A little girl named Donut...

Its funny how God works...

He puts me in places to minister to people and play with kids. He brought me right to a small church in Koh Phangan, Thailand where I instantly became family.

After chatting with some of the local missionaries, the Thai pastor and his wife and some other locals, they invited me to share dinner with them. This was a blessing, it was the first thing I ate all day. God provided :)

We sat down and ate some home made Pad Thai in the open church building, with a roof and no walls. There was one child there, a sweet little girl named 'Donut'. I instantly fell in love with her, not only because of her name, but because she came right over to me, nestled her little head under my arm and gave about as big of a hug that a 4 year old girl can give. She had never seen me before but loved me like family. I found out that Donut was actually born in a prison, which is where her mother still is. She has been and is being raised by her Jesus lovin' grandma and is constantly surrounded by this small yet awesome family in the Lord. Tonight at church, when she saw me, she smiled so huge and then ran over to me and jumped, knowing I would catch her and pick her up. So, I caught her... haha! She wanted to hang out with me the whole time, whether it was sitting on my shoulders, lap or being held in my arms. It was a tremendous pleasure to simply laugh and smile with her, and try to share more of God's great love through quality time.

Another blessing is for the past three nights I have been invited back to the church for dinner and fellowship, as well as prayer and coffee in the morning. Its all part of God's faithful provision, and its such a blessing to be a part of this family in Christ for this short time.

There is no greater love than Jesus,
Richard

Visa Run

Being in Indonesia for more than two months, I need to leave to apply for a Social Visa so I can stay the next 4 months without any problems. So, now I am in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While in this part of the world I have decided to take two weeks to tour South East Asia, to try and connect with churches and different orphanages in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, all the while sharing God's love and faithfulness wherever I go. Its a journey by faith, not sure how it will all work but it has already started out in a good way.

I am already missing the kids in Bali, but was very grateful to get a full nights sleep for the first time in two months.

Some exciting news about the kids: A few of them are starting to become more forward focused, meaning, they are thinking about their futures and what the want to do, and not do. One of our boys, Marcus, has a great head on his shoulders. He is excellent at saving money and making money in creative ways. He bought his very poor family a little pig, which has now grown into a big pig and the family will be able to sell it and make some good money. This same boy is also getting asked by his piers why he does not have a girlfriend yet, and his wise response went something like this...  "why do I need a girlfriend right now, they will take all of my money and besides, its not like I want to get married right now anyway." So, he is happily single and is really working on making a great future for himself, his sister and his family. Since his dad is out of the picture, being around older guys that love the Lord has really had a great impact on his life.

Regarding Loving Orphans Global: Our East Bali home project is almost complete. Now we are working on teaching English in the village with the kids from poor families. Its exciting to be making a difference in these cool kid's lives. We also used some of the money to buy the kids at our home some new shoes. They were all in need of a new pair, really in need. The next thing we are doing is sponsoring a child from the slums. Her name is Siti, she is a beautiful joyful little girl, even though she collects trash and plastics all day long. She is 10 years old with no education, so Loving Orphans Global is going to sponsor her and pay her school fees each year. We would also like to find a home for her, so please pray for wisdom on that.

Thank you all for your support in keeping me out here to serve, and thank you to those who have supported Loving Orphans Global. We are making a difference! Praise God!

Blessings. Isaiah 1:17.

September season.

You all know I get to work with kids, this is why I set up this blog. There are so many things that happen throughout the day with these kids, lessons that God shows me through the silliness of children. I wish I had someone I could share them with during the moment that would write them down... basically, have my own personal recorder of special moments. Haha, this sounds a bit ridiculous, but I imagine as you read this you might be reflecting on some of those past moments in your life when you wish you had record of them. 


Since I brought the skateboards out in July, the kids have absolutely been loving learning to skate. I tell you the truth, then start riding them when they wake up and all throughout the day they remind me that 'we' are going to the skate park at 5pm... its funny! I came home from being out at dinner the other night and the older boys were at the gas station down the street practicing tricks off of a big curb, and one of the boys borrowed a camera to get some cool pictures. Then I went with them to the skate park again, where they practiced their grinds and manuals. (For a definition of these tricks, please ask your local skater... haha) 


I walked to the beach the other morning with four of the younger boys, we went to an area where there weren't to many people so they could run around and be  crazy. They are really good at doing just that! It was low tide and there were little pools for the kids to lay in, and fast little crabs for them to chase around. They are learning so many life lessons, like, what sand feels like in their eyes and how to get it out with water instead of rubbing their eyes with sand fingers to alleviate the pain. 


I just had two good friends arrive, and I went to pick them up at the Surf House from our church yesterday. When I was leaving our orphanage, the girls asked if my friends were 'boys or girls' and as soon as I said boys, they wanted to come. hahah!! SO, I brought them with me and they had an opportunity to swim in the pool at the surf house. They had no bathing suits so they went in all their clothes. They were talking and laughing, having a great time giggling as people walked by. Teenage girls are like Martians to me, how the heck does anyone understand them?? 


Also, please check out this video clip, it gives a great example of life with the kids... running around with them and stuff. It is from Send Ministries, they had a team of 6 that came out for three weeks and I got to take them to some great places. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llB32Tb5GEA


Blessings and love,
Richard


P.s. Thank you all for your prayers and support, I cannot tell you how much of a blessing you all have been with words. Perhaps the smile on my face in the pictures and video will paint a picture of the joy I am afforded of, being here with the kids. 


P.p.s. The journey the Lord took me on today :)

"I will be very glad to spend whatever I have, I'll even give myself for you. Do you love me less because I love you so much?" 2 Corinthians 12:15


When Paul talks about being 'spent' for Jesus, he is referring to giving all he has, even his entire life to see the kingdom of God grow. Jesus says in the 'Great Commission'  to 'go and make disciples of all nations...' (Matthew 28:19), so, if Jesus says this, I should do it.  But, Jesus also says in Luke 14:33 'unless you forsake all you have you cannot be my disciple...'. If then, He says I should go and make disciples of all nations, shouldn't I be one myself? Then, what does it mean for me to make and be a disciple- well, I think it means to let go of all I have, to live fully surrendered and gladly be 'spent' that His glorious kingdom may spread. I will be stoked if the actions of my life are a picture of being happily spent for Jesus.