Remember Ambassadors

Pastor Sumat and members of his congregation have been through a lot in the past couple of weeks!  They are in Madhya Pradesh, a province in India that can accurately be termed a "persecution hostpot," and they have found themselves at the center of attacks.  They have been harassed by anti-Christian fanatics, ordered to stop their worship services, and arrested and interrogated.

Despite all of this, God is pouring out his grace, and these faithful believers have been released from jail.  Praise God for His mercy, and please continue to pray for the Christians of Madhya Pradesh.

To read the full story from Gospel for Asia, click here.

Every time that we have gone to the Freedom House Orphanage, the children have sung for us.  Each time, their singing has been a highlight of my trip.  These kids love to sing, and do so with a joy and vigor that is a delight to behold.

I've already written about one chorus that they sang for us, a song that you probably recognize.  They also sang a song for us that was completely new–a Karen chorus with an incredible melody and, we later found out, incredible message.  I wanted to share that song with you, because it has certainly stuck with me.  The audio is not great, as it was captured by our little Sony HandyCam, but I would encourage you to praise along with these children as you listen.

To listen, click here.

And here is the translation, exactly as given to us by one of the leaders. 

We're the children of God,
We don't belong in this world.
The world is temporary for us.
We should find out our wrong ways and mistake.
God's want us to come to Him and living according in His will.

So, come to Him.
Praises Him and go forward.
In everyday we should be deeper and stronger in faith and pray.

Despite the fact that I have not had any time to stop and gather my thoughts since we returned from Thailand, I cannot shake the feeling of praise that continues to sort of follow me around.  God is good, and His grace is overwhelming!

Our team arrived back safely in the U.S. after a virtually hassle-free return trip.  Despite our exhaustion, I think it is safe to say that every team member had a ready smile and a boatload of stories about God's goodness.  God's hand was abundantly evident on our trip, and every one of us was honored to be a part of His work.

Yesterday I had the chance to share a "thank you" message with the people at Believers Baptist Church in Leesburg, VA.  This whole church was involved in a project to bless the children Remember serves at the Freedom House Orphanage.  All ages contributed to make a gift bag for each child.  You've already seen a few of the pictures that we posted about handing out these bags, but there is far more than meets the eye.  Each bag was hand-sewn in order to be sturdy, attractive, and travel-friendly.  Inside each one was a mix of age and gender specific items–stuffed animals, matchbox cars, wooden models, bouncy balls, coloring books, hair ribbons, and a multitude of other gifts.

It is a Biblical truth that it is more blessed to give than receive, but knowing a truth can be far different than experiencing it. Even though our team did nothing more than transport and hand out the bags, we experienced that blessing.  I personally was almost overwhelmed by the chance to see such generosity at work–the energy in the orphanage reminded me of Christmas when I was a kid, and those smiles will always be with me.  These pictures just don't do it justice!

The generosity of the people at BBC has allowed them to experience the truth of this Scripture.  I pray that they will know the joy that they have given to these precious children.

Anyone who has ever used the airlines to travel knows how tough it can be to try to get changes within the confines of airline bureaucracy.  The problem is even greater if you are traveling internationally, and trying to change things just a couple weeks in advance!  But God can come through even in those situations, as He has shown me in the past couple of days.

Our medical team will be leaving for Thailand three weeks from today, on June 22.  We'll be overseas for 10 days, doing medical work for the kids in Freedom House.  Over the past couple of days, though, there have been a few changes to our team.

I first found out that one prospective team member had made some exciting future plans, but plans that required him to miss the trip.  Aside from being disappointed he wasn't going to be able to come, I was very worried that we might lose the price of his ticket–airline policies being what they are.  My fears were confirmed when I talked to United's international booking and was told there was no way that we could transfer the ticket or get a refund.  The best they could do would be a credit which, under its terms, would have been almost useless.

But a few people started praying, and I decided to try one more time.  Amazingly, with no problem whatsoever, the next ticket agent issued a refund for almost the entire ticket price!

I was amazed then, but God wasn't finished.  This morning, I heard the exciting news that a photographer–someone we have been praying for–would be able to come with us.  Ticket prices, though, became a huge problem.  Multiple ticket agents told me that there was no way to get a decent price for those flights.  We prepared to try to ramp up fundraising efforts to compensate–and we started praying.

As a last resort, I called a ticket agent that we have used in the past, just to see if she could pull some strings with United to get us a decent fare.  Within hours, she had done what multiple ticket agents told me was impossible–found the same flights for a good fare.

It would be hard not to be excited about the doors God is opening for us on this trip.  With all that He is doing in preparation, imagine what he has in store for us overseas!