Every Orphan's Hope

I pray that as you watch this you will have an open and ready heart for whatever God tells you.

 

  "Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 

~Psalm 126:2~

  This is why EOH does what they do, to bring the joy of God to those hurting children. Through Every Orphan's Hope God is turning tears into laughter, heartache into peace and sorrow into joy. Daily He is transforming and renewing lives through people like you. Please pray about how God wants you to help and if He so leads, take that small step of faith on behalf of the children.

"For the glory of God!"

When the flesh says no

    My thoughts are distant, I’m struggling to stay focused on the sermon but my mind keeps drifting. As our pastor continues on I strive to bring myself back to the present but my mind is filled with thoughts of my upcoming trip, it is hard to keep myself attentive. Quiet thoughts keep mocking me, telling me I cannot do it, that I shouldn’t even try, impressing upon me the pain of parting from my family, the fear of being alone in that country and away from my family so long, scaring and weighing me down.

    In these quiet times as I sit and contemplate my trip, that’s when Satan attacks me with the afore mentioned thoughts till I feel I cannot do it and just want to give up and stay home, which is exactly what he wants me to do. I strive to overcome such thoughts and focus instead on what God is going to do through this trip and all that follow yet it is hard. My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak.  In my heart I eagerly cry “yes Lord, I will go!'” But my flesh says “No! Don’t send me! I can’t do that Lord, I can’t handle being gone that long.”

   In the midst of such thoughts I hear that familiar gentle voice whispering to my heart, “My child, what is this you are saying to yourself? Surely I have been with you in the past from your first breath even until this present moment and will continue to be so even into eternity.You can and you will do this and you will do it for Me. I have chosen you for this special mission in life and I will give you the strength and courage to carry on even when it feels you cannot go any further.”

     Oh me of little faith! When will I yet learn this lesson and rely not on my strength and will power but His!?! Though I cannot see the future, in times like these it enough for me to know that He can and that He will not lead me astray. Truly I can do all things through Christ and in Him I will never find myself falling short of what I need to fulfill His present command.

           “For no word from God will ever fail.”  Luke 1:37

“For the glory of God!”

Angels on duty

   I am convinced that God's angels are always on duty in our lives and are more involved in our day to day busyness than we think. It seems to me that we see and interact with them more than we realize. I believe these angels do not always appear in their angelic form, but quite often take on the appearance of a human to come to our aid in times of need. Most often these “angels” appear during a prayer for just the help they bring.

   Whether in a strange man whose stature nearly exceeds 7 feet suddenly showing up and offering much needed guidance, whose  piercing eyes make you uncomfortable under their gaze and who upon receiving help for you stands a distance off watching over you until you are safe again, than disappears into the airport corridors to not be seen again. Or a white haired elderly man showing up at a time of fear, whose very presence supplies you with peace and reassurance, a man who stills your hearts fears with just a glance at his kind face, who stays near watching over the situation until it is solved, supplying you with a feeling of protection and of God’s immanent presence. It might even be so little as a friendly greeting or a smiling face in a time of insecurity and fear. I firmly believe all such instances were angels appearing on the scene to reassure, encourage, embolden and bring me peace.

     God is true to His promises to never leave us, never forsake us and never ignore us. To always guide, protect, reassure and comfort us, supplying us with such in our times of need. Be careful how you treat those who show up in unexpected and leave just as suddenly, you never know when you are in the presence of an angel.

“For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;  they will lift you up in their hands…” 

Psalm 91:11-12

“For the glory of God!”

Wake up

     “Oh I’m sorry, he passed away,” came the voice on the other line. In the silence that surrounded my aching my heart I could but utter one question. “Do..um..do you know if he…if he was saved?” Silence. Finally, “I don’t know. But I don’t think so.”   As the weight of these words sank in, all my held back tears overflowed. Amidst my tears one thought kept coming back to my mind, “what more could I have done to make a difference in his eternity? 

     I first met Mr. Roger in September 2011 while doing volunteer work at Turlock Residential retirement home. 92 year old, World War II veteran, all Mr. Roger wanted in life was to die so he could go to heaven and have all his suffering come to an end. Yet he was not open to God.  Though I tried for months to witness to and change Mr. Roger’s heart, as far as I know nothing ever changed. If he died with the same heart he had while living, then Mr. Roger is not with the Lord. I loved Mr. Roger as a grandfather so it breaks my heart to think about this. In my heart I keep repeating my question over and over trying to find an answer for myself. Yet I know there is no answer. We will never know what we could have done but we will always remember what we did do. 

       When I left for Kenya in October I never would have dreamt that Mr. Roger would pass away in that short of a time. Yet when I returned he was gone and I only just yesterday heard about this. I visit the retirement home nearly weekly in an attempt to bring love and light to these people’s lives, yet after being snapped at by Mr. Roger I have let myself get carried away in my nervousness to witness again,now I’ll never have that chance with him again.  Mr. Roger’s death is a wake up call for me. It is a reminder again  we never know when our last day will be so I need to make the most of every opportunity I am given to change the lives of others. 

     We are missionaries wherever we are at the present time. We need to treat life as a mission field, constantly seeking an open door for evangelism and service to others.  We make the difference between life and death in this world. That is a heavy burden to carry but we must not let ourselves chicken out, we must be bold and vigilant. Let us go forth in the name of Christ to change this world for Him!!         

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”

Isaiah 43:10

“For the glory of God!”