Reflections From the 3rd Day of my Latest Orphan Helpers Trip

Today we went to church, then had a little ¨fiesta¨ with the girls at the center made to protect them. In centers where kids might only get meat a few times a week due to the expense, cake, ice cream, and soda was a treat.

After lunch we went to the Genesis center, a massive complex that Orphan Helpers hopes to be operating within the year, then back to the juvenile detention center for boys.

Dinner tonight was the last dinner with the full American team. Most of the team leaves tomorrow, going to the US. It was a special night, where each person went around and shared some of their highlights from the trip.

Some shared about how wonderful it was to have 3 kids who had come out of a juvenile detention center after coming to Christ and being discipled alongside us, going back into the centers and preaching the gospel, a message of hope, of positive change, of Life, of forgiveness no matter the past, and of redemption through the blood of Jesus.

One shared about how wonderful it was to not have so many programs, but to be led by the Spirit and have time just to be with the kids. One of the things my dad shared about was how wonderful it was for me to be there, after almost losing me in November, unconscious and fully submerged in a dark river on a dark night for at least 10 or 15 minutes.

I shared about four things special about this trip. Many of the blessings that other people mentioned were matters that I had encountered on a number of trips in the past. First I praised God for my room mate Al´s daughter, an 11 year old girl who faithfully prays for the kids and for the ministry of Orphan Helpers. A second highlight was going with my dad, and seeing him on his knees in prayer in our room and the opportunity I had to join him on my own knees. Third, it was wonderful to pick oranges from the Genesis center, a complex with over 100 fruit trees, knowing that the oranges that would otherwise mostly be wasted won´t be wasted for long as more and more Orphan Helpers and kids come into the place, and the Lord uses it mightily for His glory in redeeming lives and healing brokenness for so many.

The last thing I shared about was how wonderful it was to see some of the fruit from the missions conference Urbana, where Orphan Helpers was represented for the first time over a year ago.

The OH volunteer team
I had the blessing of helping to represent OH there, and it was so wonderful to have two brothers and two sisters in Christ with us. It is such a privilege to know a bit of the impact that they have made here, and that has been made in their lives. They’ve seen not only some of the realities of the effects of sin in this world in breaking lives, but the redemptive impact that Christ, through hands and feet of people and by his redemptive power at work in people´s hearts, can make in healing this world.

Honduras 2011: Day 2

Day 2
Today was packed. We went to an orphanage for kids 0-12 in the morning.

We went to a boys juvenile detention center in the afternoon and early evening.

Please pray:

In the orphanage:
For so many urine-soaked diapers on kids receiving so little attention,

For my response to kids there, as anger and frustration could be seen in my face on multiple occasions as soccer balls hit my head without my intending them to- pray that the peace of Christ would rest on me no matter my circumstances.

In the juvenile detention center:
for those that made commitments to come to Christ for the first time, for some who committed to come back to Him, and for others who were walking with Christ,
for real faith in the absolute love of God for the kids, His absolute goodness, and trust in the perfection of the plan God has for their lives,
for real faith to believe that ¨God´s kindness leads you towards repentance (Romans 2:4)¨
for the breaking of pride of kids who think that they don´t need God to change



In both places:
For more local churches to get behind what the Lord is doing in the lives of the kids in the centers,
For more empathy resulting in greater volunteer efforts and funding from Central America and the United States that could greatly increase the impact on kids´ lives,
For more prayer warriors to rise up for the kids - praise God for one team members´ 11 year old daughter who has never gone down, but prays daily for the kids,

For the team:
For recognition that only the power of God can change the hearts and lives of those with so little hope without Him

Honduras 2011: Day 1

In February 2011 I was in Honduras with my father and the other missionaries on an Orphan Helpers Vision Trip, where I composed a few notes. Here's my first of them:

Today, we went to a center in Honduras where girls go primarily for their own protection. Most if not all of the girls have been sexually abused. This was the first time that most of the team members have served with Orphan Helpers.

The pain in the eyes of the girls came as a shock to some of the team members that have never been, who expected to see a multitude of happy faces upon their arrival. My father reminded the girls in the center that no matter what they have done in the past, and no matter what others have done to them, they are all beautiful. God knows it, my dad knows it, and I pray that some of them who may doubt it might know it as well.

Please pray:

For girls struggling with loneliness (one girl missed her own little girl who had been taken from her) - that they would learn to walk closely with the ¨Friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), who will never leave them nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:5).¨

For girls bound by the bitterness that stems from unforgiveness and hatred towards those that have wronged them and brought so much pain into their lives, including family members who have sexually abused them, prostituted them, and done other horrible things to them.