Mi Hermanito William!!

My heart is sad and I admit that this is one of the hardest things for me to write because it brings me to reality, but I have hope and peace because the Lord is good. He is faithful and will continually walk with us through all trials of life. The fact is, our case has been terminated. The government made the decision to send William back home to live with his grandmother and dad. God blessed me with the opportunity to visit William and meet his family. I will never forget his big smile as he rode up on his bike. I would like to say that things were perfect and normal like before but they weren’t. William is a teenager now and he also puts up a guard and has a “special” attitude with me:) We were able to go to a mall and eat dinner together which enabled me to really be able to talk to him. I knew that this may be the only time that I have to really talk to William about what happened and how much we love him. I let him know that we love him and never wanted this to happen. We want him to be ours and to live with us but obviously God has other plans, greater plans for his life. It was hard for me to say this but God was able to use me to really encourage and speak truth into William’s life. I let him know that the Lord enabled us to show him love and that now it is his turn to share that with his family. I told him that we are always praying for him and that we want to be a part of his life if he wants that. He said he did. I reminded him that NO MATTER what he IS my brother and he IS the son of Charlie and Susan. Though he may not be by blood, he is a part of our lives forever and cannot be taken away.

When we returned to William’s house to drop him off, William's grandmother told me that she did not want him to come back and live in the home because the lifestyle of William’s dad. She also told me that William is suffering because he is not with us. This hurt to hear. She did give my parents’ permission to come and visit. And hopefully the dad will let him come and stay with us some when we are in Nicaragua.

I am daily reminded though that God never promised us William just like He has never promised any parent their kids. Ultimately each child belongs to Him, but for a time period He has chosen us to be stewards over these kids. And because of this I have Hope. Through years of prayer, Christ placed William in our life for a time being so that we could show him the hope and love of Christ. The love and compassion of a family and a father. I wish I could remind William of this every day but I have confidence that the Lord will do this in our absence. I reminded him that we WANT him and WANT him to be with us every day. How can I ever express to him how much I love him, my little brother? I now had to explain that God has other plans for his life; God has better plans for Him. I told him that he knows the truth and love of Christ and the Lord wants to use him to share this with his own family and lead them out of their life of hopelessness.

For years, I’ve always seen William as a Moses. A little boy with a speech impediment but also a leader that attracted many people to him. Now I see why I always had this image; Christ had great plans for his life. I pray he will be used like Moses to lead his people, his family out of bondage. I have hope and faith that the Lord IS good and IS at work in the life of William and my family. I will not be discouraged by the lies of Satan but will remember that everything happens for a reason.



Here is part of a song that the Lord provided me before I left for Nica and once again when I got back. If you don't know the whole song, I encourage you to check it out.

Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman

"Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name"

He is FAITHFUL and my STRONGHOLD :)

Invest in a Great Need

We can feed all the knowledge and wisdom we want to into our kids but we are only promised that the Word of God will NOT return void (Isaiah 55:11). Our kids can be educated all we want in book knowledge and education but the reality is the reality. If we aren’t investing what really matters into them now then the chance may be lost forever. I recently saw some statistics at my church:

•A person’s moral foundation is generally in place by age 9.
•Most Americans make a lasting determination of Jesus Christ by age 12.
•Lifelong behaviors and views are generally developed before children become teens.
•85% of children who do not receive the Lord before age 14 will never accept Christ as Savior.

This goes to show the impact that we have on kids and how they must be reached young. What we say, what we do, what music we listen to does matter!
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 This is from the very Word of God, so why do we push this aside and think, “Oh they’re too young to understand or oh we’ve got time.” That’s not the truth, the Lord speaks through us and His Word is able to penetrate any heart at any age. And time?!? It sounds cliché but it is precious and valuable. So should we rethink and take advantage of what little time we have to invest in kids? Speak truth into their lives and don’t waste the moments with them. It may be a conversation in the car, songs before nap, stories before bed but it is these times invested in their life that will last into their adulthood. Let each child know their value in Christ and that they are His.

A cry waiting to be heard

How can my heart not cry out for the defenseless? Who will show compassion? Will we continue to look on and see the need but just walk away like we have seen nothing? Will their cries fall on deaf ears even with the next generation?

Sonya, a young mom who is not even able to lift herself from the wheelchair, who relies on her four year old daughter to help her go to the bathroom, and isn’t even able to brush her own hair; is she the one? Will her cry go unheard as she watches her own body waste away? As she looks in the mirror what does she see? A vivacious, spunky 23yr old or a skeleton staring back at her? A few steps in the sun brings happiness, one pound gained brings joy and hope, and knowing that a Father in Heaven who loves her dearly brings life into her body. She allows herself to become vulnerable just to be refreshed by the cooling waters of a shower. She is unable to allow her own daughter to sit in her lap because of the pain that it brings to her fragile body. Is she not the one that Christ has called us to serve? Is she not an example of the weak, the naked, the hungry? Lord, I pray for your healing hands to touch her body, make her legs able to run, straighten her fingers so that she is able to lift her arms in praise to you! You are a merciful and loving God. Bring patience and comfort to Sonya; that she may feel your presence strengthening her each and every day.

My life that I miss in the Nic!!!

My family in Las Sanchez, Nicaragua

The kids of Citalapa, Nicaragua


Baby Dylan :) El Cañón, Nicaragua


Dylan and Christopher de mi barrio en El Cañón, Nicaragua

The following videos are of my little boy Israel from "Puente de Amistad" Orphanage where I live in El Cañón, Nicaragua




Las Sanchez, Diriamba, Nicaragua


Citalapa, Nicaragua

A prayer for the girls of the streets!

"Again I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:19-20

Lord I wonder how much longer we will continue to turn a deaf ear to those that are crying out! All they are asking for is ONE chance, hope! We see the need, so why do we turn our heads and pretend it doesn't exist. Lord you are not asking us to give these girls material things but you want someone to show them and proclaim to them that they have value. They are YOUR daughters! Daughters that you have deemed as beautiful and precious. Lord make their cry so loud in our ears that we cannot sleep until we take the leap. May we rise up and be your heart by being their voice. Lord let us turn to you for guidance. I pray for the girls of Nica working on the streets. I can't imagine the things that a four year has seen or experienced, things that I haven't and may never. This is the SAME age as the little girl I take care of. It BREAKS my heart to imagine her roaming the streets looking for acceptance. Why do these little girls not deserve the same love that our kids here receive? I wish I could hold them in my arms and sing praise songs and pray over them just like I have done so many times with the little girl I take care of here. Make their need evident to all! I want to show these girls the love that You have to offer them. Lord protect these girls! Blind their eyes from the things that take away their innocence. Deafen their ears from the lies they are told. Protect their hearts and guard them from what satan wants to destroy them with. Lord, thank you for making me concerned for the things that concern your heart. You are my true love and my HOPE is in YOU.

"At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth." II Timothy 4:16-17

Life

I've seen so many of these blogs and have decided to join in. I figured this is the easiest way to keep up with people and allow them to have a small glimpse of what is going on in my life. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving break but glad that the semester is FINALLY over. During thanksgiving, I had the chance to visit my brother and other family(whom I haven't seen in eight years) in Virgina. Now I am in the midst of packing and heading down to Nicaragua once again. God has given me the opportunity to spend Christmas with the kids that I love so much. I see them as part of my family and have seen many of them grow up over the past five years. Now, I ask for your prayers! Many children from the orphanage will be headed back home during Christmas and many of the older children will be leaving the orphanages for good. You may be thinking, "Oh, this is wonderful. They are going home and won't be in the orphanage anymore." In some instances this is the truth but for many it is rare. Life back home is not as easy on the kids as life in the orphanages. In fact, many children have spent most of their life in the orphanages and don't know how to live in the "real" world. At home, many don't receive love and begin to turn to other means to fill this void. I have seen it all in children that have left the orphanages. Some end up dabbling in drugs, prostitution, and getting caught up in gangs. Their parents see them as a means to make money and so they send their kids out to the streets. One of the hardest things for me is to see some of my kids that use to live at the orphanage now washing windows at a major intersection. Then there is the scenario of a 14 yr old girl having a baby. She herself is a child who is having a child. This is why I ask each one of you for your prayers on their behalf. In many of these situations, we are helpless and I continue to feel this sense of helplessness. BUT, I am thankful! I am thankful that the Lord has each one of these children in His arms. When they are being abused or feeling the pains of hunger, it is our Lord Jesus Christ embracing them in His arms and giving them comfort and TRUE love. At times, I cry out to the Lord, "How can this happen to these beautiful innocent children. Do you see what is happening?" But they are His! These are His children and He is hurting more than me at the injustice towards His beautiful children. Lord our Hope is in you and you ALONE!!

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy[1-2]

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.[5-6]

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is UNFAILING love and with his is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins." Psalm 130:7-8