He Makes All Things New

...And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be His people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, " I am making everything new!"... Rev 21:3-5

Happy New Year!

I pray your new year finds you as blessed as I feel I am right now, we spent the day (New Year's Eve) in 2 remote villages feeding approximately 220 families who are extremely poor, we visited the home of a family who collected cow dung and sold it as fertilizer, as their primary source of income. They invited us into their houses and into their lives, it was humbling and uncomfortable. But through ut all we say Him!
We have had some guests with us on this trip, one couple from HCM and their infant son. Ester and Tuan, have blessed us in the short time we have gotten to know them. Today she started the day off with her testimony, Wow. She decribed a life of bitterness, despair to the point of the entire familiy attempting suicide, oppression, and pain. But as He promises, one day she found Jesus, and her whole family soon followed. The result is what I belive is the same result we have, though we take it for granted.....HOPE. See Jesus makes "All things new" He delivered Ester and her family from despair and gave them a forever! Their current lives show no resemblance to their past, I am not sure I have met a more joyful, loving, caring, warm person in my life. The radiance of Christ is overwhelming in her life and it is contagious and convicting, because we have all been offered the same salvation from our dispair and depravity, yet even those of us who accept the salvation, do not fully understand our depravity enough to accept the full glory of Chirst in our lives. Every where we went and with everyone she could, she shared her salvation and offered His glory to others. It was a blessing to watch.

We finished the day by playing with the kids and then taking the older kids out to eat ice cream, again what a joy to be part of His love to these precious little ones. Many have been saved from death, while others have been rescued from horrible abuse and mistreatment, and now have a chance to find The Hope and cling to the promise that all things will be made new and there will be a day of no more tears.


Peace

Tale of Two Cities

Today I traveled to Nha Trang, a beautiful city up on the coast, where the 2008 Miss Universe Pageant was held. it was a very nice tropical resort city, with many foreigners and European and American 4-5 star resorts. It is surrounded by mountains on on side and the beach on the other. It is a place were foreign wealth comes to play.

We were there to visit another community that had been started by some local families and are now being supported by some sisters and the local bishop. Originally there were 6 familes that felt the call to take the aborted babies and give them a burial. With that came the opportunity to minsiter to the mothers to be and they have ben able to save some of them.

Over the last year, the local authorities have applied pressure to this group to stop and as a result 5 of the families have stepped aside, leaving one couple in their 70s and the sisters to care for 15 orphans and 7 birth mothers. It was very humbling for us to be invited into this couples home, where they house multiple orphans and birthmothers, while also being the primary support for a community home down the road that they have established with the sisters.

While in their house they brought out picture albums, which much to my horror, I quickly realized contained photographs of their lifes work, which is taking aborted babies and giving them a Christian burial. They prepare the little bodies right there in the living room and make little boxes, then in a ceremony, held a couple times a year, they bury them up in the mountains.

Since 2005 they have bnuried over 18,000 of these preciouse gifts.

I have to say that this disturbed me, I have seen some propaganda from the US depicting abortion, but to see a picture of a baby that was aborted and looks to be near term was tough. But I rejoice in those that have been saved and the dedication this couple has made to do this work in the face of danger,ridicule, and personal sacrifice.

Peace

Good Morning Vietnam

Woke up the first day in HCM to a beautiful day. Our hotel has a restraunt on the roof/12 th floor and you can sit on the balcony overlooking the city while you eat. Great way to start our trip. We had a great breakfast and a time of prayer and reflection.

We spent the day shopping at the market (canton on crack) and eating some incredible food (sorry ladies we eat well!) But at dinner was my favorite part. We had 11 others join us for dinner that were locals. It was great and very rewarding to watch everyone interact and meet. This group of locals were people that He has put in our circle over the last year and they all have incredible ministries here in HCM. We wanted to connect them and see where it lead. Immediately you could see some connecting of dots and some common goals and even friends were discovered. I know that these new relationships will strenghten the cause here and will help LOI as well.

In Him

Vietnam 2009 Winter Trip

In a little under a week, the day after Christmas, 19 of us will be heading to Vietnam to serve with the organization Lost Orphans International. We will be working with the children's home LOI sponsors and serving over 500 families a months worth provisions and bibles. In addition many of us will be working to expand the organization with new opportunities and strengthen the community we are involved in.

I will be posting periodically an update about the trip. You can also follow us at www.lostorphans.org

We covet your prayers and encouragement and feel free to ask me how to get involved.

Merry Christmas