Merry Christmas (in case the mail didn't make it)

Cold weather in Thailand is unusual

Ezra know how to work the fire

Greetings from Thailand!

As I sat in prison on Christmas morning, I had time to reflect on my decisions that brought me to this point.

(No, I had not been placed there, but had chosen to go).

At Faithful Heart Foundation, we decided it would be good to visit some of the 8,000 men who currently live in prison in town of Mae Taeng. If you have never entered a prison before (or an Asian prison) it is a strange experience to pass through security checks to enter a place that can feel very insecure.

But the prison was bright and clean. It was remarkably organized and non-threatening.  As I sat there looking at these men, young and old, who seemed not so different from myself, I couldn't help wondering what set of circumstances had occurred which led them there.

And likewise for myself.

No photos were allowed inside, but this was our crew.

Josiah graduated from YWAM's discipleship training program and is getting ready to enter college!

One of my favorite authors, CS Lewis, once explained that life is like a race in which no one starts at the same start line and in which the contestants have all manner of different disabilities, health problems, and handicaps.

His point is that it is absurd for us to look at another and judge or measure.

A healthy sprinter with two legs, strong lungs, and a family that could afford to feed him cannot possibly be compared to a double amputee born with tuberculosis and living on the brink of starvation.

Few of us would cheer that sprinter's victory or condemn the amputee's loss.

For all we know, the sprinter may have been lazy and never reached his potential, where the amputee may have run the most heroic race anyone in his position possibly could have.

Yay Mountains!

Our sweet friend May is expecting her first baby and needed some practice!

Hot springs at night

So here I am in prison.

I grew up in a loving, supportive, educated family.  I never lacked for anything in my life.  I was born in good health and always had everything I needed to grow and flourish (and a lot more).

And here are 8,000 men in prison with me.

Where did they grow up?  What were their families like?  Did they have a chance to get a good education?  Did anyone tell them they were loved?  Did anyone believe in them and support their dreams?  Did they have enough to eat?

That is a room full of questions we don't know the answers to.

It would be foolish to assume all these men are innocent of any wrongdoing.

But it would be equally foolish to assume all these men are guilty of wrongdoing, or at least, more wrongdoing than the rest of us are.

Singin' in the cold

Two boys and a balloon

Christmas carolers and snacks!

 So what should we do? 

We need to redirect our lives towards justice and joy.

How we each will be able to do that will look vastly different, depending on our circumstances.
But it is something we can all do.

Life has a way of dragging us along with or without our consent. 
And we often ended up directed by our circumstances, rather than directing them.

It seems tragic when so many of us have so much freedom to choose the direction of our lives, and we surrender without a fight to the highest paying advertiser.

Christmas exchange at church

We love these two!

Sienna is ready!

Its all about the intensity

Sooo many people we love!

As we begin a new year here, it is more inescapable to me that my good fortune is more than good luck.  I have been given tools to make my world better and it is a terrible wrong to deny them to those who most need them.

But the responsibility is two-fold.

God made all of us, those with plenty and those with little.
His concern is the joy and well being of  all his creatures.

His secret is that those with plenty will find their highest joy in helping their brothers and sisters.

In a world where we are constantly told our neighbor's gain is our loss, is it possible to believe our neighbor's gain can be our joy?

Yes.

Unequivocally and absolutely YES.

College students gift exchange

Jumanji with the college students and the Parkers! Auntie Claire

I sometimes wince when people talk about charity.
Charity?

For someone with a background like me, before we can talk about charity there is first the question of justice and fairness (what Love demands I owe my neighbor).

And in all my "giving", I have not yet come close to fairness.

But, contrary to much of our bad religious thinking, Justice and Joy are intertwined
(as are Justice and Mercy and Love---that for another time).

If you have joy without justice, you are selfish and cruel.

If you have justice without joy, you are unhappy and confused.

Painting

Tree house should also double as a guest room, so come visit!

New Year Selfie!

Aslan?

But if we direct our lives, not towards the greatest financial reward, not towards the greatest recognition of our peers, not towards personal achievement, but towards the good and flourishing of our neighbors and our world, we will help the moral arc of history move forward...be it ever so slightly, and we will find our own highest joy.

In this new year, take up the tools you have been given to make our world a better place and put them to work.

Greatness is service and service is joy.  May they be yours.

This crew is incredible!  So grateful to work with them.

First Staff Meeting of the New Year!

Faithful Heart Update:

We have plowed right into the new year at Faithful Heart.  We had an all day planning meeting to work on our calendar for the coming year and talk about our goals individually and as an organization.

We are excited to work on 3 new projects this coming year to extend our reach in helping children in Chiang Mai.

1.  We are starting a project to help single mom's keep and care for their own children so families are not broken apart.

2.  We also are working with several other foundations and the Thai government to introduce Foster Care in Thailand.  The government has said it wants to move away from large children's homes to a foster care system where children are placed into families.

3.  Lastly, when children can be safely reunited with their biological families and wish to do so, we want to help them make that transition and provide ongoing support and encourage them to continue to pursue higher education.

These all are exciting and very new for us.  Please keep us in your prayers as we try to do more to help children and families in need in our community.

Thank you for your support and love.  Here's to a New Year of growth, joy, and justice together!

Ezra and his buddy driving the Tuk Tuk

Gawley and Pontip's Wedding! (that is one handsome couple!)

Big sisters!

Greetings from Thailand!

We have been jealous of all the pictures of beautiful fall colors, yes, even snow.  In Thailand, we are entering cold season too.

But cold season in Thailand means temps less than 85 degrees.  It is funny to realize that coats, gloves, and hats which are essential equipment in Colorado or Ohio, are not even part of our wardrobe here.

Holidays can be hard too.

We had a nice Thanksgiving here with friends, but we certainly missed family and friends in America.

Christmas too just isn't the same in a culture that doesn't celebrate it.

But it is a lot of fun to introduce some of our Thai friends to our traditions and learn to enjoy theirs.

Loi Gratong was in November, and you may have seen pictures of all the beautiful lanterns being released into the sky at night.  It is an amazing sight.

A great World Without Orphans Conference

Lots of great new friends! That finger sign is supposed to represent a heart. :)

Some quiet, cool mornings

One of the greatest and most difficult things about living in another culture is the constant process of adaptation that occurs and the uncertainty that comes with it.

It sort of sounds romantic at first---whatever change is, it is not boring.

And it really does make us better people (We know that).

But the process is not always pleasant.

We tend to admire certainty, rather than humility; people who seem to really know what they are doing and why, and have impressive resumes of accomplishments. 

But I am coming to think the opposite.

The people I really admire are often uncertain, and brave enough to admit it.
I am starting to realize in my own life that certainty is often a mask I wear to hide my fear. 

Even when I think I know best, I am not always eager to try my own solution.
Because if it doesn't work, then I not only have failure, but shame too.

This fear can often hinder us from working with others.  Not necessarily because we think we know it all, but because we are more afraid to fail with others watching.

We are so proud of our grads!

Bon fire together!

We love to laugh

In our work here, my head often feels full of thoughts.  And there is no lack of ideas for how to do what we do (caring for orphan children).  So advice is often plentiful too. 

I have lots of thoughts, but often feel so helpless and unsure to do all my heart longs to do.

But this may be the best way.

In the past, I have always sought to move towards certainty (this was especially harmful in my faith).

It seems a very human desire.  But most of the things I have done that I regret in life, came from too much certainty ("I know I am right").
 
We hurt others more when we are sure we are right.

But maybe we should be moving away from certainty towards uncertainty.

Maybe growth is not needing to be certain anymore, because now we have trust.
A marriage works like this and so does faith.

It would be a sad marriage where a man continually read his marriage certificate to assure himself his wife loved him.

"She promised, it says so right here. So I know for sure she loves me."

Yet, when it comes to our faith many of us do this very thing.

We cling to the certificate, because we lack the relationship.

We cling to certainty, because we lack the trust for uncertainty.  

We attended the funeral of our friend Yay's father in a Lahu village.

It was beautiful.

We rode in a Song Tao too.

Perhaps the agony of uncertainty is a good place from which to act.  We are unlikely to be harsh or inconsiderate to others, because lingering in our own minds is the reminder that we might do this wrong.  And if we do, we will want people to be gentle and gracious with us.

Maybe the agony of uncertainty is a good place to live.  

The need for certainty comes from fear, and the antidote to fear is courage to trust.

It takes courage to live in uncertainty.

Faith is not being sure of something, but of someone.  Not what will happen, but who will be there with you when it happens.

And even in our work and relationships, we need this healthy uncertainty.

Pretending confidence and closing our eyes to the negative consequences of our actions may allow us to continue to look impressive or feel good about ourselves, but it will not work much good in our world.

We offer our best offering humbly, not perfect offerings confidently.

Because a humble person can learn.  And a learner can grow.

If we do not think we need to learn, than we won't learn and if we won't learn, we won't grow.

Uncertainty says, "There is something I lack, something I don't have or have enough of yet.

And it goes looking for what it lacks.

Certainty says, "I have enough.  I am enough."

Kingdom of God retreat!

Really nice cabins!

And nice swings!

May we embrace the uncertainty of life humbly and gladly, for through it we can grow more into the people we were made to be.

May we no longer admire or trust in certainty, but in humble love.


Faithful Heart Update:

We are so thankful to those of you who have sponsored one of our children here!  We still need to find some new sponsors, but we are no longer in an emergency situation and that is a relief.

We have several kids graduating high school in March and we are beginning to meet with them to plan about their future (college, vocational school, etc.)

We really enjoy our monthly BBQ's and it is fun to see everyone getting to know each other better.

This year for Christmas, we are doing 3 events: Outreach (telling people about Jesus), Service (helping poor members of our community), and Celebration (having a party together). Our Thai staff have divided these up and are excited to plan some new things. So far it looks like we will be going to the local prison and camping in the mountains.  It should be a lot of fun.

We are trying to build some partnerships with other organizations here who do work similar to ours to see how we can better help each other.


 Family Update:

Can you believe Ezra is 3 and Sienna is 1?

We are often tired parents, but the joy they bring us everyday is inexpressible.  I usually come home singing silly songs about them while riding my motorbike, just out of excitement to see them again.

Audrey has joined a new ladies group each week and really enjoys getting to know them better and do life together.

Thank you for your love and support.  Have a wonderful holiday season!

Love,

Matt, Audrey, Ezra (aka Fuzzy), and Sienna (aka Squishy) Pound

Always on the move and almost ONE!

Airplanes from Aunt Pam and Uncle Chuck were a big hit!

Cute guy for delivery!

I try to work out 4 times each week.  It was a New Years Resolution I have stuck with for almost 2 years.

I like to follow a plan.  My plan right now is called: "Breaking New Muscle."

It has made me think about how I grow in other areas of my life too.

A new job often has a steep learning curve and taking over as the director at Faithful Heart has been no different for me.

There have been so many things I have had to learn or relearn.  And there are still many I am learning.

Learning new things is a lot like building new muscle.

Some sweet folks brought us treasures from the US!

Game time!

My Dad always says the view is different from the top.  What he meant was that when the decision wasn't your responsibility, it always seems clearer.  But when you are in the hot seat, it is not always so clear or easy.

It makes me grateful for another wise man in my life, Dave Callahan, who bore that burden for many years before it passed to me.

My workout routine got me thinking about the rest of my life.

I am more convinced than ever that all of our life is a connected whole.

Our physical life, our mental life, our spiritual life---there is only one---the life you have right now.

I don't expect to get stronger without working harder.  I increase the number of reps I do or I increase the weight I lift.

You have to break new muscle.
Why should the other areas of our life be any different?

Eating together

Poom is such a sweet boy.  We are so glad he is part of our Faithful Heart Family!

How will I get better at decision making?
I will have to make more, and more difficult decisions.

How will I get better at leading?
I will have to face more and more difficult challenges.

How will I get better at building up others?
I will have to spend more time investing in those people.

The struggles we face in our life must increase if our strength is to increase.
There is simply no other way to become more resilient, more persistent, and more effective.

So while I groan when the struggles come, a part of me also gets excited.
Here is my chance, here is my opportunity to grow better.

Big brothers

Big Hippos

There is a story in the Bible about a man who was the youngest of several brothers.  He belongs to a prosperous family, but gets kidnapped and sold as a slave. Then he is falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit and thrown in prison.

He stays there for years.

I don't know about you, but if my problems lasted years, I would be really frustrated.

In a sudden reversal, he is released and put in a position of leadership in the government.
But his problems aren't ending, they are only growing bigger. 
The whole country faces a serious famine.

He doesn't panic.  He plans ahead and puts people to work.  Through his vision and foresight, and wisdom, thousands of lives are saved.

The struggles he faced made him strong to face larger struggles later.

Sweet friends came with us to the gardens!

Ice Carving in tropical Thailand?  Yes!

Look at all this stuff that was just sitting in the cupboard!

In our lives nothing is wasted.

I am not wise enough to explain if everything happens for a reason (there is so much that should not happen but for evil people and evil intentions).

But I am confident that everything that has happened to us can be brought to serve some good purpose.

Our struggles in Thailand recently are not anything to compare to what many have endured.

But every struggle, great or small, has that potential to breed new strength in us.

Ladies got free facials!

Just Ezra and Mom having fun

Our family has battled sickness for two weeks and are finally getting better.

At Faithful Heart, we want to thank all of you who have responded and decided to sponsor a child!  We still need some new monthly sponsors.

If you can't help right now, do you know someone who would be interested?  We are making progress, and that is a big encouragement.

I turned 34 on October 3!  It's hard to believe.  Thank you to all of you for the birthday wishes and love.  It makes me so happy to have so many wonderful friends and family in my life.

Sienna will turn 1 on October 27th.  She brings so much joy and laughter to our home.  She is discovering her will and her curiosity at the same time.

Our good friend Gawley is getting marred this month and we are so excited for him.  This has been an answer to many years of prayers.

Please continue to pray for us personally, especially for our health.

And please pray for Faithful Heart to find new sponsors for our kids.

We are attending church camp with our Thai church next month and I have been asked to share about managing your finances.  Please pray for appropriate wisdom to share with our sweet friends.

Lots of love from Thailand,

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, & Sienna

Chicken Coop Crew

Farm crew!

Our land looks so beautiful!  If only we can finish the paperwork...