baptist since before she was born. She is past president of the ABWM in Indiana, and actually visited the place in Thailand where we will be work-ing when it was still known as the Center for the Uplift of the Hill Tribes.

Ron Hamrick, Ministries Specialist - Ron has served with Kyle at Avoca Baptist Church as the Associate Pastor for 6 years, and in that time the two have become close friends. He and his wife Fan have 4 kids and 1 adorable grandchild.

Rosie Blyeth, Prayer Coordinator - An avid quilter and one of the leaders of the Avoca Baptist Church quilters, Rosie and her co-quilters use their quilting talents to support missions both locally and around the world. She and her husband, Jim, have 2 children and 4 grandchildren, one of whom was recently adopted from the Ukraine.

Bernie Jackson, Pastoral Care - Bernie has served as the pastor of Terre Haute FBC in Indiana since 2000, and has been a small group participant with Kyle, as well as good friend, for many years. Bernie and his wife, Barbara, have three children.

Darla Anderson, Mission Energizer - Darla serves on the mission committee of Avoca Baptist Church, focusing on the preparation and leading of mission trips, and has travelled for mission trips to both Brazil and Haiti. She is a hair stylist and xray tech, and she and her husband Trent have two sons.

What is an MPT?

An MPT (an abbreviation for “Missionary Partnership Team”) is a group of individuals gathered by the missionaries themselves, who provide reliable spiritual, emotional and finan-cial support to a missionary family. Their main task is to build a network of individuals and congregations to come alongside the missionary to pray for, participate in and financially support their ministry. This team of people is vital to our support and well-being as missionaries. The members function in a variety of roles, specifically designed to help us. It is very likely that you will be hearing from various members of our MPT on occasion, so we would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to these wonderful helpers.

3

Becky Balsmeyer, Missionary Kid Advocate - A long-time friend of ours and surrogate aunt to our children, Becky is wife to Brad and mom to Anna, age 3, and James, 7 months. She works full time for an oral surgery practice but enjoys being with her family and seeing how the Lord is working and blessing.

“Your love has given me great joy

and encouragement…”

Philemon 1:7a

Kyle and Debby Witmer,

IM Missionaries to Thailand

Kyle and Debby have been appointed

to serve the Thai Karen Baptist Con-

vention’s (TKBC) Siloam Bible Institute

in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where they

will work in pastoral education and

leadership development. Karen young

people attend the school with the goal

of following the call of God on their

lives to be pastors and evangelists

among the Karen villages in the hills of

Thailand. Kyle will also have opportuni-

ties to do continuing education with

TKBC pastors and evangelists, while

Debby looks forward to finding new

ministry opportunities. Kyle and Debby

also continue discipleship with their

own children through homeschooling.

Please pray for us!

Pray for our family as we make the transition from “pastor’s

family” to “missionary family”

Pray for our church, Avoca Baptist Church, as they search for a

new pastor and make their own transitions

Pray as we sort through our belongings, deciding what to store,

what to take, and what to sell

Pray that God would quickly provide a buyer for our house once

it goes on the market in January

Pray that we would find a good home for our dear dog, Maggie

Pray for safety as we travel to various churches

Pray for our month of cross-cultural training in Colorado in

February

Pray that the Spirit would move hearts to be generous in sup-

porting our call, so that we may move quickly to 100% funding

and be able to be sent to Thailand

4

Please consider giving

If you would like to make a financial donation to

underwrite our support, you may do so online at

www.internationalministries.org/teams/594-

witmer by clicking the “give” button; or, if you

prefer, give by calling International Ministries

directly at 1-800-222-3872.

If you are not already a regular supporter, may we invite you to

join with us by considering a regular gift (annually, quarterly,

monthly) to IM on our behalf? We need partners who will con-

tinue to give to God through International Ministries for our

support to make possible our ability to fulfill this call to live and

serve among the Karen people of Thailand. Funding is needed

even now to reach our goal of 100% of committed support. In

addition, we are currently scheduling visits to churches to share

our story. Please consider asking your church to invite us to

visit. Contact us at witmer@internationalministries.org or

visit our facebook page, The Witmers in Thailand.

“I thank my God every time I remem-

ber you. In all my prayers for all of

you, I always pray with joy because of

your partnership in the gospel from

the first day until now”

Philippians 1:3-5