Bella Goose Staff Retreat 2026

Brother and Sister

Raina got her first job since graduating college, we are so proud of her!

Greetings from Thailand!  

This blog is available in audio too: https://soundcloud.com/user-25221037/blog-may-2026-a-fruitful

It has been a fun few months at Faithful Heart Foundation and Kingdom of God church.  

One of the things I have been praying for more this year, was to see fruit from our work.  

What I mean is I wanted to see people growing and healing, physically and spiritually.  
Again and again with out work with single parent families, we see the need not only for physical help, or money, or jobs, but a while new mindset.  

Literally a new heart and a new mind---a new way of thinking and choosing and living.  

I preached last week on 1 Peter 1.  Peter says God has given us a new birth, to a living hope, and an inheritance through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

The more  I thought about it, the more I began to see how God was doing that among us here in Thailand.

This year we have seen one of our boys follow the Lord in baptism. 
A month later, his younger brother would pray to receive Christ.

This past month, a young woman from England prayed to receive Christ after our friend saw her at church and took time to ask her if she had experienced God and His saving power in her own life.  

She came up to thank me for preaching this Sunday, and is so excited about her new found faith.  

I have prayed for our boys at Faithful Heart for years, so it is a special joy to see God answer those prayers, and those young men find new life in Christ.  

And it is a joy to see people from all over the world encountering God here. 

Joshua doing social work

Foster families are amazing!

A new birth, to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade

What we have seen recently is the power of cooperation in the gospel.  

Faithful Heart has cared for these boys for years, providing a loving home, food, an education, and loving Christian parents. 

This summer the boys were accepted into an internship with Bella Goose Coffee shop, a business operating as a ministry here in Chiang Mai.  They taught the boys proper work etiquette, baking and barista skills, and mentored them.

Our church brought them into a young adult small group, where they continued to hear the gospel and study the Bible with other young Thai Christians.  

All those pieces were important. 

I try not to worry too much about measuring the success of our work in terms of how people respond.  I know some of us prepare the ground, some of us sow seeds, some of us water those seeds, and some of us harvest what grows from those efforts.  

But I also am delighted when we get to see God at work in the lives of the people around us.  

One of my favorite parts of this recent fruitfulness is that it cannot be traced to a single person, but to the combined efforts of many faithful followers of Jesus, loving their neighbors, sharing the good news, preaching, teaching, studying the Word together; eating, training, and encouraging younger people coming in.  

It is fun to be along for the ride. 

Thai New Year Celebration at Grace International School

Proud of this young man working his first full time job with Bella Goose

Learning together

Building a culture of service

I was having lunch with a mentor friend of mine this week.  
He has been doing overseas ministry for over 40 years.  

He talked about how when he was younger, it was important for him to feel like he himself was effective.  He laughed, and said now he still wanted to see God work, but he cared far less through whom He worked.  

I agreed.  I still would like to be there, to be along for the ride, but it matters less who God uses, so long as God does His work.  

I was talking with my Dad recently, and he mentioned how refreshing it was to meet someone genuinely seeking to know and understand what is true and real.  

Thailand is wonderful that way in my experience.  

People here are genuinely curious, interested, and open to hearing the good news about new life in Jesus.  

I remember going to the hospital for a minor, outpatient surgery last year. 
Two nurses, ladies in their 50's were prepping me for the procedure, and they were excited when they found out I could speak Thai. They asked me all about my family, and my work here in Chiang Mai.  

I told them that I worked for a foundation that helped single parent families, and vulnerable children.  

One of the ladies, interjected: "Are you a Christian?"

Yes, I am a follower of Jesus
(Pra Ye-suu in Thai, the prefix for an honored or revered teacher in Buddhism and Jesus' name).  

She said, "Christians are always helping people. 
That is the right way to live, but why do you do that?"

I started to explain to her how Jesus gives us new life, and a new heart to love others. 
Both ladies were rapt with attention. 
I almost forgot I was about to have surgery.  

Then the surgeon came in and asked if I was ready to start.  

The family of God being the family of God

It is good for us to use some discernment when we speak with others.  
But I want to encourage you to not be too shy.  

There are hungry people out there, looking for purpose, meaning, love, forgiveness, and a new start---
a new life.  

Our theme at church this year is Sharing the Good News with those around us. 
I gave an example a few weeks ago of the man who Jesus healed of his blindness.  

People questioned him about who Jesus was.  The man was hardly sure himself, and he admitted openly: "...I don't know, but one thing I do know.  I once was blind and now I see."

We do not have to be experts to be witnesses.  
We don't have to have all the answers to all the arguments.  

Our best witness is the simple testimony of what God has done for us.  

But we must remember, they will not just listen, but look. 
They will look to see if our life reflects our words.  

Maybe the best way to bear fruit, is to build character:  

To confess our mistakes, and turn from them;
to be humble, grateful, and flexible;
to forgive quickly and completely;
to be patient and gentle with those who are still learning;
to be truthful and honest, 
and to allow God's joy to be our strength.  

May we abide in Jesus and He in us, that we may bear much fruit and so prove to be His disciples. 

In hope, 

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, & Sienna

Two middle school graduates headed to high school

A fun loft bed project for friends

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