Imagine this face looking at you at 2 years old.......imagine sending teams with Heal Ministries year after year and investing in his life in an orphanage so that he will know the love of God. Imagine him at 25 years of age with a college degree and a business. Imagine him with a family and children and knowing that his Father never abandoned him even though his biological family did. Imagine him returning to the orphanage and passing on the Inheritance of the kingdom through tutoring children as this young boy is doing above.

IMAGINE..........REALLY living out the Word and helping the orphans and widows in their distress.....James 1:27

One of my favorite entrances to the Casa Hogar Orphanage that I visited was at the center where I fell in love with the director, Martha. She is so dedicated and loves the Lord. The entrance shows a mural of children with the names of those chidren that she has served over the past 15 years.

Most of the children in the homes are not adoptable. The homes often serve as what we know in the states as foster care. The sad part is that many of these children will never return to their families permanantly. They come from very poor socioeconomic levels where families earn only about $250 a month. My visit to many of the orphanages gave me the opportunity to ask hundreds of questions and research the reasons the majority of these children are brought to these homes.

They come from extreme poverty. Most of them have a dad in the states working while the mother is forced to take full time work in a home where many times her children are not allowed. Many poverty situations create problems of alcohol, drug abuse and other addictions that make it unsafe for the children to remain with their biological parents. Whatever the reason, it is sad. It is sad that the majority of these children will be forced to leave the homes when they finish middle school and not given the opportunity to attend high school. In the orphanage home where Martha is the director, the children are allowed to stay and complete high school as long as they obey the rules of the house. This is not the norm. They need resources. They need teams, service and help.

We must step in and make a difference in the lives of these innocent children that are being abandoned in Latin America. I cannot go about the daily routines of life and not step in and do what God is calling us all to do: to get involved. Jesus had compassion on the weak, the poor, the fatherless and the widows. I'm amazed when people say we should not help them and I fully believe that people can often do too much but this is not biblical.....to ignore those that cannot help themselves. The type of compassion that Jesus felt for those suffering is not accepted in our world and it is different from what we hear today. I want to be different. The concepts that Jesus taught was about love, compassion and an outstretched hand to those that had fallen. God delights in lifting up the fallen, restoring the brokenhearted and He delights when we feel the love and compassion that Jesus felt.

This final day of Mexico makes me sad to leave but thrilled with what all the Lord has brought to my attention. Just as the chapel on the hill at one orphanage is the center of the property, so should we focus on helping others as the center focus of our lives. Just as each of the hundreds of items of clothing at the orphanage are neatly cleaned, folded and placed on the shelves one at a time, so should we pray, and give hope to these abandoned children, one at a time.......changing the world one heart at a time.

Heal Ministries will be taking a team to serve these orphanages every summer and will be working with MTW to serve the women in the new church plants.

I want to be different. Lord keep me on your path that the world views is crazy. My prayer is that hundreds will jump on board and see the glory of God in full view.......by visiting the orphans and widows in their distress.

God is showing up all over Monterrey: not only in the breathtaking views of His creation but in the smiles of the few people that are in a movement to spread the gospel...........much help is needed and YOU don't want to miss this opportunity to serve the One that is calling us there!

Monterrey is such a beautiful city. The population is between 5 and 6 million and they are all driving in the streets! We visited the flag site which is a beautiful place to see the city from all views. The views are absolutely breath-taking. It is so amazing to think about our great Creator, the original artist. How can anyone see creation in all its beauty and doubt there is a God? I see God everywhere here. I see Him in the mountains, the flags, the people, the bright shiny sky during the day, the beautiful orange sunsets, the orphans, the developing churches and even the busy streets!

Less than 1% of the people that live here are Prostestant. There is a HUGE need for church development. There are areas that serve thousands of people with no Christian church. MTW is doing a great job in assisting with this project. I visited several churches that have been planted under the umbrello of this project and I have been quite impressed. Impressed with the organization, the churches, the training, the members and the pastors. Today, I heard a sermon on Abraham and it is by far the BEST sermon on Abraham that I have ever heard. The pastor is very young and very much on fire for Christ and desiring to spread the gospel in his home land. There is a HUGE need for teams to come here and to assists with these church plants. They have needs to help with church building, renovations, VBS, sports ministries, womens and mens ministries, youth ministries, music, and much, much more!

Tomorrow I will visit the director of the orphanage for a planning session for Heal Ministries.......only two days left and sad I am leaving so soon. For the orphan that will not be adopted, we can offer Hope. We can tell them of God's love and guide them in the future and revisit them year after year. We can become their family and see that their future is bright. We have the opportunity to enlarge the Kingdom. We have the privaledge of serving God and looking after the ones that cannot defend themselves, the ones that He instructed us to look after. It all starts with James 1:27......pure religion............orphans and widows............

There is a need for us all to get proactive and do our part. Each of our parts look different from each other........some are called to adopt, some are called to pray, some are called to donate to help the cause, some are called to go on a mission trip and serve, BUT....one thing for sure....we are ALL CALLED! I'm thankful that God has confirmed my calling and humbled that I can be of any use to Him.

COUNTLESS ORPHANS.......ONE NEED..............GET INVOLVED!

Mexico

Arriving in Monterrey, Mexico was a sweet surprise. The population is around 5 million and except for the Spanish signs everywhere, it looks like a large city in the states. The city is so beautiful. It looks like it could be a large city in the desert with mountains surrounding it. The scenery is as beautiful as the people that live here. I was greeted by Carol Oban, a missionary that is a member of my church and stayed with her the first night. The next two nights I'm staying with a local family. They have three daughters that laugh all the time so I fit in perfectly! This trip is allowing me to visit with MTW and see all the church planting programs. I am working with one of the church planters and his wife on a Heal Ministries future team trip that will focus on women's ministry and one of the orphanages that they support, Casa Hogar.

Today was a treat visiting Casa Hogar Orphanage. There are about 40 children that live here and I quickly bonded with the newest member. The beautiful baby girl has only been here for about a month. The children greeted the team with songs and we all had dinner together. One of the sweetest friends that I have made is named Martha. She is the director of the orphanage and has such a sweet spirit! She is a true image of Jesus in the skin to the children. Martha and Ruth are pictured together here. Ruth is the wife of Andres (MTW team leader here in church planting) and we are going to be working together to plan a women's conference.

I'm so thankful that I am able to plan the future Mexico trip with the ladies here. Although Mexico is much more of a family oriented country than the U.S. in several ways, there are many hurting women that have a need of knowing the One that will never abandon them. Heal Ministries will return with a team that will focus on the women's ministry here as well as partnering with the orphanage to run a VBS for the children and assists in a project that the orphanage needs in upkeep.

The ONLY difference in people that you might not look like, you might have different color skin, you might have different cultures, you might eat differently and talk different languages is........ the place of birth. I am constantly reminded of the one thing that all people in all lands have in common: we all need Jesus!

Looking back over the last few months' journey, I have to just laugh at the roller coaster ride. I laugh because God just keeps reminding me that He is in full control of my life, of Heal Ministries and of all things in creation. I am not in any control. Today, as I begin to finalize some plans for 2010 for mission trips, I am reminded to claim victory in Jesus and give everything to Him. As we post the final plans on the web site for 2010, please pray that you will Hear God's calling if He chooses to use you in this ministry. I am thankful that God is using me for His plan.....even thankful for the trials of cancer because I know that He will use this to glorify Him. For today, I claim this for my own life and for Heal Ministries:

"Store up comfort. This was the prophet Isaiah's message. The world is full of hurting and comfortless hearts. But before you will be competent for this lofty ministry, you must be trained. And your training is extremely costly, for to to make it complete, you too must endure the same afflictions that are wringing countless hearts of tears and blood. Consequently, your own life becomes the hospital ward where you are taught the divine art of comfort. You will be wounded so that in the binding up of your wounds by the Great Physician, you may learn how to render first aid to the wounded everywhere. Do you wonder why you are having to experience some great sorrow? Over the next ten years you will find many others afflicted in the same way. You will tell them how you suffered and were comforted. As the story unfolds, God will apply the anesthetic He once used on you to them. Then in the eager look followed by the gleam of hope that chases the shadow of despair from the soul, you will know why you were afflicted. And you will bless God for the discipline that filled your life with such a treasure of experience and helpfulness."

"God comforts us not to make us comfortable but to make us comforters." John Henry Jowett

Christmas Eve pictures of the team that came out to deliver Christmas goodie bags to Tent City in Nashville, Tenn.  We also delivered batteries, firewood, water and gift cards to WalMart and the Metro Bus system.  Looking back and reflecting:  it was a true picture of the unconditional love that flowed out of the servants of all ages.  The residents were thankful.  Shown above, some took the time to sit and talk, and build relationship.  Chris Sanders was asked to sign some football flags and he delivered some footballs to a couple of the residents.  As I took a picture of Pops above (the oldest resident of Tent City) in his cabin, I couldn't help but wonder whose grandpa he belonged to........whose dad.......whose friend.  

Praying for all the homeless tonight.....that they are warm, that they will lay all their burdens down at the cross.

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like."  Saint Augustine

Today was a great day for Heal Ministries.  A large group came out to help us bring needed items for Tent City in Nashville, Tn.   This is a designated area under the interstate downtown where homeless families can reside in tents and campers.  We delivered blankets, tents, hand warmers, foot warmers, gloves, scarves, food, jackets, hats and a trailer full of fire wood.  I was humbled by the outpouring love from the community and watching the people interact with each other.  We met several of the residents and found out their biggest needs.  They are:  small propane camping tanks, tarps, tents, A, C and AA batteries, metro bus cards, WalMart gift cards and more hand warmers and foot warmers.  We are taking a second team on December 24th to deliver the needed items to them.

As always, we learned a little more from the residents of Tent City than they learned or received from us.  One resident said when asked if he needed a blanket:  "No, thank you.  I have just about everything I need but some of the other folks need blankets."  They were so humble, kind, and not greedy at all.  They truly took what they needed and left the other supplies for someone else that needed it more.

Tent City is a place where folks live temporarily until they get back on their feet.  Some of them work; some are looking for employment; some have been there a few months; some have been there a year or longer.  It doesn't matter how long they have been there or why but one thing remains constant:  They need Jesus just like every man and woman on earth.  If we can serve and be Jesus in the skin and impact one heart then we have made a difference.  If we can offer hope and a smile and a blanket during difficult times, then we have, perhaps, made Jesus smile.  And, if we can continue to serve the people in need and continue to be humbled and reminded how much we are blessed (rich or poor) we will continue on the right path that Jesus called us to be on.  What an honor to serve and show love for the ONE that gives us the ultimate, eternal love.  To focus on changing one heart at a time.....that is our mission.

 ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

 ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

 ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'  Matthew 25

Last night on the Oct/Nov Belize mission trip.  I looked through some pictures before calling it a night and posted a few that tell a story for the past two weeks.  The students all laughing and playing at both Unity Presbyterian School in Belize City in the burial grounds........the students all laughing and playing at Concepcion School just outside of Corozal Town, the sweet baby in Calcutta village that represents all the babies that I visited.....some with parents......some not.....the Betsons picture full of laughter, Arturo's sweet smile at church and Esther's love with her children at school........ The entire trip is full of laughter......the joy and laughter that comes from knowing Christ.  The only faces that I recall that did not have this was in the orphanage.....on this rainy, sad last day.  It is such a symbolic story of hopelessness with no smiles........and the Lord shining through His people.  We are called to help the helpless.  For the depth of love that God gives us......how can we ignore His pleas?  

I look forward to bringing teams back to this land that I love to serve God.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'"  Matthew 25: 35-36