Rhoda with her Traditional Tribal Clothes

Greetings from Thailand!

(Spoiler Alert:  No baby yet! (4 days and counting...hopefully soon)

Expectation is a hard shoe to fill.  In part, because our expectations are all different.  Marriage is a helpful teaching tool in that regard.  For example, when I ask Audrey:

'Are you ready to go?"

what I mean is, if you say 'Yes,' we can walk out the door in 30 seconds or less.  If you say 'No'
it might be a while before we can leave.  It took me a while to realize that when Audrey said she 'Yes,' she was ready, it meant that we might still not leave for 10 minutes.

We each had different expectations of what was meant by the word 'ready.'

And figuring out each other's meaning is important for the happiness of our marriage.

It doesn't mean we always will meet the expectation, but by being aware of it, we can be sensitive in adjusting to each other.  

We took the girls out for a little photo shoot--new FHF website with these cute pictures, coming soon!

For the past two months, we have had some special friends and helpers here at Faithful Heart.  The Tardy family comes from Texas, home to a family of 12 kids.  They are part of our support family at Faithful Heart and generously gave up their summer months to come house sit for our college dorm. They brought with them their two youngest children, Kasey and Caleb--both of whom were born with down syndrome.


My hero-of-the-month award goes to Betsy (aka, "Mom" to Kasey & Caleb).  For the last month she has been here on her own with the kids.  Homeschooling, finding and preparing food, and getting around Chiang Mai with a driver who speaks limited English and just arrived in the city is no small task. This lady radiates sweetness everywhere she goes.

She is the best kind of Mom---a mom to any and every kid as if they were her own.  

But it is her two kids that have been teaching me lately.

Rescuing orphans brings up a mountain of questions.

What are we rescuing orphans from?

Ruth with some heavy traditional head coverings from her hill tribe.

Is being physically poor bad?   Jesus actually said Woe to you who are rich, but Blessed are you who are poor.

It could be bad to rescue a child from what may be God's blessing.

And what are we rescuing kids to?

To be educated?  Maybe.

To give them an advantage over their peers?

To a middle class lifestyle with lots of work and lots of things?

It is often funny for us as we become part of another culture, to see just how much culture defines what we think of as 'good.'

As an American, it is a good meal if it has bread and meat.  As a Thai, it is a good meal if it has spice and rice.

Good skin to a Thai means pale as a sheet.  Good skin to an American means tan.

Culture even affects the big question: What constitutes a good life?

Becky's sweet smile!

These kinds of messy, hard questions don't usually make good material for marketing, but they are vitally important.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.  We don't want to just seem to be doing something noble, or presume our own culture is better than theirs (a very easy thing to do).

We want to help each child discover God's call on their life, for that will be their very best life---rich or poor, formally educated or informally, famous or unknown.  

Raina in the Jungle :)

At the heart of it is love.  We want every child to be loved, to be part of a family where they are valued and taught that they have tremendous worth---both to God and to us.

So I might say we rescue children from being devalued or unloved.
And we rescue children to love, family, and personal worth.  

And that is where Caleb and Kasey have helped me.  They hug everybody, laugh often, forgive quickly, sing and dance to Uptown Funk and Go Tell it on the Mountain.

And they are treasured and precious and valuable to God.

Worth or value is not based on utility with God.  He is not a traditional economist.  Value is completely unrelated to productivity in God's world (at least as far we humans define productive).

And I need to hear that (often).  For myself, and for the work we do with orphans.

My value is not determined by how much I produce for God, but by how much He loves me.

We sure miss Gawley and Bob as they moved on to new jobs and we're so proud of them!

And the value of each of these kids is not how well they do in school or how far they advance in society, but by how much their Father loves them.

And the best life for me, or for any of our children, is not to do 'great' things, but to do the things God has given to each one of us.    

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Here's the new news around here: Audrey's sister Amy is here!  We rejoiced at an answer to many, many prayers when Amy arrived to dancing elephants at the Chiang Mai airport to begin teaching at Grace International School.


We're always recruiting!  Is God stirring your heart?  It doesn't have to be here, but always know YOU are welcome here!

Amy so hyped up she scared the dancing elephant.

Baby Pound is ready!  He just hasn't made his move yet. Official due date is July 30th!


Please pray for Audrey and the baby (and Dad!).

Audrey stealing a watermelon...or so our Thai neighbors tease us!

Please pray for good health.  I have been sick the last week and it is hard work with a pregnant wife.

Please pray for our kids at Faithful Heart as they become teenagers.  Cell phone issues, arguments with mom and Dad, rebellious behavior---sound familiar to any one?

And Please pray for wisdom in all we do here.

Special Welcome Lunch with the Pound family.

Cute baby pictures coming soon!

Thank you for your love and support,

Love,
Matt, Audrey & Baby Pound