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 Holy Crap, Life Lessons

Empathy is the Finest HOLY in the CRAP

bt-against-empathy

Chapter 12 – “When Pain Has Value”

“It is interesting for me to look back on the “eyeball years” because I really feel God was working on my empathy for people more than He was working on my belief in Him while I was going through the worst of my eye situation. I want to state it again because I think this concept is so important for a person following Christ: God was working on my empathy for people more than He was working on my belief in Him. Now, to a “career Christian,” this can sound terrible. But I know that if I tell people I love Jesus more than anything in my life, but I can’t have empathy for people, give to the needy, help the poor, take care of widows and orphans, or just simply love people who are making bad decisions in life–as I do sometimes–then my relationship with Jesus is a lie.”

Many times we focus so hard on trying to believe things for our own lives rather than letting Jesus teach us empathy for others while going through crap in life. The empathy we have for others is what changes our relationship with Jesus. We go from just being concerned about ourselves and what WE can get and what WE need, to an outward focus that wants to serve others. It is the perfect and selfless example that Jesus gave us while on this earth. When we are focused on giving to others, Jesus not only meets our needs but meets them with perfect timing to receive it for maximum impact.

Today, think about how you can get involved in someone else’s life in a practical way, especially if you are going through some kind of crap of your own. When we help take care of God’s children, WE are taken care of. It’s the Kingdom way; give yourself away to find your own needs met.

As always, praying for you all to have daily revelations from God and a heart that is pliable to His ways.

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

#NepalOrphanage Trip – A Wonderful Trip to Nepal

File May 22, 5 24 12 PM
Well, Yolanda and I believe that it was the best trip we have taken to Nepal to go see the kids, our orphanage manager and his family. Everyone is doing well and we even got to see the kids that are fully transitioning out of the home and into real life as young adults. It is a strange and wonderful thing to see our kids growing up into men and ladies to be productive members of society.

I definitely saw the fruit of our decision to college educate all our kids. Some are becoming chefs, some are getting business management degrees and others are working in the travel industry as hotel management staff. I also spoke with one of our kids who is getting ready to enter his last year of college in business management. He said that he wants to be able to run a business and then do ministry around the area, which is awesome and proves the point that you don’t have to be in full time ministry to be able to minister to hurting people who need to hear about Jesus.

Yolanda and I were able to bring a suitcase of supplies as well as some fun things and luxuries for the kids to enjoy. There were many people who got involved in giving and we appreciate everyone’s gifts!

We were able to go shopping for basic supplies the homes needed as well as spend time hanging out with the kids and it was great. We had a worship night with other kids from the area and I was able to share a word about the importance of not just being a worship “performer” but living a lifestyle of worship. We also had a BBQ with the kids and played some games and got to just catch up talking. I loved this trip as well because the kids are getting older and easier to talk to because they trust that we are going to take care of them and want to be involved in their lives. Yolanda and I presented 10 study Bibles to kids who have graduated from High School (a gift that Yolanda and I have committed to each kid).

We were also able to go and look at land that is available in the area to possibly purchase and build our own compound with buildings for the boys, girls, our manager and a dorm area for people who would like to come and visit with us and work with the kids on trips. Please pray with us about this as it would involve quite a bit of money but we know that the home is God’s and He is going to take care of the kids as we listen and are obedient to do what He directs.

Yolanda and I want to bring a group of people back with us in October of 2017 so we made a site visit to the Chitwan National Park and stayed at a wonderful resort while there, Landmark Forest Park. Everything was wonderful and we got to see many things with walks into the local village an elephant safari and jeep safari! We made great new friends and a possible place to bring people so they can enjoy the culture and get to see a part of the world that many people from America never get to see.

At the end of the trip we spent a few days in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which was a great time of relaxing and winding down before heading home to the USA. Yolanda and I feel it is SUPER important to not just do ministry in life and miss the wonderful world that God has created and all of the interesting and amazing people in it.

Thanks to everyone who prayed while we were gone and will continue to pray for our kids. We have a great burden to see them all succeed and with the kids growing older they can present new challenges as teenagers and not little kids anymore. We also have some newer young kids that have come into the home and want the older ones to be a good influence on them and not bad ones.

Please pray also about possibly supporting the Children’s Home of Love. We never want to share only about need because we are about giving people vision for what we want to see happen and motivate people to team up with us. We know that God will bring in what is needed at the right time. He has been with us from the beginning and will continue to lead us to help change our little corner of the world, seven thousand seven hundred and twenty four miles away, one child at a time.

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 Life Lessons, Uncategorized

I Got Mad for the Orphans Today…OOPS

20150701_185137_resized
Today I got angry. I know this surprises everyone that I actually lose my cool every so often (haha) but today was especially interesting. I got angry about the orphanage that Yolanda and I oversee in Nepal. Sometimes, I can get negative about people that I think would and should support what we are doing but don’t want to get involved. I mean, they are ORPHANS for crying out loud!

The interesting thing was that I preached a message at a church a few weeks ago about not having to defend God, the Bible and what He wants to do on the earth. I said, “We don’t need to defend the Bible, we need the Bible to defend US!” (Plus, I knew that was from God because it was too good for me to come up with such a clever line) I had lots of passion and meant every word I said. I am not sure why, but I threw all that good teaching for EVERYONE ELSE out the window and got ticked for the sake of the orphans!!

I need to remember and listen to all that good teachin’ I am happy to give others and remember that our kids in Nepal are HIS kids and not our responsibility. We are just to do our part, present the vision and trust God for the support. We have already had others who are fully behind what we are doing and I know that God is going to bring even more people to us to take care of the kids.

Today, think about something you are worried about or gotten angry about because you thought you were defending the less fortunate or even God, for that matter. Remember that He has way more power than you, has been around a lot longer and has the ability to actually protect YOU and not the other way around.

Ok. Now I feel better getting that off my chest. Have a great weekend!

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.

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

Nepal Orphanage update! First day of our clinic

Greetings from Nepal!!

We had a great day yesterday doing dental work along with handing out some eye glasses. Our kids did awesome considering the fact that they had never seen a dentist before in their entire lives. I know for me it is always an “interesting” experience when I go to the dentist back in the states (and I don’t mean it is enjoyable – haha) Today we are doing dental and glasses for a school in the area and then packing up to get ready to head to the Nepal / Tibet boarder for help in the village there. God is doing great things and thanks for continuing to pray!!

This morning I was reading in 1 Samuel 7 where Samuel was talking to the people of Israel about requirements for following God and dealing with idols in their lives. This is what it says;
1 Samuel 7:3-4
3 Samuel spoke to the whole community of Israel. He said, “Do you really want to return to the LORD with all your hearts? If you do, get rid of your strange gods. Get rid of your statues of goddesses that are named after Ashtoreth. Commit yourselves to the LORD. Serve him only. Then he will save you from the powerful hand of the Philistines.”
4 So the people of Israel PUT AWAY their statues of gods that were named after Baal. They PUT AWAY their statues of goddesses named after Ashtoreth. They served the LORD only.

Are you PUTTING AWAY your idols that you put in front of God or DESTROYING them? Those are two different foundations to serve God from. In verse 4, it says they served the LORD only.
We can still be serving God today but have idols that we have not destroyed or hidden for when we want to honor our flesh and not God. When you get rid of something you are saying that you don’t want to rely on it anymore. When you “put away” an idol you are essentially saying, “God you are awesome…but if this thing goes crooked with following you then I have a back up plan”. Right now in Nepal is one of the big Hindu festivals and there are plenty of physical “idols” around town that people are worshipping and sacrificing to. In America, it is much more subtle but still as deadly. Don’t mistake the difference with putting something away in your life and destroying it. God is worthy to be praised, followed and honored in all circumstances and will take care of those who destroy everything else in their life that can bring a false sense of security, which is the primary definition of an idol.

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

We made it to Nepal!!

Today we got up and had a delicious breakfast at our hotel and (of course) Masalla Tea, which is one of my favorite beverages on the planet. We went to church today and it never ceases to amaze me how much the Napali people worship/love God. Coming to church is actually one of my favorite experiences because it helps put into perspective not just American overindulgence economically, but American UNDER-indulgence Spiritually back home. This is one of the best reasons to go on a missions trip and really experience God from a Spiritual “world-view.” The funny thing is that its not really about “loving and worshiping Jesus” like a Nepalese. It’s the seeking of God with the same wreak-less abandon that looks past the distractions of life. The love and care of the “church body” in Nepal is amazing and I love watching the team we brought experiencing God in a different way than they are used to. More adventures to follow including setting up the clinic today and working on the eyes and teeth of the orphans. Tune in for more updates and thanks for praying!!

7holycrap Orphanage Trips

T-Minus 3hours 15 Minutes

I am typing this post from my home computer before we leave for Nepal tonight.  Everything is packed and we are ready to roll!  Please be praying for protection as we travel as well as no sickness or lost bags on the flight over for the next 2.5 days of flights through three country’s.  Thanks so much to everyone who gave in some way financially, vitamins, scarves etc. for the kids.  We totally appeciate it and know it is all going to help build the Kingdom!!  Thanks and let the journey/adventure begin!!