LETTERFROMTHEMILLERS
InJuneofthisyear,wewillhavecompletedour9thyearonthemissionfieldhereinBangkok. Wecan’tbegintodescribehowfaithfulGodhasbeenduringtheseyearsnorhowHehasused ustoserveandstrengthenHisKingdom.Whenwereflectonthepeoplewehavemetand lovedandservedandsufferedwithonthisjourney,weareovercomewiththanksgiving.God hasdonegreatthingsandisdoinggreatthingsandwilldogreatthings.
While2023wasayearoftransition,2024hasbeenayearofhealthyandwelcomeroutines. BobbiJohasbecomemorecomfortableinherroleasakindergartenteacherandMattfinally hasafixedschedulebothatthelocalThaichurchandConstructionofHope.LexiandJude, meanwhile,areperformingwellacademically,developingasmusicians,starringontheir respectivesoccerteams,andgrowingintheirloveforandknowledgeofGodandHisWord.
Aswedoeveryyear,wewillgiveyouaglimpseoftheministrywe'reengagedin,thepeople weserve,andthewaysthatGodusedustochangelives.
Love, Matt,BobbiJo,Lexi,andJude
PREACHINGANDTEACHINGATTAIROMPRAKHUN
MattcontinuestopreachandteachatTairomprakhunChurchinBangkok.Henowteaches everyThursdayevening,andpreachesoneSundayeachmonth.Mattteachesverseby versethroughbooksoftheBibleandhisteachingsarelive-streamedonbothFacebookand YoutubesothatTairomprakhun'ssevendaughterchurchesthroughoutThailandcanlearn.
NotonlyisMatthumbledbytheopportunitytoedifybelieversacrossThailandthroughhis preachingandteaching,buthealsoisgratefulfortheopportunitytoproclaimtogospelto non-believerswhenthechurchhostsspecialoutreachservices.
Each pin represents one of Tairomprakhun's eight churches. As you can see, Matt's teachings are reaching people in northern Thailand, as well as people living on the borders of Laos and Cambodia. Matt's teachings are therefore helping to equip the saints for the work of ministry both inside and outside of Thailand. These believers do outreach both in their own communities and across the border.
In 2024, Matt taught two in-depth series on Thursday nights: The Minor Prophets and Parables of Jesus. He preached various messages on Sunday mornings. Matt is blessed to have the opportunity to teach both mature and new believers who have a hunger for God’s Word On occasion, Matt also gets to share the gospel with Buddhists who have never heard the gospel before.
DYNAMICDUO-MATTANDRUUD
RuudisthesonofTairomprakhunChurch’sfounderandleader.Withinthenextdecade, Ruudwillbecometheleaderofthechurch.Ruudisaskilledmusicianwhooftenleads worshipatthechurch,andalsoteachesGod’sWordtoyouth,youngadults,andmature believers.Heholdsmaster’sdegreesfrombothCornellandGeorgetownandisusedasa translatorwhenlargeChristianconferencesareheldinThailand.
MatthashadtheluxuryofhavingRuudserveashistranslatorforthedurationofourtimein Thailand.AnunanticipatedresultofthisisthatRuud’sownteachingstyle,knowledgeand understandingoftheWord,hermeneuticalapproach,andtheologyhavebeengreatly influencedbyMatt.Thechurchwillbeingoodhandslongafterwe’regone!
FAMILIARFACES-SOVANANDNDA
TairomprakhunChurchandConstructionofHopeareunrelatedandquitefarfromeach other.Yet,webumpedintoafamilyatthechurchthatwehadservedatCOH.TheHengly familycamefromCambodiamanyyearsagoandbecamebelieverswhenthegospelwas sharedwiththematConstructionofHope.Unfortunately,theyhadafallingoutwithfellow staffmembersattheministryandwehadonlybeenabletointeractviasocialmedia.Then, tooursurprise,wefoundthemworshippingatTairomprakhunandtheyhappenedtocome onadaythatMattwaspreaching.
SovanandNda,alongwiththeirchildren,regularlyattendachurchnearby,butMattlets themknowthedaysthathepreaches,andtheyalwayscometoTairomprakhunonthose Sundays.It’ssocooltoworshipandfellowshipwithpeoplethatyoucametoknowata separatechurchandministryontheothersideofBangkok!
Matt turned his teaching series on Malachi into a book that can be used devotionally or in small groups. The book is for sale in both print and digital format on Amazon. Going forward, Matt will continue to write similar books and our hope is to find a way to get each one translated into Thai. The difficulty we face is the cost of translation. We are using every penny from the sale of the book on Amazon towards the cost of translation, but we will need to raise much more. If we can get the books translated into Thai, we will make them freely available to our Thai church and also donate some to a Christian library here in Bangkok.
28BAPTISMSATTAIROMPRAKHUNCHURCH
BOBBIJOTEACHINGATINTERNATIONALSCHOOL
SERVINGATCONSTRUCTIONOFHOPE
MattsplitshistimeservingTairomprakhunChurchandConstructionofHope.BobbiJo,Lexi, andJudeserveatConstructionofHopeduringschoolbreaksorholidays.Wehaveallbeen involvedwiththisministryinsomecapacitysince2017.Allthoseyearsagotherewereupto 75childrenonsite.Now,thereareonly25children.Thepandemichadalottodowiththe drasticreductioninnumbers.Whileitsaddenedustosaygoodbyetosomanychildren,the manageablenumberofchildrenattheministrynowhasbeenbeneficial.
Itiseasierforthestafftolookafter25childrenthan75,andgivethemone-on-oneattention. Theyhavealsohadeducationaldoorsopenupthatotherwisemaynothave.Mostofthe childrenarenowinaU.S.basedhomeschoolingprogramcalledA.C.E.,somearedoingaThai GEDprogram,andonechildisenrolledataChristianinternationalschool.Onaccountofthis newfoundaccesstoeducation,thewayourfamilyservesthechildrenatConstructionof Hopelooksmuchdifferenttodaythanitdidinthepast.
Micron is what is known as a ‘hill tribe’ person. He and his mother lived in the mountains between Thailand and Myanmar. His father abandoned them, and they made their way down to Bangkok. Because his mother secured Thai citizenship for him and enrolled him into Thai school, we were able to use our connections with Bangkok Christian International School (Bobbi Jo and I used to work there), to get Micron into a much better school than the one he was in. We can’t be certain, but it is highly likely that Micron is the first hill tribe child to attend an international school in Thailand.
Queen will become the first child at Construction of Hope to graduate high school. Her father, Moses, is on staff at COH as a builder, driver, and maintenance worker. Both Queen and Moses became believers several years ago through the outreach of children and staff at Construction of Hope. Queen will attend Dusit Thani College in February and begin a degree program in Culinary Arts. We are so excited to see the woman that she becomes and to see the impact she makes on her peers and professors.
Since 2022, the children have played soccer two days a week. Matt joined them every Thursday and led them in drills that he learned from Jude’s academy coaches. Now that nearly all of the children are at school Monday through Friday, soccer has become an evening and weekend activity. Most Saturdays, the kids play rugby. A sports ministry here in Bangkok invited them to play two months ago, and the kids absolutely love it.
We have known Joseph for about seven years. The son of Cambodian migrant workers, he lived at Construction of Hope from 2015-2020. At the start of the pandemic, he went back to live with his parents and to work in construction. In 2022, he began to worship at the church led by Vino, the director of COH. Lifesong for Orphans then asked Jospeh if he would take a job serving at the very ministry in which he came to know and love Christ, and the rest is history. Joseph is now a full time worker at Construction of Hope!
HOMEOFHOPE-TAKEO,CAMBODIA
LifesongforOrphansisaU.S.-basednon-profitthatsupportsConstructionofHopein BangkokandHomeofHopeinTakeo,Cambodia.MattservesasSoutheastAsiaLiaisonfor thesetwoLifesongprojects.Inthisrole,Mattactsasthego-betweenforLifesong’shome officeandtheindigenousleadersoftheirprojectshereinSoutheastAsia.
MatttravelstoCambodiaseveraltimesperyeartomeetwithindigenousleadersinPhnom PenhandTakeo.WealsohostthemfromtimetotimeinBangkok.Mattisonboardingwith Lifesong,meaningthat he receives no monetary compensation or benefits.Yourfinancial supportiswhatallowshimtopartnerwiththisorganizationinthisdeepercapacity.
Like Joseph, Sam is now serving at the very ministry in which he was formerly served. Sam graduated college in 2024 and immediately joined the Lifesong team. He is the director of the boys dorm and also oversees the children’s education. He especially loves teaching English and is himself a fluent English speaker. Our hope is that Sam will eventually become the director of Home of Hope, the orphanage in Takeo, Cambodia.
ONMISSIONINEVERYDAYLIFE:DARIOANDBOREY
OverthepasttwoyearswehavetalkedalotaboutDarioandBorey.Weaskedyoutobein continualprayerfortheseboys,andGodhasheardandresponded.Bothboyswere baptizedin2023,andnowtheythey’reearthlycircumstancesareimprovingaswell.Borey, intheblackshirt,hastakenDario’sjobatouroldneighborhood.Hedoesn’thaveasingle dayoff,butheishappierworkinginthisneighborhoodthantheoneheformerlyworkedat. Dario,meanwhile,hasbeenhiredatoursolarpanelcleaningcompanythat’sownedbyour friend,Rob.He’sheadingtoSingaporeforonemonthtotrain,andthenwillreturnto Bangkokandearntwiceasmuchpermonthashewasearningbefore.
DarioandBoreyhaveacommunityofbelieverspouringintothemandtreatingthemas family,andusedtheserelationshipstorevealHimselfandHisfaithfulnesstothem.Oneof thebestthingsthathashappenedinourtimeinThailandisseeingwhatGodhaddonein andthroughtheseyoungmen.
ONMISSIONINEVERYDAYLIFE:ROBANDMAISIE
Thisinanolderphoto,butit’stheonlyonewehavewithallofustogether.We’veknown RobandhisdaughterMaisieforovereightyears.Muchhashappenedintheirlivesoverthat span.RobandMaisie’smother,ChinChin,arecurrentlyseparatedandtheirother daughter,Kaya,liveswithhermominTaiwan.RobandMaisielivedowntheroadfromus andRobownsandoperateshisownbusinessandhashiredDarioashisfirstemployee. MaisieisattendingBangkokChristianInternationalSchoolandisnowconsidering becomingaChristian.RobisopentocomingtoourhousechurchonSundaymorningor oursmallgrouponSundaynight,sowewanttoaskyoutopraythatheandMaisiewould feelcomfortableinoneofthoseenvironmentsandcometoknowandbelieveinJesusas LordandSavior.
ONMISSIONINEVERYDAYLIFE:GROWTHGROUPS
Forseveralyears,bothofushaveledGrowthGroups,whichareafter-schoollifegroupsfor students.MattleadsagroupwithJudeinitandBobbiJoleadsagroupwithLexiinit.We notonlygetachancetoteachtheBibletothesestudents,butwealsoprovideasafespace forthemtosharetheirfeelings,haveaccountability,thinkthroughwhattheybelieve,and fosterwhatmaybecomelifelongfriendships.
OneofourfavoritethingsabouttheKingdomofGodisthediversityofpeoplefoundwithin itandthatdiversityisonfulldisplayinourgroups.Currently,wehavestudentsfrom America,Thailand,SriLanka,Taiwan,Canada,andAustralia.Inthepast,we’vehad studentsfromSouthKoreaandJapanaswell.
LEXIANDJUDE
LexiandJudecontinuetothriveasthirdculturekids.Theyhavehealthyrelationshipswith diversegroupsoffriends,they’redoingwellacademically,they’rebothfantasticsoccer players,andtheyaresteadilymaturinginChrist.
Lexiishalfwaythroughherfreshmanyearandshehasmadethehonorrollbothquarters. Attheratesheisgoing,wethinkshemaybeabletoearnscholarshipswhenshegoesoffto universityinfouryears.Shelovestofiddlewiththeguitar,readbooks,write,playsoccer, andhangoutwithherfriends.Shehatessleepoverswiththem,however!
Judeisdoingwellasa7thgrader.He’soneofthemostwelllikedboysinhisclassandone ofthebetterathletesinallofmiddleschool.Academically,he’squitegoodandmathand heisgrowingasawriter.Helovesplayingsoccer,beingoutdoorswithhisfriends,playing Fortnitewithhisfriends,andnaturehikes.
WeappreciateyourcontinuedprayersforLexiandJudeandtheirdevelopmentasbelievers andgoodhumans.
PrayforRobandMaisietobereceptivetothegospel.
PrayforLexiandJudetohavingagrowingfaithandloveforGod.
