Isaiah 41 - Words I need to hear

The 41st chapter of Isaiah is full of words that I needed to hear recently. 

The other night, Betty was reading her Bible while I was working at my desk. At one point she said, "Jim, listen to this," as she began to read it to me. I asked her, "who gave you those verses?" She answered, "God!" I want to just share a few of these verses that I highlighted in my Bible.

vs. 9 "I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you....I have chosen you and have not rejected you."

vs. 10 "So do not fear, for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you: I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

vs.12..." Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all."

vs. 17 "The poor and needy search for water, but there is none....But I the Lord will answer them: I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

Perhaps you are like me and need to be lifted up with words of encouragement. There are no better words, than the words of encouragement from our Heavenly Father. I pray these words will lift you up and give you strength! God bless.

A "House Call" at Rio 3

This past week, we had a group of students here from CHCA High School in Cincinnati. On Saturday, we served at the ministry site, Rio 3. One of the things that the group wanted to do was hand out groceries to the families that live there. Together, we fed 350 people a hot meal and handed out groceries for 150 families.

After we handed out the groceries, Betty told me she wanted to take some groceries to an elderly mother and daughter we know, who live down by the river. They both suffer from poor circulation and have each had 1 leg amputated. For this reason, they are not able to get out much. The mother, who is over 70 years old, has had a large open sore on her only foot. In the past 6 months, we have visited their house with doctors and other medical personnel, and we've helped her care for her open sore. Each time, the faith and courage of these 2 women has inspired the people that we've brought to their house. This time was no exception.

Betty and Olga took a group of about a dozen students and a few adults to deliver the groceries to these 2 ladies. The looks on their faces, when they returned, told me everything. Some were crying and others appeared to be in shock. I was told that these 2 ladies didn't just accept the ministry that the students were offering. They wanted to minister to the students as well. Our group helped change the dressing on the mother's open sore and prayed for them both. The mother then sang a song for our group and told them how she knew that God had sent them there that day. She thanked God for their lives. As I talked to some of them, upon their return, they told me that they had never witnessed anything like that before. They were amazed as they witnessed the unswaggering faith of those who had very little physical shelter but had a wealth of "God's Eternal Shelter."

One Last Christmas thought

I just had one last thought about Christmas that I wanted to share with you before we move on to the new year. I wanted to share a post that a friend of ours posted on his Facebook page on Christmas Day. I really thought his words were so true. He wrote...

"Christmas, with all its associations of peace, is very much an act of war. Sorta like D-Day, though it was a one man army who arrived on earth's shore for a rescue mission. Now with a body of flesh, the divine began His march toward the hill where through His own death, He would be victorious over His enemy. Rescue complete. Mission accomplished."

His mission is accomplished, but the battle still goes on for our souls. Let us not be tempted by the lies that Satan uses to steal our joy. We can share in Christ's victory over death by accepting Him as our Savior. May we never forget the price our Heavenly Father paid so that we could share in such a great Victory! Thank you God! Thank you Jesus!

2010 - Happy New Year

I have some random reflective thoughts as  we begin not only a new year, but a new decade. I'll confess that I have thought a lot lately about the injustices that I witness in this world. I have prayed for God to show up and change people or circumstances that I know are not part of His will. It has been difficult to accept that all is not going to be perfect in this world. I can't just "work at something hard enough" that it changes. I believe God is calling us to be faithful even when things don't ALL go right. I'm reminded of the numerous times in the Bible when God's people were called to be faithful, even when things were not going their way.

I also am reminded that we are ALL screwed up. I am not perfect...not even close. My friends aren't perfect, my family isn't perfect, my co-workers aren't perfect. The only one who is perfect, is God. Then why do I question Him? Is it part of my imperfection that I think I am wiser than Him? I am screwed up! We all are! The best that we can hope for is that we can work for improvement in our lives. And, in the end, be forgiven for our failures by the grace that is available through God's only son, Jesus. We all need it!

So as I start this new year, I want to keep praying and working for the injustices that I witness, to be made right. But I want to also remember, that everything will never be completely perfect. I must learn to be faithful to God's calling in my life, even when it seems my efforts are futile. I also want to remember that we are all imperfect beings, That the same blood of Jesus that I need to wash away my sins, is needed by everyone. I am no better than anyone.

Many times, I take comfort in situations, when I can think of scripture that brings me peace in the middle of a storm. I want to take the time to reflect more on God's word. I also want to pray more. Instead of worrying or being frustrated over things that I can not change, I want to just share my heart with God and rest knowing that He is in control of everything!

Happy New Year everyone! I really believe "greater things are yet to be done!" 

Christmas in Galeana

                                             

                                             Passing out gifts

                                             Some of the kids we served
                                              The pinata
                                              View from the place we served
On December 22, the kids of Casa Hogar Douglas had an opportunity to serve kids that had very little materially. One of the caregivers in the children's home, is from a small mountain town about 4 hours from here, called Galeana. The people from this town are very poor when it comes to material possessions. When the kids of Casa Hogar Douglas found out about these kids from the home town of their caregiver, they wanted to share their blessings with them. They got a list of 74 kids from a church in Galeana and each one of them chose a toy of their excess to wrap and give to the kids of this town.

Not all of the kids were able to make the 4 hour trip to Galeana with us on Dec. 22. But we took with us about 15 kids and prepared a meal, worshipped together, had a pinata to open and passed out all of the gifts for the children. I witnessed something that day in the faces of the kids from Casa Hogar Douglas. I've seen their faces on the receiving end many times, but it was a blessing to watch them as they had an opportunity to serve others in a way that they have been served by American groups.

Aidan & Mayte

When I first started serving here with Back2Back Ministries, in January of 2001, I met a young girl named Mayte, who lived at Casa Hogar Douglas. By the time that I had moved here, in January of 2007, Mayte was a troubled 18 year old heading for big problems. In May of 2008, she gave birth to a son, Aidan. A few months before Aidan's birth, his father was killed on a motorcycle. We tried to counsel Mayte to consider giving Aidan up for adoption. She decided to keep him.

A couple of weeks ago, we found out that Mayte was pregnant again. The baby is due in February. This time, Mayte will give birth while she is in prison. Her life has been pretty much one bad decision after another. The police have her locked up because they want her to tell them where her drug dealing boyfriend is. If she tells, the drug cartel would probably kill her. We would like you to pray for this family. Mayte has indicated that she knows she needs to give this newborn up for adoption. Please pray that she follows through with this. This is also causing Mayte to reconsider her decision to keep Aidan. She has temporarily given up custody of him to our staff. 

He has been with us for over a week now. He is a very cute little boy that we are all enjoying very much. But, I also worry for the future of Aidan. I want him and all the other kids that we serve here to know the love of Jesus and the love of a real family.  Most of the kids that we work with in children's homes are like Aidan. Many families here do not want their kids or cannot care for their kids but they will not give them up for adoption. This is why there are many kids growing up in pain filled lives where they never experience what love is like.

I want to pray for Aidan's mom Mayte also. Her childhood of pain has turned into a life of brokenness as a young adult. I pray that she would still have time to realize that Jesus loves her enough to die for her. I pray for Aidan and the baby to be born in February that they would know more love as a child than their mother did. It is for this reason we are here. Thank you for all you do to support us. We couldn't be here without your support!

                                                  Mayte as a young girl

            Aidan eating in our house

Christmas comes to Casa Hogar Douglas

This past week, a group of 25 ladies came to serve with us for a week. Every year, these ladies come to help us prepare for Christmas in all of the children's homes that we serve. They buy and decorate Christmas trees, bake cookies, sing Christmas caroles and purchase gifts for all the kids we serve. It is really a huge task for 1 week, but they do a marvelous job! Above are pictures of a few of the kids at Casa Hogar Douglas receiving their gifts. Any of you ladies that would like to be a part of this group next Christmas, need to check with Chelsie in our home office. Chelsie@back2backministries.org