Mowads on a MISSION!

It has been an absolute JOY over the years to get to know this family. I'm trying to remember the first time we actually met, but I have now been a part of the SBC family for just over twelve years and cannot think of when I didn't know who Beth was. You might know her as Nate's sister, Mark and Ev's daughter, the curly-haired, spunky VBS leader, or in her now recent role as a foreign missionary. Perhaps this is your first introduction to this family and that's super exciting! We are thrilled to bring you an update today on this bold and compassionate family.

Who we are:
Matt(old), Bethany(older), Marin (17), Brooke (15) and Jake (our beloved dog of 11 years!)
 
What our current story is:
We are a missionary family serving with Mission Quest living in SE Asia in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We are in the midst of our fifth year in Chiang Mai after moving here when Matt retired as an aviator from the US Navy.  Our girls had been homeschooled up until this point, but are attending and have fallen in love with going to school at Grace International School.  We live in a muubaan (neighborhood) that is a mix of foreigners, Thai, Korean and Chinese and our house overlooks a rice field which we annually get to watch grow and be harvested.

Matt is currently in the US and has been since March 21.  He is in Oregon attending a helicopter training school where he is learning to (eventually) fly the MD-530 for the Free Burma Rangers (FBR).  Thus far in our ministry here, Matt has been flying their plane assisting refugees in need of medical care.  With the donation of a helicopter, FBR hopes to be able to more aggressively assist in zones where airplanes cannot land.  Matt also works with men who are stuck in sexual addictions through a process developed by Pure Desire Ministries.  He volunteers as a substitute teacher as needed at the girls’ school and also presents regularly on sexual addictions with homeschool groups or other missions organizations.  Matt’s other primary ministry is coming alongside our two amazing Khmer partners in Cambodia.  With the limits of Covid on travel these last two years, this has been challenging, but Matt was able to spend time with many of our contacts and partners in Cambodia before going to helicopter training.
Bethany and the girls remain in Thailand where Bethany continues to attend language studies and spend countless hours studying and practicing.  She had NO idea how challenging it would be to learn a tonal language but had adopted the slow and steady mentality.  Bethany is also currently coaching the senior swim team for Grace International School.  The school “rents” water from a muubaan pool so that the swimmers of the school can participate. Bethany also works with a new ministry that was developed out of Covid called Bread for Life.  Formally, a food delivery service to those in dire need, we are changing our venue to food pantries in conjunction with local churches as Covid allows people to return to work.  The daily wage for many workers is the equivalent of $3USD per day which is well below poverty level.  Bethany comes alongside of her best Thai friend, Nueng, in helping with discipleship both in her church and in her sewing and jewelry center.  Bethany is also on the leadership team of their local church and is quite often found teaching Sunday school!  However, in the midst of all of this, Bethany’s favorite thing is parenting their two daughters and hosting every type of event imaginable for their friends—as well as taking them any sort of crazy adventure she can dream up!!!

Marin and Brooke both do well in school.  Marin is a junior and Brooke is a sophomore.  Both girls have their scooter/motorcycle license, and although this scares Matt and Bethany to death, kids are not allowed to drive cars here until they are 18.  Marin is our avid, passionate, obsessed swimmer and Brooke is endeared to horses and jumping them over anything higher than a meter.  Brooke recently came out of a motorcycle accident fairly unscathed because she said, “Mom, I get thrown off horses all of the time.  I know how to roll when I’m going down….”  Needless to say, this is NOT comforting to a mom when her daughter calls at night after being in an accident.
 
Prayers/Needs:
We take joy in being able to serve here and are humbled to receive the support that we do.  As the world comes out of Covid, we would covet prayers for a renewed vision towards our ministries.  We ask for prayer as we will be traveling this summer throughout the US and for our girls to be safe as they learn to drive cars and we go about the task of finding and choosing colleges for them.  Our greatest need at this point is for the Lord to have His hand of guidance and protection over our family. We are deeply aware that Satan wants to stunt any type of growth and fruit the Lord wants to grow through us. We are humbly seeking wisdom fully aware we cannot do this on our own.