La Gi

Well first wifi is very hard to come by, the hotel we are in says they have wifi, but not so much!

The past 2 days have been incredible...we arrived at the Lost Orphans Orphanage and met the children for the first time on Tuesday the 30th. They immediately ran to us and hugged on us. It was awesome, the kids just wanted to be held and loved on. The sisters who run the place were extrememly glad to see us and are so funny and warm.

There are 4 little girls who are 5 and 6 years old, who have heart breaking stories how they got to the orphanage. They have taken to the guys, and have become our little buddies...we have played ball, piggy back rides, and tickle time with them. They are beautiful little girsl and smart, they are fascinated with our digital cameras and want to play with them...one Yuhm, probably took 200 pictures last night with Aaron's camera. I can not post pictures yet, as the wifif signal is too weak, but will as soon as I can.

We also went to the local childrens hospital and visited the children- 3 of which are Lost Orphans kids. While there the sisters let us help them do a soup kitchen, which they do 5 days a week, for the families there. The hospital does not provide food for patients or families, so the sisters do so 5 days a week. We helped feed 100 or so families. Later we ha a food distribution event at the Orphanage, which the sisters do 1 time a month for the diabled, again we were honored to take part in this. We handed out provisions (22 lbs of rice, 1 qt of fish sauce, 1 lb of sugar, and a box of noodles, with eq of $3 dollars) to 150 families. Many of these disabilities are thought to be the result of Agent Orange used during the war, the area we are in was targeted heavily and you can still see the effects on the land and people.

We finished off the night by taking the older kids 2+ to have ice cream. It was so much fun and the kids were in heaven. I doubt any of us stayed up to see New Years here in Vietnam, we were all sacked!

So Happy New Years and I will try to write more soon.

Peace!

Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)

Today we spent the day as a rest day trying to recover from the long day of travel plus a 13 hour time difference, so we got up ate breakfast and went to the market. What a great place everything you could imagine plus it was the main food market for this part of the city.

Later we went to dinner at a Vietnamese Italian restaurant..go figure right? Then we played hacky sack with a shuttle cock (feather thing from badminton) out on the side walk and in the street with 3 locals. Not sure what we were thinking as we not only had to practice our cat like reflexes to play, but we were also dodging traffic. Tomorrow we head Lagi to start our work.

Gooooood Morning Vietnam!!!!!

Well we are here and just finished our breakfast. We arrived last night at around 11:00 Pm and after driving through a mass of humanity we arrived at our hotel.

Our drive to the hotel was amazing as Vietnam beat Thialland in the IFFA Suzuki cup (soccer) and there was a huge celebration in the streets as all the young people took to the streets on thousands of their motor scooters. I will try an upload pictures soon, as I did not have my camera (packed in a bag I could not access) and used my phone. It should have been a 15 minute drive and ended up taking over an hour, but so worth it to see the chaos.

The flights were long, but bearable, as the 14 hour leg was in a 777 with personal video in each seat, with a large selection of recent movies. We had 4 hours in Seoul, Korea at the airport, where we ate some great sushi.

More later....

One Week

One week till we leave for Vietnam, its hard to believe that it is almost here.

This journey up to know has been so amazing, God put it on our hearts to go only 3 months ago and took what looked like a group of 4-5 and turned it into a group of 21 people. We raised all the money for the trip and for the bible, supplies, and food that we will be distributing in short order, God showed us again and again that when He is involved nothing is impossible.

I will be updating the blog as much as possible while there. Please pray for us; the evil one is already on the prowl, but we know God is sovereign and His will be done!

VIETNAM TRIP UPDATE

I wanted to update all on our trip next month to Vietnam:

Myself, Bill Mckown, Aaron Swanson, Charlie Morgan, Kim Cook, and Tim Cypert, have now been joined by my father Mike Henry, Charlie's 7 year old daughter Emily, and Jennifer Wurster a long time family friend and member of our small group. We will be traveling with a total of 20 people to Vietnam, Dec 27-Jan 4 to serve with the Lost Orphans organization. www.lostorphans.org.

We will be working with the orphans and birth moms that live there and serving with the nuns to feed the hungry, pass out bibles, love the people, and scout out a site for a new orphanage in another part of the country.

This whole process has been awesome; God has blown all of us away in so many ways, and confirmed us at every turn. Just our little part of the group (8 of us) has raised about 85% of the $23,000 needed in a little over 8 weeks.

I (we) want to thank everyone for their words, prayers, and financial support. Your continued prayers are needed: pray for the trip, the people going, the people we will serve, and also for our preparations, scheduling, and our families we will leave behind. God is already working in a mighty way in many of our lives.

Also I challenge you to check out the Lost Orphans website and look at ways to support this ministry.

You can follow our journey on my feeble attempt at a blog.http://sixnineten.blogspot.com/

Peace

Trip Update

Many of you already know, but some are new to my posts, so:
Myself, Bill Mckown, Aaron Swanson, Charlie Morgan, Kim Cook, and Tim Cypert, along with several others are traveling to Vietnam, Dec 27-Jan 4 to serve with the Lost Orphans organization. www.lostorphans.org.

We will be working with the orphans and birth moms that live there and serving with the nuns to feed the hungry, pass out bibles, talk to the hospitalized, love the people, and scout out a site for a new facility.

We have to raise $3000 each for the trip, which at first seemed daunting. However nothing is daunting for God, and He has provided beyond our wildest dreams!!! I am less than $500 from my goal, and several others are between half way and completely funded...all in less than 3 weeks! I think God made a statement in our lives.

Most important, we covet your prayers. Pray for the trip, the people going, the people we will serve, and also for our preparations, scheduling, and our families we will leave behind.

Also between now and then several of us have committed to memorize James chapter 1 and to journal our thoughts and prayers between now and our departure.

You can follow our journey on my feeble attempt at a blog.http://sixnineten.blogspot.com/

Peace

Mike

Challenge

Several of us, who plan on going on the Vietnam trip this December will be memorizing the following passage of scripture:

James 1
Testing Your Faith 1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;
10and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.
11For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
14But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
15Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
18In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
19 This you know, my beloved brethren But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
20for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
21Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
22But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
24for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
25But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.
27Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Join us in memorizing this passage!

“Wanna go to Vietnam….” That is how it all started. A good friend of mine and someone who really impacted my spiritual life, Tim Cypert, sent me an email that started with the same greeting. As I read his email and subsequently read his blog (http://timcypert.blogspot.com- scroll down to July) of a trip he made in July of this year, God began to put a tickle in my soul. At the same time this email also reached several of my friends (accountability partners) and they felt the same urging of God. So after praying and discussing with these men and our families, we have decided to journey to Vietnam this December 27-January 4 to serve with the Lost Orphans organization. www.lostorphans.org.
Lost Orphans is all about rescuing children from abortion and abandonment. In the 2.5 years of its existence they have been able to rescue over 60 children, give hope to many birth moms considering abortion, assisted thousands of impoverished Vietnamese with food, finances, and Bibles, and erected a beautiful 10,000 sf orphanage! What is more fun than that? We will be taking part in the food distribution, bible distribution, ministering to the children of the orphanage, and traveling to a new site to pray over a future Lost Orphans home in another part of Vietnam.
So that brings me to my question……… Wanna go? I know that you will not be able to go physically with me at this time, but you can go with me in prayer, which is so desperately needed! You can also join me by financially supporting me on this trip. I know times are tough and to do this for many of you will really stretch your budget, but I can promise to you that Lost Orphans is an organization that is really making a difference every single day! If you would like a detailed cost sheet, let me know and I will break down where your money goes. Remember that 100% of your donations are tax-deductible. You will be able to track our journey on my blog http://sixnineten.blogspot.com, where I will post updates and photos while on the trip.

Here are more details about joining my team.

Pray – We need wisdom on how best to rescue these children for the duration of their lives. We need wisdom on how to become a major influence in the communities we are in, for the glory of God. We need favor in the eyes of the local governments. We want to see these children attain the ultimate adoption…by God, as His child!
Give – The trip will cost about $3000/person. I need financial support. You can join me financially by sending a tax-deductible check to First Melissa – First Melissa is the sponsoring church for this trip. Mail to my attention at the address P.O. Box 158, Rockwall, TX 75087. You can place my name on the memo of the check. You can also support us online by visiting www.firstmelissa.com. The donate button is on the main page. If you choose to do this, please email and let me know so I can notify them and make sure the money is credited to my trip.

If you feel led to pray or give, please write an email to me at mshenry20@yahoo.com or call me at 214/288-7775 and let me know.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:9-10
In Him
Michael Henry