Continuing the Adventures

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope you are doing well and experiencing the very best God has to offer you as Spring arrives this year. God has been so faithful to us since our arrival back in the states and we wanted to share about His goodness to us with you. Since arriving back from teaching English in China this past January, we have renewed our commitment to continue to serve as a part of the Salem Evangelical Church in Salem. We are so excited about the things God is doing in our church and we are so honored that God has given us a chance to be a part of the ministry there. Ryan has been asked and has accepted a position as the new college/career ministries director at SEC, working with college students and young adults as they strengthen their walk with Christ and search for His call on their lives. We are so excited to be serving in this ministry and are dedicated to allowing God to use us as He will in this next adventure.
We would like to humbly ask for your faithful prayer during the beginning of this ministry, that we would seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in relationships and ministry and that we would stay focused on what God has planned for this incredible ministry in Salem. As part of this new adventure, we have been asked to help lead a group of twenty young adults, along with four other staff, to Oaxaca, Mexico this July 7th through 13th. We will be serving in the city of Oaxaca for one week, doing construction, building relationships with believers there as well as reaching out to youth and adults in the community. We are extremely excited for the chance to be a part of this trip and have the opportunity to serve Christ through missions, as well as help develop young men and women in Christ and build relationships with them. We too, would covet your prayers as we prepare for this mission.
If, as you commit to praying for us, you are able and guided through the Spirit to contribute financially to our trip as well, we would humbly accept any gift you are willing to give. We are trusting that God will provide the funds to be able to serve Him as we believe He has called us to do. Our cost for the trip will be $2400. Any amount you are willing to give would be a tremendous blessing to us. A financial gift can even be tax deductible if made out to Salem Evangelical Church at: 455 Locust St. NE Salem, OR 97301, with a separate note signed by you expressing your desire to support Kealy and I on this trip. We are excited to see God provide for us financially, but more important, we request your prayer as we prepare to serve God in Mexico. Thank you for your love and support. May God continue to “...let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts” and “the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives”.

In Him,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson

A Defining Mission

Hello Friends and Family,
We are back from Mexico safe and sound, a more blessed and at peace than we could have ever known. It was an incredible week and we feel so privileged to have been able to be a part of God's work down in Ensenada with senior high students from SEC during the week. As some of you already know, on our trip down to Mexico our team was involved in an eight car accident just outside of San Diego. Praise God that no one was seriously injured and safe. But what we are praising God for all the more was the way that the staff of the trip, our fearless leader pastor Garrett, and the amazing students who responded to the unexpected obstacle in our mission with a renewed desire to continue the trip and serve the people in Mexico we believed God was calling us to reach. God stripped us of any unpure motives or shallow desires for a 'spring break vacation' and turned the week into an amazing time of service and fellowship. Kealy and I were blown away by the maturity and joy of these senior high students, the love and patience that the staff showed them, and the way that the approximately 100 kids we put on VBS for in Mexico welcomed us and desired to learn about God's love. As much as Kealy and I were looking forward to helping serve on the trip and being an encouragment to students and staff, we found we were blessed even more by the students and had such an incredible time building relationships with such godly young men and women. It was a week we will never forget and will never be able to fully give testimony to, but God was great. He was there, He was active, and He was evident in the lives of our students and in the smiles and hugs of kids that we had a chance to love. Here is the trip in pictures. Have a great week.

In Christ,
Ryan and Kealy