Spring 2026 Update

Dear friends and family,

I (Matt) am writing this from Chiang Mai, Thailand, at 03:45. I’d love to say I’d woken up after getting 5hrs sleep, but unfortunately my body hasn’t been able to stop yet. It’s my fourth day here, and while jetlag and sleep when travelling is never easy (especially when crossing 7 timezones), this trip has been particularly rough. It feels particularly ironic, and at the same time apt, since I’m here to coordinate our latest LEAD community of practice event on the topic of flourishing!

Ironic, because I certainly don’t feel like I’m flourishing at this point! And yet apt, because it demonstrates on a personal level just how interconnected the different features of life are. Rest, and sleep specifically, are critical parts of our life experience, and without them everything is impacted. As we’ve been exploring the topic over the last couple of days, we’ve seen that while our work can contribute to one or more areas of an individual or community's life, if the other areas of their life are not “going well” then they will not be flourishing. As organisations (and individuals!) who are committed to whole life transformation, this is really important for us to understand and should have consequences for the ways that we work.

Some of the questions we’ve been exploring as a group have been around what are some helpful ways of categorising/describing those different areas of life, how do those areas interact with one another, how could our work and activities contribute more positively towards other areas, and how do we know if progress is being made or not? As we’ve grappled with these questions we’ve explored Tearfund UK’s Light wheel framework - you can see the nine spokes/aspects of wellbeing they've identified. It’s been great to have a couple of their colleagues here at the event with us to share firsthand from their experiences developing and using it. As ever at these events we have raised lots of questions, some answers, but through it all some really good conversations. Do take a look at our simple event narrative here to get a flavour for the richness involved in these events.

The week prior to the CoP event, some of the LEAD team were also here to co-facilitate the second Asia-Pacific Faith and Farming training together with the ECHO Asia team. This went well and was another great opportunity to solidify our working relationship with this great organisation and team. After the CoP event we will be meeting as a LEAD leadership team, making the most of being in the same place as one another. There’s lots on the agenda, including how we can address pressing ongoing capacity issues within the LEAD team. There are many opportunities for us to contribute towards whole life transformation around the world but staffing capacity is a real bottleneck for us, so your prayers about how we can respond to that and plan appropriately are very much appreciated.

At home, as usual, Liz and the kids are doing a sterling job without me. It’s hard to be apart, particularly with current world events such as they are, but it’s part of the job. Very sadly, both Matt’s grandads passed away either side of Christmas. They lived long and rich lives, both seeing their 96th birthdays, but of course will leave large holes, particularly for Matt’s parents and their respective wives. Please do be praying for them in particular as they grieve and adjust.

Each year Wycliffe ask us to complete an annual report which goes to our supporting churches with a note from Matt's supervisor. We don't normally share it more widely but we thought some may be interested to read this, so we've put a copy here.

Thank you for all your continued support of us and our work with Wycliffe. You continue in our thoughts and prayers.

Sending lots of love, Matt, Liz, Levi and Anya

P.S. Did you miss our 2025 Highlights slideshow? It’s good to look back on the year with thankfulness, do take a look here now if you haven’t already.