Home, Sweet Home

Let us share a little about the house we'll be living in once we reach our final destination in the Philippines. We have the advantage of moving into a house that is being left by some former language students so there's really almost no work to be done on the house on our part. We might paint and that's about it.

A kitchen, dining space, and living area with a small bathroom and a laundry area make up the lower level. The upstairs consists of a master bedroom/bathroom that has a small, narrow room attached where the baby will sleep when he comes. There is also a second, small bedroom upstairs that Ellery will occupy. There is space in the bedrooms for a bed and a wardrobe and that's pretty much it. Each floor is only about the size of a two car garage.

Here's the kitchen:

That's no average 30 inch American stove you see there...that's only 23 inches. The refrigerator/freezer combo is only about 8 cubic feet. For reference, the fridge/freezer we're using now is about 18 cubic feet. There are only two drawers in the kitchen that are at foot level so they are somewhat awkwardly placed. As you can see, there will be some adjustments to be made in our eating styles, how we cook, and what we choose to keep for kitchen tools. Filipino style living requires a lot of downsizing.

Between how easily Ellery can spread her toys everywhere and the limited space in the house, it will be interesting to see how we make the house work for us. We have been researching small space solutions and are trying to make sure what we do have is multi-functional. Some things we have to take into consideration as well are: cloth diapering without a dryer, mold...everywhere...often, limited counter space, tile floors and stairs with a toddler, and not much outdoor space for Ellery to run around. 

We'll be able to share more pictures once we are in the house, but for now we thought we'd share a little glimpse of where we'll be the first year or so. We'll make it home for the time we'll live there, but with all our adjustments and transitions lately we are more and more aware that this world is not our home...just a temporary place to lay our heads and do what God has called us to do.

Keep or Throw Away?!

“Are you sure you don't want to keep any of these?!” my neighbor asked me.

“Yes, Jan, I still have tons of baby stuff in our basement that I am keeping. Besides, this is all winter stuff and the odds of us having a baby in those specific sizes while happening to be in the States at the same time are really slim.” I responded.

Our neighbors had a garage sale a few weeks ago and offered to let us sell some of our stuff to help make some money and purge a bit knowing that we hope to be moving to the Philippines in a few short months. It was eye-opening to talk to them about some of the differences between what they would keep and what we would. Granted they grew up in an era where people saved and re-purposed many things and nowadays we are coming back to a time of up-cycling or making some cash reselling on Craigslist. However, we are moving HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD. We can't keep everything.

It has been a bit overwhelming going through our accumulated possessions from 3 years of marriage and having a kid in the mix. I feel like my brain is going to explode trying to anticipate whether we will need a particular item over the next few years and whether or not it will actually last. Do we want to spend money to ship it over or buy a new one when we get there? Will we use this? Should we store it for the future day when we return to the States permanently? Are we going to need someone to ship it to us at a later date? i.e. kids clothes, holiday stuff, etc. Should we just throw it all out?!

There's a lot to think about. It certainly makes leaving more real and immediate. We're not just moving to a new house, but a new country and new lifestyle. We can't wait to get there though. It's worth all the hassle of packing and purging. The good-byes are still going to be hard, but it's a sacrifice we're willing to make to follow Christ.

Leaving 'Home'

Support level update: We are at 69% of our recommended support level. We can buy plane tickets when we reach 75%. 

It's hard to put into words all the things we are processing right now. On one hand, we're excited because we're soooo close to buying tickets and finally making it to the Philippines. On the other hand, we realize we'll soon leave our family, friends, church family, and the familiarity of our 'home' here. 

We've been sorting, purging, and packing our home. We're still trying to get in touch with churches and individuals about supporting our ministry (if we haven't gotten to you yet, don't wait! come see us...we just might have cookies). Then there's the time with family that we are truly treasuring right now as we won't see them for years at a time. On top of all that, there's vision, dental, and well-check appointments, thank yous to write, and various things that have to be done before we leave the country. 

We got to see Uncle Brandon and visit the zoo!

We're pushing to leave in mid-September after Holly's oldest brother gets married. That's only a few months away! We're so thankful as we look back on how God has brought us thus far and how He will continue to be with us in the future.

Pray with us as we process the big transitions ahead for our family and that our support will continue to increase. If you could also pray specifically for sleep and rest that would be great. There hasn't been a lot of that lately due to a certain small person who is working on a molar. 

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Our ministry is funded by donations. Want to give a one-time gift or sign up to support us monthly? Visit: https://usa.ntm.org/missionaries/daniel-and-holly-thannum

As we get ready to leave there are some items we don't currently have and will be looking to purchase before we head over. If you would like to help us out with that, follow this link to our Amazon wish list.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3O61YBU1515E8/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

If you have an item from our list to donate or want to purchase from a different source feel free to email us from at the email address above. We recognize that many people want to help us out, but can't commit to monthly giving so helping us purchase a few things is a great way to still be able to help out.

Year in Review

Our First Family Photo (with Ellery) - January 5, 2015

Our little squish - February 2015

Adventures - March 2015

Escape artist - April 2015

Baby in a Box - May 2015

Growing in Love - June 2015

Having fun as a family - July 2015

Quiet times with Mama - August 2015

Always on the go - September 2015

Lots of church visits - October 2015

Grampy & Grammy time - November 2015

Reading with Grampy at Christmas - Dec 2015

First cake for her 1st birthday! - January 2016

Big girl! February 2016

Life on the Road

Let's catch up! Our last blog post had us headed to First Baptist Church of Grove City, MN. Since then we have spoken at 3 more churches.

October 18th -  Denver Baptist Church (Iowa)

October 25th - New Journey Church (northern MN)

November 15th - Grace Baptist Church (Iowa)

While it was nice to have a two week break between churches, it by no means meant less travel time. I (Holly) ended up driving to Missouri by myself on October 31st with our 10 month old in tow. It was a pretty sudden trip. I got a call at 9:30 that morning and by 11:15 I was packed and on the road.

Here's a little of what that trip entailed:

- alternator died 2.5 hours from my parents' house

- a Good Samaritan made sure Ellery and I were taken care of until my parents came to pick us up

- unexpected extra time with my parents

- visiting my best friend (Amy) from high school in ICU at a hospital 1.5 hours away

- watching that friend's baby to give her mom a break from taking care of the grandkids for two weeks straight

- visiting another friend (Merry) who had recently had a baby

- visiting my other best friend (Sarah) and her mom (Mary) who had just had a heart attack and bypass surgery

- spending more time with my best friend (Amy) from high school once she was released to go home

- my dad was able to fix the car

Fast forward to Sunday, November 15th. While driving home from Iowa having just spoken at a church, my best friend (Sarah) called with news that her mom (Mary) had passed away. We got what rest we could that night, spent Monday unpacking and repacking, and were on the road back to Missouri on Tuesday morning (Dan with us this time).

The memorial service was Thursday night and one thing that kept being highlighted was God's goodness. God orchestrated so many events that allowed for some really special times with Mary these last three weeks of her life. My friend had just gotten engaged while her mom was in the hospital and the time spent taking care of her mom allowed her fiancé to spend almost every day getting to know his future mother-in-law much better. Mary got to spend time with another of her daughters, a daughter-in-law, and her best friend while she was in the hospital. She got to see Ellery and enjoy her antics. People from the church showed love by bringing meals, praying, and more. During this time, my other best friend (Amy) was back in the hospital and out again.

God is good to us. Honestly, Dan and I have struggled with how long support-raising seems to be taking and being content with God's timing and plan for us. This past month has shown us once again that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His goodness shines through all He allows in our lives. If we had already left for the Philippines, we would never have gotten this time with our friends and family while so much is going on in their lives. We wouldn't be here next month to see my best friend get married. We get to enjoy some holidays with family before we are separated for years at a time. We've had opportunities to bless others. We are spurred on to redeem the time we have been given here.

This weekend we are on the road again to speak at First Baptist Church in Muscatine, Iowa. Then we'll come back to Missouri to spend Thanksgiving with family. Our next blog post will be more of a picture update of the last few months.

Please pray with us in these things:

- that we would be faithful to redeem the time given to us and use it for His glory

- wisdom in upcoming decisions regarding different trips we need to make

- energy to keep up with our 'mover and shaker' of a daughter and that we would continue to look to the Lord in regards to everything involved in raising her

- our marriage; we desire to keep learning and growing together

- God's continued provision to increase our level of support and more people standing with us in prayer

- comfort for Sarah while she grieves her mom and continued healing for Amy

Here There and Everywhere

Phew! If I want to see where our time has been spent the last month, I have just to open my planner and look at the weekends! Out of the past 4 Sundays, we've spent three of those speaking at churches.

September 6th - Country Roads Church in Stacy MN -- A short drive down the road from where we live, we look forward to popping in for visits and spending more time there when we get the chance.

September 20th - Chisholm Baptist Church in Chisholm MN -- Dan went solo that weekend so that I could stay home with our sick baby.

September 27th - Karlstad Baptist Church in Karlstad MN -- Good times spent here although, we're sure our hosts would have liked to get some sleep as much as we did. Ellery was CRAZY Saturday night and decided to party most of the night. Praise the Lord we were alert and awake enough to speak on Sunday morning.

In the month of October we are scheduled to speak at churches 3 out of 4 Sundays as well. We also have a church scheduled for November.

Much of our time during the weeks has been spent getting ready for speaking on the weekends. Plenty of time has also been devoted to snuggling, playing with, and taking care of Ellery. She has been pretty congested for about two weeks now. While it doesn't affect her overall behavior too much, it's starting to wear on this mama who just wants her baby to feel better.

Where will we be this weekend? We're headed to First Baptist Church of Grove City.

What can you pray for? Safe travels, clear speaking/communication on our parts, a healthy baby, and that we would be able to build relationship with the believers there.

Dan at Country Roads Church

FAQs Series #2: The Language Question

Do you already know how to speak the language?

Maybe this seems like a silly question, but we actually get asked this almost every time we are telling someone about our plans for moving to the Philippines. The answer is no. We don't already speak the language. I (Holly) am very familiar with the sounds of the language having grown up in the Philippines and that will be an advantage. I grew up hearing people speak the language. I know some phrases and words. I can mimic the accent and sound like a native speaker (somewhat). It will all be new for Dan: new sounds, grammar, vocab, cadence, etc. A lot will be new for me too. Here's the kicker: after we spend about two years learning our first language...we'll move into a tribal location and start learning another!

We have been equipped in our training with New Tribes Mission with valuable tools/methods for learning language. We learned phonetics, grammar analysis, phonemics, linguistics and language acquisition techniques. The ideal is to learn the language in the country from a native speaker. For this reason it is not recommended to use Rosetta Stone or to start learning some other way before you go overseas. Language and culture are so intrinsically tied together that it would be detrimental to us to separate them. We need to learn both simultaneously.

Some things you need to know about the Philippines/language:

• There are two 'official' languages in the Philippines: Tagalog and English (Yes! English!); and eight major dialects: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan.
• Speaking of English...English is taught in many public schools (often immersion-style). Signs and billboards are often in English. Exposure to English is high in the Philippines, but that does not mean everyone understands it or is fluent.
• We will be learning Cebuano. This is the language spoken in the area we will be living. It is one of the more widely spoken languages along with Tagalog. Cebuano is also referred to as Visayan.
• Depending on the source, there are roughly 181 different languages spoken in the Philippines. We will be learning at least two of those 181 during our time serving in the Philippines.