We're just so grateful
- Gabe & Daphne
- Jan 3
- 3 min read
Hello from Singapore! We arrived on 21st December to cooler weather than the Gold Coast, though a lot more humid. We're here to spend the Christmas and New Year holiday with Daphne's family, and it's been nice getting to slow down a little and rest after a few weeks of intense packing and clearing out the cottage, all while trying to catch up with as many friends as possible. It also hasn't quite kicked in that we're already in 2026 as we're still processing the very eventful past 1.5 months. There's so much to give thanks for!
Our farewell and send-off service was such a special day, and just thinking about it gets me (Daphne) emotional because the outpouring of love and support from our COH family was beyond what we would ever dare to expect. To have a service dedicated to sending us off, to be affirmed as a son and daughter of the house, to be honoured and endorsed by our leaders and friends, to have so many come up to us to say that they've been praying for us... We're just so grateful. We hope you know that because of all of you, we're stepping into full-time missions with a very real sense that we're not alone, that we have spiritual backing. Ps Brad, Ps Kim, and our COH family, we thank God for all of you.
We're also grateful to our friends for making time to see us. There were still so many we didn't manage to catch before leaving! And so many we met but forgot to take a picture with. 🥲
Having to say goodbye to our friends is definitely one of the saddest parts about leaving. In our very first blog post we wrote a little about this. It's a pretty heavy topic, but we wanted to be open about these things because they're also part of our journey into full-time missions. We're no doubt very excited about this new season, but we're also grieving the life we've had to leave behind. This sadness is not necessarily a bad thing that needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible, nor does it take away from the joy of answering God's call to Thailand. How we're choosing to look at it is this: how blessed are we to have friends who make saying goodbye so difficult, and how great a God we have who is worthy of any sacrifice we might have to make! We also acknowledge that this sadness is not exclusive to us as our friends are also having to navigate this, and we hope that this brings a bit of encouragement. We're really grateful for your friendship and how you've released us with your blessings even though this has been hard for you. ❤️
A few more pictures to end off this post:
We're truly grateful for all that has happened in 2025! 9 more days in Singapore and then we're off to Thailand.
