Hello Baby Judah!  We love you already!

Fun in the sun!  Phillip turns 19!

The pond is full again

Greetings from Thailand!

We have two young children, so we are always having moments that go something like this:

Child:  "Daddy, what is that?"

Adult (sort of):  "That is a gecko."

Child:  "Oh.  What is a jecko?"

Adult: "Its like a little lizard" (adult does not really know what a gecko is either)

Child:  "Oh.  That's really neat"

Adult:  "Yes, it is.  (suddenly thinking about how cool a gecko really is and how remarkable our world in general really is to have things like geckos).

Two lovely ladies!

Ezra got a new bike and learned to ride overnight

About half way through quarantine...

Children live in the present, and we need to learn how to do the same. 
Their focus is squarely on the thing in front of them.

This gives them a great advantage over most of us.
I am a planner.  I want to know what is coming and when,
That can be a positive thing, or a negative thing.

I often miss the good things in front of me because I am either looking ahead to tomorrow or dwelling in the past of yesterday.

I also fail to give my best to the task at hand, because I am over-analyzing the tasks of yesterday or over-anticipating the tasks of tomorrow. (Anyone else?)

I had a good crew!

Pii Nice can do just about anything

Ez and I call it the first pop-up camper in Thailand...more pictures to come!

George MacDonald said:

"To the foundation of yesterday's work well done, the work of  tomorrow will be sure to fit."

The best way to prepare for tomorrow is to make sure the work of today is done well---whatever it may be.

And to do that, we need to stop all the worrying about the future, or the analyzing of the past, and find the work God has given us today, and do it well.

One of our new families we are helping at Faithful Heart!

And another....

And another....

And some more...

Like many of you, we are more than ready to have our normal lives back.
We miss our friends, our favorite restaurants, and the habits and rhythms of everyday life.
We also have compassion and catastrophe fatigue kicking in.

It is hard to keep getting worked up about every new crisis or statistic, and it is hard to keep responding compassionately to the ever flowing needs around us.

Here our children come to rescue us. 

The world may be burning, but if there is no fire within your reach, then fill your buckets, pray, and play corn hole with your kids.

We lost a dear friend, and mentor Joel Tardy.  Well done my friend.  We will miss you.

Some good friends moved back to Sweden after completing the adoption of their daughter, and we were sad to see them go.

These two lovely ladies are sisters, who hardly knew each other.  Now, Mii (right) will begin taking care of her sister May (left). We love these moments!

Take responsibility for what you can do.
Release responsibility for what you can't.
Pray about everything.

Prayer is not a passive way to avoid acting, but a way to discern how and where to act---and where not to act. 

The same goes with our compassion.

We are not capable of fixing all the worlds problems.
We are not even capable of caring about all the worlds problems.
One God can carry that load.

If we try, we will only burn out, and end up numb---hardly caring or feeling at all.
But every one of us has been given responsibility for some of the world's problems.

Our newest college student, Yawsii!

Cute baby Judah!

So, what is the thing in front of you?

Is it a neighbor in need?
Is it a lonely sibling?
Is it a game of corn hole with your children?

Don't go too far ahead.

That will overwhelm us and we will end up eating Cheetos on the couch watching Netflix, feeling mildly guilty.

Don't go too far back.

You are more than your mistakes.  You couldn't have known the future.  You have the gift of today.  Receive it with arms wide open.

Our foster family came over to use the yard for games one night

Be careful of the noodles with "special herbs"

Kindergarten in the Lahu village

Other bikers!

So when you stretch to help your neighbors during this crisis, and are making sacrifices to help others, and your landlord announces she is increasing your rent by 40%, you could panic.

Or get angry, and bitter.

Or, you could talk about geckos with your kids and get some perspective. (Best answer)

Or, if you are like me, you spend the next few days going through all of those options, and then settling down again saying:

"Ok, God.  What do you want me to do today?  I can't control most things.  What can I control?  Where can I bring a little more good into the world?  What is my work today?"

Sadly, there are 4 churches in this tiny village, and they don't support each other

We love Pii Moey!  Our new social worker is doing a great job.

Thankful for these two good friends!

So take a jog, bake cookies, talk about geckos, play corn hole.

Share some of those cookies with your neighbors.

Give some money away to a good cause no matter how little you have (one great way to disarm fear, is to be generous).

Spend more time with the people you love (not reading the news or on your phones, do something fun together).

The thing in front of you may be a lot of fun.  Don't miss it.

Learning with you, with lots of love,

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, & Sienna

Andy giving the college kids driving lessons, we will miss him when he moves back to America in June!

Men at work!

This one ensures no dull moments

Tree houses are better for quarantine

Happy Earth Day!  We planted fruit trees in our yard.

Greetings from Thailand!

I cannot remember any event in my lifetime that has had such a complete, global impact. 
Usually, we feel like we live in two separate worlds, our American world and then our Thai world.

They are often so different, and so distant, it often seems like they exist independently of each other.
But suddenly those two worlds have come crashing together.

Like so many of you, we are reading all sorts of news, shocked the rising number of sick people and the strangely quiet streets.

We also have terrible air pollution this time of year, so our two kids are going slightly crazy being confined to the house for so long.  (Their parents aren't doing much better).

But so far our children and staff at Faithful Heart, and my family are all healthy and doing well.

We decided to close our office two weeks ago, when the government asked that all nonessential businesses close.  Our staff has been working from home as much as possible.

We have also started partnering with local churches and community members to provide food to families struggling from losing their employment.
 (If you would like to help, just ask and I can direct you where to give).

Ezra watches Mo Willems on youtube and did his best drawing to date

Evening walks help us keep our sanity

Our sweet Swedish friends finalized their adoption of this beautiful little girl!

As this virus spread all over the world, all I keep thinking is how much we are all the same. 

A pandemic has that unique ability to reveal the smallness of our differences, and the largeness of what we have in common. 

I was talking to a woman today at our local market, and I asked her how she was doing.  She told me everything was so strange, everyone was so afraid.  She didn't know what to do, but she had to work to feed her family. 

I decided to double my order and dropped food off at our foster family's home down the road. 

What this woman was feeling, was exactly what I was feeling.  It was exactly what our relatives and friends in America were feeling. 

It is important for us to see how we are similar, so we can empathize with each other, even when we don't understand each other. 

There is a together-ness that comes from times like this, and it is a gift. 

Don't mind these moments at all

We have a new family member, meet Rubble the guinea pig

I saw this online and tried it with the kids, simulated Disney roller coaster---the kids hated it,

Two things have strengthened my hope during these strange days. 
The first, is seeing that humanity is a glorious, wonderful thing. 

Yes, we do terrible things to each other.
Yes, we are erratic and irresponsible at times. 

Still, we all are the crowning achievement of the greatest Creator of all time. 

I stand in awe before the Rocky Mountains, but I also stand in awe of the woman in a headscarf cooking me food in the Borsang market. 

Both were made by God and both have something about God to reveal to me.  

The earth is my home, and humans are my family. 
Our together-ness is a wonderful gift.

Audrey had a birthday!

I was very proud that I was able to get a DQ ice cream cake!

She loves the water!

The second thing that has strengthened my hope is our separate-ness. 

America was sometimes referred to as a melting pot. 
But I think there is a better analogy. 
America is more like a painting than a melting pot. 

When you mix all the colors together, you get an ugly brown blob.
When you allow the colors to mix and mingle, and yet remain distinct, you have beauty and art. 

I have been thinking about a quote from Blaise Pascal:

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

Zat Rana explains:

" According to Pascal, we fear the silence of existence, we dread boredom and instead choose aimless distraction, and we can’t help but run from the problems of our emotions into the false comforts of the mind.  The issue at the root, essentially, is that we never learn the art of solitude."

There is a glory in our tgoether-ness, but there is also a glory in our separate-ness. 
We need each other, and we need to learn to be alone. 

Precisely because we will be unable to love each other well, so long as we are incapable of being alone. 
(We all know someone who uses others to meet their own emotional needs). 

Right now, we all have a first class opportunity to learn the art of solitude--the ability to sit quietly in a room alone and be content. 

Some friends got a guinea pig too

Easter eggs!

Audrey's birthday request was an outdoor shower,  I have to admit, we use it a lot and love it!

Imagine getting into your car, and driving rapidly but not knowing where you are going or why.

Imagine getting building materials and tools and learning the skills to use them, and then working hard all day to build, but not knowing what it is you are building. 

Imagine campaigning and advertising and speaking to large groups for a cause, but you don't know what it is. 

This is how most of us live our lives most of the time. 
All our fervent activity becomes a distraction. 
And then the distraction becomes the central focus. 

When this happens, we are 'getting by' or 'getting through,' but what we are not doing is embracing life. 

Life becomes something we endure, not embrace and enjoy.  

There is together-ness, but no separateness.  And we need both. 

Covid-19 gives us the opportunity to look hard at our lives.  To ask why, and where, and what for. 

It is an opportunity to grow closer to each other, and learn to be alone---and perhaps as we do that, we will come to heal some of our many, human problems. 

The healing of the world will only come through the healing of individuals.  

I finally finished making a bed for my friend who got married.  Now for stain and lacquer!

Social distancing is nice

Just an adorable little girl collecting Easter eggs.

I will leave you with some words from Jesus, knew the art of solitude and the art of loving others:

“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor' [people like you] and hate your enemy [people who are not like you].  But I say, love your enemies! [the people who hate you] Pray for those who hurt you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of God your Father.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  If you love only those who love you, what good is that?.. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?" 


(Matthew 5:43-47)

May we be different, may we be the healing of the world, together. 
May God give you peace and hope for these days, and the days ahead. 

Lots of love from Thailand,

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, and little Squishy (Sienna)

Its that time of year

Treehouse!

Our Thai Friend's incredible painting

Greetings from Thailand!

It has been almost two weeks since we have seen blue sky, or the sun or mountains.  The smog has blanketed our city and it is emotionally and physically taxing---crazy toddlers desperate to get outside and play, and weary adults putting on masks every time we leave the house.

There is something so frustrating about man-made misery.

In theory, the solution is simple and obvious, but in reality it seems impossible to bring about positive change.

Many of us share those feelings of frustration, whether you are passionate about your faith, or the environment, or caring for vulnerable children.

Good work is messy.
And slow.

I find myself wanting perfect solutions to broken, messy situations.
But they often don't exist.

Uncle Jabez teaching Ez the guitar

The kids table took over the adults table

Two of my favorite mentors!

Andy and I were fixing something at the office, and (in a rare occurrence here) it went very smoothly.

We both smiled, grateful for at least something that could be solved easily.

For all the problems we face, which have no easy answers or ready-made fixes, it can feel like a relief to buy a part, screw it in, and call the job complete.

When you enter into relationships with people, you are choosing to get messy.
Because people are complicated, life is unpredictable, and rarely are there easy answers.

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of that truth.

Nothing is harder than to do some real good in the world.
And nothing is more messy.

We in the nonprofit world are always trying to get people to support our work so we can continue to try to make things better.

But one unfortunate side effect is that we often gloss over the messiness of the actual work.
If you believe all the marketing, the world should be in tip top shape in just a few more years.

We sure love the Parker family (and eating)

A clean workshop!

"Go fast Dad!" - Ezra

Starting a fund for our next car...

But once you get in close, you start to see the mess.

If only most decisions were between good or bad!  How easy that would be.

But most of our struggles are between better and worse.
The best we can do in a bad situation.

We never give up looking for a better solution, but often we have to make decisions with imperfect means. 

And there is a subtle pressure to dress things up.

"Maybe people won't want to support this work if they knew all the problems we have?"

Several times I have caught myself or others worrying more about our reputation than our actions.
It is easy to do.

And Aunty Maria!

Dave's welcoming party!

Dinner with the college kids was a lot of fun

And especially when we feel the watching eyes of others.
But why should we be ashamed of the messiness of good work?

God never told us not to be messy, but he did tell us to always be honest and truthful.

Even in the stories about Jesus' life and ministry, we see setbacks, rejection, even failure (not failure to do what God wanted Him to do, but failure to convince others).

It's messy.  It's disruptive.  Some people don't like it, or approve.
Despite our best intentions and efforts, sometimes it fails. 

Anyone who wants to do some good in the world will need a relentless persistence and optimism.

Because you will find messes you cannot easily fix.

You will find people who are irritated with your efforts, and people who oppose them.
You will find people uncomfortable with the changes you are trying to bring.
You will find perfect theories obliterated in the mess of real life.

But if we don't give up, we shall see a harvest.

We discovered horses near our house

Kids are the best thing in the world.

Date night: Ice Skating in Thailand? Yes

Imperfect work is the only kind we are capable of. 
There is something beautiful about good emerging from imperfection.

After 5 years working here in Thailand, wanting to do good and to learn to do better, I cannot think of a single perfect thing I have done, but I can still see a lot of good that has been and is being accomplished.

Perfection is not required to do good in the world. 
But a willingness to get messy is.

You will have to release your perfect solutions and learn to work with what is.

We work with kids, and kids, as every parent knows, are messy.
No good parent would be content with anything less than the best we can do for our kids.

We will fail.  But we must not give up.

Prayers together

Thankful for this incredible couple who has helped us so much.  Thank you Pii Boot and Jay!

So many meetings this month

I wish I could ensure a good life for every child in our care at Faithful Heart. 
I lose a lot of sleep over those kids.

But I am not here to fix all their problems.  Only God can handle a task of that magnitude.

I am here to commit to them in the mess.
I am here to climb into the mud with them and say:

"Well, however this goes, I am with you.  We will figure something out together."

I suppose you could feel cleaner if you closed your eyes to the mess, or pretended it wasn't there.
All of us will be affected by the messes of others.  And they will be affected by ours.

Amazing...

We miss you Drew!

15 minutes for 60 cents.  Ezra is not so sure

No matter where you are, no matter what the good is you are trying to do, keep at it.

Don't worry about the mess.
Don't worry about the imperfection.
Keep reaching for the best, and accept the present.

Maybe we don't need all our messes cleaned up, but someone willing to stand with us in the midst of them.

Lots of Love, in all our messes,

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, & Sienna