A New Piece of the Puzzle - Introducing Adventive Cross Cultural Initiatives into the Picture

Our kids love the puzzles.  Mostly we are all over the 65-piece snowman, but some of us have mastered the 100-piece solar system.  They come after school or on a Sunday afternoon and ask for the 'jeeg-saaw' and then drop down on the cool tiles and get at it.

Or you can take a puzzle and get right up there on the tables under the dining shelter.

It's an activity especially good for getting to know new friends.

There's just something about the quiet concentration required to spread out all the pieces and begin to sort it all out and put it all together.  To have the picture on the front of the box, and watch it come together gradually.  There's the patience of it.  The trusting that this mess will actually come together to form a picture in the whole of it.

I have often compared the process of puzzling to the formation of a strategic plan.  Usually the components of the plan come at first in the form of separate pieces that get put down on the "table" of a leaders' awareness.  Then there comes a gradual understanding of repeating themes or threads between the separate components.  This sparks a curiosity to see how it all fits together into one picture, if it even does at all.  The big difference is that there is no picture on the front of the box to tell you how it's supposed to look in the end.  What takes its place instead is the deliberate upward reach of prayer asking for the guidance promised.

"In all your ways submit to Him, 

and He will make your paths straight."  

Proverbs 3:6 NIV

There is a sense for us at New Family Foundation, that we've been given a brand new puzzle to open, and a new picture is being spread out before us on the table.  Nothing dramatic, not at all.  The mission remains the same (see below).  But it is curious to us how some of our long-awaited dreams for the development of a new property AND the current global economic situation AND some aspects of our own personal and professional lives all seem to have converged in this moment in time.  

A few new puzzle pieces are coming into play, and we're wondering how it all fits together.

One of those pieces for me is my recent acceptance into the family that is Adventive Cross Cultural Initiatives.  

"ACCI serves pioneering Christians, empowering them to proclaim the gospel, fulfill their God-given visions, and advance the kingdom of God."

The choice to seek out a sending agency was the result of the suggestion of a trusted missions mentor who observed a gap in the specific kinds of support someone in my unique place of ministry requires for optimum effectiveness and well-being.  While I deeply appreciate the oversight I receive from my local church, Highview Community Church, and the love and interest of my close friends and ministry associates, there's nothing quite like being with folks who are doing what you do and 'get it' in ways others simply cannot.

Also, there is a sense that a wider base of both general awareness and financial support is essential at this point in both my own development as a missionary-pastor, and in the future of New Family Foundation.  This is especially true if, as we are starting to believe is the picture forming before us, we are on the cusp of really moving forward with the plans for our next property.  This is also equally true as we all move into uncertain economic times and my own travel and ministry costs rise proportionately.

At this point, as I prayerfully come before God and include the circles of accountability I am blessed with, I anticipate many more years of engagement with this beautiful work He's invited me to on the other side of the planet.  It is also a time in our lives when Ken and I are moving into a different financial set up, one for which we have made significant personal changes to remain good stewards of all God has given us.

It's that time in the working of the puzzle that calls forth the quiet concentration required to spread out all the pieces and begin to sort it all out and put it all together.   Without the picture on the front of the box, to even so watch it come together gradually.  There's the patience of it.  The trusting that this assortment of realities will actually come together to form a picture in the whole of it.

We will need to move into an intense period of fundraising as soon as we get the go ahead on the property.  [And another piece of this puzzle is a proposal in the writing to an association in Thailand who is favourable to these kinds of projects.]  More on that as it unfolds.

And I need more funds to accommodate the rising costs of living and travel.  

That's just a bottom line reality for me right now.

Today I'm making an ask only for this last piece, my personal support piece.  And I'm opening up the avenue for contributions to be made through ACCI.  If that's something you'd like to be part of, and if you are NOT already making donations through other means, here's the link to help make that happen.https://www.adventive.ca/all-project-list/ruth-ann-breithaupt/

I am excited to be part of ACCI, encouraged already by the warmth and interest and professionalism.  I'm curious to know what God has in mind for the bigger picture, not just for my own ministry, but for what it means for us at New Family Foundation.

Thank you to everyone who has faithfully walked me through this journey starting in May of 2018.  As I come up to marking six years as a full time missionary-pastor, it has been an honour to serve God together with you.  I look forward to seeing the picture He has in mind unfold before us.

“The mission of New Family Foundation is to provide a loving home 

for at-risk and orphaned children in Northern Thailand

to help them achieve their best potential 

in education, vocation and service to society.

Earthquake Update

I am happy to report that our family at Hot Springs are all safe following a significant earthquake in Thailand (and surrounding countries) that happened at 2:20 a.m. our time.

We continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones, for the families of those still missing, and for all those involved in the recovery efforts.

Bridge to Redemption

One of the more boldly interesting places we visited while in Chiang Rai earlier this month was the famed White Temple, aka Wat Rong Kuhn.

It's truly difficult to capture its visual impact in pictures, especially if you visit it, as we did, under the  brilliant sun of an early March day in northern Thailand.  The structures, gates, walkways are not all just an almost-painfully pristine white, but there are countless pieces of glass embedded along the edges of almost every surface.  To describe it as "dazzling" hardly comes close.  Stunning.  Breath-taking.  Beautiful.

It is meant, in part to be a depiction of heaven, a sinless eternity.

I will leave it to your own curiosity to read more about its background and history, which is an intriguing story in itself.  What I will remember most vividly is how stark the contrast was between all the brilliant purity depicted in the structures as we approached from a distance, against the disturbing rendering of hopelessness and despair that greets you as get up closer and walk across the first bridge of entry.

In the picture above you can only begin to make it out, just beneath the white rising tusks.

When you get closer, you can see the rendering of what I understand to be the Buddhist idea of eternity without redemption, as depicted by skeletal remains with faces animated by expressions of agony and horror.  

The unsettling effect is enhanced by a recorded voice, in several languages including English, instructing visitors not to linger on the bridge, but to keep moving.  There is a warning tone in the recording.  Or did I just hear it as such because I already felt uneasy?

All in all, my visit there provoked a sense of respect and awe.  The artist who has taken it upon himself to reclaim and restore this original place of worship has indeed demonstrated an incredible commitment to his own faith, and an honest rendering of good verses evil.  The walkway into the wat wasn't the only place where we were reminded of the horrors of sin.

If Christianity and Buddhism overlap at any point of doctrine and theology, it would be here.  In both understandings, sin is a big problem.  It's in the concepts of redemption and forgiveness where the two faiths differ.  Some have tried to distill it into the idea that Buddhism might spell forgiveness as "D-O", and strive for a redemption that is earned.  Christianity spells forgiveness "D-O-N-E" and looks to the cross to receive the redemption offered by the sacrifice of Jesus.  I don't know.  Maybe that's too simplistic.  But it has been said that if Buddha, who was intensely aware of his own sin, had met Jesus, he might have been so relieved.

Intriguingly, my visit to the White Temple has pressed me a little deeper into the Christian observation of Lent, as I look on the tormented faces below the walkway and realize my own sense of powerlessness to ever pay my way to redemption.  I find myself reflected in both the contorted images and the meditations of Paul on this when he says, "What a wretched person I am!  Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?"

And then, in a sudden pivot towards joy, he exclaims, "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Christ Jesus our Lord!"  (Romans 7:24025)

While in Thailand, it is very important to demonstrate a great respect of places of worship and the practice of Buddhism in general.  I want to continue to express that respect here back home in Canada, and anywhere I am, of course.  I also find it intriguing how the intersection of faiths play out, and how it makes me more and deeply glad for Jesus.  

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit the White Temple.

Saying Goodbye to all the Beautiful

Loving the relaxed and calm state I'm in this last morning here.  Bags are weighed, everything's packed, all but those very last minute things just waiting to change into my travelling clothes.

The humidity builds towards another hot day, even here in the minutes immediately after breakfast.  It reminds me of why we try to visit here between end of October and end of February, usually.  Soon everyone will be laying low in the listless afternoons, not just us farangs.  

I'm wandering around taking last-longing pictures, mostly of the flowers, some of the grounds, in that way I do when I'm anticipating the ache later on.  Never mind that I have dozens of shots exactly like this already.  Somehow it feels a little better.

It's been a wonderful time, both productive and restful in all the best ways that can happen together with our gathered family.  I certainly have work to do when I get home, to put legs on some of the planning we've done.  But just like my bags are packed up and ready to go, so is that sense of having accomplished what I came to do.  And more.  

On my little walk about this morning, I was offering thanks for this time, this place, this partnership, this family, overwhelmed with the goodness of God.  And in those moments I had one of those time when you just feel so sure you are in the right place at the right time.  I believe even more strongly than before that being here is exactly what I need to do, frequently and long enough to make it real for all of us.

It only makes sense that when we come here we feel it.  All the beautiful.  All the healing.  All the ways to be embraced by love and grace.  This is what our children come to find when they arrive as well.  A safe place to grow, to heal from whatever's gone on before they got here, to rest and be nourished in the quiet stability of this place.  To be cheered on towards good things in the future.

I am so, so glad I came.  And so so grateful for Ken who supports this with me 100%.  For all our Sponsors and Supporters.  For everyone who supports me individually, because I can't get here for free and also I need your prayers like crazy.

So...in just a matter of hours now I will be boarding in Chaing Mai.  Five hours to Seoul.  Then a 9 hour layover in Seoul, which should be interesting.  Then the long flight home, 13 hours from Seoul to Toronto.  I'm hearing about a big snow dump coming to Ontario (those nasty Colorado lows), but right now it looks like the timing might be close but okay?  Appreciate all your prayers all along the way.

One last little trip to 7/11 for airplane snacks!!!!

 

Sky Walking

 We walk by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7

The Skywalk

It was one of the more harrowing parts of our visit up north to the Chiang Rai area.  A close second, for me, to the monkeys at the Buddhist shrine, but more on that another time.

I'm taking about the Skywalk in the Mae Sai District.  It's full name, if you want to look it up online is Sky Walk Wat Phra That Doi Wao.  Interesting aside:  That last word is Thai for scorpion, pronounced 'wow!', which is kind of what I say any time I see one.  But except for the giant purple ones on top of the tour buses, we didn't see any this day.

As the name suggests, there is an actual Buddhist Wat there, and faithful Buddhist will pay their respects.  But the main attraction, as everyone knows, is the glass walk way that reaches out beyond the side of the mountain.

Soft covers or booties are required so as not to scratch or smudge the glass.  And the glass is all there is to step on.  I was immediately reminded of the glass section of the floor at the CN Tower, but at least there you have the option of standing on it or not.  Here it's quite the view all the way down.

One of us, who shall remain nameless (but whose picture I have permission to include) had more difficulty with this than the rest. (Later I would be the wimp with the monkeys, so it's all relative.)  This was totally understandable.  It was a tad unnerving, I'll admit.

It seemed best to just keep looking up and forward with slow and steady steps.

A helpful distraction for this was the fact that you could quite easily look over and see Myanmar.  Yes, we were that close to the border.  Mae Sai is a crossover point, with some challenges, as was apparent by the relative ease with which it appeared anyone could just simply wade over into Thailand without so much as getting their pants wet if they hiked them up a bit.

I was reassured that there are plenty of discouragements in place for this sort of behaviour, however, most of which seem to work most of the time.  

We didn't stay that long, out of respect for those who found it more of something to conquer than enjoy.  It was sweet, I must say, to see a father very lovingly, without any chastisement or invalidation whatsoever, come alongside so they could walk the scary way together.

Only four days left here.

I'm picking up the news while here, all about the trade wars and the crazy way the world is working - or not - right now.  Things have picked up considerably in just three weeks I've been gone.

And.  We are working on our 2025 Budget for NFF while we're here (April to March fiscal year), and to be honest, there are some scary things about walking that through right now too.  All related to global economics.  Don't for a minute think that the ripple effect isn't felt here, all the way on the other side of the planet.  

So I'll keep the image of a Good Father and a trembling daughter walking side by side in my heart, and let it sit there for a bit.   We're all sky walking right now, it seems.  

And faith walking.  

Call it what you like.  

And in a totally unrelated note.  This place had the fanciest bathrooms I have ever been in!  At least the Ladies' Room was.

The three of us were all kind of wishing Suradet could join us and we'd just hang out there for a while.

Never mind.  Tomorrow there would be monkeys.

Stranger Things (at a Thai Market and Everywhere Else)

We made a quick stop at the Thursday morning market today.  Our ultimate destination was Pao Pao, a large discount store I've previously compared to Dollarama on steroids.   But first, I needed a blouse to go with a Thai skirt I had received as a gift.  

Honestly, I don't need any more Thai tops or clothes at all.  Except, in my determination to only bring one checked bag this time, I find I have left behind some key components of my summer wardrobe.  This has limited my desire to look 'presentable' on a Sunday morning.  Fortunately, I was able to find what I was looking for quite quickly.

I'm pleased with the find.  Even had fun joking a little with the vendor, a local lady with an easy laugh.  Besides the simple fun of sharing a humorous moment, I always find it reassuring when strangers understand me.

This was not the stranger things part, though. 

How would you fancy buying chunks of fish from an open cart on a hot day, with the intact head keeping watch?  

Or maybe whole, seasoned roasted frogs, internal organs and intestines included and on display to entice you to buy one and take it home for lunch?

Too much?  Okay, sorry.  I'll post more normal pictures.

Some wild honey combs!  That looks amazing.  But, wait.  What's that simmering in the pot?

Bee larva, which are considered a bonus treat.

Okay, I'll stop.

And actually, I haven't taken pictures at the Thursday morning market in a long time.  Because I'm actually used to seeing these things now.  I can walk past barely noticing, until I think it might make a good blog post or something.  

I always ask permission when I do stop for a picture.  "I'm from Canada," I explain.  "In Canada we don't have this."  [Unless...if anyone's ever seen this sort of thing at the St. Jacob's Market, I'd like to hear about it.]

The thing is, today, any time I identified myself as being from Canada, I couldn't help but think how very glad I am for that.  The news being what it is right now, Canada has a 'thing' going on.  We have a 'thing' that I am a much a part of here as if I was there.  In fact, being so far away has had a magnifying effect for me.  I am feeling the global-ness of all that's going on in a way I might not if I was all tucked into my Canadian life, not seeing fish and frogs and bee larva at the market.

Canada doesn't have stranger things (to me) at the market.  But stranger things are certainly happening for us all in my home and native land.  Next time I go grocery shopping, will I feel like what I'm used to?  Not sure.  Will the rest of the year hold strange and unusual challenges?  Yup, I'm thinking pretty much it will.  

But I am confident, as I feel the morning sun becoming warmer on the market street, that all these things - my time here, the challenges of caring for our kids here, the world of weirdness we're watching unfold before our eyes - are not being wasted in terms of advancing the ultimate and lasting peace God's moving us all toward in the end.  

And in the spirit of Micah 4:4, and everyone having their own fig tree and vine to sit under, and no one being afraid, I'll include one last picture.  Of flowers.  

Because, they're right outside my door.  And that seems to mean something for me right now.

The Long Lost Ones

Chenlung 2014

A true part of our experience at New Family Foundation is the children wo do not remain with us through to the end of their high school education.  This is our intention and hope, communicated clearly with living family members when any child is entrusted into our care.  The statistics just bear this out too convincingly; that the cycle of poverty is adversely affected the higher level of education an individual receives.  This is especially true when we are receiving children from remote hill tribe villages where there is no school.

Enter Chenlung as a 7 year old arriving to us without any schooling as of yet.  He begins grade one, already a year behind his age-peers.  But he's small enough that no one really notices.  Not for the first year.  

He does not do well.  His grade one teacher, reportedly somewhat negatively inclined towards children from the hill tribes (it's actually a thing here, this kind of prejudice), says she cannot pass him.  In our Canadian education system, Chenlung would likely have been moved along with his peers and given extra support.  Not here.  So he repeats grade one.  And then, it seems he needs to do it again.

It's the language thing that's hardest for him.  Most if not all our kids come to us not speaking Thai, but their tribal language.  For Chenlung it's Karen.  The Thai reading thing just escapes him.

By the time it is suggested he repeats grade one for the third time, his family is embarrassed.  They'd rather him come home and save face, than shame the family in such a way.

The Thai government gives full say to biological parents for the decisions made on behalf of their children.  (There are good reasons for this in a country with numerous organizations coming in to care for at-risk children, not all of whom have honest intentions.)  Even though we offer to continue with remedial support, Chenlung's family is adamant.  We are so sad to see him go.  I do that awful thing I have to do, my least favourite part of this job, and inform his Sponsors.  Because we encourage that real connections are made, this is very hard to hear.

We lose touch with him.  It's about 50/50 when a child leaves us before ending high school whether or not we'll be able to keep tabs on what's happening.  In this case, we have absolutely no idea.

Fast forward to several months ago when Pastors Suradet and Yupa were up in a remote village attending a funeral.  And who should approach them but a tall and well spoken young man who asked if they remembered him.  Chenlung!

Chenlung 2014

He tells them that when he got back to his village, some friends his own age took it upon themselves to teach him to read in Thai, succeeding where his previous teacher could not.  Through other connections, he was put in touch with a small Bible School in his region, and he is well into his second year of study.  He's not quite sure how God might use him, but he says he wants to be a pastor.

Well, who knew!

Yupa shows me the picture, and I am overwhelmed.  Ten years!  And the story comes around to this.  And we rejoice.  And we marvel at God's careful hand in guiding this eager heart.

It's not always that we see these kinds of results or get this kind of closure for some of our children.  Most of the Sponsors who have had this unfortunate experience never get an email from me with the before and after pictures, story attached.  We just trust.  

There's always hope.  And whatever we can offer a child for however long he or she is with us, we will do it with love and compassion and joy.   

Can't wait to see what God's got in mind for Chenlung!