“Uan,” one of our students at Dton Naam, is thrilled to have entered a reputable hair cutting/styling course after having been patiently waiting for this opportunity since January. He is also working on completing the Thai equivalent of his GED.

“Wow”, another student, is excited to be back in University classes with a scholarship from Dton Naam to support him.

It is a unique season right now at Dton Naam as all of our students are currently working jobs off-site or pursuing further education – whether that is in the form of getting their “GED”, pursuing vocational training or going to university. We are so happy for our students and proud of them as this means they are taking big next steps in their journeys to freedom. Dton Naam cheers our students on and supports them as they take steps toward their dreams by offering scholarships for school, having weekly for “check-ins” with our social worker, and encouraging them to continue attending classes Dton Naam offers.

At the moment, we only have students at Dton Naam on Wednesdays and Fridays. Matt is continuing to teach Bible on Friday mornings. Amy is now teaching a Life Skills class on Friday mornings. It’s a new endeavor for her but she’s getting excited about a new multi-week class she’s planning on setting goals and self-motivation. Matt is also helping lead a special session with two of our students on Wednesday afternoons focusing on leading these students into deeper levels of freedom in the area of their sexuality.

We are also actively involved in outreach with Matt going weekly to teach English in a gay bar and Amy going once or twice a month to do outreach to the ladyboys.

In other news –

• In late July, Amy’s sister, brother in law and two nieces came for a visit. The two weeks they were here went by too quickly. It was wonderful to have them visit and be able to meet Alizah in person. Since Alizah was born here in Bangkok, they were the first of our family to be able to meet our little lady in person.
• After staying with us for 9 months, our friend, Cheryl, moved back to America last week. Please be praying for her as she readjusts and reacclimates to the US.
• We’ve added a furry member to our tribe. Lucy is a gray and black striped American short-hair cat who has been winning her way into our hearts since she was given to us a little over a week ago.
• This past Friday we began teaching an English class in the residential area that the leaders of the House of Prayer live in. The class is designed to be an opportunity to build relationships with those in the community unto sharing the gospel with them as doors open. We had about 12 students for our first class, ranging in age from 15 to 64 with varying English abilities.
• This month marks the one year anniversary of living in our current home. We are continuing to engage in relationships with neighbor children and trusting the Lord to open up further doors of relationships with their families.
• “K”, one of the men Matt has been developing a friendship with through our bar English outreach has expressed an interest in leaving the bar and joining the Dton Naam Program. Unfortunately, this gentleman has a struggle with addiction and must go through a recovery program for 3-6 months before he is able to join our program. Dton Naam is able to sponsor him, but due to a debt he has, he is unsure how he feels about going to rehab as he wouldn’t be pulling a salary during that time and therefore wouldn’t be able to make payments on his debt. We are working to see how we can help him overcome this obstacle and take steps into freedom.

You are a treasure to us. Thank you for standing with us through your prayers, generosity and moral support.

Much love,

Matt, Amy, Jed & Alizah