4th of July in America

How we roll with our cousins.

Cousin Annie was so much fun, we love her.

Greetings again, from Thailand!

We have just returned from a month long stay with family and friends in the U.S. and it was so refreshing for all of us.

I have said before that I feel like I am growing happier every year.
I don't mean life doesn't at times frustrate me or that everything goes the way I want it to (far from it).

But usually what I mean is that I seem to be changing to where whatever comes my way feels more and more like a gift--whether it was what I expected and hoped for, or not.

Half the time the greater struggle is adjusting my expectations so I can enjoy the new and unexpected thing which has come to me.

But when I can, I find I am happier, more content.

During our time in the US, I got to spend a lot of time with some pretty wonderful people.
And I found myself liking them more than ever.

What happened, I thought, that all these people seem even more lovable than they were before?

Undoubtedly, I can see how many of them have grown, but the biggest change seemed to be in me.
What was lovable in my family and friends was there all along. 
But now I see it better.

Despite Ezra's face, we all love Uncle Bunky and Aunt Pam

Rohan and Ambrose have some mad soccer skills

Love this family.

In the past, my faults caused me to emphasis the faults of others and diminish their virtues.

But now I find the progress I have made in some of my own faults, has helped me better see their virtues, and mind less their faults.

Which caused me to notice something profound.

The better we become, the more we enjoy the people around us.

Just think about that for a minute.

Usually, when I can't enjoy someone, I blame it on some fault in them.
And to be sure, some people have some serious faults that make it hard to be near them.

But unless someone has no virtue at all (and I have yet to meet such a person) then there is always something about them we could enjoy if we were able.

Imagine being able to enjoy every person in your life right now.
Imagine delighting in each unique person God thought worth making.
Imagine the jokes and the laughter and the dinners and the games and the the songs and the sports and the conversations.

Think about what it would mean for you if you measured maturity by your ability to enjoy people who were different from you?

What if the most mature, most spiritual, most advanced (most whatever) person was really the one who just enjoyed everybody the most?

Taking Aunt Pam for a drive.

Ticket to Ride and Matt's first ever victory.

I used to think simply enjoying someone might cause them to belittle or ignore their faults.

But in my own life, it was rarely the people who emphasized my faults who helped me work through them.

It was the friends who could see my virtues and gifts and urge me to pursue and develop them.

You can't follow both your faults and your virtues at the same time.
Eventually your path will lead one way or the other.

Most people didn't need us to emphasize their faults.  There are plenty of people willing to do that.

What they needed was someone to remind them of who they could be
(who they were at their best moments).

And those moments often come not when we are trying to "fix" each other, but when we begin to truly enjoy each other.

God's best gifts are people.

It would be a shame to not be able to enjoy them.

Grandmas will do anything for their grandkids!

A lot of just hanging out.

Rohan has a sweet heart for little kids, especially Sienna.

My brother-in-law is building a reservoir---how cool is that?

Honey!

Funny faces

Sharing

Sort of buddies

Molly!  (and Mike in the background)

A Quick Update:

We have jumped back into life in Thailand and are excited (and a little sad) to be moving to a new house.  Our kids need a yard to play in.  But we have lived over 3 years in our current home and we love our neighbors.

Our fellow volunteers, the Parker family, also move into their new home at Faithful Heart next month.

We have partnered with Echo Asia to help us prepare the new land for farming.  We continue to wait on paperwork, but it is fun to see some progress.

Please pray for our finances at Faithful Heart.  We could really use some new sponsors for our children.  I will give more details soon, but for now, we need wisdom and patience.

We participated in an English camp at a Thai school this week.  It is always fun to spend time with kids and get to know new friends.

Thank you to YOU!  So many of you are family to us.  We enjoy you!

In hope,

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, and Sienna Pound

Lot of time in airplanes...

And back to Thailand again!

Teaching English

Let's play Where is Waldo...err, Matt... (: