Ploy is a great big sister to Sienna

Having fun together

Even 2-yr olds need a break

Greetings from Thailand!  

This is the 3rd week I have been sick with abdominal pain and fatigue.  I am worn down physically and mentally.  Audrey and our kids have been fighting colds at the same time.  

We missed a trip to Bangkok with our friends when I was admitted to the hospital. 
(And lost all the money for hotel and travel).

Then the power steering went out in our car. 

Then the father of a young boy we know died in a sudden car accident.  

If 2020 were a book of the Bible, it has to be Job.  

One after another, we are knocked down by the events and tragedy around us.  And just when we start to get back on our feet, something new comes to break our hearts (or our bodies).  

I am frustrated too, at all that I can't do.  Maybe the worst part of being sick is the feeling of powerlessness.  

We love these families!  Can't believe how they are growing

Love!!!

But perhaps sometimes we need to do less, in order to accomplish more.  

Sometimes, we need vision more than management.  

I spend most of my time managing my life: paying bills, fixing problems, doing my daily work, etc. But this can become a distracting fog.  The hamster is too busy running on the wheel to stop, step off, and consider why he is running so hard and where he is trying to get to.  

Sometimes, even something unpleasant like illness forces us off the hamster wheel of life, and consider some bigger questions: 

Why are we living like this? 
Why are we so busy? 
Where is our life going? 
What kind of person am I becoming?  

That's where vision comes in.
There is an old verse in the Bible that says "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18)

Part of the meaning is when we we are too busy managing our lives, to intentionally live our lives, we are dying.  

This little one has our hearts

We made some great new friends!

Glow sticks are always a hit

So for the past 3 weeks, I spend at least half my time in bed.  Reading, thinking, praying; I am asking for vision for my this season of my life.  

Partly because there is not much else I can do (except watch Netflix).  But also because I recognize this is a valuable opportunity.  

Normally I am so busy, I don't take much time to stop and really think.  

Often I am busy with many good things.  Work, my family, and my friends give me a full life, and I am wouldn't want it any other way.  

But suddenly it stops.  I can't work (at least not as well or as much).  I don't have much energy for my kids or my friends.  

But that doesn't mean nothing is being accomplished.  Some of the biggest, most significant things have happened when I was hardly doing anything at all. 

I would argue for any of us working  to make the world a better place, what is most needed, we usually can't do anyway. 

What happens in Thailand when you forget to mow the grass for a few weeks

Went to see Tenet with our college guys

Sienna, ice cream, and a motorbike = Happiness

You can fix a broken sink, but not a broken heart.  

You can repair a car, but not a relationship.  

You can choose your wardrobe, but not your family.  

In the Bible, we are told about a story of a man who was suffering from some kind of illness.  He was a busy, hard working man.  He begged God to fix his problem and let him get back to work.  But God told him no.  In effect God said:

"I do some of my best work when you are weakest."

The man took this as a great encouragement.  If I am sick , perhaps this means God is up to something big.  If so, I can wait to be made well.  

My grandpa Arlie hated to be idle.  He loved to to work and to do things.  I am the same way.  Don't get me wrong, I love rest too, but work and rest are both good gifts.  

I love having work to do.  But I also take encouragement from knowing that the work moves forward both in my strength and in my weakness.  My accomplishments contribute, and even my inability to contribute, contributes.  

There was concern about the lack of adult supervision here...I was told I did not fully count

We have launch!

Needed family time

I don't understand it all either, but I have seen it. 
Sometimes I need to get out of my own way. 
Sometimes I need to get out of the way of others.  

Sometimes, I need to step out, to let someone else step up.  

Sometimes I need to do less, so God can accomplish more.  

How about where you are?  

Maybe this is a time to do less; to step back, to rest, to heal, to remember how loved you are---not for what you do, but for who you are and whose you are.  

This not so little guy has my heart too!

Love this gang

We wouldn't get far without these incredible people!

Thank you for your love, support and prayers.  Please continue to pray for my family as we deal with illness and weariness.  We are finally all feeling better.  

Please continue to pray for Faithful Heart.  Our staff does such a great job, but they have a lot on their hands right now.  We are growing, and that is good!  But it means there is more to do too.  

Please pray for a large training we co-hosted for over 40 people this past week.  The topic is how we can help children who have experienced trauma, and keep families and their children together.  This is something we are very excited about and have looked forward to for a long time.  It was a great honor for us to be asked to participate.  

Please pray for wisdom too.  We are always trying to do our best for each of the children here, but it is not easy, or always clear what that is.  

Lots of Love from Thailand,

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, & Sienna

Great time learning together!

Not all heroes wear a cape :-)

I was asked to open us in prayer for the final day of training.  Praying in Thai makes my head and heart work together.

24 hours of training in Trauma Informed Cared and  Family Strengthening in the books!

Beautiful Mountains in Mae Taeng!

Greetings from Thailand friends and family!  

We miss you all more than you know.  Normally, June/July is our time to visit America and have some extended vacation.  With Covid, we weren't able to travel and we are feeling more run down than usual.  

But that doesn't mean good things aren't happening or that we don't find a lot of joy in our day to day life.  

It does mean we have to be more deliberate in the decisions we make each day.  

Strengthening Families!

Asthma medication makes a difference.

Dinner with the college kids!

I turn 35 next month and I cannot believe how life accelerates with age.  

High school was an eternity.  College too. 
Then you get a job (speed increases 10 mph).
Then you get married (speed increases another 10 mph).
Then you have kids (speed increases 50 mph).

Suddenly, your back hurts, you are tired all the time, and you say stuff your grandparents used to say ("when did they get so big?" "He can't be married yet, he is just a kid!" etc.).

Because life goes so fast and because we are often pulled in a thousand different directions, it is vital we take time to think about the decisions we are making every day.  

Your life today is the result of thousands of small decisions you made in the past 10 years.  

And now, especially as parents, I feel that weight.  Now the decisions we are making is effecting other lives too.  

Paula and May got baptized!

Beautiful inside and out!

Audrey handing out art prizes at Sunday School.

Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed in our work here. We have about 25 kids in our full time care.  Caring for them is a huge endeavor that takes tremendous resources of energy, time, and money.  

But sometimes we get so caught up in the care (keeping them alive) we don't think about how the decisions we are making today will affect their future.  

How are they doing in school?
What are they interested in studying and learning? 
What are their gifts, skills, and talents?
Are they learning to be independent and self-reliant?
How are they feeling?  Do they feel loved, valued?
Are they growing more confident in themselves?

From our experience here, one of the best things you can do for your children is help them learn about decision making as soon as possible.  

We see this more clearly, especially now that many of our kids at Faithful Heart are teenagers.  

Part of our job is to empower them by helping them see they have a say in their own life.  For an orphan, this can be hard to believe.  Most of their lives have been the result of other people's decisions.  

We try hard to change that.

Little Buddy!

Yawsii's dad killed one of his chickens and cooked it for us.

New Friends.

Once our kids reach high school, we meet with them often to help them create a map for their own lives, and help them understand what it will take to build the life they desire.  

If you have never done something like that, I highly recommend it.  Sit down with some paper and a pencil, and ask yourself some questions:

1. What makes life a good thing?
2. What interests, gifts, talents, skills, and experience has God given me?
3. How can my life benefit others and bring me joy?
4. How do I get from here (where I am) to there (where I want to be)?  
5. What are the next 5 decisions I need to make?

My late mentor, Joel Tardy, was gifted at helping people through this process.  When we would talk on Tuesday mornings, he would always make me refocus on the big picture and where we were going (me personally, and Faithful Heart as an organization).  

We are working with Home of the Swallow to try to provide more Daycare for Single Moms.

Road work in the mountains.

My great crew!

None of us wants to wake up one morning to a life we dislike, and feel like we never chose.  And we wonder, "How did I get here?".

And it can feel like an inescapable trap.  I think this is one of the chief causes of depression.  When we feel stuck in a life that doesn't give us purpose or joy and can't see a way out.  

Right now, our fastest growing work is among single mom's struggling to care for their children.  

Talk about feeling trapped.  Imagine this: You are a young woman with a 9th grade education (your hometown didn't have a high school and your family was poor).  No one ever talked to you about sex and you got pregnant from a guy who quickly left.  Now you have two kids and you work 6 days a week to make $300 per month.  What about your decisions?

These women need to be empowered too.  They need to have the opportunity to create a map for their own lives.  This helps them and their children.  

Part of the vision of Faithful Heart is to rescue children and build strong families.  In order to accomplish that, we need to help children and parents learn to build their own lives, one decision at a time.  

Because that is how we all build a life.  

No, that's not Thailand.  My parents moved to Florida! We are so proud of them.

Health Checkups!

We choose, then we choose, we think we aren't choosing (but that is a choice too), we choose, and then all of a sudden, we have built a life.  Whether it is a good or bad one depends largely on those choices you made.  

Building a life you love, that benefits others and brings you joy is not easy.  

It is costly.  Jesus came to give people this kind of life and he invited them to come learn how to live it.  But he also warned them: to have the best things, you will have to sacrifice many less good things.  

Even in these days, with so much chaos in the world and all around us, so many of our plans altered or ruined, we have to continue to do the things which we lead us into a fuller life.  There are 10,000 things you cannot control.  Start with the ones you can.  

So glad we can have BBQ again.

These girls love maala!

A day out to give house parents respite!

So today, halfway around the world, in stifling humidity and pouring rain, with my travel plans altered, with Covid virus, with political unrest and division, I will decide to be grateful for my life.  And I will continue to examine it and ask, "Where am I going? Who am I helping? Where can I do better?"  And I will try to help the people around me pursue their dreams too.  

And in everything I will pray and ask for help.  Because everything is beyond me, but that doesn't mean it is impossible.  Only that I will need help.  

Thank you to every one of you who help us, encourage us, and love us.  We love having you as part of our lives. 

Remember that this is still our Father's world.  Rest in that thought.  You are loved.  They are loved.  We are loved.  Then go work for good in all you do.  

Lots of love from Thailand!  

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, and Sienna

Tired and happy.

Little Golfer.

Thank You Prosperous Youth Foundation for taking our kids put put golfing!