Just like you!

Just like you Kids video from Brett Faucett on Vimeo.
See what it is like to be a missionary kid living in Thailand. Acacia and Anna show what their life is like.

Coming Home

It has been a while since I had last written and I always struggle with what to write when I come back from a lengthy absence.   We are still here, we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth.   I try not to make it a habit of long silences between posts, but life seems to get in the way.  And to be quite honest I don't think our life is that exciting.  Don't get me wrong there are times of great excitement and worthy things to write about, it is just difficult to get it down on the blog.   I know I need to keep you all informed of the ministry that we committed our lives to and I plan to get better at that.  See, now I have you to keep me accountable to that. 

We come back to the States in a couple of weeks and look forward to seeing friends and family.  Right now we are in that chaotic, messy period of trying to pack up our lives to come back home.  It is very stressful at times and we always wonder if we have done enough to prepare to go back home and share what God has done with our lives.  Sometimes it is difficult to really see how God has transformed you until you step out of the situation and can objectively look at what has been going on in your life.  Our family really needs this time away to recharge our batteries. 

Working in the ministries of HIV/AIDS, Human Trafficking and Disabled Children is emotionally and spiritually draining.  We see some of the worst and best of humanity, sometimes it feels like a roller coaster ride of emotions with lots of screaming with our hands in the air and nervous anticipation of going over the edge.

This last year has been an intense year of personal growth for me with lots of pain thrown in.  Sometimes the pain seemed unbearable and I would retreat inside myself and let the negative self talk overwhelm me.  It can be quite humbling to realize just how broken you are.    I have been digging my way out through counseling and have been blessed with an amazing wife. I don't even want to think about where my life would be if God hadn't put Shelly in my life.    I have been equally blessed with close friends that have allowed me to pour my life out to them and have shown me incredible grace.

Like I said we look forward to see many of you and we can't wait to hear about your lives too.  Please keep us in your prayers and we will be praying for you.  Could you all say a special prayer for my friend's Daughter Gaby who is in the hospital on a ventilator.  She is only in her 20's.  The family is really struggling to deal with all this.  Thank you.

God bless you all.

Close call

Driving around in Chiang Mai you often take your life into your own hands. People pull out in front of you all the time without the slightest glance in the oncoming direction. You really learn to be a cautious defensive driver. Road rules here are more like suggestions and are often ignored and scoffed at. Driving a motorcycle around here is liberating and very dangerous at the same time. Liberating in the fact that you can weave in and out of traffic and get to where you are going without all the traffic jams. Dangerous because everybody does whatever they want without regard for safety or rules. Maybe not everybody, but it sure does feel like it sometimes.

Every other Wednesday I go to my photography group meeting which is near the airport and it is a 20-30 min trip on the motorcycle. I could drive the route in my sleep if I had to. Last week I was on the road headed to the group's meeting and was stuck behind a slow moving truck in the middle lane. I checked my side view mirror and saw the motorcycle behind me pulling out into the right hand fast lane to bypass the truck. I thought I would follow right after him and started leaning in that direction after I had checked my mirror again and was met with blasts from a horn coming from a speeding truck in the fast lane I was trying to enter. He was going too fast to stop and looked like he had no intention of stopping. I barely turned my body and missed the guy by about a foot and a half. I felt the huge gust of wind as he flew past me and realized that I almost died in that split second. My heart was racing and I was just trying to control my emotions over the next few seconds. I immediately started praying and thanking God for sparing my life, because if the truck driver hit me I would surely be dead. A near death experience can really put things into perspective. All I could think of was my family and how I could be the best Dad and husband I could be. All of it could be taken away in a split second. The most important thing in life was my family. Have you ever had a close call with death and how did it change you?

Baker Extraordinaire

Shelly's Baking program has become quite the sensation with the boys from Urban Light. Please pray for the boys of Urban Light and that Shelly can continue with her vital work.

Melody of strings

weaver's loom from Brett Faucett on Vimeo.

I recently made a weaver's loom for my daughter Acacia and we have a house guest that is experienced in using a weaver's loom staying with us. Combining those two together and Acacia has a great creative outlet. As does her Dad trying to be creative by filming her. This was about 10 min of weaving condensed down to about 3 1/2 min. I didn't do much in post processing and I wanted the dark and shallow focus look to the video. Enjoy.

Coming Home

Shelly has been training these young boys from Urban Light how to bake for almost a year now. I don't know if they are really gaining a new job skill or just love to meet every week to take their mind off of what their life is really like. Can you blame them for wanting consistency in their lives especially from somebody that doesn't want use them for their bodies. I've recently begun a soccer/sports program at Urban Light and I show up every Friday at the drop in center just to play games or do activities with the boys. They really seem to enjoy it and are always happy to see me.

 The boys are so sweet and innocent and it makes me cry every time I watch the video above. They are just teenagers!    I see how genuine and nice they are and then I think about some adult male using and abusing them for their own twisted sexual satisfaction. I can't imagine the shame and rejection the boys must endure.  They are like the throwaways that nobody seems to notice or care about.

 I don't think I have to do much of anything to make an impact with these boys other than be myself. I am a foreigner that they can trust and will not use and abuse them. I feel like just being there and role modeling what it is like to have a relationship with an adult male is hugely significant.  I just have to be with them and love them for who they are. No judgement, no condemnation just love.

A Season of Change

Living as a missionary family is both rewarding and stressful at the same time.  We live in an amazing place of beauty and adventure here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  The sights, sounds and smells of Northern Thailand can be intoxicating.  We love the work we are doing here as well.  We feel very blessed that we have the opportunity to follow God's call in helping those living with HIV and AIDS, disabled children and Human Trafficking.  It is all heart breaking work at times, but also very meaningful when we see what showing a little love can do.  All our work has to do with people out on the margins of society who have no voice to tell their stories and lives.  It is amazing to me when I think of how courageous and vulnerable the people I work with can be and also be willing to let me into their lives.
The "Golden Rule" really applies to the we way think missions should be viewed and carried out. " Do unto other as you would have done unto you". 
It is a very simple rule that is not always the easiest to follow.  How often do we judge people for their appearance, social status, belief systems and race.  Sometimes Christians can be the most judgmental, myself included.  I have to constantly remind myself as I am dealing with someone, is the way I am treating them the way I would like to be treated?  My emotions sometimes gravitate more towards sympathy rather than empathy and I have to catch myself and try to imagine myself in their shoes and not just feel sorry for them.  Feeling sorry for someone is not not going to change the situation for the better, but being able to walk in their shoes will help in gaining a deeper understanding.
Being a missionary can be overwhelmingly sad at times, especially when dealing with children that are abused or selling themselves for sex to just to be able to eat and live.  Sometimes I just break down crying with my head in my hands.  Shelly is currently teaching a group of boys English who are from Burma and have come to Chiang Mai to escape poverty.  Unfortunately, the boys are working in a well known bar that caters to western sex tourists.  The boys wanted to learn English because there are more opportunities for them if they know English.  As Shelly was teaching the boys she was getting to know them a little more each time and it is heart breaking to hear how young some of these boys are.  Almost all of them are teenagers.  Could you imagine your own teenage son or daughter having to perform sex acts for sick perverts.  It makes me literally sick to my stomach.  I often don't want to think about it, but we have to because we are in an opportunity to speak love into their lives and give them hope that someone really does care for them.  It is about applying the "Golden Rule" to every situation.  Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

As I mentioned in the title of this post it is a season of change.  The missionary life is a very transient life.  This is the time of year at the end of school when missionary families are going back home to reconnect with family, friends and churches and  it is also when some families leave the mission field for good.
Several years before coming to the mission field I spent 4 years in the Navy and it reminds me of my time here, especially boot camp.  Being on the mission field feels like boot camp in that we are working together and are all in the same boat.  Working alongside someone in the trenches is a very powerful bonding experience.  Some of the friends we've made here make me feel like we've gone to boot camp together.  We are now faced with saying goodbye to families that are not coming back and it is ripping my heart out.  These are the people who I have shared my hope, fears and dreams with and now I may never see them again.  These are the people that truly know what our life is like and can understand what we are going through.  I love them with all my heart and I am so grateful to get to call them friends.  My kids are another story as they are saying goodbye to friends they've known half of their life.  We talk about it during our bedtime routine and poor Acacia's eyes will start to water and her little lip will start to shake.  She hasn't broken down yet and is trying to keep a brave face, but underneath it all I know her little heart is breaking.  And that in turn is breaking my heart.  Sometimes being a missionary sucks!