Tiny Termite Terrorists

 

Yikes!  I never quite know what messages and pictures from Thailand I'll wake up to on any given morning.  Yesterday it was this.  The back of one of the children's wardrobes nearly half chewed through by termites.

Yupa says they thrive in the rainy season, and make their way indoors to feast on whatever timber-based treats they can find.  I've seen an entire doorframe decimated, and some unattended books snacked on.

Partly this is because we are a little bit out of the city, much like you'll see more insects at the cottage than at home.  And partly it's because our buildings are older and retrofitted, not offering the most up to date pest deterrents.

Yes, we need our new facility!!

The good news is that these wardrobes needed replacing anyways.  The bad news is, this comes at a time when other first-of-the-school-year expenses increased in ways we were not expecting, due to the general state of Thai economy as a result of the global fuel crisis. 

Other than the ick factor, and having to clean up the mess, everyone at Hot Springs is taking all of this, termites and tariffs and gas tanks and politics, in stride.  I am amazed and inspired by the persistence and resilience and strength that is so solidly hooked to the humility and faith of Suradet and Yupa, the rest of our Staff, and the kids themselves.

All of you who support us, both financially and also in prayer and with encouragement and love, are part of this.  We know we're not alone, and that keeps the nasty little surprises, and the unexpected stresses that come with, in perspective.

Thank you for all who have been stepping up in generous ways as we have moved into this calendar year.  You make me glad to be partners with you in the care and well being of our children, and confident as we press forward into the future.

One way you can still participate, if you haven't already, is to check out the Practice Makes Possible Workshops that are being run in June.  It is an online 2 1/2 hour experience aimed at helping us deepen our connection with God.  All proceeds go to the New Facility Project.

Blessings and joy, always.

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 New School Year Begins!

Back to School

The school year in Thailand runs from May to March, with our high schoolers having started classes this year on May 6, and the elementary school kids waiting until May 11.

It's always a big deal for us, with everyone arriving back from their time home with their families during school break, adjustments to starting a new grade, and getting back into the gentle but needed routines that allow for 21 kids to be ready to leave for school on time.

We appreciate your prayers, as this particular new school year begins under the cloud of the global fuel crisis.  In Thailand this is being even more acutely felt, with gas being rationed and long line ups at the pumps.  We need to put gas in the tank for two round trips to and from school each week day.  

In similar situations in the past, school has had to close just because teachers and students couldn't get there.  We are not hearing any rumours of this quite yet, it will be of significant impact for us if the Thai government feels the need to go to online learning for any length of time.  

We are cautious but curious as to how this particular school year will unfold.  And also very grateful for all the love and support, and extra contributions we continue to receive in order to help us navigate these challeging times.  

To donate:

donations@hcckw.ca

or cheque made out to Highview Community Church, memo NFF mailed to:

NFF - Highview Community Church

295 Highview Drive KIT ON N2N 2K7

Fundraising Workshops for your consideration. 

Graphic design by RAB/ARH 2024 copyright

 "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 draft 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 various times (sign up for one only):

Thursday, May 14 - 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. (In Person)

Wednesday, May 20 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. (In Person)

Wednesday, May 27 - 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. (Zoom)

Wednesday, June 10 - 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. (Zoom)

Tuesday, June 16 - 9:00 to 11:30 p.m. (Zoom)

Saturday, June 20 - 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. (Zoom)

To Register:

Contact me at rabreithaupt@hcckw.ca.

Includes:

• Three sessions: 
•  "Confectionary Quiet Times: Drafting a Spiritual Formation Plan"
•  "Bible Listening: Lectio Divina" 
• "Letting the Bible Read Me: S.O.A.P."
• Power Point Presentation
• Participants Workbooks (provided electronically, or printed for KW area participants)
• Interactive instruction and guided discussion
• In person or Zoom-intimate environment (see indication with dates above)
• Bibliography for further exploration

Cost:

• $35.00 per person
• $25.00 if you gather a group of 5 or more
• 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.

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, and then feedback from our first two trial workshops, has led me to expand on this idea.  

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.

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

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