An Announcment I am not too comfortable making...

What you are about to read is difficult for me to write. For one, I just simply don’t feel comfortable bringing attention to myself in this regard and the other reason is it really is not about me. The reality is that the news is out there and I thought it was important for you, my friends, to know what is going on in our lives. It is my hope that you will hold us up in prayer and support during this time. So please indulge me while I take a moment to ramble and shoot from my heart. 

My personal thoughts are that this life was never meant to be lived in so much comfort that we become blind to the hurting of our world. Like the parable of the Good Samaritan it is important that we do not become so busy, complacent or uncompassionate that we walk by opportunities that we can have a positive impact on. This is not easy but I believe it is a part of the Christian walk. If Jesus was willing to lay down his life for us, then we too must be willing to do the same for others. All of us in this life take calculated risks for what we feel important. Take for example driving to work. Each day, we hop into our cars and risk life and limb to get to work. Why? Because providing shelter, warmth, food and a future for ourselves and our families are worth that risk. How about sports we enjoy? I love to ski and many of you do to but the reality is that it can be dangerous. We take that risk because it is a calculated risk. The pleasure and enjoyment it brings to our lives is worth it. Sometime we choose to suffer temporarily to obtain something we view as having value for the future. Examples: exercise, training for a marathon, or putting aside immediate pleasures to invest in a future retirement or save for a rainy day. The end results make it worth the temporary suffering of the moment. Life is short. I hope we all have come to some understanding of that. What we do with our time and short lives has value now and for the future of those we leave behind. 

Well there is my introduction to the motivation and what follows is the why and how. A few weeks ago I sent this letter to my family and a few others who would be impacted by the news. The following is a little modified for better understanding but keeps the original essence of the original letter. Thank you for joining us in this journey and feel free to write me if you have any concerns or questions. I have been so blessed to be surrounded with so many of you who have expressed their care, support and love for us. This choice literally takes a village as the saying goes. 

Dear Friends,

I wanted to keep you in the loop with something that is going on in my life. About two years ago a dear friend and father of six and someone I hold in the highest esteem, was diagnosed with liver disease and was placed on the donor waiting list for a transplant. In the last few years, he has battled the symptoms and has ended up in the hospital many times battling for his life. A year ago I found out through Monique that I was the same blood type as Scott. After some prayer, I decided I should let him know that I was willing to become a live donor for him if it came down to it.

Around five months ago he went through a very bad episode and his doctor said it wasn't looking good for him to get a transplant on the waiting list and he should contact those who had offered to be a live donor. The reality was he might not live through the next episode. I was contacted and I told him I was still willing to go through the process. Three months ago, I called University Colorado Hospital and started the process of getting approved, I did labs, interviews and last week I spent two days at UCH Medical Hospital with Monique getting MRI's, Cat Scans, X-rays, blood tests, and meetings with numerous doctors, surgeons and social workers. Honestly, I didn't think I would pass the physical piece and be a match for him at my age. The vast majority of people get rejected for being a donor.

In my case, on Thursday, all my blood work and mental capability were approved by a hospital panel and on Friday they reviewed my body, intestinal and organ images etc. and I was deemed completely healthy. I was told I was approved and a match to be a live donor transplant for Scott. According to my live donor coordinator this is very rare. Without a transplant Scott will most likely die this year and leave six children fatherless and his lovely wife a widow.

I have taken this process very seriously considering all the possibilities that may result and have spent a lot of time in prayer (and few sleepless nights). Monique and I both agree that this is the right thing to do and worth the risks involved. So I have decided that I will be doing an elective surgery and donating my liver to Scott. It is not an easy one, it has risks, a 7-10-day recovery in the hospital and somewhere between two and three months’ recovery time for me. I will not be incapacitated during these three months but need to take it easy and it will be exhausting on me as my body regrows a new liver. I will be able to continue to do things and I plan on focusing home recovery time towards running Vision for the Children International and a few other things that I can do while sitting at a desk. Once I have recovered, there are no known long term issues for me and I will return to life physically as if it never happened. For Scott, it is the same but he will get another chance at life and his family will hopefully have a husband and father for many years to come. 

There is still a chance that Scott could get a cadaver liver while on the waiting list (he has been escalated to the top of the waiting list now) and that is preferred all around. The medical doctors will not allow me to proceed if one comes available (please pray this happens, it is the best option). If all continues as planned, I will be having the transplant surgery at University Colorado Hospital the third week of May and they are the best in the US. I will be treated with the best care and have a private nurse 24/7 monitoring my health and recovery while in the hospital. The liver is the only organ in your body that will complete renew itself. After they take 2/3 of my left liver lobe it will grow a completely new one in about 6 weeks. I will gain a nice scar under my rib cage that looks like a hockey stick about 5-6 inches long as the only reminder of the procedure. 

I have had a long time to process this and although I don't slightly want to go through the pain and discomfort of the process, I know it's the right thing to do and I am totally at peace with this decision. Monique also feels the same way about this and is at peace with this decision as well. Let me say that this goes far beyond Scotts and our friendship alone. I couldn’t imagine how painful it would be for his wife and their 6 children to lose him to so soon to death. This family has suffered so much all ready, from Scotts past fight with cancer, current liver disease and recently their oldest daughter nearly being killed in a car accident. I also can’t imagine how painful it is for his family to live day to day with a future full of so much uncertainty. The thought of me suffering for three months is nothing when compared to the hope of seeing a family restored and healed. I have been so blessed with my family and I have enjoyed a long enough life to see my children grow up an even enjoy a grandchild. I want Scott to have that experience as well. 

A major contributor to this whole process has been the love and support of Monique through all of it. This has been no small thing for her but in her words “The risks are worth the possibilities”. Without her approval and support of my decision this would not be a reality. She has been willing from the very start to do whatever is necessary to help support me.

There is still a lot to do before this can happen, work forms, Family Medical Leave, short term disability and fundraising to raise money for lost wages and income during the three months etc. I understand that this is all of a sudden but I wanted to write you so that each of you had time to process this. It was not my plan to keep it a secret from anyone but it did not make any sense to worry you with the slim chance I would be approved in the first place. 

Thanks you for your prayers and support in this.  My son is putting together a video interview shortly and there will be more posts  to follow as we journey through this together.

A recent picture of Scott and his beautiful family...

Doing more with less.

In August of 2012, I took the second most impactful trip of my life. The first was a six week trip in Ukraine to adopt our two children Daniel and Lydia. The second would launch me into a future I had only dreamed of. Traveling for two weeks in Ukraine leading a group of missionaries and researching the launch of a Transitional Home for orphans I began to catch a vision for what would later launch a ministry called Vision for the Children International. Underneath the surface of it all was something, that I believe helped change our lives and make this new vision and journey a reality.


I have a profound respect for those I have met who live outside our western culture. Most families I have encountered in Eastern Europe have lived in apartments and homes about a third the size of our home I live in with simplicity, contentment and gratitude for what they have. I have been the guest of those who have given their last chicken to bless us with a dinner. I have slept in beds that sagged so much that I have felt I was sleeping in a hammock. And in every instance I have seen eyes full of love, hearts of gold and a contentment with what they have been given and yet I could not understand or grasp how this could be when they live with so little? How could living with less bring so much contentment?


Perplexing as this was for me, I began to be overwhelmed with a simple truth that I lived in the exact opposite realm as they did full of stuff, excess and clutter. My life was packed. Every room, closet, drawer and hour was full to the brim. For years I had been asking to be used by God but the reality was how could he. I had no time left for him. A simple realization happened, for us to be used, we needed to make the space and time for it to happen. Needless to say, it was not easy to un clutter our lives but fast forward three and a half years and Monique and I are living a much simpler life, having greater impact than we have ever had and learning to be content with what we have. Much of this has been a result of four major changes we have implemented in our lives.


1. Turn off the TV. 5 years ago I just stopped watching it. I needed more time and it was a simply way of gaining more time in the day. Besides, If you haven't noticed, TV is loaded with constant commercialism designed to make you discontent with what you have and desire something more. That said, it doesn't mean I don't watch movies. I love my Netflix and the ability to choose what I entertain my time with when I want to disconnect and just relax.


2. Simplify your home. In other words, get rid of the excess. This has not been an easy one for us and has been full of great learning experiences and periods of unhappy times as I learned you don't thin out excess in certain areas ( like the kitchen ) without full agreement from your wife. A lesson I learned quickly and will never do again but it's been worth it all in the end. Learning to live with less has been such a huge freeing experience. Life flows smoother when you don't have to maintain a house full of excess stuff. Things are easier to find and areas are easier to keep clean. It also allows your stuff to go to those who might need it more than you. It also enables organizations to do so much good through the profits made by selling your unused stuff and as a bonus you just might get a tax break. Simply rule of thumb. If you haven't used it in the last two years, give it to those who might.


3. Simplify your life. Find ways to make it easier. Set up all your bills to be paid automatically and cut back on unnecessary events. Learn to say "No" to every request for your time. And, a hard one for me, stop being a control fanatic and allow others to share your load. For you to be used by God you must free up time for that to happen.


4. Be still. You can't find direction and contentment without pausing for times of reflection and peace. This is one of my biggest weaknesses so I decided to challenge myself in 2016 to take a baby step and consistently set aside 10 minutes a day to sit, be still, pray, meditate and just listen. So far these ten minutes are my favorite part of the day and often lead to more than ten minutes as I enjoy my mornings times in meditation.


5. Lastly, Be positive. The bible says to renew our minds. Focus on the positives. Take time to thank God for the good in your life and the promises he has given us. When we do this, our focus changes from the have nots to the haves. I generally do this in the morning and it is amazing how this sets the tone for the rest of my day.


The ultimate purpose of all of this is to allow for the space, time and change in mindset in your day to day life to allow God to enter into it, speak into you and fill it with purpose and direction. If you find yourself with barely enough time, these few suggestions might be what you need to change your future and impact others in the process.

Lose Your Height

A learned pleasure for me lately has been teaching Sunday school for a bunch of little kiddos at my church. At 6'1" I tower over these little guys. You would think that at my height I would have some type of intimidating authority, control and rule but instead the opposite seems to be true. My words seem relatively useless as I direct them to a loud, rambunctious, and often silly group of children. There seems to be this two and half foot gap of disconnect between me and them. But something amazing happens when I leave my lofty perch and get down on my knees, sit in their tiny chairs, play and draw with them. They begin to connect with me, their eyes light up and I am allowed the opportunity to enter their beautiful tiny and sometimes scary little world.

I woke to these thoughts this morning in Kiev, Ukraine as I reflected on how I have changed over the last few years. One valuable life lesson I've learned during this time, is to check my American ideology at the airport before leaving to another country. We cannot go, live life or influence others significantly if we think ourselves or our ideology better than others. When we do this we will naturally look down on others if they do not align with our way of thinking. When God said Go into all the world he did not want us to condemn but to serve others in truth and to represent grace and mercy. I believe God never asks us to do anything he hasn't done. So how has our God demonstrated these principles to us? In simplicity, He came from his heavenly thrown to come down to our earthly level. He then showed through his life to serve others by taking it even further. He humbled himself by going two and half feet further to kneel before us while he cleaned our dirty feet. Can we do that? It's not easy to humble ourselves and become vulnerable but when we begin to put this into practice, everything begins to change. Blinders come off our eyes and a precious and beautiful world opens before us. Verses likes "It's better to give than to receive" begin to actually make sense. Greed, gluttony and excess begin to rub you wrong and it naturally influences the way you live. You slowly begin to care less and less about what you personally can get out of life and how you can give more away. At the risk of sounding preachy, I often wonder how kind history will be on our super sized McMansion lifestyles. How can we live so blessed and ignore those in our world that barely survive and have so little hope of anything better? It is our responsibility, biblically speaking, to care for this earth and to bring good news to a hurting world. It's not someone else's problem it is ours. We are commanded to go, to give and to care for the least of these in our world. Let us not someday stand before our God making excuses for our mega flat screen tv's while our worlds children died because they went without our love and care. Lets begin to do today what we can, to give from our richness and blessings. Let us model our saviors example and get down on our knees and look up into those hurting and wounded eyes and wash some feet.

Where are my KEYs?

Something I take for granted, as long as they are close to me, are my keys.  I personally hate having them in my pockets so they always end up in my backpack or tossed in a basket.  I must have at least ten keys on my key ring and it would take me a bit to figure out which one goes to what but carry them I must.  One exception to this rule is when I travel.  I have no need for keys when I travel so I abandon them on my desk to be left but never forgotten.  Without them close by, my mind often franticly does a search for them.  Which pocket of my bags are they in?  Were did I last have them?  On and on my mind will repeat this as I go from one place to another.  Its like a strange invisible umbilical cord that attaches me to them. It is amazing to me how keys have become such a part of my anatomy.  Its a strange feeling, as though I need to know that I can lock myself in or out, open a door or turn the ignition on and speed away.  So here I fly to Eastern Europe again with this nagging feeling that I need them but in reality I have no need for them at all. What I need more than to open a physical door or to turn on a car, is the assurance that my God has spiritual doors waiting to be opened that I can walk through.   Maybe today my need for keys are just a personal need to control the doors I want opened.  Whatever the case, today I release that control to God and Go in faith.   He holds the keys and I look forward to the journey and the wide open doors...  

1 Corinthians 2:9  However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"   James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Vision for the Children International - What have we been up to? Sept 2015

I am excited to share with you some incredible updates!  Thank you so much for your ongoing support of our ministry. Without you this wouldn’t have been possible. Three years ago, the realities of what it was like for a child to live in an orphanage and the poor conditions they would live in afterwards, forced us to take a hard look at how we dealt with our world orphan crisis.  What we found, was that according to UNICEF over 80 percent of children classified as orphans have a living parent. This is a tragic statistic!  How could we strengthen families and keep children from ending up in orphanages?

Vision for the Children International was launched because we knew we couldn’t keep walking by these vulnerable children. We needed to find a way to change the conditions which forced parents to abandon their children to a hopeless future, simply because they lived in an environment which gave them no other option.  VFTCI now focuses on 4 main areas of ministry that are having a significant impact; Rescue, Education, Outreach and Awareness. 

Check out these highlights from the last couple of years that you made possible:

2012 We turned a dark cold Armenian school with no electricity into a vibrant welcoming school with electricity for computers and modern kitchen that now serves two meals a day to needy children. 

2013 We launched an Abandoned Mothers with Children Shelter – Rescuing and rehabilitating 9 mothers and 14 children so far.

2014 We co-founded an International NGO called KERA to administer the shelter.

2014 We began supporting and expanding an after school program.  This program is providing a safe environment for education, English classes and over 4000 healthy meals for impoverished children.

2014 We also launched a computer education lab with 6 computers that provide necessary access to computer programs, internet and research capabilities for kids to succeed in School.  

2014 - 2015 We began to look at ways to expand outreach into communities and villages. This lead to the support of outreach programs that included missions trips, children's summer camps, holiday events and weekly Kids Programs.  These programs allow us to continually build relationships, expand existing programs and provide relational support to children and families.

We are continuing to see incredible progress in our programs and are preparing for ongoing growth and expansion. It is exciting to see the hard labor of the last three years begin to grow and flourish.

Last week, Monique and I took a little time to give blood at our church.   What struck me this time was the reality that just 30 minutes of my time and a small amount of blood had the ability to save three lives.  For me it was incredible realization that so little effort on my part could have such a lasting impact on someone’s future.  Just like giving blood, your regular investment and support, has this same ability to radically change the future of a child! Would you take a moment and consider a financial gift today or signup for a monthly recurring gift?  With your regular monthly giving, it makes it possible for us to wisely plan and budget for the future of each of our programs. Consider using our secure online giving at www.VFTCI.org.  With your ongoing help this vision of proactive care will continue to have long term impact that will break cycles of abandonment and broken families for many generations.  

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story – those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, (Psalms 107:2 NIV)

Introduction:

The whirlwind end of 2014 has been organized and put on the shelves.  Gone are the Christmas decorations, my newly married daughter and her husband are beginning their new lives together and our youngest biological child moves out within the week.   A strange quiet and emptiness fills the house as a new era starts for us.  Rooms that were full of children over the years are empty now.  This didn’t just happen overnight and it isn’t really anything new for us, so why does it feel so different to me now?  I suppose it’s the reality that these rooms won’t be full again and the front door won’t open with one of our older children walking threw it on a daily basis.  Maybe the house isn’t as empty so much as the way my heart is.   I know that time moves on and this is what we have worked towards for many years but it still takes getting used to.  Without a doubt though, I am the proudest dad.  Our children are successful and living life to its fullness.   It’s what we raised them to be but it is in this setting that has made me especially reflective this New Year and my need to write…

A prayer of Surrender and Desperation

I guess I just need to ramble a bit on my life and share a little bit about how I got to where I am today.   Although the last 44 years contributed tremendously to current events, I choose not to make and autobiography but share a brief excerpt of it.  Let me start with a few remembrances of my life as a young boy.  I was born into a family that raised me in a Christian home.  I remember going to church every Sunday and I loved these early years of my life.  Some of my best memories are from a very young age.  I remember special times with my father and mother and lifelong memories of my grandfather.  It was in this period of time, around the age of 7, that I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ at a small Nazarene church in Long Beach California and told my mother and father that I wanted to accept Jesus into my heart.  So in the innocence of a child, I knelt beside my bed that evening and prayed the sinner’s prayer.  Unfortunately these early care free years were shortly lived as my parents divorced and my life began to fall apart.  Searching for a father for her three boys, my mother would marry three more times before I turned 16.  Each one a disaster that was destructive and full of abuse.  I desperately wanted to escape this world I lived in and so I eventually found solitude and peace in the mountains.  The mountains became my god for many years to come and I found temporary peace from the pain through rock climbing, mountaineering and skiing.  Incredibly through those trying painful years, I never felt a time that Gods presence wasn’t with me.  I don’t know why or how that was but he never stopped pursuing me as I desperately tried to fill the vacant hole in my life from the abandonment and abuse of my childhood.     

Fast forward through 22 years of marriage and 4 biological children and apparently I have done a somewhat okay job at fathering.  I can only say that because my children have graciously loved me and said I have been.  Those 22 years were filled with some difficult times and my mistakes tremendous but I know that Gods grace and mercy did more than I could have ever done in protecting the children and family I loved.  Looking back, I guess I fathered in fear.  A fear, that I never wanted my children to live a childhood like mine.  When things got rough in my life, that fear kept me going.  God never seemed to leave me alone but the reality is I never could commit to him completely and wholly.  The draw of this world, the lust of the flesh and the desire to conform, continually tugged at me.  Like anything in life, there were great periods and then there were bad periods.  I can only say one thing to this and that is God is a faithful father and never gave up on me. A little over 4 years ago, the reality of empty nesting, new career paths were upon us and travel began to overtake our thoughts.  After so many years of giving to our family, we finally began to see the finish line but little did we know what lay ahead of us. 

It wouldn’t be much longer before a vision of the orphan problem in our world and the reality of our need to do our part would begin to grow.  Spurred on by messages from our pastor that would cut to the heart and challenge us to take risks in our personal life, we began to get involved in a local ministry that advocated for the orphans of Ukraine.  We had no intention to adopt at first but that quickly changed as we felt the call and saw the tremendous need.  It was during this time that my heart began to turn towards God again.  I am not sure why but something happened in me as I began to see the father heart of our God for his children.  Why now?  I don’t know but it began to happen and the running began to change to a level of obedience.  It was not overnight but I began to feel a heart change.  

During this time I began to read tremendous books like “Fields of the Fatherless” by Tom Davis and my all time favorite “Radical” by David Platt.  The book Radical was so intense and deep for me that it literally took me a year to read.  I could only handle a chapter before putting it away.  It literally began to shake me to the core and tear down my world views.  In Ukraine, we spent countless hours and Kilometers driving in taxis between our two children’s orphanages.  It was during this time that I took up reading Radical again.  What a setting to read this book.  Here I was in Ukraine, hot, muggy, a bit scared and living on the edge and God kept impressing upon me that this was just the beginning.  What!?!!  Just the beginning!??  I remember leaning over to my wife in the back of a cramped, hot taxi and saying something like “I don’t think this is the end but just the beginning of something God is doing”.   She didn’t look very thrilled at this comment.  You have to understand we had risked everything financially in faith to adopt and we were pretty uncomfortable.   I do remember feeling a sense of purpose and knowledge that we were being obedient to the call on our lives but at that moment my obedience turned to complete life surrender to God.  I will never forget telling him in a prayer that no matter how uncomfortable or scared I felt, if God asked me to do something then I would say “Yes”.  Since that moment of complete surrender somewhere near Kramatorsk Ukraine; saying “Yes” to God became my mantra. That moment of surrender has been the most difficult decision I have made and yet the most rewarding. 

Shortly after returning from Ukraine with our two new children, I would be asked if I would be willing to join a nonprofit as their field director.  Honestly, that scared me to no end!  Big time fear but remembering my commitment of surrender, I said Yes.  That decision, as scary as it was, stretched me and grew me and I did things I never imagined I would do.  From leading a team of missionaries to the heart of eastern Ukraine for a summer camp for orphans, to being a part of the process of launching a transition home for aged out orphans.  I began to see the power of the word “Yes” when it came to surrender and obedience to the direction and call God had me on.  This time was not flawless and I made huge mistakes along the way but looking back God had a way of using it for my development and life direction. 

During my second trip to Ukraine, I remember seeing how many children were at risk of becoming orphans.  Honestly, I didn’t think much of it at the time but this reality or imagery of children without families began to occupy my thoughts all the time.  A blog post by Tom Davis, stated that we need to take time and look at the root causes of an issue.  In other words we cannot just be trying to put out the fires of our world but step back at times and see what is starting the fires.  Well, that bit of wisdom would not stop haunting my mind.  I began to wonder if we could begin to change the conditions that would force a child to be placed in a government institution or orphanage.  Why not?  Why not attack this world problem from both sides?  Advocate for adoption and orphan care and at the same time invest in the family!  I was pumped with excitement at the possibility!  The challenge was how.  The reality was my home life was falling apart.  The challenges of adoption and the difficulty of immersing our two children into our family and culture were straining our relationship to the point of complete disaster.  What we had optimistically entered into was far more than we bargained for.  Our typical roles we had had raising our biological children were not working and my wife was near emotional meltdown.  Both of us were constantly being stretched to the max and the reality was this was going to be a difficult life choice.  So on one hand I was seeing limited success in ministry and on the other hand I was blind to all the new challenges our family was enduring. 

How could I possibly begin to consider launching a ministry that was focused on orphan prevention when my wife and family were at the brink of collapse?   Needless to say, I still presented the reality that I wanted to start a nonprofit.  The response was less than receptive.  In fact, I received a much deserved ear full.   Adopting was a ministry and I needed to figure this out first before jumping into another!  Hard as that was to hear, it was the truth.  This whole willing to submit and say “Yes” was beginning to tear at every part of our lives and rip us apart.  Little did I realize at the time, that these were areas of my life that needed addressing first.  This was part of the process of surrender!  So the family began to be a major focus and the vision a secondary one.  In time, both of us began to see that this vision and calling was upon us as we began to figure out how to balance our lives together.   

Three months later, we stepped out in faith and launched Vision for the Children International, almost two years to this day.  I was elated and yet scared beyond reality.  This was a huge step of faith for me! The cost of adoption and medical bills had stretched us beyond what was bearable and now I had stepped out and launched a nonprofit?  Insane!  I remember withdrawing $40 dollars from our personal account to put into our new business account that was opened for VFTCI.  Leaving the bank, I remember wondering how I was going to make it to our next paycheck without those 40bucks!  Life began to feel like I was walking on a razor edge with complete failure on both sides!  I remember laughing to myself at the insanity of it all but staying committed to the “Yes”.   

What would follow were some of the most difficult months of my life.  God was doing an amazing thing in the ministry but I was beginning to go through hell!  It is hard to explain those months.  It was like I was in the process of an extremely painful birth spiritually.  I felt like I could bear no more.  Finances had been completely tapped, old friends turned against me and I felt abandoned with no hope.  Mental anguish was constant and I remember getting up every morning for months, searching the bible for hope and praying in complete and utter desperation for God to rescue me.   This time was the most intense and horrible time of my life.  Thoughts of ending it all would invade my mind but God sustained me and his complete rescue came!  It was like I had been tested by fire and somehow I came out of it. 

 At the end of my rope, God came through and miracles began to happen. God completely rescued our lives.  Since then, it’s been no rose garden but we began to see breakthrough in our lives.   Door after door began to open up for us.  God faithfully provided for every need we had and the ministry began to explode.  It was more than I could imagine!  Lives began to change, partnerships and volunteers began to join our team, incredible and unimaginable events would take place.  I still to this day stand in awe of all that God continues to do.  In the last two years, 8 mothers have been rescued from an uncertain future and 12 children from lives in an orphanage.  We have launched education programs, a computer lab for children to do research and get extended education, we have seen 80 plus salvations, and provided nearly 4000 healthy meals for needy children as well as numerous outreach programs and summer camps.  I know this wasn’t by our own power but by a God who has worked through us and provided beyond our wildest dreams.  

As I write this, I am honestly amazed!  Why me?  The answer is why not!  We are all called.  The bible says “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”  Do you understand what that means?  It means that there is success for those who are willing to labor.  The harvest is there ripe for the picking!  We are just co laborers to a God who has already done the planting.  Are our lives any easier because we said “ Yes”?  I would say definitely “NO” but God continues to bless us, show us his provision and encourage us.    We know that every time we recommit a prayer of submission, which sometimes is daily, He is faithful to complete the work He sets before us.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story – those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, (Psalms 107:2 NIV)  

Just a few things we have learned along the way....

          Just a few things we have learned along the way.  Chronologically, this post should have been a couple back.  I just found time to finish and post.  Hope it's not too dry...
        These are things we have learned because we took more time to find history, meet with relatives and tour home towns.  We have taken everything with a grain of salt and a lot doesn't make sense to us still as we continue to piece  the puzzle together.  We have learned that Lydia was not born with a lazy eye but it was a result of a trauma.  What we were told is she was alone and "family" came back or into the room and she had hit something and that's when her eye became lazy.  So we suspect some muscle tearing.  Daniel just recently told us as well, that she was 2 or 3 at the time and that she ran into a corner.  They never took her to a doctor.   Today we went out for lunch and Monique asked about an inch and half scar over Daniels right eye.  Karen talked with Daniel about it and found out that his mother had cut him with a knife while she was drunk.  According to him she did not remember doing it after she woke up. I am sure the stories will continue to come out as the days, months and years go by. 
         Today Monique mentioned how nice it is to have a little helper around the house and Daniel proudly said He knows how to do it all because he did it all in his house.  Karen being our interpreter asked more questions about this and I asked what his mom did and He without a second thought said she just drank.  We are finding more and more that though we still believe he was loved by his mom, she was not a good parent.  So it sounds like she drank a lot and he took care of himself and his sister and the house. Dad was absent.  
         We now also know that before they were separated and sent to two different orphanages,  they also spent time at the towns shelter.  How long i don't know yet.  We found this out while walking in their town and Daniel took off to say hi to an older lady.  With the help of our translator she told us how special these two kids were when they were under her care.  Come to find out she was the director of shelter.  She also said Daniel was a hard worker, gentleman and took care of his sister while Lydia was, in my words, more of a princess and needed looking out for and taking care of. 
       Daniel is an amazing worker.  I haven't grasped the whole picture yet or understand the why but he is intense!   When their is a project to be done, put together or fixed, he becomes so enthusiastic and intense that it borders on crazed.  I can hardly communicate to him or bring him back from his drive toward completion of the project.  I seem to be having a slow but steady progress in controlling his almost panicky enthusiasm but it's a slow process.  He is a boy full of joy and happiness and an intense energy level.
             In Ukraine the men are often absent from children's lives, either physically or by alcohol.  So I suspect some of the meltdowns our kids have had, are related to me being a male authority figure and them not knowing how to deal with that.  So far I have caused or been involved in both melt downs the kids have had.  Tonight I put the kids to bed before mamma came into read a story and for whatever reason, something triggered our happy boy to shut completely down and roll away and get quietly mad.  Nothing worked in pulling him out of this.  His body didn't respond to tickles or any of my hilarious humor and so I said good night and went to talk with Monique and Karen.   After explaining what happened, Karen asked if she could try and find out what was wrong and of course I said yes.  After talking with him for awhile, she said he didn't know what he was feeling or why he was feeling the way he did.  He said nothing happened to trigger the response.  So Karen lovingly comforted him and told him to pray and talk to God.  Monique came in and read and cuddled with him and things improved.  I latter came in and spent a little time with him and he was back to his usual self.  We are now wondering if he might have had some sort of sensory overload.  Time will tell. 
       That's just the beginning but this is the end of this post for me...