Hope for a lost generation

Alyson's 2011 Summer Update

2011-06-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

God’s timing is the perfect time. My plans were to return to Nicaragua in May and work with a team but God decided to bless me by other means this summer. He has taught me a lot about blessings and how they do not always come in the manner we anticipate. The Lord has given me days of feeling “good” which have become beautiful blessings in my life. But, He has also blessed me in days of sickness and pain. Many times, I have taken God’s presence in my life for granted and fallen on my own strength to get me through the day. But, it is during those days which are too much to handle, that He reminds me He is the ONE fighting this battle for me and He is the ONE who is my strength. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Corinthians 12:9-10 Come mid-June, I will have had my third surgery within eight months; yet, I have learned that these struggles are God’s sweet testimony in my life. Do I want to experience them all over again? Not necessarily, unless it is God’s perfect plan for me to share the hope of His truth and grace with others. If so, then yes, I will gladly experience each day over and once again rely on His strength. I also believe in His healing hands and I believe that He is alive and at work in my life. So I cry out, “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.” Jeremiah 17:14

In April, some tragic tornadoes ripped through the communities’ right near my house. The day after, I remember sitting on our back porch in the peace of the morning and feeling so helpless. My family was spared and I was so thankful but I also knew that the Lord wanted me to DO something. My prayers began to change from “prayers about going to Nicaragua” to “Lord please allow me to serve those less fortunate and share your sweet comfort (here).” The verse He brought to my heart as I sat thinking about the people affected by the storms was Psalm 57:1 “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in YOU my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” Through those storms, I have heard testimonies of His saving grace and heard miraculous stories of God’s protection. I witnessed hope given to many whose lives were abruptly ripped apart. And I was blessed with new friendships and a chance to speak of His grace and love! My God is so gracious and so good to allow me to become His hands and feet to love and serve His beautiful children. He taught me to accept and live faithfully where He has me at this particular moment and to see each moment as an opportunity to live for Him and be blessed by His unfailing failing love.

I am now being blessed with an opportunity from July 21-August 1 to travel with the youth group from Calvary Chapel Chattanooga to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We will once again be joining with a local Haitian church in ministering to and serving their community. Last year we were able to join, encourage, and equip a young Haitian woman with leading a women’s Bible study. It was such a beautiful time to hear her hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the women and children in the community and a desire for them to grow with the Lord. It will be an exciting time to see how God has transformed and grown this community over the past year to be more passionately in love with Him. In addition to working with the community of La Union, we are given the opportunity to love on the children at the Mustard Seed Orphanage which is a home for children with disabilities. I have known some of these children for 7 years and each one has a beautiful story of God’s grace and mercy. Though they are dismissed by the world, they are a testimony of God and their lives speak loudly for His Kingdom. May God’s presence continue to increase in both of these communities as they faithfully follow Him.

My trip to Nicaragua this summer has been postponed till August (God willing). Though this summer has been filled with many blessings, I cannot dismiss how hard it has been to not be with my babies in El Cañon. Tears have been shed and constant prayers have been poured over my children at the orphanage in this time away from them. I have been able to have constant contact with someone from the orphanage to check in on all the kids and make sure they are doing well. The love that God has given me for each one of these beautiful faces will never change; even though my trip in August will be slightly different from previous ones and I will be heading out on a new venture in a new community. For about a year, I have had contact with a ministry in Nicaragua but I have not pushed to be a part of the ministry. Recently, they have contacted me and asked me to be praying about visiting the ministry in Nicaragua and consider becoming part of the team. Decisions have not been made, but I do ask that you join with me in praying for God’s clarity and direction in this possible journey. When I want to allow fears to take over, He reminds me that it is He who is in control. So why do I fear when He knew me before I was formed (Jeremiah 1:5)? Why do I fear when it is He that speaks, not me (Jeremiah 1:9)? Why do I fear if it is He that has appointed me? Why do I fear if it is He that is sending me (Jeremiah 1:7)? I will stand with boldness upon His beautiful grace and know that I am His daughter, just a mere vessel being used to share His great love.

Through each one of these journeys, I am being taught anew to be sensitive to God’s Word and the whispers that He is speaking gently to me. Therefore, I ask for your prayers in wherever the Lord is leading me next and that I will humbly step aside and allow Him lead, guide, and direct me through the journeys on the mountaintops and deep within the valleys. Once again, I would like to thank each one of you for your prayers for me over the years; the love you have showered upon me; and the support you have given me. Each one of you is a huge blessing to me and I am so thankful that God has placed each of you in my life. Be blessed!

With much love in Christ,
Alyson Rollins

2010 Nica Update

2010-07-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

Thank you again for your coveted prayers while I was away. I have made it back safely from Nicaragua but life has not yet settled down. When I returned home, I was blessed by the birth of my second nephew (Paige’s child) and my brother Andy’s marriage to Elisa, a wonderful Godly woman. On the 13th of July, I will be heading to Dominican Republic with the youth group from Calvary Chapel. As always, this will be such a wonderful time of fellowship with the youth, other leaders, and people of the Dominican.

Now for the update on Nicaragua! I will admit that it is very difficult to put into words because there are so many experiences that I would love to share. The Lord definitely went before me and prepared the way. Many of you received my update from Nicaragua via email about William and how God was and is definitely at work in his case of adoption. Through prayer, He has been preparing the hearts of William and William’s family. He softened and opened their hearts to have a relationship with my family and me. EVERY aspect in the story of William’s case is an example of God’s sweet pursuit of each one of us. And, it was a complete MIRACLE that William’s dad would even have anything to do with us. Not even a year ago, the grandmother was angry that someone may be adopting him and was living in fear that William’s dad may kill her if she allows William to be adopted. Obviously, God’s name is written all over this. There are still many obstacles but I refuse to focus on those. All I can do at this moment in time is to continue to walk through the doors that the Lord has opened. And, when He closes a door; I will continue to praise His name, take comfort in knowing that His ways are perfect, and recognize that His name will be brought the most glory through it all. Our next step will be to find a death certificate in El Salvador for William’s mom who was part of a gang and murdered. It’s hard to keep my mind in the “now moment” and not let it get ahead of me in the “what ifs”. Therefore, I ask for prayers that my mind will be clear and my focus will be on the moment where God has us, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (I Cor 14:33).

Life at the orphanage was crazy like usual (how can it not be with 35 children living there fulltime and 61 children in the daytime) but I cannot imagine spending my summer any other way! I still feel so blessed to have the opportunity to live alongside these kids and see some of them grow up over the past six years (I feel like a proud mom :). This summer, I was able to love on the little babies a lot!! Almost every morning, I would go on long walks out of the Canyon with 2 ½ year old Israel. We would talk, sing, laugh, and look for cars, buses, and motorcycles on the main highway. Then before the kids would go to bed; we would say our prayers, sing, and give hugs and kisses. Have I mentioned what a blessing these children are to me!?!? Some nights, I would just go lay on the beds with the older girls as they were going to bed and talk (I think I even got them in trouble sometimes due to curfew…oops). These girls are like sponges just waiting to soak anything up. Many of the girls have been abandoned not just once but several times. They are searching for acceptance and what exactly true love looks like. Which resulted in many of our conversations being focused on the love of our Father in Heaven and how His love is the ONLY perfect love that can be found. I want these girls to know that the love of man will never fulfill our deepest desires and will never be the perfect love we are searching for. But, there is One who is in pursuit of us and will never let us leave His embrace. The stories with the kids and people of Nicaragua do not end there but for all of them to be written out would turn this letter into a book….and I’ll spare you from that :)

Once again, I ask for your prayers as I head back to Nicaragua August 2-24. I will spend most of the time with the kids at the orphanage and will also be working with our lawyer on some of the specifics with William’s case. I will never be able to thank you enough for all your prayers and support that you have shown me. Your prayers have been felt and each one of you is having an impact on the lives of the children there. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26). Many of these children are regarded as abandoned but please join with me in continual prayer over them. Pray that they will be so tightly embraced by the Lord that they will be able to rest in His arms listening to His heartbeat. Thank you!!!

I am blessed!!

2010-07-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am writing to update you on some things that are happening here in Nicaragua and the joy that comes with the Lord’s timing for everything. Many of you have read my update letter from Christmas on William and where we stand with his adoption process. In December, William was returned home by the government to live with his dad and grandmother which resulted in our adoption process being terminated. We were unable to go on with the process because his family did not support the adoption. Also during Christmas, I had the opportunity to visit William’s family and go out with him. The family accepted me and knew that I was just a “good friend” of Williams. My time with William was hard because his attitude towards me had changed and I once again felt like he was testing my love for him. Well, this past Saturday I was blessed with the opportunity to once again see him. A friend of mine picked William up from his house and brought him to the orphanage so that he could see many of the kids that he had lived with for the past six years. When he got to the orphanage, I once again saw his beautiful smile and received a big hug from him. He has grown so much  From the beginning of our time together on Saturday, his attitude with me had changed since Christmas. He seemed comfortable once again like the past when he had been in the states with my family. He seemed to have a confidence that my love for him was real and that my family and I are not going to give up on him and forget about him. Our time together was natural. We had the opportunity to go out to eat, see a movie, and go to a park to play and talk. While at the park, I shared once again with him that NO MATTER what he is my brother and the son of my mom and dad. I told him that we really wanted him to be with us but obviously God had other plans. He understood that there was not a possibility that he could live with us due to the fact that he was returned to live with his family but we always wanted to be a part of his life.

Which brings me to the next part of this story; my friend and I went to William’s house to return him to his family. As we got there, his grandmother was waiting for us and his dad was drunk just as he had been all day. I greeted the grandmother but still was nervous because I didn’t know what all she knows about the adoption that had been taking place and I had no idea what she thought of me. I went to the door where she was standing and thanked her once again for everything she has done for William. She began to talk to me and the words she was saying just did not seem like they could be true. I asked my friend to come and translate for me to make sure I was hearing everything correctly. She repeated what she was saying and told me that she is getting old; William’s dad is sick and also does not have the capability to take care of William; and many drugs pass through their neighborhood which scares her. She told me that she and her son (William’s dad) wanted to sign the papers for us to take him to the U.S and live with us. WHAT!?!? How can this be? Our case was terminated and there was no possibility for the adoption to happen. But, our Lord is Faithful and Good. He is mighty and can make the impossible possible (Luke 1:37). His plans are greater than mine. He had a purpose for sending William home during Christmas. Now, we do not have to fight a battle like a custody battle. Instead, his family approves of the whole process and there are no hard feelings. This situation is healthy for William because he does not feel that he has to choose between one family or the other. Praise our Mighty God for “your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16)

Tomorrow, I will be meeting with William’s grandmother and father to sit down and talk. This will be a meeting to make sure that we are all on the same page. I want William’s grandmother to know our heart for him and that we always want her to be a part of his life. We will not be bringing our lawyer to the meeting tomorrow because we do not want the family to feel like we are pushing anything. I also want to sit down with William and hear his heart once again on the adoption process. Before I go to the meeting tomorrow, I will be joining with three of the staff members from the orphanage to pray for this whole situation with William and others at the orphanage. Therefore, I ask that each of you please join us in prayer tomorrow and over the next couple of weeks. Pray with boldness, pray with faith, and pray with hope that our God is Faithful and his ways are great!!! I thank each one of you for your prayers, love, and support.

Mi Hermanito William!!

2010-01-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-01T07:10:00.001-07:00

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!!!

2009-08-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

"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

2008-12-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

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