Category Ministry Partners

 

I can’t believe sometimes the great privilege God has given me! To live and minister here at Project Samuel with this wonderful group of people, is an incredible blessing! I can’t find the right words to express how grateful I am to serve in a ministry that not only touches the lives of the children we care for and the community but God also uses us to affect the lives of everyone who comes here to Project Samuel to serve. We had an amazing summer this year and were honored to host three mission teams of some of the most amazing people!

 

One of the highlights for me this summer was to see that even when you are doing your best to bless others God turns that blessing back upon you! One of my greatest joys is to see God radically touch someone’s life as they are serving others.

 

Our last mission team from Faithbridge Church in Spring, Texas, greatly ministered to us and our entire community. They even brought new shoes for all of our children! Our children were ecstatic! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier group of children as they ran to their house-mothers to show off their new shoes. But as I watched the men from the Faithbridge team tearing up as they gave out the shoes and as they prayed over every child, I realized we were all blessed as much, or more, than our children. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

 
 

Malachi 3:10,
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in My Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “ I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test!”

 

Love,

Rebekah Bullen

 

Photos of Rebekah’s work in Zambia

 

Like many missionaries, Rebekah has no source of income other than love gifts from back home.

 

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

 

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

 

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to Rebekah in Zambia.

One of the highlights of my week here at Project Samuel is our weekly women’s Bible study that I lead on Tuesday afternoons.

 

I have developed a close friendship with every one of the ladies of our Bible study group. For the last month we’ve been studying through the Psalms and we’ve enjoyed every minute of our study.

 
 
 
 
 

Last week we where in Psalm 123:3

“Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us, for we are greatly filled with contempt.”

We talked about how no matter what others think of you or say about you, God will always be gracious to you and He is always for us. If God called us, no man can stand in our way. We must always believe what God says about us not what others say about us.

 
 
 

The ladies really opened up to how at times they almost give up because of what their family or friends have said about them and because their families don’t believe in them. I told the ladies, “Only God can give us our worth and if He is on our side we can always accomplish our tasks.”

 

Please pray our Bible study and pray for victory in the lives of all these ladies.

 

Love,

Rebekah Bullen

 
 

Photos of Rebekah’s work in Zambia

 

Like many missionaries, Rebekah has no source of income other than love gifts from back home.

 

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

 

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

 

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to Rebekah in Zambia.

I am so proud of our children!
 
They’ve grown so much in the last year, both physically and spiritually. Of our older boys Isaac used to be the only one that would participate in our children’s bible study but now Zavier, Webby, and Castro along with Isaac, not only participate in the Bible study, they also memorize our weekly memory verse and are excited about what they are learning every week.

 
 

Our bible study is growing a little more every week! I am also so proud of Lizznet and Kennedy because they are doing so well in school they were able to skip sixth grade and are working very hard along with Patricia and Alick who also are in seventh grade this year, to pass their seventh grade test at the end of this school year so they can go into high school next year.

 
 
 
 

Patricia and Lizznet love singing in our church praise team and Lizznet is now able to lead us in a few songs. All of our children are doing really well in school and are growing in the Lord. I am so grateful every day that God has given me the privilege of being a part of these children’s lives.

 

Love,

Rebekah Bullen

 
 
 
 

Photos of Rebekah’s work in Zambia

 

Like many missionaries, Rebekah has no source of income other than love gifts from back home.

 

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

 

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

Give online below.

100% of your gift will go to Rebekah in Zambia.

I have the great privilege of tutoring students from our children’s school in the village of Mashikili. The students are from fifth to seventh grade and are eager to learn English. My goal is to help these students pass their seventh grade test, which is written in English. It is sobering to realize that I stand at a crisis point in these children’s lives.

 
 
 
 
 

If the children don’t pass their test they will not be able to go to high school and they will end up dropping out of school to help their family in the fields with no hope of finding a good job. At my first class two weeks ago I had the children take an assessment test and the results were shocking! Out of the thirty children that came only five could write a basic sentence.

 
 
 
 

The need is so great sometimes I wonder if I can help these precious children but I know God has called me and He will make a way when there seems to be no way. Today as I stood in front of these expectant children hoping I could give them the education they so desperately need, I prayed for God to give me His strength because I know I can’t do this alone.

 
 
 

Love,

Rebekah Bullen

 

Photos of Rebekah’s work in Zambia

 

Like many missionaries, Rebekah has no source of income other than love gifts from back home.

 

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

 

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

Give online below.

100% of your gift will go to Rebekah in Zambia.

For the last three weeks we were blessed to have a team of Relationships For Christ missionaries working with us here at Project Samuel.

 

Since they where coming to work with us for a whole three weeks, Amanda and I went to our kid’s school to ask if we could assist the school in any way.

 

To our surprise the head Mistress, Christen, asked us if the school bought the paint if we would paint the whole out side of the school.

 

We were thrilled to be given the chance to improve the learning environment not just for the children from Project Samuel but for all the children who attend the school in Mashikili.

 
 

I think it would be hard for anyone to have as much fun painting as we did!

 

We only had one sturdy ladder and the rollers we were using were as old as you can imagine.But I wouldn’t have traded the time we spent with all of the kids for better equipment.

 

The teachers thanked us for giving the kids the opportunity to learn in a better environment.

 

Love Rebekah Bullen

The Teachers

 

I am so blessed to have this opportunity to pour God’s love into the children at Project Samuel every day. I love how every minute of every day is filled up with either reading or playing with these amazing children. The last two weeks all of the children have been on vacation from school, so I have been teaching an English class to all of the children every morning and in the afternoons we are starting an art class with them. I am still in awe at the eagerness to learn every child displays. I could spend all the time in the world teaching them and they would still ask to learn something new.

For our first art class Chris, Amanda and I made a hand craft with all of the children for pastor Timothy. The kids had a blast. Especially Patricia and Lizanet, who after the craft was over played patty cake with each other with the paint still on their hands. Every day after my classes are over I will sit on our front porch and read as many of the new books that Pastor Timothy brought for the children as I can before lunch. I couldn’t have imagined how quickly the children here would capture my heart with their love and need for companionship. Please pray for the new Bible study Amanda and I are leading for the teachers at the children’s school in the village.

Here the children are making a puzzle for the first time in their lives.

 

Today, Wednesday, January 23, 2013, started early but awesome as we were blessed to meet with Pastor Manuel for breakfast at 7:00 am at the Colombian National Bible Society. Pastor Manuel is pastor to Esperanza from Colombia Chiquita and also the president of the society. After a wonderful breakfast we heard about the great work of the society. It was founded in 1825 and they print and distribute Bibles all over South America. Last year alone they distributed 700,000 Bibles. They give free Bibles to the FARC and other guerrillas and they have seen many come to Christ and leave the fighting.

The exciting thing for us is that in my 15 trips to Colombia we have bought Spanish Bibles and paid the $70.00 extra bag charge for sometimes 20 extra bags in order to get Bibles to the orphans that we minister to. Pastor Manuel says that he can supply us with cases of Bibles at $3.00 each printed right here in Bogota! Praise God! They also have a Bible curriculum written for children with beautiful artwork. Pastor Timothy had the great idea of getting the society to put together a package deal for each orphanage of this curriculum and Pastor Manuel said they would also train the workers at the orphanage to use the curriculum. Please pray that someone with a passion for biblical education to step forward and finance this. Also the Bible society is in need of translators and donations to continue their work of getting God’s word into the hands of His people in Colombia.

We thanked them for the wonderful breakfast and headed to Nuevo Planeta. I have to admit that I was apprehensive about this next foundation because I knew that it housed 150 children that have each been raped and/or been exploited in the sex trade and this is why they are in this particular foundation. Also, they send buses out to the worst parts of the city and pick up 100 children who are living on the street and whose parents are addicts, prostitutes, or simply homeless and bring them in for a hot meal and a shower. I prayed with a little more intensity than usual as we headed there asking the Lord to superintend our visit there and override our fear and apprehension and allow the children to see Him in us and feel His love through us. We arrived and met the young woman in her mid thirties who founded this ministry 12 years ago with 12 children. Those who work for her know her as the “angel”.

She explained about the children and their history and how they have purchased land and are now raising the funds to build a new facility that they hope will house 500 children when it is completed because the need is so great. Our first order of business was touring their existing rented facility which consists of 3 houses connected together and busting at the seams. First we went up stairs and into a nursery like room with 25 of the cutest little 2-4 year olds you can imagine. As soon as we walked in the door they crowded around us hugging our legs and smiling and putting up their hands to be picked up. I picked up the little boy closest to me and he gave me a big hug and smile. Brooke sat down on the floor and 4 little ones piled into her lap hungry for love. I looked over and saw big crocodile tears running down her cheeks. We only stayed a moment and then had to move on for our tour and all of us were near tears as we walked on to view the rest of the facility and meet the other ages. After our tour we took a group to the park and played and played. It was so fun.

We had lunch together in the foundation and then took a class of 8-10 year olds taught by one of the orphans we used to minister to in another orphanage years ago that now works at this foundation to the park. Our dear friend Jair Montiel of the Christian band Viraje and Christ for the City came over for the day and as we sat down on the grass with the boys he took out his guitar and we sang several worship songs. I had told Jair that if we got the chance I wanted Pastor Timothy to share his testimony because I knew that these boys could really relate with Timothy’s painful childhood and so as we finished singing Jair called Timothy up and he spent the next several minutes sharing his story and how at age 13 after hearing the gospel at his grandmother’s church he knelt by his bed alone and felt Jesus telling him that He would be the dad he never had and he was saved and his life was changed. Every little boy sat there spellbound listening intently and when Timothy asked if they would like to believe on Jesus and ask Him to be there Papa and share his love with them nearly every hand went up and how sweetly they prayed asking Jesus to be their savior and their dad and to hold their future in His hands. When we finished praying a shout went up from the boys and they clapped. Praise the Lord! He is faithful and will continue the work in their hearts that was started today.

Then it was time to play. The big ones played soccer while the same little ones we had met that morning wore us out with piggyback rides and tag and swinging and jumping on us from the monkey bars. We had a blast. When we got tired we sat in the grass and they climbed all over us. Michelle had a sack of candy and she nearly got trampled as they all clamored to get a sucker or a sixlet. They were so cute. She also made little cross necklaces for each one with different colored ribbon. The crosses had engraved on them Dios Te Ama (God loves you). Each of us decided we could take 3 or 4 of them home if they would let us. One little girl 2 ½ or 3 named Sophia decided that I was her best buddy and hung on me all afternoon. All of my apprehension was for naught because those 150 children turned out to be just sweet little children starved for love and attention. Something all of us were thrilled to provide.

Another friend named Paul came and spent the last hour with us. Paul found our ministry through the internet a couple years ago and we have become dear friends. He and his wife just adopted a little boy two months ago. Praise God. We left exhausted but very happy, ready to go get some rest and come back again tomorrow and spend time with them again. All day I had daydreams about Jesus taking the little children into his lap and blessing them and reminding His disciples that the kingdom of God is for such as these. I love this ministry.

Thank you for your prayers and I want to thank Relationships for Christ and Pastor Timothy again for making this trip Mission Possible and thank you Oscar Perez for all of your hard work. Usted eres una gran bendicion a mi vida.

Matt Bullen

Again today, Tuesday January 22, 2013, God blessed us with a wonderful day. We spent the day with Maranatha International Foundation. They have a very interesting ministry. They focus on three different projects. The first is a Habitat for Humanity type ministry where they build houses for the poor in Bogota. Their goal is to build 100 houses. The second project is evangelistic events where they bring in evangelistic speakers like Nick Viujicic and hold giant evangelistic meetings. They have had approximately 95,000 conversions recorded in the last 6 years. The third project is Hogar De Paz (Home of Peace) where they take in children from the street each day and feed them, educate them, and win them to Christ and disciple them. This is the project that we came to see today. We were immediately impressed with the appearance and spirit of the place when we walked in. It really is a home of peace.

We had breakfast with them and then we spent the morning learning all about their foundation and about the children they serve. It was very refreshing to see a ministry serving vulnerable children whose main focus is the gospel and discipleship. They do many of the same social programs to help the children as others but their main focus is the heart because they know that true transformation of a child’s life is a supernatural happening brought about by the Holy Spirit. And all of the other needs in their life are secondary to breaking the cycle of sin, hopelessness, and abuse prevalent in their families because the life that Jesus gives is absent.
In the afternoon the children arrived and we played at the park for awhile and then came in to play board games and puzzles. It was so much fun playing with these sweet and happy children who once were withdrawn and angry and had witnessed horrible atrocities on the street and in war but now through the work of Hogar De Paz and the glorious gospel they are new little people. I had the most fun playing a memory game with a bunch of kids where we had these giant cards with pictures of all different faces of dinosaurs on them. We had the whole table covered in these cards face up and then we would give each child two seconds to look at the cards and then we turned them all over and they had to guess from memory where the duplicate cards were located. I was stunned at how smart these little 5 and 6 year olds were as they would just walk up and pick out the pair over and over again. It was so wild because they would scream and dance and jump around when they got it right. It was too cute.

An hour before it was time to go we gathered up for devotion. Some of the parents of the children who are now working during the day while the children are at school and then Hogar De Paz began to drift in while we were singing worship songs and then the children sang several songs and then it was time for the devotion. Each of the team members got up and gave their testimony and it was amazing how some of the team members childhood testimonies resembled what these children have seen and how good it was for them to hear the difference that Christ has made in each of our lives. David Attaway gave the entire gospel message from Romans and all of those parents were sitting there listening intently.

God is doing a great work through Maranatha and we were very blessed to spend the day with them. God has given us a very blessed, calm, and intimate trip and we are grateful and blessed. One of the team members this morning, Jay from Chicago, said that he originally was supposed to go on a mission trip to Nicaragua but it didn’t work out and so he sort of felt at the time like he was settling for the Colombia trip but WOW has God blown his mind and he knows that this is where he was supposed to be. Praise God. Thank you for your prayers.

Matt Bullen

“Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Very time I have wanted to give up these last few weeks, God has given me this verses. I have struggled almost everyday with wanting to give up and just go through the motion. I don’t know if it is because I am tried or if Satan is trying to get me down. But every time I am at the point of giving up Jesus reminds me of all the people pulling for me. I know I can’t give up when I look to that great cloud of witnesses. Every thing in me wants to finish strong here at theDreamCenter. I image I am running a race here at theDreamCenterand my finish line is the airport. God is teaching me every day to run with patience and not get so distracted with my next season around the corner that I lose focuses on the souls right here in front of me. I want to run my race full of joy and love every day I have left. God has opened so many doors for me when I go home. I can’t believe how good He is to me. I can’t wait to see what the next few months will hold.

Saturday was  a great day of fun, fellowship, and missions awareness. It was my family’s first opportunity to participate in Relationships For Christ’s annual March For Missions. It is a 10K run/walk to raise funds and awareness for different mission projects around the world. This year was to raise funds for Project Samuel, a project in Zambia, Africa for vulnerable children. Our friends, the Vowell family, head up this ministry.

I had signed up to form and lead a team of runners/walkers for this event. I was blessed to win an award for having the largest team.

The largest part of my team consisted of my friends from Team 2:10 (Do good works Eph. 2:10) who are a part of Masterpiece Fitness our partner in the Orphan Hope Marathon. John Hurtado, one of the Team 2:10 members was the first to finish the race and he won a trophy.

This group inspires and encourages me with their big hearts for orphans and missions. I hope to work with them on many projects to come.

My dear friend, Mike Ford, was also on my team and won 3rd place. What an inspiration he is. When I met him just a few years ago he weighed in excess of 400 pounds and now he is a fitness trainer and competition runner.

We had a wonderful time. Lisa, Beverly, Brooke, and I set out together but Brooke quickly joined the runners, Lisa took off with a fast walking friend, and sweet Beverly stayed back to hold my arm and plod along with slow dad. We had a wonderful time to talk and enjoy the beautiful Woodlands day. Because of my battle with Lupus and the pain and inflammation that always is ravaging my body, I didn’t think I would be able to walk even 1/2 of the specified distance but Beverly and I just kept walking and walking and our conversation helped me to ignore the pain and the next thing you know we were at the finish line! It was fun and Relationships For Christ raised $8,000.00 for Project Samuel. Praise God.

June 16-23, 2012 is our next mission trip to Bogota, Colombia. If you feel even the slightest tug in your spirit to come on this trip, act on it! 🙂 You will never be the same.

http://www.orphanhopeintl.org/summer-2012-mission-trip/

Giving the gift of presence to the lonely and forgotten…

Orphan Hope International – Intro video from Shoby John on Vimeo.

I had lunch this week with Pastor Timothy Vowell and Scott, both of Relationships For Christ.  They are building an amazing work in Zambia, Africa called Project Samuel (click on the logo above). I was introduced to Timothy by Scott and Anita Gilbert, parents of our own missionary Chris Poole. From the moment I met Timothy, I knew that we were kindred spirits. I love their core values, one of which is working with the whole body of Christ. We at Orphan Hope International hold this very dearly as well. We believe that God has called us to cooperate with anyone who is following Christ to expand His kingdom in the world. I was so happy when Bill Byrd invited Timothy to speak to us at our annual OHI board retreat recently and he helped us in more ways than I can tell you. Anyway, due to our shared core value of working together, he has invited me to come to Zambia and see what God is doing for them there and then seek the  Lord together as to how we can help Project Samuel. In the same vein, I have invited Timothy and possibly his son Brenden to come with our team in January to Bogota, Colombia and see if God would have us partner on some projects there. One of my favorite things about being on mission with God are the marvelous people that He brings me into contact with who are also chasing Him on this glorious adventure. To God be all the glory.

I thought that my life would slow down slightly after the vacation host program but I have been running harder than ever before. God is moving on so many fronts that my head is spinning. We have many exciting things coming up for Orphan Hope that we would love for you to pray with us about and join in as the Lord leads you.

Missionaries

Our missionaries are getting closer every day to being able to head to Colombia. They are working on VISAs and insurance and so on. Chris had a wonderful benefit dinner last weekend and raised about 6 months worth of support. We are so happy for him and his folks. They have been a blessing to watch and we are excited that they are going to be even more involved with OHI as we go forward.

Vacation Host

The 2011 summer vacation host program is bearing wonderful fruit. Several families are moving forward with adoptions and Padrino relationships. Please contact me at 832-359-9781 if you know someone who may be interested in older child adoption.

Vision Trip

53 days and counting to our church leadership vision trip to Colombia. Please contact me at 832-359-9781 if you know someone in church leadership who may be interested in this trip. The dates are October 22-28, 2011.

Share The Hope

72 days and counting to our 2nd annual Share The Hope fundraising dinner at Westland Baptist Church on November 11, 2011. Please mark your calendars and join us for a wonderful evening.

Mission Trip

137 days and counting to our January mission trip. We will have solid dates and links to sign up very soon. Don’t miss this exciting God adventure into the fields of the fatherless.

Marathon

165 days and counting to our first annual Orphan Hope Marathon. Jenn Burton and the team are working very hard to make this a wonderful event to raise money for Bogota safe houses. For more info contact Jenn at 832-449-0309. Also you can keep up on Facebook by “liking” our page.

Please continue to pray for the presence of God in this ministry as we watch him transform the lives of orphans and those ministering to them.

Matt Bullen
Director
Orphan Hope International
Matt.Bullen@OrphanHopeIntl.org
Mobile: 832-359-9781

As I have shared previously, we have the amazing and miraculous privilege to be a part of bringing 17 orphans to Texas in July to be hosted by 11 families in the hope that these children will find a forever family. Today we had training for the families presented by the Colombian officials. It was a great meeting.

Later tonight we had a fundraiser at the beautiful Fuller home. The total cost for this adventure is $42,000.00. A few weeks ago we held an orientation for the families that will be hosting and shared with them the financial need and asked them to share with their friends and churches. The Fullers immediately offered to host a fundraiser at their home for their friends and neighbors. We arrived tonight with our Colombian guests, Grace Fellowship leaders, and Orphan Hope Board members and were pleasantly surprised at an amazing turnout at a beautiful home, an amazing dinner, and the presence of God’s mighty hand on this night.

Bill Byrd and I were able to present the ministry and share the need. Others spoke whom we had just met tonight and their excitement for Orphan Hope and what God is doing in Colombia was wonderful.

We believe that we will see a good response financially and spiritually from the terrific people we met tonight. Time will tell how this night will impact the children of Colombia. To God be the glory.

Our family has the pleasure of hosting two Colombian officials today. We picked Sandra and Maria Elena, up at the airport this morning at 6:00 a.m. and have been shopping and eating ever since! They are in town for the weekend to meet with our ministry, Orphan Hope International, regarding this summer’s Texas Vacation Host Program where we will bring 17 Colombian orphans to stay for 3 weeks in July with 11 host families in the hope of finding a forever family. The festivities officially start tonight as we gather for dinner with the remainder of the Orphan Hope board of directors and their wives. Tomorrow we will meet with the host families and our partners for this program at Grace Fellowship UMC in Katy and then a fundraiser tomorrow night graciously sponsored and hosted by one of the vacation host families where we will give a presentation of our ministry. Sunday we meet with more families and another dinner and then Monday they return to Bogota. As we were walking around today I was thinking that if you had told me two years ago today that I would be hosting these two ladies today or be involved in all of the initiatives in Colombia that we are involved in, I wouldn’t have believed it. Thank you Lord for letting me be on your team. Greater things are yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city.

Here are some of the amazing events that God has called us to and we covet your prayers and support…

1. Texas Vacation Host Program. Bringing 17 Colombian orphans on July 15, 2011 for three weeks to stay with 11 families in the Houston area. This program has been very successful in helping children to find forever families. Working to raise $42,000.00 to fund this summer’s program.

2. June Mission trip. Taking 40 people to Colombia June, 2011. Planning a way to take 10 ea. 40 gallon bags of feminine care products, 30 baseball bats, and a pickup truck load of t-shirts donated last week by YMCA. Coordinating with the Colombian pastor whose church we will visit on June 19, 2011 where we will preach, sing, and have lunch with the church. The Colombian/Houston band Viraje (www.virajemusic.com) (https://www.facebook.com/virajemusic?sk=wall) will be traveling to Colombia with us and doing mini-concerts in each orphanage. Working to raise $20,000 to fund this trip.

3. Vision trip to Bogota for local church leaders and pastors sometime in October.

5. Mission trip, January 2012. Sign up now!

6. 2nd annual Share the Hope fundraising dinner, February 2012 with a goal of raising $250,000.00 for orphans.

7. Orphan Hope Marathon February 11, 2012 at Huntsville State Park. Look for the new website at www.OrphanHopeMarathon.com coming soon. Hoping to raise $250,000.00 for our Safe House operation that gives orphan girls vulnerable to sex trafficking a loving Christian home and a chance at life.

God is moving mightily! The team here at OHI could each write a book about the miracles we have seen this year. To God be the glory!

Bill Byrd and I received a great blessing yesterday. We were able to spend an hour and a half at the feet of Omar Garcia, missions pastor at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy. Omar has lead more than 60 mission trips all over the world. Bill had introduced me to Omar’s blog, Go Beyond: Live Adventurously For God about a year ago and what refreshment and affirmation it has brought us on many occasions. Well yesterday we had the chance to visit with him and what a well of wisdom and insight he is! I wanted to share some of the tidbits that I came away with.

First, he explained his passion for “Go Beyond”

In each of our lives there is a line that marks the farthest we’ve ever been or the most we’ve ever done for God and His purposes. Everything on our side of that line is familiar, convenient, manageable, and comfortable. No big surprises, no daunting challenges, no uncharted territory. Crossing that line requires a commitment to venture to places we’ve never been and the willingness to engage people we’ve never met. Only those with the courage to overcome their fears and who have the determination to persevere will dare to cross that line. All others will keep a safe distance away from it.

We must go beyond — stepping boldly across the line in order to advance the interests of God’s kingdom in our world. I have heard people remark about how they long to be a part of something exciting for the kingdom, only to watch them aggressively avoid the context in which these things happen. We must be willing to place ourselves in a context where we will see God work in and through us in new and exciting ways, in ways we never imagined. We must be willing to spend ourselves for God and His purposes — to work toward the day when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.

Step across the line and Go Beyond. Adventure awaits!

Omar said that danger, and sacrifice, and hardship are on the other side of that line but the miracles are also on the other side of that line… wonderful thought! Another way that he described it that just fascinates me is this, “When Jesus saw Peter, Andrew, and John on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and said to them, ‘follow Me and I will make you fishers of men’, had they not followed and instead continued their fishing enterprise, it wouldn’t necessarily have meant that they couldn’t have still been supportive of Jesus and believed that He was the Messiah, after all, He only asked 12 to “follow” Him in the way that He was asking them to, BUT if they hadn’t left the shore and followed Him think about what they would have missed out on. The Sea of Galilee was their “comfort zone.” Jesus essentially asked them to leave their boats, nets, and the greatest one day catch of fish their little business had ever seen. (Luke 5:1-11) He was asking them to cross the line and Go Beyond. Think of the things they witnessed and participated in though because of that one decision to leave the shore and follow Him. Theoretically they could have still been good believers and gone to heaven if they had stayed at the Sea of Galilee but they never would have known Jesus intimately and they never would have changed the world. Omar said, “We always have to be examining, ‘has this become my new Sea of Galilee and am I now comfortable here and is Jesus calling me to Go Beyond?'”

Second, Omar talked about the difference between being “missions minded” and being “missional.” You can be missions minded and give to missions and pray for missionaries and not be obeying the great commission. Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world.” Missional is when we take ownership of the great commission and we start ministering to people everywhere we go, here and abroad. He also talked about “peripheral compassion” where as we go through our daily lives we keep our eyes peeled for things happening right next to us that if we are not living missional lives and not realizing that we are to be “Jesus with skin on” we could very easily walk by and not notice but if we have peripheral compassion then we see these things and stop and do something rather than just walk on by.

Third, Omar said something that absolutely brought a battle that has been raging in my soul for the last several years to peace in one moment. It was incredible. He used this example. If you ask a person in the west, “who is the best Christian alive?” most people would say, “Billy Graham,” but if you asked a person in the east the same question they would say, “Mother Teresa.” Omar went on to point out that this illustrates the difference in thinking between the east and west. Billy Graham represents “proclamation” whereas Mother Teresa represents “incarnation.” Then Omar said something that blew my mind. He said, “what we need to do is get Billy Graham and Mother Teresa to the altar and get them married because true Christlikeness must be an equal dose of both proclamation (speaking the gospel) and incarnation (showing the gospel).” Wow! That is the answer! Jesus embodied both and so must we. I was reminded of two of my favorite verses in the Bible relating to Jesus, 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 and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Mark 1:38 He (Jesus) 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.”

Fourth, Omar shared with us the difference between ministering “Attractionally” and “Incarnationally.” The modern American church, for the most part, employs the strategy of ministering by attraction. Come and see. Come and hear our special speaker, or partake in our many programs, or attend our concert, etc. (But this model, this strategy is never employed in the scripture. Jesus didn’t rent out a coliseum and sell tickets to come see the Messiah. – my thoughts)

Omar pointed out that the strategy of ministering by incarnation (being Jesus with skin on) earns us the right to speak into people’s lives. When we serve and help and invest in people and the community then the church becomes indispensable to the community. Omar gave the example of the time that Gallery Furniture burned down here and because the owner Mattress Mack has given so much to the community, people were donating and helping and pleading for Mack to rebuild because they couldn’t imagine Houston without Gallery Furniture and yet churches close down every week in Houston and no one is pleading with them to stay, no one is saying, “this community needs you pastor” all because the church has not become such a help to the community that they can’t imagine not having them around. Stunning observation.

Fifth, Ways vs. Works. Omar shared with us another nugget which came from Psalm 103:7 He made known His ways to Moses, His works to the sons of Israel. He pointed out that throughout the story of the Exodus Moses is calm and trusting the Lord because he understood His ways i.e. that God is always working even when we can’t see what He is up to. But the children of Israel were always whining and complaining because they were only looking for His works. Three days after they see Him part the Red Sea and then close it upon the Egyptians they are whining about not having water and blaming Moses for bringing them out there to die. The difference between them and Moses was that Moses understood God’s ways and knew that God had brought them out there and that He would see them through (faith) whereas the Israelites were only surviving from work to work, sign to sign (sight). We must learn the ways of God so that when we don’t see His works immediately we can remain calm and strong and keep moving forward. This reminds me of one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It appears in what we call the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. It is talking about the things that Moses did by faith and in verse 27 it says, By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. If we are going to persevere in missions, ministry, marriage, etc. we must see Him who is invisible. We must know His ways.

There was so much more but I will end with one last thing that was very encouraging. Sixth, he talked about being a “bigger – picture person.” This is someone who keeps the overall view of how all the little tasks, little struggles, and little contributions to God’s kingdom add up by the power of the Holy Spirit to make world changing differences. He talked about how the people who hold the ropes back home are just as critical as the ones climbing down the rope to rescue the lost. Omar recently wrote a blog on this very subject and I hope you will go there and read it. It is profound.

We were so blessed to visit with this soldier of the Lord and we look forward to continuing to glean from God’s working in his life and ministry.

Today I want to highlight a young man who has been a great inspiration to my life in the short time I have known him. Tyler Cox is the kind of young man who raises your hopes in the next generation and in the future of the body of Christ. Tyler is in his early 20’s but he has a passion and a vision beyond his years. Tyler and I have been to Colombia together a few times in the last year and I have been amazed at his heart and devotion. I recently had opportunity to interview Tyler about his missions vision. I will share his answers below and then follow that with an article that he recently wrote that really expresses his heart for Christ and the nations. Enjoy.

Tyler what got you interested in missions?

What got me interested in missions was God calling me to go to Brazil which was my first mission trip. I can’t say that at the time I was interested in missions, but when I got back from Brazil that completely changed my perspective. It never really occurred to me that Christ’s passion was to spread His name to all of the earth, and not just America. I have now been on 5 mission trips since then and planning on going on another 2 over the summer. God completely provides all the funds and He is surely glorified.

What was your first mission trip like?

My first mission trip was Soa Paulo Brazil. It was a street evangelism trip with Restoration Ministries. We went out into the slumbs and proclaimed God’s word to the poor and unloved. It was an incredible experience. I saw a lot of things that I never would have seen in the states. Christ revealed Himself to me in a way that I’ve never seen.

How many countries have you visited?

So far I have been on 5 trips. Once to Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, and twice to Colombia. All brought different challenges and different experiences. I’m very humbled and blessed to be apart of these trips. God’s grace has allowed me to cross paths with many great people. People who love and fear God and long for the lost to get found.

What was your greatest experience on the mission field?

I must say the greatest experience I had was the second time I went to Colombia. Going once to a country is one thing, but going twice is a whole other. We visited different orphanages in Colombia. Well, the best experience (and also one of the most joyful moments of my life) was going back to the orphanages and the kids saying “Tyler Tyler Tyler”. It was awesome. They really do remember you. I fell in love with those kids.

What are your plans for the future?

This summer I plan to go back to Colombia (which is now becoming a second home to me haha) in June, and El Salvador again in August. As for my long term plans? That’s up to God right now. I hope and pray that he uses me for great things that will glorify his name. I do plan on getting some sort of seminary degree. Hopefully I will work for some sort of ministry. But God could lead me anywhere in the next couple years and I will go wherever He tells me to go.

This is an article that Tyler wrote shortly after returning from Colombia in January 2011…

Some more fellow soldiers that I would like to tell you about today are Clay and Ashley Vaughn, missionaries to Haiti. Ashley and her family, the Boriacks, are dear friends of ours and I had the privilege of pastoring them for awhile. They are a delightful representation of a godly family. Tom and Tammy, Ashley’s parents, have encouraged and supported our family and our ministry in Colombia greatly. The Boriacks also supported and helped us bless our friends the Villalobos at Monte De Gracia with the initial funds to build their school for orphans years ago. When Ashley was a young teenager I remember her passion for missions and her passion for books. I had heard stories about Ashley meeting Clay at Frontier Camp in Crockett, Texas and how he proposed to her in the back of a truck under a tarp in the pouring rain with 20 other missionaries huddled around them but I didn’t get to meet him until their wedding and I was very impressed with this young man and very happy for Ashley and her family. Clay and Ashley and the Boriacks supported our Share the Hope dinner in December for the safe house in Bogota and I got to see a little more of Clay’s heart. He and Ashley have several things going on that I believe God will greatly expand in the years to come and I am blessed and honored to call them friends and fellow soldiers. See what all they are doing at these sites and please consider supporting them:

The Shoults are friends we met at a church we helped plant in Magnolia, Texas years ago. They are now missionaries in Mexico. They were in Houston today on their way back to Mexico and I was blessed to get to spend an hour with them.

First, I would like to share an email that I received from Phillip Shoults last year explaining what God was doing for and through them and then I will tell about our conversation today.

Last March I received this email from Phillip.

Brother Matt,

It was good to see you on Facebook. I am not much on social networking but have enjoyed finding and catching up with old friends and believers we have known from our many travels. I will provide you with a brief note of encouragement and say a small thank you for the impact you and your wife have had on Ashley and me over the years. It all started when we were first exploring home schooling and we enrolled Forest & Madeline in the program (PACES) Ted and Johnnie Seago started to help parents, just like us, navigate the early stages of this journey. We learned to endure the challenges and focus on the long term goals and intentions of instilling character first, values then academics. We learned to stand on our own Biblically-based convictions in the face of family scrutiny over our choices to home school and build a stronger family with our central focus on Christ our Savior and Redeemer and living an abundant life in Him. We will enjoy the first fruit of our labor with Forest graduating this May! Praise God.

Coming into to the community of believers at “Grace” in 2003 had a tremendous impact on me. I needed more role models and examples of how I could do a better job supporting our vision for strengthening the family and serving God….. I found it in the wonderful families and Godly men of grace. It was tough leaving TX for Nashville in 2005 and I saw God provide for the move, although I believe that many of my motives were not entirely honorable to Him (namely pursuing money and position/promotion). Ashley and I never forgot the impact of the “model” we experienced at Grace and when we first moved to the Nashville area, we prayed and prayed over finding a community of believers similar to the ones of Grace. Within about 6 months, we were fellowshipping with about 18-20 other believers, meeting from house to house and I was thankful for the experiences we had found back in Conroe.

God really started to work on my heart and in 2007 as I felt him challenge me with a stinging question “….. what is the most important thing in your life? And if it is not me, would you give it up?” It took me 6 months to verbally give him my answer, but I did. I knew that I had made money and my job a higher priority than my spiritual growth, my wife, my kids, etc, etc so I told God he could have everything and told Ashley that we should “get ready for change.” I left LP in October of 2008. That move did not make much sense to a number of people, considering that the economy was tanking and times were getting tough. I kept thinking in my mind, “… what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul, or his children’s soul, or his family… or anything of eternal value for that matter.” God has been so good as I started a small consulting practice, working out of my home, eliminating a 65 mile round trip commute and about 40K of travel miles each year. Wow, breakfast with the family each morning, Bible Study and devotions each morning at 5:00 a.m, time to invest in my wife and children through family devotions and one-on-one discipleship with my kids have all been a real blessing. God has provided and blessed in so many ways and I thank Him daily for it.

Ashley and I are now earnestly praying over an opportunity we are pursuing/considering to move to Mexico and join our dear friends, David and Maria Skinner in helping expand the Gospel of Jesus Christ through from their hub in Oaxtepec, Morelos MX. The last “link” here in TN is to sell our home and make a short transition back to TX, prep then move. We are praying for clarity and confirmation around this decision.

I wanted to say thank you for your obedience to the calling God has placed on your life, to demonstrate to other men (and families) how to embrace the Christian Life and enjoy the fulfillment of serving our Lord and Savior and not ourselves (or man) in everything we do. You, Ted, Dan, Voddie and so many other men were a great example to me of how to accept and joyfully fulfill the calling God has placed on every man who has surrendered His Life to Christ and accepted the responsibility of being the Priest, Prophet, Provider, & Protector of his home. I just wanted to return thanks to you, I already thank my heavenly Father each day! Your wife gave Ashley a book years ago, Created to be His Help Meet and she has been so grateful for that experience. She has done that study in our home for other ladies at least once, bought a case of books and given them as gifts to every sister-in-law, friend and young lady about to be married. Some seed fell on fertile ground, other seed perished. I have been a direct beneficiary of her being impacted by that book and more importantly the Truth in God’s word. Please pass on to your wife that encouragement and testimony from Ashley.

Thanks brother Matt, In Christ…. his humble servant.

Now, speed forward to today. Phillip and Ashley and their children have been in Mexico for 6 months loving and serving the indigenous migrant sugar cane harvesters and their families. They are also preparing a place for short term mission trips to come down. It was exciting to hear about the many creative ways that they are teaching the gospel to these uneducated peoples. The whole family is involved and it thrilled my soul to see how excited the young people of this family are about what God has called their family to. I hope that in the near future we can go down and help them in some way.

For more information on their ministry go to http://www.globalforce-mx.com/Page/Home/1

 

I recently shared about our fellow soldier, Hannah, who is serving in Uganda. I would also like to share about another fellow soldier, Miriam, who has a wonderful ministry to orphans in Matamoros, Mexico. I was privileged to meet Miriam and her family several years ago and they have been a blessing to me ever since. We have helped them with a few projects and I hope very much that in the future we can help them more. We are so blessed to be able to know and share with such wonderful saints of God. Their ministry is called Monte De Gracia (Mountain Of Grace). Here is an update that I received from Miriam today. Enjoy.

In Paul’s greeting in Philemon 2 & 3 he says, “to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I am blessed to know some fellow soldiers. One of them is a girl named Hannah that I pastored for several years and is like a daughter to me. She comes from a family of fellow soldiers. I remember Hannah and her brothers and their shining smiles sitting under my preaching as I would thunder out the call to “Go to the nations.” God was eating my own heart up about missions and it spilled over into many of my sermons. Sermons like “Lift up your eyes” and “Other Sheep”. I remember how I would pray that God would send some of the young people in my church to the nations.

Hannah was the quiet one who served faithfully but never out in front. She always had a baby in her arms, one of her many siblings or another baby in the church, and a smile on her face. She and her mother held a little Bible study once a week called Young Women of Purpose. My daughters loved to go. They benefitted greatly from the books studied and the God saturated conversations.

Later when Hannah was in Bible College we communicated often and it was such a joy to hear her heart and to say a “you can do it” or “God is faithful, He will take care of you.”

Today Hannah lives in an orphanage in Uganda, being the hands and feet of Jesus. She is loving and serving the children of Uganda.

I am so humbled and blessed and thrilled to call her Our Fellow Soldier.

Almost minutes after our fifth trip to Bogota in June we began planning the launch of an organized ministry to take the lead in organizing and promoting what God was leading us to do in Colombia. Two weeks after we arrived back in the states we had a meeting and chose the name Orphan Hope International. We formed a board of directors which included David Richardson as president, Chris Dinkler as vice president, Bill Byrd as treasurer, Shoby John as secretary, and me as spiritual director. We elected two officers, Sandra Patricia Forero as vice president of Colombian affairs, and Alexandra Venegas as assistant secretary and translator. Many nights were spent at Bill and Sandy Byrd’s house hashing out all of the details of organizational structure of the ministry. Sandy always fed us like kings and we always had fun fellowshipping with one another so that made the chore very enjoyable. We also added and continue to add advisory council members including Luis Escobar, Curt and Tonya Currie, Dave and Gail Beach, Nep and Dona Reyes. God continues to send us wonderful people with varied talents and gifts to assist us in blessing the children of Colombia. We have established a website at www.orphanhopeintl.org and we have a presence on Facebook as well. Our vision statement reads, “Positively transforming the lives of orphans and those who minister to them through Christ-centered Mery Missions, Padrino Program, Adoption Awareness, and Haven Homes. You can read all about it on our website. We have also helped to establish an alliance partner organization in Colombia called Fundacion Tayakai. Tayakai means Me in a native dialect of Colombia. It brings attention to the fact that these children are people. Through these two entities we hope to greatly impact the nation of Colombia for Christ in the years to come and rescue many sweet little children and bring them to the savior. To God be the glory!

Here are some of the reasons we are so passionate about this…

Facts and Statistics

It is estimated there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide (recent UNICEF report.) The UNICEF orphan numbers DON’T include abandonment (millions of children) as well as sold and/or trafficked children. The current population of the United States is just a little over 300 million… to give you an idea of the enormity of the numbers…

According to data released in 2003 as many as eight million boys and girls around the world live in institutional care. Some studies have found that violence in residential institutions is six times higher than violence in foster care, and that children in group care are almost four times more likely to experience sexual abuse than children in family based care.

Every day 5,760 more children become orphans

Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…

Each year 14, 505, 000 children grow up as orphans and age out of the system by age sixteen

Each day 38,493 orphans age out

Every 2.2 seconds another orphan ages out with no family to belong to and no place to call home

Studies have shown that 10% – 15% of these children commit suicide before they reach age eighteen

These studies also show that 60% of the girls become prostitutes and 70% of the boys become hardened criminals

Another study reported that of the 15,000 orphans aging out of state-run institutions every year, 10% committed suicide, 5,000 were unemployed, 6,000 were homeless and 3,000 were in prison within three years…

An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked every year; (THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2005)

2 million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited in the multibillion-dollar commercial sex industry. (THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2005)

WHY COLOMBIA?

There are many reasons and ways that God has clearly led us to minister in Colombia. Here are just a few:

In 2010 Colombia had 577,000 orphans. (Children on the Brink) Note: For a little perspective, Orphan Hope International makes approx. 4 organized trips to Colombia per year. We minister to approx. 500 orphans per trip. At that rate it would take us 289 years to just see every orphan once. Colombia, is just one country in Latin America. Latin America is just one of three regions of the world, along with Asia and Africa, where the orphan problem is rampant. Asia and Africa have a vastly larger orphan problem than Latin America.

Colombia has been under the scourge of a 40-year civil war. This, along with the drug trade, has caused violence and consequently a rise in orphans in this country.

Girls, especially orphans, are abducted into child soldiery and sexual slavery and are sometimes forced into armed service by their parents as a form of ‘tax payment’, as happens in Colombia. (THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2005)

In Colombia, for example, girls as young as 12 are reported to have submitted sexually to armed groups in order to ensure their families’ safety. (THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2005)

Interpol estimates there are 35,000 women and girls trafficked out of Colombia every year for the sex trade, with estimated profits of $500 million, making Colombia second only to the Dominican Republic in the West. It is beyond comprehension the horror that these women and girls face as they service on average 40 clients per day. (Interpol)

1.2 million children are trafficked every year world wide; this is in addition to the millions already held captive by trafficking.

The average age of a trafficked victim is 14 years old.

One can only imagine what will happen to the sweet, pretty girls that we meet in the orphanages when they are turned out into the street at 18 years of age. This is why we have made safe houses one of our four main priorities is so that these girls are not on the street and vulnerable.

Here is what God says about orphans…

God Loves Orphans…

Deuteronomy 10:18 “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.”

Psalm 10:14 The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan.

Psalm 68:5-6 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God makes a home for the lonely;

Jeremiah 49:11 “Leave your orphans behind, I will keep them alive; And let your widows trust in Me.”

Hosea 14:3 “For in You the orphan finds mercy.”

God Defends Orphans…

Deuteronomy 24:17 “You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge.

Psalm 10:17-18 O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear. To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.

Psalm 146:9 The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked.

Proverbs 23:10 Do not move the ancient boundary Or go into the fields of the fatherless, 11 For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.

God Commands Care For Orphans…

Deuteronomy 14:29 “The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Deuteronomy 16:11, 14 and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name. 14 And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns.

Deuteronomy 24:19-21 “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. “When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

Deuteronomy 26:13 “You shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.

Job 22:9 “You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the orphans has been crushed.

Psalm 82:3 Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

Jeremiah 7:5-7 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

God Opposes Harm Of Orphans…

Exodus 22:22-24 “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. “If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

Deuteronomy 27:19 ‘Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Job 6:27 “You would even cast lots for the orphans and barter over your friend.

Job 24:3, 9 “They drive away the donkeys of the orphans; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge. 9 “Others snatch the orphan from the breast, And against the poor they take a pledge.

Psalm 94:6 They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the orphans.

Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.

Isaiah 10:2 So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans.

Jeremiah 5:28 ‘They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

Jeremiah 22:3 ‘Thus says the LORD, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Ezekiel 22:7 “They have treated father and mother lightly within you. The alien they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you.

Zechariah 7:10 and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’

Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.

Will you help us?