Archives July 2011

Today was a wonderful Sunday. This day was part of an ongoing story of God connecting us with others of His messengers to the nations. Recently Bill Byrd and I were blessed to meet with Omar Garcia, missions pastor at Kingsland Baptist Church, and Omar suggested that Bill contact Pastor Gorge Cardenas, of Church on the Rock, Katy because he is Colombian.  Pastor Cardenas put Bill in touch with Missy Christie of Conviventia, a ministry in Bogota. We visited with them and saw one of their projects when we were in Bogota last month. We were meeting with them again the other day and we mentioned our vacation program and that we wanted to take the kids to a Spanish church service while they were here and Mitzy, Missy’s assistant, shared with us that her husband is Pastor Cardenas’ Assistant Pastor and that we would be very welcome.

Long story short, Bill and Morgan Pylant of Grace Fellowship, Katy set everything up with Pastor Cardenas and we had 90 people from Orphan Hope in the Spanish service at Iglesia Sobre La Roca (Church on the Rock) today. It was marvelous. Pastor Cardenas preached a wonderful sermon, the worship was amazing, I was able to share a little about Orphan Hope with the church, and then we shared a wonderful Colombian lunch together. One of the most amazing things was that Pastor Cardenas’ son just came back from Colombia from a trip with his dad and mom and he is selling everything he has and returning to work in one of Conviventia’s schools in Cartagena just like our three OHI mission trip attenders are preparing to do. Pastor Cardenas leaned over to me and said, “I don’t know what God is doing but He is doing something special for the children of Colombia right now.” His son and I traded information and we promised to stay in touch and see how we can work together. When I hugged Pastor Cardenas goodbye I told him we would come again and visit and he said, “Oh yes!” “We will be seeing more of each other since my son is going to be working together with you guys.”

One of my favorite things about this ministry is getting to rub shoulders with God’s people who have a heart for the nations. It is exhilarating to be around people whose hearts are near to the hear of God.

After 4-1/2 months of paperwork, a special trip to Bogota, hundreds of emails and phone calls, trainings and orientations, and many prayers, our 16 little Colombian orphans arrived this morning at IAH at 6:00 a.m. There was an expectant and excited group of host families and ministry partners there to greet them with signs and balloons and all kinds of neat things. The local television news media was there to film all of the hoopla and interview several families and ministry personnel. When the children finally came through the doors a great shout arose. There were many hugs and kisses and gigantic smiles. I was so glad to see some of my little friends from Amparo De Ninas in Bogota. Yuly, Nicoll, Luisa, Paola, and others that I have grown very fond of on previous trips came running up to hug me. It always delights my heart to be in the presence of The Good Shepherd’s little lambs. If you are interested in meeting them while they are here go to www.OrphanHopeIntl.org/events to see what is happening and how to get involved. Below is the Houston Channel 11 news video. My daughter Beverly is holding the Orphan Hope sign.

After many photos, much conversation, and some more interviews we headed out to the local International House of Pancakes for breakfast. We had called ahead earlier in the week but they were still a little overwhelmed when 65 of us walked in. But we all jumped in to help and breakfast went wonderfully. As I looked around the room of smiling faces and saw conversations, laughter, translators at work, and so on, I turned to Bill and Shoby and said, “At this moment, the endless hours of work and the $45,000.00 price tag seem like nothing compared to the reward.” They heartily agreed. The impact on the lives of these children and families in the future and on into eternity and the national and global ramifications of that impact is incalculable. As C.H. Spurgeon once said,

“Ah! dear friend, you little know the possibilities which are in you. You may but speak a word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering a noble heart which shall stir the Christian church in years to come.”

After breakfast we went our separate ways and I was blessed to catch a nap in my lounge chair before heading over to one of the host homes for an interview with the Houston Chronicle. The photographer was there when I arrived and he was catching some wonderful shots of the family and their 3 children and their 3 host children finishing up their lunch. Soon the reporter arrived and I was interviewed and then my daughter, Rebekah, who was with me and I went to play with the kids while the mom and dad were interviewed. Rebekah went to play with Marian, one of the Colombian girls and I got to play with Omar, her brother. Omar is 6 and he had a nerf dart gun in each hand and an ample supply of nerf darts. It wasn’t long before I was playing the monster and he was shooting the fire out of me with nerf darts. We had a wonderful time. It took me back 20 years to playing “army” with my two boys. I’m glad I wear glasses now though because Omar knows that the best way to kill the monster is to shoot him in the eye! We had a blast. Meanwhile Rebekah and the mom and Marian were playing Jenga and they built up a big tower of blocks. I was once again amazed at how beautiful and how sweet these children are. It amazes me that no one wants them. I wish I could take them all but I am satisfied for now to get to be around as God continues to work through us here at Orphan Hope International to “Transform the lives of orphans and those ministering to them through Christ centered… Vacation Host Programs.

“Permit the little children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” – Jesus (my hero)

My friend Chris Poole recently went to Bogota with us as part of a team of 43. God so touched his heart that he came home, is selling everything, and is going back to work for Orphan Hope in country. Here is a brief account in his own words. Amazing!

In June 2011, I was given the opportunity to serve with Orphan Hope International in Bogota Colombia.  While in Bogota, I saw God. I felt his embrace, His kiss, I heard Him tell me how much He loves me. All of these revelations came from a beautiful, blue-eyed little girl, Vanessa. Vanessa is 10 years old and an orphan at Santa Maria, an institution outside of Bogota.  Colombia is home to an estimated 10,000 adoptable orphans, all-searching for one thing: Love.  Although I cannot personally father them all I do have someone that can! By bringing Christ into their lives they can find that love and even find themselves.

In order to return to Bogota a few things must take place.  I first must sell everything I own.  Most things have gone very quickly but I must also sell my vehicle.  I purchased this 2004 Mustang GT when I was 20 and thought I knew everything about responsibility and money.  Unfortunately, now I am upside down on the vehicle and I must clear that debt in order to return to Bogota.  In order to clear the debt, I am offering an opportunity to not only help me in developing my mission’s ministry but also giving away my once most prized possession, my Mustang. My parents will be hosting a mission benefit dinner, sponsored by Acts Outreach Ministries, on August 20, 2011 at 7 P.M.  We are selling 150 tickets at $100 each. At the end of the night, 1 of the 150 will be the new owner of a 2004 Mustang GT. By relieving this debt, this will help lower my monthly living expenses. I must make my monthly expenses as low as possible because upon my return to Bogota, I will be leaving my full time job.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to support not only myself but also the Kingdom of God, and many children just hungry for love!

From His Front Lines,
Chris Poole

Chris gave his testimony Sunday at our church and brought the house down. God is so good.

If you would like to support or just encourage Chris you can contact him at Pooleboy06@gmail.com

To see video of Chris’ testimony click here.

Bill and Sandy Byrd and Lisa and I were able to have dinner with Chris and his parents tonight and dream and strategize a little. It was a delightful time. God is mightily at work in all of us and we are so happy to be a part.

“Lead me with strong hands… Stand up when I can’t… Don’t leave me hungry for love… Chasing dreams, but what about us?”

I recently wrote about the joyous reunion we had with our African daughter Mercy after a year of trials and lessons. On July 4th we had another tremendous blessing to get to spend the day together. She has grown up so much and the Lord has given her a beautiful and radiant spirit since we first met her. I can honestly say that she is the single greatest miracle I have ever personally witnessed and I am humbled that God would allow me to be her daddy. We had a wonderful day playing cards (she was my partner and was so patient with me because I am terrible at it). We told stories and remembered old times. It was a generally awesome day. I couldn’t be more proud of her.

There were many sweet things that she said during the day that tremendously warmed my heart. Each time we would complement her on something she would say, “You guys made me everything that I am.” We know that it was God through us but it sure was nice to hear it. She told about how all of the scripture that mommy had taught her to memorize came back to her when she was without her Bible for awhile and so she got a notebook and wrote down all the scriptures she had memorized and carried that for her Bible. Her friends were shocked at how much Bible she knew by heart. We shared many, many “I love you’s” and many “I missed you.” She always knew that we loved her and we always knew that she loved us but we all realized on this day that God had taken us all to a new level of love for each other. I think maybe for the first time she felt like our little girl for real and it was incredibly sweet.

Later in the day we got to go hang out with some of our dearest friends and she got to meet Tanya for the first time and reunite with the Davis family. It was so sweet sitting on their couch with Mercy tucked under my arm with her head on my chest just like old times.

As Brooke and I took her home that night she delighted me with this question, “Daddy, do you remember how you used to tell me that I should write a book about my story someday, about how I survived being an orphan, running from the rebels, survived malaria, survived a cobra, survived being kidnapped and tortured, survived drinking lye, came to America nearly dead, had surgery and ended up in the Bullen family?” “Yes Mercy, I remember.” Then she said, “Daddy, do you know what a ghost writer is?” “Sure I do.” “Daddy, will you be my ghost writer and help me write my story and get it published like we used to talk about?” “Sure I will Mercy, I would be honored and delighted.” She said, “I’m ready to tell it all now. I’m ready to tell about how God had a plan for everything and how I would do it all again to get to America and be in your family and have you for a dad and mom for a mom and my brothers and sisters.” “And daddy, as soon as I turn 18 I want to go to Colombia and love on the kids with you.” “And daddy, don’t ever think that what you are doing doesn’t matter because it is bigger to those kids and to me than you can imagine” “And daddy, someday can we go and minister to the orphans in my orphanage in Liberia and love on them because I remember how lonely it was and how desperate we were for a kind word or a touch?” “And daddy, I’ll be the translator!” “Yes, baby.” I said through tears, “God will allow us to do all of that and much more, I am sure.”

Yep. Greatest personal miracle of my life. I love you Mercy Kandakai Bullen. You are a gift from God. You are a kiss on the head from my Father.

Today we admired…

Jesus the Focused

Matt. 4:1   Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.  3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”  4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

Matt. 4:5   Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,  6 and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and

‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,

SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”

Matt. 4:8   Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;  9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”  10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’”  11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

My pastor, Frankie Mazzapica points out that Satan was trying to get Jesus to take a shadow mission, a distraction from His true mission of going to the cross but Jesus didn’t fall for it. He was focused.

Jesus earthly mission before going to the cross entailed two facets that were recently pointed out to me by Omar Garcia, pastor of missions at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, TX. He explained it this way. If you were to ask a person in the west, “Who is the greatest Christian of our generation?” most would answer Billy Graham but if you asked the same question in the east most would answer, Mother Teresa because the west prizes proclamation of the gospel, embodied in Billy Graham, and the east prizes incarnation of the gospel, embodied in Mother Teresa. Then Omar said, “What we need is to get Mother Teresa and Billy Graham to the altar and get them married because Jesus ministry was a balance of both.”

Jesus mission… Incarnation

Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good…

Jesus mission… Proclamation

Mark 1:38 He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.”

Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

Our mission… most of our devotions this week have focused on incarnation, being the hands and feet of Christ, but today we want to focus on our mission of proclamation as well.

Mark 3:14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Acts 10:42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

1Cor. 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.

Proclamation will be resisted…

Matt. 24:9   “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

1Cor. 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the religious a stumbling block and to the heathen foolishness,

Adoniram Judson (father of American missions)

Suffered horribly in Burma. Preached 7 years without a convert. Wife and children died, second wife died, translated the Bible into Burmese.

Today there are 200,000 believers in Burma who can trace their spiritual heritage back to the work of Adoniram Judson…

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

1Th. 1:6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

Today we get a chance to be our hero… We get to be Jesus… We get to be His hands and feet and HIS VOICE….

Today we split the team into two groups. One team went to Nuevo Mundo’s emergency center (San Miguel), safe house (Casa De Egreso), and baby orphanage (San Miguelito). I went with the other team to the emergency center that we went to on Sunday (Shamuel). They were just starting their weekly Saturday worship service when we arrived and we were able to enjoy and join in on the music and worship. Jair sang some and Hector’s daughter Heyli sang and then they called us up and introduced us and then we sang with them as well. I was asked to share my message about predators and I did. Then Pastor Hector gave a wonderful message from Psalm 148. He talked about how all of creation praises the Lord. It was excellent. After the message we distributed gifts to the children and then spent the afternoon playing and visiting. These children were so sweet. Several asked me to adopt them or find them a family.  We had a great time. They showed us how to make chocolates in different shapes and of course we had to taste several samples. I really enjoyed two of Hector’s kid’s friends, Patricia and Margarita.

By the end of the day Heyli, Caroline, Vale, and Andreas had everyone calling me Tio Mateo (Uncle Matthew). One little boy came up and told me his name was Mateo too and could he have a photo with me. The director told me that Mateo has no family at all and is available for adoption. So many sweet children, so much need. Soon it was time to go. We headed back to meet up with the other team and I was able to hug and kiss my friends at the safe house. I am so proud of them and how hard they are working at school and work.

We said goodbye and headed to the airport or so we thought… suddenly the bus turned into the Trail of Tears to Amparo De Ninas. They had worked it out for us to spend one hour with the girls before heading to the airport. What a treat!! The bus pulled up to the big steel gate and very soon we could hear girl screaming on the other side. They were aware that we were there. Pretty soon little hands started sticking out through the little porthole in the gate and we could hear more and more girls running to the gate and screaming like someone at a rock concert. It was so moving. Finally the gate opened and we poured through into the arms of 80 little girls. They were so happy and surprised to see us and we were as well. We gathered in the large room and visited… and got our nails painted again…  it was so great to be able to tell some of the girls that are coming next month on the vacation program that we would see them in 3 weeks. I was happy that the parting wasn’t as sad this night because we were all happy to just have that little one-hour surprise with each other.

We headed to the airport with happy hearts and a deeper commitment to help these beautiful children.