As the team has some extra time today until dinner, we have all been given an opportunity to catch up on some emails and I wanted to take this opportunity to post here and to say thank you to the numerous people that have prayed for this team that I have never met. Prayers have been answered, and God has given us some much needed rest after traveling, as well as extraordinarily smooth travels!
Sunday, Aiman, our translator took us to the church that she attends. I was not at all sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised to find many English speaking members, including the pastor and his daughter (who translated the sermon for us). When we arrived, I could hear the music playing out of the open windows and was astonished to hear familiar tunes - Shout to the Lord, Refiner's Fire, Jesus My Jesus being sung in Russian. It was such a beautiful, awe inspiring sound to hear foreign voices praising our God in a familiar, yet unfamiliar way. Same tune, new words. The sermon was on 2 Kings, and about renewing our committment to study God's word. It was particularly focused on how the lost book of Deut. was found and how the Israelites were punished by God for worshipping idols because of the loss of this book, and the re-discovery of God's law and how we should find ways to rediscover God's word and renew the fire that we should have burning in our heart for Him.
That is what this trip has done for me. Seeing the children today of course broke my heart. I left in tears (as I knew that I would) when a beautiful blonde headed little girl asked if we were there to bring anyone new mommies and daddies. I have always had a heart of compassion for children, especially hurting children. When I saw these children today, it was as if God whispered to me - this is the same tune, but these children are new words - meaning, even though they are abandoned, they are dirty, they are unwanted, they don't speak English - I want them & I love them!! For the longest time, I had really wondered why God wanted me to come on this trip. I know now that it is to help. In whatever way I can, I am here to help. If it is giving hugs, or handing out shoes, or giving them a piece of candy, or making a craft with them, or installing bathroom tile (which will not happen this time) this experience has rekindled a fire in my heart for serving God in a new way that I didn't ever think possible. I don't know on which path God will lead me, whether it is adopting a child of our own, or returning to lead other teams to serve these orphanages, or getting involved with organizations like Hadassah's Hope in Texas, but if there is one emotion that I feel, it is urgency. Urgent to reach these children for Christ and to let them know that despite of their conditon, that his love for him is abounding!
That's all for, now - we are headed off to dinner and to do some planning for a day with the children tomorrow. Please pray that we can be given some solid opportunities to share Christ's love with these children and that the barrier of language will come down.
With much love and extreme gratitude,
Jenny
Monday, June 23, 2008
Chris Lewis - My Journey So Far...
Over the counter sleep aids are over rated. I didn't sleep a lick on the three legs of our flights.
My prayer on Day 2 was for our safety, our courage, and the opportunity to make a difference in Kazakhstan. That God will allow us to help these orphans and know that they are loved.
Amsterdam was awesome. We had an eleven hour layover. I had fun walking around the city checking it out and didn't partake in any of the activities it is known for.
We arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan early Sunday morning. So far it's been 57 hours without sleep for me and I think I'm becoming delirious. We met Aiman (our guide & translator) and her husband Yurek. Customs holds us up for about an 1.5 hours at the airport because they want us to pay for the 7 boxes of humanitarian aid we are bringing into the country. How ironic is that! If we were selfish and just brought stuff for ourselves, they're cool, but since we want to help others out, we need to pay them. Aiman helps us resolve it a few dollars later finally. I discover right away that Kazak drivers are crazy. They ignore most of what I perceive as traffic laws. Aiman fits right in. It reminds me of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at DisneyLand. So we get to the apartment some nice people are letting us use while they are gone and I get about a 2.5 hour nap. The first sleep I've had in 73 hours.
Although I enjoyed my time in Amsterdam and my first day in Kazakhstan getting a glimpse of the city of Almaty, I'm to the point where I want to do something for others. It's frustrating that it has taken so long to get to the orphans and I feel guilty that it's almost been like a mini-vacation.
After our overnight train ride (yes, I slept through the night and I'm back to feeling groovy) we arrive early Monday (today) in Taraz. Today we visited 3 orphanages and were able to look around and meet a number of kids. At the one orphanage where we were planning on redoing the bathrooms, we get thrown a bit of a curveball. They have two locations and they are going to be combining the two locations and tearing down the other. The top need for the orphanage during our meeting with the Deputy Director of the orphanage is laid out as needing new beds. We go check out the beds and numerous are broken (cheap materials). They don't meet health standards because they are not raised off of the floor. Several kids just sleep on the floor with a thin matress. We spend several hours in the afternoon pricing beds at several locations in the city. It was frustrating because no one wanted to work with us on pricing for 93 beds for orphans.
Tomorrow we have a full day of activities planned for the approximately 75 kids ages 5-18. We have crafts, group games, and field (dirt) events. It should be fun. We hear the kids will just love hanging out with us and soak up the attention.
The saddest thing I've heard on the trip was today. I learned that most orphans in Kazakhstan are adopted by the age of 5. Good news. However, those that aren't or come into the system at a later age rarely get adopted. The older kids are resigned to a life at the orphanage until they are basically turned loose on their own at age 18. If an older kid does get adopted, it almost always a girl. There are a lot of older boys at the orphanages.
Thank you for all of your continued prayers. We feel it and need it. And thank you again to those who helped get us here. We are trying to represent you well by making a difference in the lives of these orphans.
- Chris
My prayer on Day 2 was for our safety, our courage, and the opportunity to make a difference in Kazakhstan. That God will allow us to help these orphans and know that they are loved.
Amsterdam was awesome. We had an eleven hour layover. I had fun walking around the city checking it out and didn't partake in any of the activities it is known for.
We arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan early Sunday morning. So far it's been 57 hours without sleep for me and I think I'm becoming delirious. We met Aiman (our guide & translator) and her husband Yurek. Customs holds us up for about an 1.5 hours at the airport because they want us to pay for the 7 boxes of humanitarian aid we are bringing into the country. How ironic is that! If we were selfish and just brought stuff for ourselves, they're cool, but since we want to help others out, we need to pay them. Aiman helps us resolve it a few dollars later finally. I discover right away that Kazak drivers are crazy. They ignore most of what I perceive as traffic laws. Aiman fits right in. It reminds me of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at DisneyLand. So we get to the apartment some nice people are letting us use while they are gone and I get about a 2.5 hour nap. The first sleep I've had in 73 hours.
Although I enjoyed my time in Amsterdam and my first day in Kazakhstan getting a glimpse of the city of Almaty, I'm to the point where I want to do something for others. It's frustrating that it has taken so long to get to the orphans and I feel guilty that it's almost been like a mini-vacation.
After our overnight train ride (yes, I slept through the night and I'm back to feeling groovy) we arrive early Monday (today) in Taraz. Today we visited 3 orphanages and were able to look around and meet a number of kids. At the one orphanage where we were planning on redoing the bathrooms, we get thrown a bit of a curveball. They have two locations and they are going to be combining the two locations and tearing down the other. The top need for the orphanage during our meeting with the Deputy Director of the orphanage is laid out as needing new beds. We go check out the beds and numerous are broken (cheap materials). They don't meet health standards because they are not raised off of the floor. Several kids just sleep on the floor with a thin matress. We spend several hours in the afternoon pricing beds at several locations in the city. It was frustrating because no one wanted to work with us on pricing for 93 beds for orphans.
Tomorrow we have a full day of activities planned for the approximately 75 kids ages 5-18. We have crafts, group games, and field (dirt) events. It should be fun. We hear the kids will just love hanging out with us and soak up the attention.
The saddest thing I've heard on the trip was today. I learned that most orphans in Kazakhstan are adopted by the age of 5. Good news. However, those that aren't or come into the system at a later age rarely get adopted. The older kids are resigned to a life at the orphanage until they are basically turned loose on their own at age 18. If an older kid does get adopted, it almost always a girl. There are a lot of older boys at the orphanages.
Thank you for all of your continued prayers. We feel it and need it. And thank you again to those who helped get us here. We are trying to represent you well by making a difference in the lives of these orphans.
- Chris
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Taraz Here we come! (is travel over yet?!)
Yep that is right, day three and we are still not at our destination. Today we arrived in Almaty to get ready for our 12 hour train ride to Taraz.
Please pray for us, as travel is getting to be a little much at this point, and a bed would be nice to lay our heads on. Pray for us as we prepare our hearts for the next few days in Taraz!
"IF YOU HAVE ANY ENCOURAGEMENT FROM BEING UNITED WITH CHRIST, IF ANY COMFORT FROM HIS LOVE, IF ANY FELLOWSHIP WITH THE SPIRIT, IF ANY TENDERNESS AND COMPASSION, THEN MAKE MY JOY COMPLETE BY BEING LIKE-MINDED, HAVING THE SAME LOVE, BEING ONE IN SPIRIT AND PURPOSE."
PHILIPPIANS 2:1-2
Please pray for us, as travel is getting to be a little much at this point, and a bed would be nice to lay our heads on. Pray for us as we prepare our hearts for the next few days in Taraz!
"IF YOU HAVE ANY ENCOURAGEMENT FROM BEING UNITED WITH CHRIST, IF ANY COMFORT FROM HIS LOVE, IF ANY FELLOWSHIP WITH THE SPIRIT, IF ANY TENDERNESS AND COMPASSION, THEN MAKE MY JOY COMPLETE BY BEING LIKE-MINDED, HAVING THE SAME LOVE, BEING ONE IN SPIRIT AND PURPOSE."
PHILIPPIANS 2:1-2
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Amsterdam!!!!
We arrived in Amsterdam today to have a fun filled time! Please pray as we continue on our journey with another 12 hour flight to arrive in Almaty on Sunday, June 22! Please pray for safe travel and that our team would not be too exhausted, as we have a long day ahead of us to prepare for travel to Taraz!
Today's Verse:
" AND THIS IS MY PRAYER: THAT YOUR LOVE MAY ABOUND MORE AND MORE IN KNOWLEDGE AND DEPTH OF INSIGHT, SO THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO DISCERN WHAT IS BEST AND MAY BE PURE AND BLAMELESS UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST."
PHILIPPIANS 1:9-10
Today's Verse:
" AND THIS IS MY PRAYER: THAT YOUR LOVE MAY ABOUND MORE AND MORE IN KNOWLEDGE AND DEPTH OF INSIGHT, SO THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO DISCERN WHAT IS BEST AND MAY BE PURE AND BLAMELESS UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST."
PHILIPPIANS 1:9-10
Friday, June 20, 2008
Leaving For Kazakhstan
Today we leave for Kazakhstan! We will be traveling for 24 hours to get to Amsterdam, where the entire team will meet up and spend a lovely day walking the city and getting to know each other.
Please pray that the team blends well together. Every individual is extremely wonderful and very accomodating, so I am positive they will all have fun. Pray that we can sleep on the plane and be rested for an exciting time of getting to know each other in Amsterdam!
The team has a Kazakhstan journal and each day on the journal has a verse or qote for encouragement, so i thought it would be great for you all to follow along with us and know what we are reading and talking about.
Today's Verse:
"THE LORD HIMSELF GOES BEFORE YOU AND WILL BE WITH YOU; HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU, DO NOT BE AFRAID; DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED."
DEUTERONOMY 31:8
Please pray that the team blends well together. Every individual is extremely wonderful and very accomodating, so I am positive they will all have fun. Pray that we can sleep on the plane and be rested for an exciting time of getting to know each other in Amsterdam!
The team has a Kazakhstan journal and each day on the journal has a verse or qote for encouragement, so i thought it would be great for you all to follow along with us and know what we are reading and talking about.
Today's Verse:
"THE LORD HIMSELF GOES BEFORE YOU AND WILL BE WITH YOU; HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU, DO NOT BE AFRAID; DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED."
DEUTERONOMY 31:8
Friday, June 13, 2008
Kazakhstan in 1 week!
We leave for Kazakhstan next friday! Please pray for the travel and arrangements, as last minute details are being worked out. Continue to pray for the team as they travel for 3 days before arriving in Taraz. Thank you for your prayers!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
15 Days
The team now has 15 days till we all depart for Kazakhstan. The team is really excited and anxiously getting ready to spend time with the orphans in Kazakhstan. Please pray that each of us will continue to prepare our hearts for the eye opening experience ahead!
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