home

Today our team went and visited where all of the kids at WHY used to live.  Most of our kids have some family... Catherine only has a grandmother who is deaf..but the rest have siblings and at least one parent who is alive or incarcerated.

The team left early and went to pick up all of the parent(s) of the WHY children at a central location so that all of the parents could go on the trip to each child's home.

You can't really tell in the picture above, but it was taken in the door way of the home.  This is Daisy's former home.  The people sleep and stay here.  It was all that we could do to fit into their home...I could not imagine living there.

The goal of the trip was simple.  To see where the kids have come from, to pray with and encourage the parents and leave a gift that would help and sustain that home for a month or so. 
The sizes of the homes varied...but all of them were very small.  The floors  where 3-7 people slept (and yes I meant to type floors) were about the size of one American bed...in fact most were smaller.  IN the photo above you can see that an American bed would not even come close to fitting in their entire home.  I think (I don't like making statements that lumps everyone together) that none of them had running water inside their homes; I know the majority didn't.  Most did not have a bathroom inside their home it was outside.  None of them had a stove; they just had a designated area at the side of their home where they would put coals or build fires in order to cook their food.  All of them had Catholic idols and imagery in their homes.  And I guess the obvious..there are no refrigerators, recliners, stoves, couches, carpet, wall paper, .. basically what is in there are dirt or cement floors, plastic chairs and uhm, candles.

All of the families had smiles on their faces.  All of them were working when we arrived.  Doing laundry, sweeping the floors, getting out chairs, cleaning off shoes...what little they have, they took pride in and valued.  It was amazing and encouraging to see.

As you read about the early church....Saul went from house to house to persecute the church.  That was b/c that the home was where the early church worshipped and that you could distinguish and recognize a Christian home from the rest of the culture and people.  It was simply amazing for us as a team to go from home to home to share our faith, to express Christ's love and get to know the kind of homes and environment our kids came from.  We are truly blessed.  It "feels" like missionary work when you are physically going to different homes to pray and share your faith.  It was truly an amazing day.  The parents will be coming to the orphanage on Sunday for church.  Our very first church service.  The first time that many will hear the good news.  We have decided we will call the church, the Good News Church.  Because that is what we want the focus to be on..is the good news.

Prayer points:  Some of the homes had NO food.  This was very concerning for me.  Every home I have been in while I lived in the Philippines has food, rice is so cheap and readily available it concerned me greatly that some homes had none.  Please pray that all of our children's extended family will have the means to eat.

Spiritually none of our families are born again Christians.  Several of the families attend church on Sundays..but none of them profess having an individual relationship with Christ.

Mentally..I cannot imagine living where these folks live; not knowing if you will eat that day, not having a bathroom, having a small mat to call a bed..and then to leave that one day (which our kids did) but leave behind the rest of my family..knowing I had my own bed and all the food I can eat...but not knowing if my mom, dad or siblings were eatting has to be traumatic for our kids.  I cannot imagine the worry that they must be under.  Most of our kids worked in some form or fashion to provide food for their families...now they are in school and in the orphanage and the families have lost this extra income.

Continue to pray about the director for the orphanage, a pastor for the church, and a way we can raise enough funds to have a projector so that we can worship together on Sundays.

Pray for our health and strength....

Now to Him who is able to do abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine......
To Him be glory forever and ever,
Dustin