Simple Gifts

 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be

And when we find ourselves in the place just right

'Twill be the valley of love and delight

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

"Simple Gifts" - Shaker* folk song

The gift of simplicity is very pervasive at Hot Springs.  Any time I remember this Shaker folk song with its lilting tune and reorienting lyrics (link to the song if you'd like to hear it), I can't help but long to be there.

Less is more.  

It's a common reflection of people who come with me, especially those for the first time.  How little these children have, compared to children back in Canada, and yet, how happy they are.  It's as if our more materialistic Western sensibilities are messed with in all the good and disturbing ways they should be.  

Wait, what?  "Stuff" doesn't make you happy?  

You can play cool games with stones?

You can have fun just standing in a circle with friends, clapping in rhythm while singing a song?

You don't need electronics, or even store-bought toys to enjoy a Saturday?

Yup.  And seed pods (similar to but not Maple keys), held by the stem make for good spinning if you run with them.  Large, slow-moving beetles make good pets.  Gardening and tending the goats is good fun all on its own.

So when we arrive with Sponsors' packets full of trinkets and toys, it's like Christmas morning!

And when someone brings an idea for Jenga blocks or "Thai Blitz", what a bonus!

Still, no one has a bike.

Just a simple life out in the country where it's good.

Less is more.

Until less isn't quite enough.

And here's where I just put out an ask.

In crunching the numbers for this fiscal year's 2024 budget, we, like everyone else on the planet, are experiencing some sticker shock.  Electricity has gone up.  Gas has gone up.  Rice has gone up.

It's like this every year, for sure.  Cost of living increases are hardly a new thing.  And in the six years we've been operating as New Family Foundation we've actually been able to move forward in closing the gap between what we receive and what we need.

Mostly this has happened in three ways:

Increasing the monthly amount for individually sponsored Children.

One time and/or regular donations from generous Supporters.

Specifically designated fundraisers.

But looking ahead to the next 12 months, due to the unusual economic factors in play everywhere, we are looking at a need in our daily operations budget of $11,000.00 over the year, or approximately $1,000.00 per month.

As the Canadian Representative for New Family Foundation, it is in my job description to address this.  And over this next year, fundraising and adjusting our donor base will take a top level priority, beginning with the formation of a strategic plan directed at finances.  

So, I'm just letting you know.

Ways you can help.

Give

What you can, when you can.

Without a sense of obligation or stress, because we truly do believe there's enough to go around, and are in no way in competition with any of the other beautiful causes out there.

To give to NFF through Highview check out the options laid out on Highview's webpage at www.hcckw.ca/giving.  

And, for every gift, thank you.

Refer

I am currently scoping out educational opportunities towards non-profit fundraising and have found several good sources.  However, I'm open to more, especially ones that don't require high fees up front (which I have to admit I find somewhat ironic).  If you have good experience with this and can make a referral, please email me separately at rabreithaup@hcckw.ca.  

And, for every referral, thank you.

Pray

For God's provision, creativity, increased frugality and budgeting on our part.

For joy in the asking, in the giving, in the learning.

That our children will have all their needs met as they grow into all God created them to be.

And for every prayer, thank you.

*I do not mean to make comparisons to doctrines or worship practices between this 18th century Christian sect and New Family Foundation, other than the comparison of simplicity.  With an interesting history all on their own, the Shakers were a sect associated with the Quaker movement in both Britain and the United States.  They are/were known for their industry, innovation, and devotion to simplicity.  Hence the style of furniture named for them.   Also, they liked to dance, which they did a lot, and very obviously, by the folk dance directions in lyrics, to this song.  

How Little Does it Take to Make a Huge Difference? Educating Girls in Thailand

I'll start with the bottom line.

Right now, we need $3,000 to send some girls to school.

Now let me give you the (much) bigger picture.

==============

When Tae arrived at Hot Springs she was twelve years old.

We asked her to give a bit of a bio about herself.

This is what she told us.

My name is Kratae and I am from the Shaw Karen Tribe.  I am the youngest of two children and we live high on a mountain.  My parents separated.  

I have nowhere to attend school nearby and there is no one who can send me to any other school.  The nearest school is a 4 hour walk from my village.  It is too far for me to attend school regularly.  My mother has to work to provide for me and my older sibling which is very hard for her.  

But now I am able to come to live at Hot Springs I can attend school like other children.  I also have the opportunity to learn about worshipping God.  Even though I don't know how to sing or understand the Bible, now that I am at Hot Springs I am learning more and more about God!

Everything in this bio speaks to a pervasive reality in Southeast Asia.  Poverty prevents possibility.  And it's especially true for young girls.

Remember that she is 12 when she is gathered into our family.  Look at the chilling comment from an article by The Borgen Project.

"To conclude, girls in Thailand do have equal access to education but there are often other obstacles in their way. Girls who do not attend school are at a higher risk of being human trafficked."  (Emphasis added)  Girls' Education in Thailand 

Today, Tae has completed her high school education and is attending Rajabaht Univeristy in Chiang Mai, studying horticulture and business.  She hopes to own and operate her own produce garden one day.  An independent business woman.

This is a good time to thank Tae's Sponsors, George and Linda Gabber, who have supported her all the way through.

Here's the thing though.

Our students are financially supported through a separate fund than how we manage daily operations. And while the monthly amount Sponsors donate does indeed cover the cost of their elementary school education, we do not expect our Sponsors to foot the bill for post secondary school fees.  

The good news is that it costs roughly $1,000.00 Canadian dollars per year per student to provide the educational opportunities they choose to pursue.  You read that right.  

Just $1,000 for tuition AND board to make the all the difference in the world for Tae.

It's April so, it's time again to make the appeal.

We have three students and right now we need $3,000 to set them up for their next run of studies.

Want to help make a HUGE difference?  A few ways to do this.

Contact me via email, rabreithaupt@hcckw.ca.

E-transfer your donation to donations@hcckw.ca and designated it for Student Fund.

Send a check payable to Highview Community Church

with "NFF Student Fund" in the memo line to:

Pauline McAughey

Highview Community Church

295 Highview Drive KIT ON N2N 2K7

All contributions over $20 will be receipted for tax purposes.

Thanks for letting me ask.

Thanks for considering!

Blessings all,

Ruth Anne

Rev. Ruth Anne Breithaupt, MDiv.

Missionary in Residence/Canadian Representative

Highview Community Church/New Family Foundation

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

for at risk and orphan children in Northern Thailand

to help them achieve their best potential in

education, vocation and service to society.

Crosses in Gardens

Cross on the Hill at Hot Springs
Photo Cred: Dave Driver

Crosses in gardens seem more real, somehow.

Yes, let's put them on our places of worship, and wear them around our necks, or hang them on the walls of our homes to remember, to identify ourselves with this Sacrifice.  

But we all know these are sanitized symbols.  

So it's good for us, sometimes, to go outside.  

To reflect beside the rough wood of it.  

To be more real about it.

Crosses in Thailand feel more real somehow.  

Inside or outside.

Maybe because they stand in stark contrast to golden domes.

But just in case I'm tempted to point fingers, 

we Christians tend to glitter too.

Drawn to the bigness of it, I guess.

Different ways to point to God.

Again, no pointing fingers.

There's room at the Cross for this.

But still.

Crosses in gardens seem more real.

In some ways of thinking, 

suffering is to be avoided at all costs.

There's another stark contrast for Thais.

Christian Thais.

We worship a God who suffered.

All the more reason for crosses in Thailand to feel more real.

Inside or outside.

There is no 'spring' in Thailand, either.

Nothing to 'cross' over between equinox and resurrection.

No cultural expression of a celebration of dying that brings life.

Not seasonal.

Not like we do.

All that's left is what is real.

Crosses in gardens.

And hope piercing a recycling of despair.

All of us at New Family Foundation wish you all the very best, 

most real Easter ever.

And if you get the chance,

go visit a Cross in a garden.

Some surprising encounters have happened there before.

Celebrating a Remarkable Woman

 

Happy Birthday to one of the most amazing women I know!

It's not just that she, along with her husband Suradet, have for the past 16 years, welcomed so many children into their care. That alone is heroic and admirable and incredible all in itself.

But to know Yupa is to be graced somehow with the measure of her faith. It's as if the deep spirituality and powerhouse of her inner strength sort of sparkles off onto you. You can't help but get some on you, somehow. To be prayed for by Yupa is truly a great gift.

So, on this birthday, we again celebrate that God has given us such a treasure.

And we pray blessings over and abundant.

As you have given, may it be given unto you.

Essentially Uncomfortable - Thoughts on Cross-Cultural Learning

I stand for a while on the patio enjoying the warmth of this March sun on my skin.  It's 16 C out here at the moment, and I'm loving it.  In the roller coaster ride of temperatures we've had in Ontario over the past several weeks, this peak is welcomed as a hopeful hint of the true Spring that is yet to come.

In Chiang Mai right now, temperatures are peaking at 39 C.  March is one of the hotter months.  I know this because I've been there then.  This was at the beginning of our times going back and forth, before we figured out that November and February are much more conducive to meaningful participation for farangs who can be easily laid low by the extreme heat and humidity.  July and August are okay for visits too, because by then the thermometer in Thailand had fallen way back down to similar temperatures we would be having in Ontario, making it feel so much less of a shock.

And there's the interesting thing about temperatures on any given day.  Whether you feel it's hot, warm, cool or chilly, all depends on what you're used to, what you're expecting, what you've just come from.  Me basking in the warmth of 16 C on my patio in March is the same as me, shivering at early morning worship time at Hot Springs in the 16 C chill.  

Suradet, a bone-chilling 16 C

It reminds me, as I stand in the sunshine on my own back patio, of how much, if left to my own devices of temperament, I might prefer to avoid having to make such adjustments.  Not just in temperatures, but in almost everything.  When I get comfortable, I sort of want to stay like that.  My routines, the food I eat, knowing where my toothbrush is, waking up in my own bed, communicating in my own language, driving on the 'correct' side of the road...all of it is well within my ability to navigate comfortably.  

Except, of course, in perpetuity this is no life at all.  And everything in me is unspeakably grateful that regularly I have the great gift of being flung way out there into all manner of things that require me to adjust, to figure things out a different way, to be surprised and pushed and challenged and made uncomfortable enough to become oh so much more human.

I remember when I was first planning Team trips to Hot Springs.  There was a long list of things I thought I could do to help make sure everyone was comfortable.  I didn't want them to have to experience the same degree of disorientation and shock I did my first time out.  But then I heard, "Don't deprive your Team Members from the same essentially uncomfortable opportunities given you."

These thoughts come to me on my patio on a this "warm" March morning, likely because I am gearing up now to bring another Team with me in November.   

And I'm already praying for them.

Eighty Five Days and Counting

 

Photo by Angela Schultz

To be honest, it begins the moment I board the plane in Chiang Mai on my way back to Canada.  My heart sets a countdown.  One, two, three...like a quiet little tick, tick, tick.  

How long until I can come back?  

Since the pandemic, I think it's been worse.  That stretch of 2 years 8 months and 11 days was brutal.  And it had its own set of implications on my connection with the children, for sure.  That's a big space between when you're 10 and when you're 13, as was the case for many of our girls.  So who is this white lady again?  And where was she when everything was all so awful?

Yes, the disruptive factor of longer absences is definitely always on my mind.  

And it lays heavy on my heart.  

And it goes with the territory.

Just to be clear, I love my life in Canada.  I am rich in relationships.  My grandchildren live close to me, and they are very much part of my life.  I deeply appreciate the benefits of living in the true north, strong and free, even with our health care, economic, and general state of government challenges (which are real, but in no way compare to what others on the planet have to contend with, just sayin').  I am always glad to be back in my own bed, and to settle myself into the comforts of home.  I'm crazy about my husband and always glad to get back to him.

There's just this reality about my life now.  Both places feel like home to me.  

In a very real way, I'm always homesick.

For the past eight-five days I've been holding my own pretty much okay.

There was an unusually intensive fall to recover from.

There was a longer-than-normal jet lag to recover from.

There was Christmas in all it's glory to plan and then enjoy.

There was an equally missional Haiti Dinner and Auction to participate in.

And under it all, there has been and continues to be an all out effort to prepare our house to sell this spring.  (More on that as things unfold.  For now I'll just reassure everyone that we're NOT leaving KW, as that seems to be the first question about the move.)

So I've been fairly occupied.

But now?

On my list now are things like "Email travel agent for airfare costs for July and November."  And, "Begin work on Bible Lessons for the 'This Is My Family" unit for July."  And "Map out cottage plans to coordinate with next visit to Thailand."

And the countdown on my heart is louder.

In all of this I am so glad for the companionship of other missionary pastors who get it.  Through reading their excellent books, articles and autobiographies, I know that this sense of having my heart ache in different directions is par for the course.  It's just something we must learn to live with as part of this unique and humbling call to that 'other place' where God has allowed us to serve Him.  Hey, Paul knew it too.  Just try reading through any of his letters to the churches, which make up most of our New Testament by the way, without finding some expression of overt longing for the people in that place.

Some of you might get this too.  Anyone who loves anyone who is far away is probably on a countdown of their own.  Love does that.  

Some missions organizations function differently.  They discourage emotional connections for a whole lot of their own reasons.  And while I obviously disagree, and we approach this and other missional partnerships very differently, I do admit the risk is there.  

This is hard.

But it's oh so worth it.

Eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven...

Tick, tick, tick.....

Family Day Praise

May the righteous be glad

and rejoice before God;

may they be happy and joyful.

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,

extol him who rides on the clouds;

rejoice before him -- his name is the LORD.

A father to the fatherless, 

a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families,

he leads out the imprisoned with singing.

Psalm 68:3-6

Not for one minute do we take for granted

 what an incredible gift it is to be belong to a family.

On this Family Day, 

we are so grateful to all our Sponsors and Supporters.  

Not only do you help us provide the basic needs of life, 

and the opportunity to further our education,

you also have given us the place of healing, safety and stability 

we so desperately need in order to grow up strong.

We join with the psalmist is offering praise to God

Who, by His good grace, placed us together 

to be a family for each other.

The mission of the 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.