7holycrap Holy Crap, Orphanage Trips, Orphanage Update

The Kids In Our Nepal Children’s Home Are Growing Up!

Yolanda and I love coming to Nepal to see the kids at our children’s home in Kathmandu. We are currently here celebrating Christmas a little early and having a big party.

We had a pizza party last night with all of the kids and the people that work here at both the homes. I made a startling yet pleasing discovery while watching the contrast of our older and younger kids. Something that gave me hope in the process here of not just saving kids from the street but helping to properly educate and cause them to become productive members of society.

We have a group of younger kids that are recent compared to all of the others who have been with us since the beginning of starting the home. I can remember the first time we came over to Nepal and watched the kids react to mealtime. It was something I will never forget. ALL of the kids would eat so fast and go back for seconds as many times as they could almost like a subconscious result of being an orphan and not knowing where their next meal would come from. I saw a complete contrast of those older kids, now almost ten years later, and their reaction to our pizza party. They sat with their friends and ate at a normal pace, not shoving in their food and not pushing and shoving to get back in line for seconds. In fact, we had three pizzas left over from our party when in the past, every single crumb would be devoured by our kids. I mention this because I saw a contentment and security in the older kids that they knew they were taken care of and not worried about getting enough to eat. It was like they had a kind of peace on them that they were not in an orphanage but in a home where they felt safe, secure and knew that their basic needs were being met.

When I saw this, I had a full “aha” moment and realized that the team here and the work CTN has been doing is not only worth it in making us feel better about helping those less fortunate but that the kids were feeling the support and sustainability of the people and system here to help guide and direct their lives.

Now compare this story to your own life. How do you react to God and the system he has for taking care of you? Do you live in fear that what you are receiving from him today will run out tomorrow and you will be left in the cold and not supported anymore? Or have you “grown up” and are now trusting that the same care that God gives you today is enough for your tomorrow and especially for your eternal future? I believe this is moving from the “milk to the meat” of the word in trust with God. I can think of many times where I was in a situation and thought that God may have forgotten about me, but then he ends up meeting every need in a perfect way.

As we begin to wrap up our trip here in Nepal, I know that I needed to see the growth of our kids and the trust they have in us and the system that is set in place. It has once again helped me consider my own life and how I can continue to trust that God will take care of my EVERY need according to HIS riches in glory!

7holycrap Orphanage Trips, Orphanage Update

Nepal Update – Enjoy the World!

      
We travelled to a hotel/resort in the Chitwan Valley area for a few days to investigate something for people to do in addition to working with the orphanage when we bring people to Nepal on future trips. We did a couple of different safari’s yesterday (rhino pic above) and will do a canoe trip today with a guide. It has been wonderful to spend a few days here before we get back to Kathmandu and spend 4 more days with our kids. 
Yolanda and I think it is important to always spend time in whatever part of the world you are in and experience the culture and expand your world view. I think many times in life we get so focused on “doing the work of the Lord” that we don’t take time to really see and experience the world around us. Plus, I know that we are spreading the love of Jesus to this part of Nepal just by interacting with the people we meet and also praying over the land that we are setting foot on. 

I hope that there are people reading these updates and getting excited to come to Nepal with us next year and experience everything we see when we come here! 

It’s off to another day of adventure and letting the love and heart of Jesus shine through our actions not only with the kids we love and support, but also the people we will come in contact with today. Think about your interactions today. Are you letting Jesus shine through you? 

7holycrap Orphanage Trips, Orphanage Update, Uncategorized

Nepal Orphanage Trip 2016 Update! 

  
We had a great Mother’s Day here in Nepal! The picture with this post is of Yolanda standing in the pulpit at the church where she and her mom preached when they came to Nepal about 13 years ago. We had a great Sunday am service and heard a wonderful message about the never ending love of a mother which is like Jesus’ love for us. 
We then spent some time with our home managers and their  kids goofing around and were able to give them the gifts we brought them. It was funny when they were so excited about things we take for granted everyday like ranch dressing mix. 🙂 

We then ordered a delicacy that the kids are never able to eat because it is so expensive, pizza, and had everyone over to our manager’s house to play a bit  and eat dinner together. 
God always gives me reminders about thankfulness and being appreciative of not only the things I have back home but a reminder of the many smiles and relationships here in Nepal. 

It was exciting to see kids that would not really smile when we came just 3 years ago. joking and smiling and enjoying time with their brothers and sisters. 

I am going to do a follow up post to this one in the am (nighttime for all of my USA peeps) about something God showed me during the worship service today. 

Please continue to pray for safety and that tomorrow we would find the best deals in town for the years worth of supplies we are getting tomorrow. 

7holycrap Orphanage Update

Nepal Orphanage UPDATE! Stories of SUPERNATURAL protection and provision!

Update_1I wanted to officially update everyone on the orphanage in Nepal and what has been going on. It has been AMAZING the love, prayer and financial support we have received from people everywhere. We know that this will be a time of rebuilding and also listening to the Holy Spirit to see what new relationships we can make in the community of Kathmandu and our orphanage by spreading the love of Jesus in a practical and needed way. 
I had a call this morning with our orphanage manager and from all the reports of destruction I have some great testimonies to share and God’s amazing protection in the midst of the chaos. First, and most importantly, all the kids, families and their extended families are safe. This is amazing considering we have 36 people in our orphanage (with kids, families and the managers and their kids) and four kids as well that are older and have moved out of the home and THEIR families. We do have some older grandparents that are dealing with health issues but not related to the earthquake and could use our prayers. Of all the horror stories we are hearing coming from Nepal, they are all safe which is a testament of God’s protection.
They have food and water but are still in need of tents for everyone because of the rains that happen this time of year. There is also some structural damage to the boys home and we want to keep all the kids and families together for safety as well as all the aftershocks that have been occurring. We think the manager’s house and the girl’s home are safe with no apparent structural damage which is another testament to God’s protection when we see the condition of many buildings that have fallen or are ready to collapse.
The orphanage is well connected to a church there and we are looking for additional opportunities to reach out to people in the area affected by the quake. 
Our orphanage managers are organizing trips into the areas of destruction to get the older kids out and helping other people. They have an amazing heart to see the kids not just concerned and thinking about their own preservation (which can happen with orphans) but the importance of being “Jesus with skin on” to the community. Our heart is that we don’t treat the kids as “orphans” but as young men and women that have awesome God-given destinies and a second chance at life to make a difference in their world.
The country of Nepal is only 2% Christian and I believe that God can open opportunities for us to influence the country for Jesus after this disaster with the pure awesome and relentless power of the LOVE of Jesus. 
We are going to be getting a better estimate of the cost of tents, blankets and other essential items in the next couple of days but please continue to pray and if you can give that would be awesome. We will continue to accept donations at RockyMountainCTN.com on the home page not only for our kids and orphanage but also for opportunities to show the love of Jesus in the community.
EVERY penny you give to the orphanage for the relief efforts goes to our kids and people in need. There are NO operational costs or other things attached to the money so you know that 100% of your giving is getting to the people who need it. Thanks and I will give another update as soon as I hear more information.