"It takes a village to raise a child."  

Greetings from Thailand!  

Audrey, Ezra, and I returned from 6 weeks of traveling, sharing at churches, and spending lots of quality time with family and friends in the USA.  There are a myriad of thoughts and feelings that go through our minds when we visit (irritation at the incessant advertising, joy at the sight of old friends, sadness at the vicious political divisions, laughter at the cultural differences, etc).  

But one thought that kept coming back was just how unique, diverse, and sometimes downright weird the village was that raised me---and how that has shaped who I am today.  

Every day I sit down at my desk and try to focus my mental and physical energies on discovering how to best care for our children here in Thailand.  

How do we meet their need for love and affection?

How do we meet their need for family and a home?

How do we meet their need for purpose and value?

The longer I dwell on those questions, the more complex the answers become.  We all draw on our own experiences, and the childhood I know best is my own.  

But when I look back, my childhood consisted of more than a mother and father 

(vital and important as they were).  

I am the product of a lot of different influences.  And my life is indebted to uncounted people who have invested in me, loved me, taught me, guided me, encouraged me, corrected me, coached me, and cheered me on.  

And many of those people are still at it.  

Just think about it.  

How many people helped shape and form you into the person you are today?  

No one person can be all things.  

That is why it is such a gift that no two of us are the same.  

Not only does it make us more rounded individuals, but richer, more interesting people.  

As I look at my son, I can't help beginning to think about all the things I want for him, that I can't give him.  

I love music, but never applied myself to learn it.  I would love for him to discover a passion for music, but he will need to be guided in it by another.  

Nutrition is an analogy of this very thing.  

The quality of our health is directly related the the quality and variety of inputs our body receives.  If we have a diverse, quality diet we will be healthier people. 

 No single food item can provide all the different nutrients our bodies need.  Some foods we should only have in moderation (and there are some people we can only handle in moderation) but still they have value.  

And the same is true with people and relationships.  

Think about the incredibly network of family and friends that make up your relationships.  You would probably never have chosen all of them.  Some are too odd, too different, too unlike you.  

But still, your life is richer for having had them in it.  

This is one of the great losses of the increasing segregation occurring across society---in politics, faith, race, age, etc.  

How boring life would be if we only surrounded ourselves with people like us!

Being raised by a village does a number of valuable things:

It enriches our lives.  

I love to work with wood and build things.  My Dad doesn't.  My uncle Chuck gave me an inestimable gift when he taught me how to use tools and build things.  It is a hobby I love to this day and now pass on to our boys here at Faithful Heart.  

I love to go rock climbing.  One of my mentors, Mike Platner, gave me an incredible gift when he taught me to climb.  And another when he gave me his climbing gear so I could take it to Thailand and teach kids here.  

It protects us from extremism.  

Someone commented that they did not see how a person of Christian faith could support a certain politician.  I agreed with the statement, but I think I applied it differently.  

In my mind the conclusion is not then that the person who does support the candidate and is a Christian, must be a terrible person, but that there must be more to understanding their feelings and convictions than I now see.  

Because I know good people who support that candidate.

And I know good people who passionately oppose that candidate.  

But by knowing both, I am protected from buying in too much to one side's agenda or the other's.  

The relationships give me balance, and caution, and perspective.  

It helps us appreciate true diversity, without trying to remake others in our own image. 

I could never be like some of the people who raised me.  And I could never do what some of them do.

And that is ok.  

Our differences make us special, and give a unique value to each of us.  

We can learn from everyone, without having to model ourselves entirely after everyone.  

We allow others to be who they are, who they were made to be.

We don't need to make them like us and they don't need to make us like them.  

We can gain and learn from each other, even though we may be completely different.  

And it allows us to be something, without having to be everything.  

I am greatly comforted that what I cannot be to my son, someone else can be.

And I am greatly comforted that I don't need to be all things to my son. 

God has brought a village around him, just like he has around me, and around each of us, so that we can enrich lives together.  

Then we are each free to be who we were made to be.

It frees us up to do some things well, and not do other things.  

I love my village.  It raised me, and it continues to raise me---

lifting me up, encouraging me, helping me become my best self.  

Thank you to all of you who have been my village, and now are a village to my son.  

It is a joy to know you and be loved by you.  

Thank you for hosting us, feeding us, transporting us, laughing with us, listening to us, encouraging us, praying for us, giving to us, and blessing us.  

And let this be an encouragement to you:

Your investment in me has not been in vain.  

So keep investing in those lives and teach them to invest in others.  

And the God who made and loves each of us uniquely, will continue the good work He does of making all things whole, right, good and true.  

Until each of us becomes the incredible man or woman we were created to be.  

Love, 

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, & Baby #2