Africa!

At this time 3 weeks from today we will be soaring high over the Atlantic on our way to London for a 28 hour lay over...followed by a flight to Nairobi, Kenya. All four of us, myself, Jennifer, Emily and Paige are all going and leading a team of 11 others as we go to visit Naomi's Village.

Naomi's Village is a children's home that the Mendonsa family along with our organization Lost Orphans International is building outside Kijabe, Kenya.

When God laid this trip on our hearts 7 months ago, we were excited, but very unsure of if we were walking down the right path, but as is His way, we knew that if we followed His prompting all would come together. Making the decision to take our 8 and 7 year old girls was a major decision, one that we have and still struggle with at times; but ultimately we know they are meant to go. I can not wait to see how God reveals Himself to them and the experiences that will last a lifetime with them. I know God will use this trip and a corner stone in their lives that He will build upon and use to mold them. They will (as will we) get to see the "reality" of this world and to see what it means when Jesus said to love your neighbor.

I will be posting more as we get closer and while we are on the trip, you can also follow the official Lost Orphans International Blog at www.lostorphans.com Go ahead and check out the blog from the recent trip to Vietnam.

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

What to do?

140 Million…What does that number represent? It represents a little less than half the population of the US, or 2 % of the world’s population, also about 7% of the kids under the age of 17 years old on the Earth today. Stunningly, 140 million also represents the approximate number of children in the world that have lost their mother or father, are parentless, or have been abandoned. Think about that for a minute…………… For every 100 children in the world, 7 of them are orphans. To make matters worse, 13 million of these kids have no one, they have lost both parents and have no family to speak of to take them in.

So the question is “What can you and I do about it?”
It is easy to become overwhelmed by these numbers and believe there is nothing you can do to make a difference.

HOWEVER

You can take action, and believe that together we can make a difference 1 child at a time. How, you ask?

1. Visit the LOI website- www.lostorphans.com.- There you can read about the crisis in Vietnam and see the Hope that is being provided to abandoned children and expectant mothers. This Hope is soon to be expanded into Kenya and other parts of the world. To be part of this Hope:a. Click on the Rescue a Child tabb. Click on the “Click Here to Donate” line towards the bottom of the pagec. Click on the Give Now buttond. Select Lost Orphans in the pull down menue. Select “ Support a Child” (if you want to support a specific child I can get you a code to enter, otherwise your money will help support all the children at LOI)**Your donation will cost you less than a cup of Starbucks (or Texas Roast) a day, but will make the difference in 1 child’s life!
2. You can “GO”….. a. What that means is that you can physically go. Our trip this December is full, but in 2010 we will have a summer trip to Vietnam, and we are planning some trips to Kenya to start our new partnership with Naomi’s Village. b. Or you can go financially with me. I am on the advisory board for LOI and will be traveling to Vietnam the day after Christmas to help expand the ministry in country. I will be working with the founders of LOI to try and gain favor with the local government, help set up better health care and water conditions for the community, as well as identifying future opportunities to serve the least and lost in Vietnam.
3. You can pray! Pray for the 140 million orphans, that their plight will not go unheeded in our world today. Pray for the team and their families as they prepare to go and serve. Pray for the ministry of LOI that we would be wise in the decisions that are made and to gain favor where ever we go to make what ever difference we can make! (with your help)

So I am asking that you consider this request. This time last year I was sitting in your shoes and being challenged by someone I respect to answer the call. This will be my second trip to Vietnam and I look forward to serving with 23 others as well seek to live James 1:27 “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you”

If you would like to donate, I would first ask that you consider sponsoring a child. Their plight is far greater than my need to raise funds for a trip.

If after that, you feel lead and want to help offset, part of the $3000 cost of this trip, please follow the same instructions above for sponsoring a child. But after step “d.”, select TEAM MEMBER DONATIONS and put my name in the comments section so the funds will be properly applied.

Another option is to send a check made payable to Lost Orphans International.

Lost Orphans International P.O. Box 1388 McKinney,TX 75070

Please put my name and “Winter Trip” in the memo line. I covet your prayers for the team, the ones we serve and the ones yet to be served.

In Him

Michael Henry Mshenry20@yahoo.com

What is it all about?

Only thing I have to say is that I challenge each of us to read or listen to the following items, and pray that God would speak to you about what it all means and what your response should be.

1. http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

2. go to http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/sermons and listen to the following(you can also print them off to read)

6.24.07
Buying the Field
Heart Matters (Part 5)
Matt Chandler

6.10.07
The Talents
Heart Matters (Part 4)
Matt Chandler

6.03.07
Treasures
Heart Matters (Part 3)
Matt Chandler

5.27.07
Some Answers
Heart Matters (Part 2)
Matt Chandler

5.20.07
The Question
Heart Matters (Part 1)
Matt Chandler

3. Read "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and "A Hole in the Gospel" by Richard Stearns

4. Go, give, seek


In Him

Mike