1) Ryan, Ashley, Kendal and Kaelyn plus the Mowad family and other local volunteers participating in a delivery of food to a Thai school as part of Bread for Life.  Many of the students of this school lived either in an abandoned warehouse OR physically on top of the city dump. 2) Picture from the new HUG Project location with HUG Project and TICAC (Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children) police task force personnel. 3) The abandoned warehouse where many children from the school lived.  Notice the thin tin walls with no windows that divide the total space for every family unit.

MISSION - To make disciples of ALL nations who are obedient to Biblical truths

PLATFORM - Protecting trafficked and at risk peoples with Christ's love as our example

Many of you have already received our newsletter we mailed Sept 9 from North Carolina to better connect with our supporters.  We still mail the electronic copy to everyone to provide all an opportunity to share with others.  If you have not but would like to receive the printed copy of our newsletter, please send an email to one of our email addresses listed at the bottom of the newsletter with your physical address.  THANK YOU!!

Becoming more immersed with Thai life/people

Ryan: After more than 21 months in Thailand, things are finally starting to "click" as we become more immersed in Thai culture and language.  I (Ryan) do not have a natural ability to learn Thai quickly like Ashley does.  Considering you can say "Kow" many different ways to mean either (enter, knee, he/she, hill, fish odor, rice, news or white) depending upon how long you hold the "ow" and the tone, I was naturally pretty lost.  It's always bad when you want to ask for rice but instead say something about fish odor at a food stall.  Trust me, there's more than one funny snafu where I was initially pretty embarrassed, but those pretty embarrassing times are ones that help cement the right word and tone in my head.

In the workplace, we try to speak Thai whenever possible to keep this learning curve moving towards full Thai fluency in the hopes it will yield fruit in term of relationships and discipleship opportunities.   I (Ryan) have continued to support HUG in terms of budgeting/accounting process, financial forecasting, donor engagement and grant development.  We have a great group of people here with 4 full time Thai staff, 1 part time Thai/American and our director Boom who works graciously without a salary. 

Funding at HUG has fallen because of COVID, but due to some great work from the HUG Project team we garnered the approval of 3 new grants.  These new grants are developing victim assistance manuals in Thai, increasing our awareness in the community through art and a grant that helps our general funding.  In addition, the team continues to help MANY victims everyday via the HUG website, Facebook and a new direct crisis line. God always comes through for HUG and we eagerly await what the future holds.

Additionally, I have tried to be more proactive about engagement.  Since I am now 45 and no longer the spring chicken I once was, I have begun to bicycle 15-20 miles on some days with intentional stops at regular intervals to buy water and speak with the owners of the shops.  I have begun to develop some relationships which I hope will yield friendships and eventually deeper conversations and discipleship opportunities.  I don't think any disciples were ever molded without a foundation of trust and friendship.

Once you get on the field, you realize that there are countless different ways you can be a blessing to others.  This isn't really a surprise, but what I find cool is that God was preparing us for this from the moment we got married (probably before).  Ryan has been able to use his knowledge and skills in finance to bless other ministries here.  Many people don't know how to budget properly (with contingencies) or set up ways to track finances and plan for the future.  There are some other opportunities on the horizon for this as well, including work with other ministries and Bread for Life applications.

As for me, I have to give a personal shout out to Elaine Krazer.  Elaine has been a friend and mentor to me for a long time now.  A few years ago, I mentioned to her I was thinking of getting certified as a Project Manager.  Not only was she my cheerleader, she taught my prep course and helped me study for the test.  Even now, I am continuing to use these skills.  I had the privilege to help a friend work through a project plan, including impact value chain, risk assessment and monitoring/evaluating tools and ideas.  It's so fun to be able to do this not only for the projects we are with, but to be a blessing (hopefully) to others.  

So thank you Elaine!  And I want to encourage each of you to look at what God has given you and find ways then to bless others with it.  Nothing is too small.  If you can cook, bring someone a meal, if you like to watch kids, bless a couple with a date night out.  If you can mentor a younger person - DO IT!  You never know what God will do with it.  

Struggles and Opportunities

No one could have guessed when we all welcomed in 2020, it would be the start of a global pandemic and all of the turmoil associated with it.  Within Thailand, the actual health effects have been very moderate compared to other countries.  Less than 3,500 cases and 60 deaths have been reported over the past 8 months due to very strict governmental lock down procedures.  These steps from the government, though helpful to reduce the risks of COVID, have decimated the economics.  This creates new struggles but also new opportunities as we seek to serve. 

A segment of the working Thai population, coupled with large quantities of marginalized or less educated workers who lost employment, have yet to return to work.  Especially in transportation, resorts, hotels, air travel and anything tourism related, the losses are (by my estimate) 60% to 90%.  Here in Chiang Mai, where tourism drives the economy, we have talked to many shopkeepers who haven't sold anything in months.

On July 24th, we went with our family near the moat of Chiang Mai with some friends to eat.  We went to Loi Kroh Road which typically has a small collection of massage parlors and some shady establishments of small bars and clubs. This was intentional in an effort to really understand how people (specifically sex workers) are managing the fluid economics. We entered a air conditioned restaurant at 7:00 P.M. What was a previously a bustling street prior to COVID, had  about 30% of shops open for business.  When we exited about 8:30, the only places open were some bars with young "working" Thai women and a few restaurants.  What surprised us was not the amount of places open, but the 20 or so sex workers standing outside a bar with maybe 10-15 non-working customers.  It was the most crowded place on the 1 km long street by far.  These sex workers put on the appearance of happiness with makeup and allure which stood in stark contrast to what I understood.  The large increase in workers in the sex industry is often one of economics not pure freedom of choice.  These women/ladyboys were not likely "forced" into this work in the traditional sense of sex slavery. Instead, they simply needed to eat and past jobs that were reliable for income were no longer available. 

A symbol of the economics. Friday night walking down what previously was the busiest street in Chiang Mai (Thai Pae gate road). During the water festival Nov 2019, it was so crowded on a bridge nearby it took us an hour to move 100 meters.  

Just as with Joseph in Egypt, what begins as a hardship often creates opportunities with God's hands and wisdom. Many people are hungry not only for food, but for a change, seeking something different that merit (Buddhist merit making) cannot atone for.  Making merit will never create a sense of love beyond what we deserve, just a feeling of never being able to achieve true goodness.  It is eye-opening to see Thai's ask and come to understand that grace, unlike merit, is not earned, but something fully provided by God through Jesus because of Fatherly love despite our past, current and future sins.

Prayer Requests

We continue to ask for prayers for language ability to be able to hear and address the needs we see.  We will likely continue Thai language class for at least another year as we strive for more connections with Thai's.

Prayers for patience as we want to see and just enjoy life with everyone back in the United States. It feels like home here but that doesn't replace the desire to hug and thank all of you. Also, please continue to pray for our English Bible Studies.  I (Ryan) started a new class last Friday and went 0 for 15 on invitations.  I am not discouraged and will continue to seek out those who are willing to have discovery conversations.  Our student of 1.5 years could also use specific prayers.  She asks great questions but is still battling with emotions buried deep from past trauma that, according to her, leaves her feeling she is "unable to know love".

Persons of Peace

We desperately want our eyes to be the eyes of Jesus; that we see the opportunities that are in front of us if we only have the strength to move forward.  We pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, mouths to respond and hands/feet willing to go the distance.

Personal

We love our life here in Thailand and are so thankful for the opportunity to serve.  Ryan and I (Ashley) continue to be amazed at the doors opening and the ministry work growing.  The girls are doing really well, and honestly Kaelyn is really thriving in school despite her dyslexia because of the support she is receiving.  Both girls are growing in faith and knowledge and that is so fun to watch.  Our families in Texas are doing well, but we miss them so much.  We miss our son Blake so much!!  He's got his own life, dreams, career and family ahead of him and we are so excited for him.  We are thankful for all of our blessings for sure!   

Do you know someone who might find encouragement in reading our newsletter?  Send us an email at finfreedom@gmail.com (Ryan) or alee6283@gmail.com (Ashley) and we would be happy to add them to the distribution list.

Address in Thailand:

207/58 Baan Nai Fun

M.3, T. Mae Hia, A. Mueang

Chiang Mai, Thailand 50100

+011 66-094-626-1100