Greetings from Thailand!  

I want to take a break from my blog series on building a better life to give an update on all that is happening at Faithful Heart Foundation.  It has been a busy, exciting season of ministry for us here and we want to do better at sharing with all of you who partner with us.

Numbers

I will start with some fun numbers.  Numbers are not everything, but they are a helpful way to give a snapshot of what Faithful Heart is doing at present. 

98

This is the number of children we are impacting each month thanks to many of you! 

We support around 35 families with 70 children each month with food, clothing, school fees, medical assistance---whatever it takes to help keep children with their families.  

We operate three of our children's homes caring for another 12 children full time. 

We are providing scholarships to 12 college students (soon to be close to 20!).  

We support 3 foster families caring for another 4 children (we need more Thai foster families, please pray for this).  

This is exciting because we are able to have a larger impact on our community.  Thanks to the efforts of our social work team, it is also very efficient and cost effective.  

We are reaching more children than any other time before, and we are doing it using less resources.  

11

This is the number of Thai staff who are employed at Faithful Heart.  We expect this number to grow in the next year.  We are hoping to expand our Family Strengthening project and hire an additional social worker to help manage that program.  We are also very excited to welcome our new volunteer teammates Jacob and Marcie Cantleberry in July.  

300

This is the number of emergency food bags we distributed last month.  Covid has wiped out a lot of jobs in Chiang Mai due to a loss of tourism.  We continue to try to make sure vulnerable families have enough to eat during this difficult time.  We have now distributed over 1,000 bags of food to families in need in the past 2 years,  

30

This is the number of Thai government officers we hosted at Faithful Heart last month, who came to learn about the new ways we are trying to care for children and support struggling families.  We were honored to be a part of this important discussion, and hope that we can continue to support family-based care in Thailand in the future.  

6

This is the number of interns currently staying at Faithful Heart.  5 are from Wheaton University and 1 is coming this week from Moody Bible Institute.  It is a special joy to have these energetic, fun college students spend time with our Thai college students and kids at Faithful Heart.  It is also special to be able to talk with them about missions work, and encourage them to follow God's calling in their own lives.

4

This is the number of college seniors at Faithful Heart who will graduate this year.  It is a new record for us!  For some, they will be the first in their families to complete a college degree.  We are proud of these young men and women and excited to see all that God has for them in the future.  

1

This is the number of foundations in Northern Thailand who have their own pontoon boat
(Ok, just kidding, but really!)

Confession:

I have to confess it is easy to get so wrapped up in the work we are doing each day, that it is easy to forget to share with all of you who make this possible what is happening.  Thank you for your patience with us, and thank you for your consistent, faithful support of this ministry.  

Invitation:

I hope we have given you a picture of the work happening at Faithful Heart, but of course the best way is still to come and see for yourself :-).  We just had family come visit for 6 days and it was so much fun to have visitors again after Covid.  Let this be your open invitation to come visit Faithful Heart in Thailand sometime soon.  

Thanks:

We feel tremendously blessed to be here, and to share in the good work that God is doing through Faithful Heart Foundation.  Thank you to all of you who make that possible.  I hope you are encouraged to hear how your gifts are changing lives here in Thailand.  

Take a minute to celebrate all that good work we mentioned above and to give thanks to God, who is doing far more than we would dare ask or imagine.  

Thank you for partnering in this work with us.  May you also enjoy the fruit of work of your hands.  

In hoping unfailing, 

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, Sienna, and all the Faithful Heart Family