Unusual Creatures of Unremarkable Colour

"Is this not the kind of fast I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the captives free

and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wandered with shelter --

when you see the naked, to clothe them,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

Isaiah 58:6-7

I've been sorting through the literally thousands of pictures I've got on file representing 18 years of visits to Thailand.  

I'm not sure if this is to help ease my longing or if it's making it worse.

Probably a bit of both.

Mostly the pictures are of children.  Or flowers.  Or outings we've taken together.  Or food.  And oh, the sunrises and sunsets, yes.

But I also came across these three shots, and they caught my attention.  Because even though, unlike the flowers and the sunsets or so many other vibrant things to take a picture of in Thailand, none of these critters are particularly colourful, yet they still fascinate me.  Two are moths of some sort, and the other a toad.  I welcome those with more knowledge than me to educate us on proper names or species.

For now I'm finding it rather striking that they all look like they might have been painted with the same brush by the same artist on a day when there wasn't much going on in the pallet or the imagination.  

And yet I noticed.  Took their picture.

Each unique, and remarkable in their particularly unremarkable way.

Of late I've had the opportunity again to evaluate some of the basic assumptions of life and ministry.  

At New Family Foundation, we are at a pivotal point in our story, just on the edge of actually breaking ground for the new build (exciting and terrifying at the same time).  

At Highview, we are in a season of recalibration and resetting for future ministry as well (full of potential with the usual uncertainty thrown in).  

Personally, for our family, there is something on the horizon that will feel like a big difference for us (not bad per se, but a little painful).

However each of these unfolds, in all three aspects, there is the opportunity to clarify and reclaim important values.  And I welcome that.

And a value that has settled even more deeply inside of me as a result of this, is the value that is apparent in the stopping to take a picture of an unremarkable thing.  

The small and the ordinary have God's complete attention.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

Yet not one of them will fall to the ground

outside your Father's care."

Matthew 10:29

I will confess to feeling the pressure of comparison when other ministry leaders announce the impressive statics of their latest ventures.  How many Bibles distributed, how many baptisms, how many people deciding to become Christians, how many in attendance at their event.  And I celebrate with them, for sure.

And...there is something remarkable in a persistent persistence of doing Isaiah 58 in the ordinary ways of every day.  There is something unique about every child who comes into our care, no matter what they've been told thus far.  And there is something wildly colourful in the subtle, intentional pallet of the Creator who fashioned them just as they are, because He thought they were a very good idea indeed.

"For You created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise You because

I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful."

Psalm 139:13-14

How amazing that He notices us!

And it doesn't need to be big, and it doesn't need to be flashy, when we notice them with Him.

It just needs to be real.

I need this for me.

I need this for them.

As always, thank you to all who notice them with Him together with all of us at New Family Foundation.

Rev. Ruth Anne Breithaupt, MDiv.

Canadian Representative/Missionary in Residence

New Family Foundation/Highview Community Church

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.

New Family Foundation

                                            

     https://www.hcckw.ca                                                                    https://www.adventive.ca

Practice Makes Possible Online Workshop: Deepening our Connection with God Through Spiritual Practices

Graphic design by RAB/ARH 2024 copyright

 Introducing 

"Practice Makes Possible"

Deepening our Connection with God Through Spiritual Practices

Online Workshop

An interactive online experience designed to help us 

nurture the environments that help us grow deeper in our connection with God.

By the end of the workshop you will:

- Have a better understanding of yourself to form a personalized spiritual formation plan.

- Have practiced an ancient form of Bible engagement known as "Lectio Divina."

- Have practiced a simple method of personal Bible meditation built around the acronym S.O.A.P.

Offered at two separate times (sign up for one only):

Thursday, April 23 - 9:00 to 11:15 a.m.

Saturday, April 25 - 10:00 to 12:15 a.m.

To Register:

Contact me at rabreithaupt@hcckw.ca.

by Monday, April 20th

Includes:

• Three 40 minute sessions:  "Cinnamon Bun Meditations: Drafting a Spiritual Formation Plan", "Bible Listening: Lectio Divina," and "Letting the Bible Read Me: S.O.A.P."
• Power Point Presentation
• Participants Worksheets (provided electronically, or printed for KW area participants)
• Interactive instruction and guided discussion
• Zoom-intimate environment
• Bibliography for further exploration

Cost:

• $35.00 per person
• Due five days before workshop date
• Various payment options
• 100% of proceeds go directly to New Family Foundation
• Zoom link and Worksheets will be provided after payment.

Participants:

• Limited to 10 person maximum
• While I am an avid supporter of men and women serving together and learning from each other, I am inviting women only to these first two sessions.

The material shared in this workshop was first developed for an in-person Ladies' Retreat and presented to 52 women in March 2026 with encouragingly positive feedback.  

An inquiry about whether or not such a workshop could be offered online has led me to explore this idea with you!  

As New Family Foundation enters into a more intensive fundraising season, I am seeking to use my experience and skills in creative ways to benefit our cause.

To Register:

Contact me at rabreithaupt@hcckw.ca.

by Monday, April 20th

Rev. Ruth Anne Breithaupt, MDiv.

Canadian Representative/Missionary in Residence

New Family Foundation/Highview Community Church

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.

New Family Foundation

                                            

     https://www.hcckw.ca                                                                    https://www.adventive.ca

The High Cost of Conflict, and Pertinent Prayer

 

In a very real demonstration of how we are all connected on this planet, I share with you this video, taken by Yupa (and Suradet who is driving), showing the long line ups for gas that are happening in Thailand right now.

This was taken along the highway between Chiang Mai and Hot Springs.  

She tells me that people are waiting in cue from 4 a.m. to 12 noon.  And that there are purchase restrictions from 1,000 THB to as little as 500 THB per visit in some locations.  For perspective, it cost close to 1,500 THB for a fill up when Ken and I were last there in January.

And yes, this is in response to the energy crisis precipitated by the conflict in the Middle East, specifically the issues blocking the passage of oil in the Strait of Hormuz.  A Google search of "Thai energy crisis" will produce no end of news articles that talk about how the Thai government is responding, and as a result how the Thai population is responding.  And while there is communication of decent stores of oil in Thailand, it is clear from the line ups and 'panic buying' that folks are anxious. And I can't blame them.

For us at New Family Foundation, there is a sliver of good news in that, at the moment and for the next two months, our children's school is closed for 'summer' holidays.  This reduces the gas expense for us to get them to school and back again each day, at least for the time being.  

Longer term, of course this is a concern.  We have recently set the 2026 Budget (fiscal year April to March), and felt we had allotted sufficient funds in the category of transportation costs.  We'll see.  

There is a lot to pray about these days.  Of course, in the biggest picture, the prayer is that peace will prevail.  Such complex mechanisms barreling through.  So much loss of life and liberties!  Even so, Lord Jesus come!

Next level down, closer to home, is prayers for cool heads to prevail in the daily living of the Thai people (and other southeast Asian countries in similar circumstances), so that anxieties at the pumps do not spread out to infect the decency of human interactions in other social spaces.  Desperation tends to lead humans to turn inward and self-protective.  Remember toilet paper shortages during COVID?  Only so much worse.

 And then, bringing it right down to our own hearts and minds, the prayer is for the strength to remain steady in the face of our own anxious responses.  To stay fixed on the promises of God that He will never leave us or forsake us, and that He knows what we need.

"Do not be anxious," Jesus says, "about what you will eat or drink, or how you will clothe yourselves...Look at the birds of the air...are you not more valuable than they?...your heavenly Father knows what you need."  Matthew 6:25-33 paraphrased

And I guess we can add prayers that Suradet and Yupa and other followers of Jesus in Thailand who live and move amongst so many anxious folks, can themselves be messengers of peace and stability as they rest in these promises for themselves.  

Me too.  

I learn so much about unwavering trust from them.

Thank you always for your faithfulness to stay in tune with what it happening in different places of the world than where we live, specifically with the needs of our gathered family on the other side of the planet.  

Thank you for your prayers and support that keep us keeping on in the care of these precious children entrusted to our home.  

Rev. Ruth Anne Breithaupt, MDiv.

Canadian Representative/Missionary in Residence

New Family Foundation/Highview Community Church

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.

New Family Foundation

                                            

     https://www.hcckw.ca                                                                    https://www.adventive.ca

Happy Birthday Yupa!!!

 

March 20th

Happy Birthday and a sky full of blessings to Yupa!!!

A godly woman, extraordinary mother, faithful in all the many tasks and responsibilities of her life.

Proverbs 31 can be understood to represent a variety of truths, some of them more in line with the abstract nature of ancient Hebrew poetry than others.  However, if there was an actual woman King Lemuel was describing as "The Wife of Noble Character" it would have been someone just like Yupa.

I leave these words here this morning in honour of someone who has taught me so much, and who inspires me to be more noble every day.

A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth more than rubies.

Her husband is full of confidence in her 

and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still night;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her female servants.

She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks....

She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of then are clothed in scarlet..

She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue...

Her children arise and call her blessed,

her husband also, and he praises her.

Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty fleeting,

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:10-31

Rev. Ruth Anne Breithaupt, MDiv.

Canadian Representative/Missionary in Residence

New Family Foundation/Highview Community Church

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.

New Family Foundation

                                            

     https://www.hcckw.ca                                                                    https://www.adventive.ca

A Forward-Thinking Opportunity

You might want to be a part of this in a rather specific way.

Any leader who is approaching 70 and who has any forward momentum at all needs to be thinking ahead.  In organizational lingo when you do this in my stage of life and ministry it's called "Succession Planning."  So with my 69th birthday coming up in June, I'm well into it.

A caveat first though.

I feel great.  I travel well.  When I am Thailand, the environment and climate and food and pace of ministry suits me so well that I often experience less of the very mild notifications my body likes to send out reminding me of my age.  Whatever wear and tear I am dealing with physically in this seventh decade of my life, I feel young when I'm there.

I have no indications at this point that my involvement as Highview's MIR or my title of Canadian Representative of New Family Foundation will or should be changing in the immediate future.  My intention is to continue and morph and adapt and train as I go over the next stretch of time, as God allows.

And.

It's time to begin to put into action some of what's been cooking for the past few years already. 

That's where this blog post comes in.

We are currently seeking applicants for a VOLUNTEER (to begin) position we're calling "Canadian Ministry Assistant."

This role would be based in Canada, preferably close to Kitchener-Waterloo.  They would receive training and support from myself and other leaders at New Family Foundation, and help fulfill one portion of the responsibilities I current carry as Canadian Representative of NFF (see Overview below).

There will be further notifications and appeals on this in the months to come.  Social media is only one of the avenues we are using in pursuing the fulfillment of this role.

But to get things started, I just wanted to put this out there.  See if there's any interest.

Questions, inquiries or comments can be directed to me at:

rabreithaupt@hcckw.ca

Let's see where this might take us.

NEW FAMILY FOUNDATION

Canadian Ministry Assistant

Key Words:  

Assist, Administrate, Connect

Overview:

The Canadian Ministry Assistant will serve alongside the Missionary in Residence to provide support in Team Trip and Thai Ministry preparation, Thailand Sunday presentations at Highview (or elsewhere), and other agreed upon tasks that are primarily done here in Canada.

Requirements:

Someone whose life and character reflect their desire to be formed into the likeness of Christ for the sake of others.

Demonstrates passion for the spiritual formation of children (and also adults), and an understanding of effective strategies for Christian Education.

Ideally, has gone or is willing to go at least once to Thailand to meet Suradet and Yupa, Staff and Children, and understand first hand the nature and pragmatics of NFF's ministry. 

Excellent administrative and communication skills.

Flexible and adaptive in working with various personalities and cross-cultural scenarios.

Good research and on line skills.

Enjoys a challenge and has a teachable spirit.

Rev. Ruth Anne Breithaupt, MDiv.

Canadian Representative/Missionary in Residence

New Family Foundation/Highview Community Church

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.

New Family Foundation

                                            

     https://www.hcckw.ca                                                                    https://www.adventive.ca

 

The Chickadee Factor in Full-Measure Moments

 

Artist:  Ann King

Full measures of joy sometimes manifests itself in simple, unexpected iterations.

Like when you're providing English learning to Thai children, and you introduce some Canadian bird names into the vocabulary.

It started innocently enough.  I was teaching on Isaiah 40:31 and the whole bit about mounting up on eagle's wings.  It was part of a bigger unit on how God views 'strength' as a whole.  That particular lesson it was about the strength we can't find in ourselves, but on which we can rise up as we trust in God.

To connect the English part with the Bible lesson part I prepared a Power Point on my laptop of various kinds of birds.  The punch line was the last slide of the eagle of course.  But before that we went through different birds and their names.  I deliberately chose birds native to Canada not found in Thailand, just for interest sake.  They were particularly interested in the Cardinal's bright red feathers, and also the Blue Jay's bright blue, especially when I told them these friends came for peanuts up at our cottage.

But the star of the Canadian lineup was, hands down, the Chickadee.  That's because I told them that this bird sang its own name.  "Chickadee-dee-dee-dee-dee."  

And they loved it!  Thought it was hilarious that a bird would call out its own name.  

All of them immediately copied my chickadee imitation.  And with great enthusiasm.  And volume!!  If you've been in our meeting hall, you can likely already hear the echoes.  Twenty one kids plus a few hilarious adults all crying out loudly at the same time, "CHICKADEE-DEE-DEE-DEE-DEE-DEE!!!!"

We had fun with it for a bit, and then I advanced forward to the eagle and segued into the lesson proper.

For a later English lesson I thought I would add some of the new bird names to an older Power Point on animals.  

A bit of a background might be important here.  I sit with my laptop on, well, my lap, but turned towards the children who are all seated on the floor in front of me.  You do what you can with what you have, right?  We then advance through the slides, first with the animal pictured and the English name displayed, and then just with the names.  It's a group exercise, which is a very common learning strategy in Thailand.  So everyone calls out the name as it comes up.

Somewhere along the way I discovered the fun of advancing the slides in mischievous kinds of ways.  I'll start at a steady kind of rhythm, but then slowly speed it up until it's literally impossible to keep calling out the answers, the pictures are just flipping by so fast.

Or I'll keep a steady pace, but then, instead of going forward to the next slide, I'll go backwards, just to catch them off guard.  And then, just for the fun of it, I'll go back and forth between two slides over and over until they all have the rhythm and are all shouting out what they are so sure comes next, only to advance it to the next slide after all, catching everyone off guard.

Throughout, they are all completely humouring me!  Everyone is trying their best to shout out the name of the animal on the screen, trying to keep up, trying to outwit this crazy lady who is having way too much fun with those arrow keys.

We've done it like this for a long time already.  Many visits, over several years.  But when I added something into the mix just this last time, a new level of crazy emerged.  

Without telling them there would be new creatures on the familiar Animals Power Point, I just started advancing the slides one after another.  The Cardinal was the first new one, and they stopped and thought and tried to read and then someone got it and shouted it out.  "Cardinal!"  Yes!  And we continued.  But now they were on to me.  Everyone was on the look out for the next surprise.  "Blue Jay!!!"  They got it quicker this time.

The biggest fun however was saved for the Chickadee.  I honestly would have been happy if they just remembered the name.  But when the picture came up they all did the big loud thing they had done the time before.  "CHICKADEE-DEE-DEE-DEE-DEE!!!!"

This added a whole new dimension to the game of flipping through things fast, or, even better, going back and forth.  How loud can you make the sound of a Chickadee?  We'll show you!!  How quickly can we go from that to the name of the next animal on the slide?  We've got it covered!!

I confess to having way too much fun with this.  

And, in the breaths between laughing joy, there is a fullness.

Paul's prayer for the strengthening of Ephesian believers was, in part this:

I pray that out of His glorious riches,

He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit 

in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

may have power together with all the Lord's holy people,

to grasp how wide and long and high and deep

is the love of Christ,'

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge --

that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19

Yes, this.

This is a full-measure moment.

Paul's prayer has been answered for me.

Not just this, because my life is full of full-measure moments, to be honest.

And for that I am unspeakably grateful.

But in this Chickadee chorus, yes, for absolute certain, 

I feel I am able to grasp how wide and long and deep it all is.

And while I may not be able to take all of you to Hot Springs to see it for yourselves, all of you who support us in any way at all -- through donations, sponsorship, prayer, cheering on the Teams that go, showing an interest in any way -- you are all part of it.  

So I pray Paul's prayer over you.

Sincerely and with deep thanksgiving.

Rev. Ruth Anne Breithaupt, MDiv.

Canadian Representative/Missionary in Residence

New Family Foundation/Highview Community Church

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.

New Family Foundation

                                            

     https://www.hcckw.ca                                                                    https://www.adventive.ca

Family Day Blessings

 

Happy Family Day!!!!!

From our Family to Yours!

We know that "family" can be defined 

in so many meaningful ways.  

Whatever that looks like for you, 

our prayer is that you will know the blessing 

of hearing and being heard,

knowing and being known, and

loving and being loved. 

Rev. Ruth Anne Breithaupt, MDiv.

Canadian Representative/Missionary in Residence

New Family Foundation/Highview Community Church

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.

New Family Foundation

                                            

     https://www.hcckw.ca                                                                    https://www.adventive.ca