The workmen rebuild a wall. Notice the helmet "hardhat.".JPG)
The front courtyard. Workers use a rope and bucket to move sand and other materials.
This will soon be a laundry area.Hello, all--
A couple of things have happened this week that have made me think more
about the relationship between faith and hope.
The first is the renovation work on the new orphanage here in Danang that
we hope to see in operation by January. I wish I could describe it to
you. It is a blessing from God! There are four buildings in the
compound. One building will house the Orphan Voice offices. The second
has rooms for the residential staff, the boys and a study
room/library/computer room. The third building includes the kitchen,
cafeteria and boys bathrooms and showers downstairs, with the girls'
rooms, a caregiver's room and their showers/bathrooms. The last building
is mostly a gymnasium, with a storage area. There are two courtyard
areas, one with a brick floor, the other with grass. It is going to be
welcoming, cozy and pretty. To see it today, that is a statement of
faith. Right now, the paint is chipped, dirty and mismatched (we ordered
paint today). Broken bricks, debris and trash are everywhere. The trees
in the courtyard are sparse from damage left by Typhoon Ketsana. But
faith gives us a vision of what it can be--what in fact it is becoming day
by day as a crew works (wearing motorbike helmets for hardhats!). Faith
has the ability to look past the current circumstance and surroundings and
understand "becoming."
The second incident that really got me thinking happened yesterday. I had
taken Anna Mei and Elizabeth to the Big C shopping center so they could
get Jillian a birthday present (she turned 11 today!). On our way to the
check out, Anna Mei spotted a pair of roller blades--the item on the top
of her Christmas wish list. She was at the point of tears. She does not
have enough money from her allowance to buy them. The store has one pair.
What she does not know is that another pair is here, safely hidden for
her to unwrap on Christmas morning. She was so distraught it was very
hard for me not to tell her. (I was so glad that we had not told
Elizabeth about Anna Mei's gift--I know she would have HAD to tell her!)
Finally, I told Anna Mei to trust in the love of her mom and dad for her
to provide good things. I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me. That is exactly
what He asks of me. When the desires of my heart seem unattainable, faith
in His unfailing love will cause hope to blossom that whatever He has for
me is good.
May your faith-full relationship with the Lord give rise to unshakeable
hope. You and I have a heavenly Father who knows how to give good gifts
to His children. If we ask Him for bread, can we really think that He
will give us a stone...or a snake?
A couple of things have happened this week that have made me think more
about the relationship between faith and hope.
The first is the renovation work on the new orphanage here in Danang that
we hope to see in operation by January. I wish I could describe it to
you. It is a blessing from God! There are four buildings in the
compound. One building will house the Orphan Voice offices. The second
has rooms for the residential staff, the boys and a study
room/library/computer room. The third building includes the kitchen,
cafeteria and boys bathrooms and showers downstairs, with the girls'
rooms, a caregiver's room and their showers/bathrooms. The last building
is mostly a gymnasium, with a storage area. There are two courtyard
areas, one with a brick floor, the other with grass. It is going to be
welcoming, cozy and pretty. To see it today, that is a statement of
faith. Right now, the paint is chipped, dirty and mismatched (we ordered
paint today). Broken bricks, debris and trash are everywhere. The trees
in the courtyard are sparse from damage left by Typhoon Ketsana. But
faith gives us a vision of what it can be--what in fact it is becoming day
by day as a crew works (wearing motorbike helmets for hardhats!). Faith
has the ability to look past the current circumstance and surroundings and
understand "becoming."
The second incident that really got me thinking happened yesterday. I had
taken Anna Mei and Elizabeth to the Big C shopping center so they could
get Jillian a birthday present (she turned 11 today!). On our way to the
check out, Anna Mei spotted a pair of roller blades--the item on the top
of her Christmas wish list. She was at the point of tears. She does not
have enough money from her allowance to buy them. The store has one pair.
What she does not know is that another pair is here, safely hidden for
her to unwrap on Christmas morning. She was so distraught it was very
hard for me not to tell her. (I was so glad that we had not told
Elizabeth about Anna Mei's gift--I know she would have HAD to tell her!)
Finally, I told Anna Mei to trust in the love of her mom and dad for her
to provide good things. I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me. That is exactly
what He asks of me. When the desires of my heart seem unattainable, faith
in His unfailing love will cause hope to blossom that whatever He has for
me is good.
May your faith-full relationship with the Lord give rise to unshakeable
hope. You and I have a heavenly Father who knows how to give good gifts
to His children. If we ask Him for bread, can we really think that He
will give us a stone...or a snake?
Years ago, a friend of mine sang a song at our church in Virginia. After more than a dozen years, I remember one line in particular: "When you can't see His hand, trust His heart."
Grace and peace!
PS Someone sent us a link to the website for CBN Worldreach. They have
an article about their involvement in partnering with other ministries to
provide typhoon relief in Vietnam. We are one of those "others" and the
picture in the article shows our staff member Duc delivering aid. If you
would like to take a look at the article, the link is
http://www.cbn.com/worldreach/articles/article_typhoon_vietnam_dec09.aspx
