In my minds eye, everyone has a life tool chest. Before I became a Christian, it was filled with survival tools of which I used to survive. But when I became a believer, God started replacing those survival tools with tools equipping me to thrive. These tools were derived from the Word of God, through trials, perseverance, experience. That is why James says, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬. With each trial is an opportunity to build life’s tool chest; tools we can use to be successful in all we do and go through. I think of Joesph who went through trial after trial, but God used the tools he accumulated during those trials to make Joesph the leader God designed him to be. I believe God is doing that in my life. I believe He has replaced those survival tools I once used just to get by, and

I choose today to never quit. Back on April 2, 2018 I was standing on top of a mountain in Thailand, waiting for a Sunday morning service to start. You see, God brought me to Thailand with a Brazilian missionary, James Neves. I met James and his family when they came to live at Siloam Missionary Homes, a place that missionaries call home. They had come to take classes at a local community college in order to learn English, because the teachers who teach English in Thailand are generally English speakers. So, in order to learn Thai, James and his wife needed to learn English. Because there was no one in Thailand to take James and Andrea’s place while they were in the US, he needed to return to Thailand for a couple of weeks to check on his work. James asked me if I would go with him so I could see his ministry. I looked at this as an opportunity to experience Thailand. My wife, Joyce, and I had started Siloam Missionary Homes, and after meeting many missionary families, we had taken several mission trips in order to better understand what they did. As a result, this helped