New Gifts

I have had the privilege of sharing in DTS’s (Youth With A Mission’s Discipleship Training Schools) over the last several years about the “mothering love of God”.  It has been wonderful to see a light dawn in eyes of students and they begin to comprehend God loves them like a Father and a Mother.  He intended us to have both.  It is healthy to have both…..physically, emotionally and spiritually.  When one is lacking, we lack.  We don’t get “enough” in our childhood (due to dysfunction, divorce, wounding, etc.) and it can carry through into adulthood if God Himself has not been given the space to come in and fill the need.

Psalm 131:2

Several months ago as I looked out my window at a breathtaking dawn breaking, I felt peaceful, satisfied.  Weaning means to be satisfied, your needs met.  I have enough.  

This year  I took on my “word”  RELEASE for 2016.   I began 2016 with a sense of God releasing new things into our lives, mainly with how we give out in our ministry and serving others,   New adventures, new stories of sharing.  But way back in January, I began to also sense “release” meant ME releasing some things into God’s hands so He could then “release” into my life.

One area I seem to always be letting go has been the releasing of the lives of my children into His hands.  He carries them.  He will lead them.  He knows them better than I do.  Really?  Can that be??  Yes, releasing our loved ones into His care is the best thing I can do.  But releasing is not always easy.  Even the releasing of comfortable, daily, life can and will bring freshness and new adventure if we are willing to release what is normal for us or things we hide behind.  In prayer, speaking out and giving over to God those things that are good.....really good.....(maybe some not so good)....but by releasing them to God, He sets us free to receive new gifts from Him.  Don't we always want a new present to open?

One thing I love (and can be unsettling and challenging at times) in our relationship with God is we are never to old to grow and learn.  As I gaze at a rising dawn, and read my devotional for the day….it reminds me that God always goes before me.  Never leads me into situations that He is not fully aware of the needs of what I will be facing.  He is before me.  Beside me.  Next to me.  Behind me.  AND He gives PEACE.  It was His first words to His disciples after the resurrection.  Peace I give you.  Do not be afraid.  He knew we needed to hear that.  He said it a lot!  Even sent angels to tell us.

As I wait in the presence of my Father, He impresses on my mind that weaning can be something that takes place even in the oldest of us.  I am 60.  I have walked with the Lord for 42 years.  And today, I continue to be “weaned”.  I think I have enough…but He wants to give me more. Continually moving away from the “bottle” and into deeper, richer, real food.  Even after all these years, He wants to wean me from the comfortable.  The familiar.  He wants to give me “flavored milk”, beyond the white.  I have enough, but He wants to give me more.  Will I trust Him to continually wean me….trust Him as I release, He gives back more than I could imagine?  Will I trust Him?   Can I love someone or something possibly so much that He would want me to “release it into His hands” so He can turn around and give me so much more?

Psalm 34:8

Genesis 16: 13-14 (Amplified Version)

John 20:19

Colossians 3:15

Psalm 139:7-12

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A Tribute to My Mom

My mom is amazing, but I didn’t realize just how strong, determined and dependable she was  until I had my own children. One day during a visit shortly after I gave birth, I was exhausted and my husband jumped up to change our firstborn son’s diaper. My mother, watching all this taking place, turned to me and said “You have no idea what you have.” With tears in her eyes, she went on to tell me (which I already knew but had a much bigger impact on my life now that I was a mom), how she raised 3 small children as a single mom. Changing every diaper, feeding every mouth, cleaning every mess, working and carrying the weight of those lives in her hands in our early years.

My mom remarried when I was ten.  She married a wonderful hard-working farmer from North Dakota.  As a young girl, it was a bit scary having a big man in the home. That masculine roughness was something very foreign to three young lives.  We'd never experienced that before.  My wonderful mom juggled the new act of wife, mom and go-between, as she helped us become accustomed to a "dad".  There were good times and there were harder times. Yes, she made mistakes...and every mom out there yells a resounding  "Amen"...what mother doesn't  fall short and wished she'd done it different.  But through it all, she was mom....and we all knew her love was unconditional and she would always be there for us.  I had someone recently say no human could have "unconditional" love for someone else.  I disagree....I have unconditional love for my four children.  Because no matter what they do...they can disappoint, they can anger, they can deeply move me, but I will NEVER STOP LOVING them!  (Another "Amen" ladies!)   My mom is now in her latter years...she still carries that unconditional love in her heart for me and my siblings as our lives have taken very different routes.

My husband and I have raised four wonderful children.  There have been adventures; rough times, good times - thick and thin times. Times when all you could do was laugh....times when only tears would bring comfort.   Most lessons in my life have been deeply imprinted on my soul through the years of mothering.  Aside from my constant need for God and His wisdom, there have been several women through the years who have inspired me in my mothering.  But one lady, who turns 85 this coming July, stands above the rest...

26 years ago, I stood watching my husband hold and sing to our first-born son and I was overwhelmed with love for the woman who “did it all alone” and the man “who was doing it with me”. That moment I believe, I loved my mom more than I ever had and more than words could ever express. She deserves more than I could ever give back to her!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

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MOM is WOW Upside Down :)

Today is a guest post from a friend of mine, Erin.  Her mom's story is one not so different from many moms today....single and doing it on her own.  A tough job, but one you cannot walk away from.  One that if you stick with it, will reap wonderful rewards as you watch your hard work, years of tears...and joy....be worth it all.

My mom raised my two younger sisters and I, all by herself. She taught me to be tough. To agree to disagree. To work hard for what we wanted. She made us pull a bucket of weeds, every day, in the summer, before we could go swimming. We had daily chore lists to be accomplished. She homeschooled us, off and on. She taught me how to replace a toilet. She taught me how to drive. Because of her, I love to garden and feed birds. We always had pets – dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, bunnies, ducks and chickens. If we didn’t clean our rooms well, the toys we left out got taken away. We got spankings! We got grounded! I remember having to write sentences, and apology letters . . . and thank you letters. As soon as I started earning money, she required a ‘room and board’ monthly payment. She taught me how to cook. She raised my sisters and I to be responsible, and respectful.

The biggest things that have always been a part of our lives, as mother - daughters, was humor, fun, and spontaneity! Somehow, as a single mom with three, whiney little girls, and very little money, my mom still managed to provide for our needs, ....and teach us to enjoy life.

We had fun. My mom would take us camping, for weeks in a row, every summer. In a tent. With a rat terrier dog, and a hatchet under her pillow at night. We bathed in the river. We went to the beach. We drove down dirt roads, up the sides of mountains, to go exploring or picnicking! We hiked at Silver Falls. We swam in creeks. We slid down huge rock query piles! She let us play in the rain in our swim suits! She spray painted poison oak, so we wouldn’t accidentally walk through it. We jumped in puddles in parking lots. We sang in the car. Twice during my childhood I remember seeing my mom run – once, to rescue my three year old sister who almost drowned at Siletz Bay. The other time, was to jump in the Brightenbush River to save a Frisbee.

Through the years my mom has been mommy, discipliner, friend, confidant, mom and dad, teacher, enemy, boss,  . . . yet always Mom. Always Wow. I don’t think I could ever do what she has done. She’s raised three girls. She’s experienced love, life, loss, sickness, health, pain, hurt, laughter . . . and she’s lived. And she taught her daughters how to live. She raised me. She taught me how to be responsible, respectful, and have fun and enjoy life!

WOW, Mom! You amaze me! Thank you for teaching me how to live AND love life! 

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I love you!

Erin Fern

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A Mother Worthy of Honor

Our third mother in the line of mothers we are honoring is another lady in Scripture.  Her name means "grace" or "favor..He has favored me".  

Hannah

For those not familiar with her story, you can read it in the Old Testament, 1 Samuel 1 & 2.  I've always been inspired reading about Hannah.  A woman who lived in anguish every day, hoping, wanting and being taunted because she could not have what most other women around her had.  A child.  Two other women in Scripture also grieved over not having children.  Sarah and Rachel.  But unlike them, Hannah didn't take matters into her own hands....she took her anguish and sorrow directly to God.   Even in the place of prayer, she was misunderstood (1 Samuel 1:12-16).  Despite this, her place of comfort and consolation was on her knees and on her face before God.  When Eli speaks a blessing over her, she leaves her place of sacrifice "her face no longer being downcast".    Scripture doesn't say she want away confident she would have a child, but that she was comforted.   

Who else can give a woman (or a mother) the comfort she needs in times of deep pain and anguish.  In times of desperate wanting.  In times when we feel there is not a soul on earth who can identify with our pain, or our longing?  No human can give us what we need....no husband, no friend, no false comfort, only the Father who knows, sees and understands all.  Sometimes, I feel like us moms carry the burden of those we love and have cared for so deeply, far deeper and heavier than any burden we have ever experienced.  When those we love, hurt.....we hurt.  When those we brought into life cry deeply, we cry deeper still.  I think there is a large portion of our heart implanted in their hearts.  That will never change.  Hannah inspires me.....she knew where to go for her comfort.

And amidst the ongoing days of our lives, God shows up.  Maybe not always in the way we wished, but He does show up.  When Hannah finally bore that son she desperately hoped for, she had words of praise that echoed down through history, so far down that Mary the mother of Jesus poured them forth from her soul as well (1 Samuel 2 and Luke 1:46-55).  We join the multitudes of women and mothers through the centuries as we praise Him for showing up.  

And then, she gave her son to God.  She didn't hang onto her blessing selfishly, she did what she had promised.  Her son, Samuel, would belong to God all the days of his life.  Once she had weaned him, she took him to the priest, Eli, and he lived and served Eli and God as a boy.  He grew up in a place of serving, worship and sacrifice.  He was the last of the judges of Israel and he anointed the first two kings, Saul and David.  Samuel, the much wanted and prayed for son of Hannah, lived out God's purpose for his life because of a mother who loved him deeply, but loved God deeper still.  A woman of faith....a woman of prayer....a women of obedience.  And God gave her more children (1 Samuel 2:20-21).   

Hannah is not a woman of faith because she bore a son.  She is a woman of faith because she sought God.  She trusted God.  In her deepest distress.  Only HE could answer.  Only HE could bring the consolation and purpose in life she desperately prayed for day and night.  And HE had far bigger plans for her son than she could have even imagined.  

Hannah, a woman of faith, a mom of prayer, a woman of obedience, a mom who loved and cared for her son from afar.  And a mom we honor today, nearly 3,200 years later, her faith, her trust, her obedience, her prayer life....still speaks.  Thank you, Hannah. 

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Remembering Mom... and Knickers

Today I'm sharing a guest post from JOANIE, a dear friend of mine.  We have journeyed many years together, and during our friendship she shared her mom with me.  I am honored to share her memory in remembering a woman loved by many.....

A new longing has surfaced, developing into a little nagging regret.

I would very much like to thank my mom for the wool knickers she made me.  I so wish this seemingly novel desire would have gripped me before she died ten years ago.

I was 10 years old and the only one in our family learning how to ski.  Even though I was quite fond of my wool knickers, I just took it for granted that my mom made them for me.  Didn’t everyone’s mother know how to sew that well?  Making wool knickers for  me to wear skiing, wasn’t that just a normal duty for a mother?  I can still feel how much I adored my knickers.  The fabric, the style, the colors still so tangible, but mostly I remember that I just felt really good whenever I wore them.  Without realizing it at that time, I think I just felt so loved in those knickers - specially and uniquely cared for.  Amazingly, I can experience those same securing emotions now all over again, 47 years later, by just seeing those knickers in my memory’s vivid view.

Those two pair of wool knickers always kept me perfectly warm in our Montana winters as I bravely embraced cold snowy mountains.  However, I do think much of that warmth was that of my mother’s deep lovingkindness in which I was always so very comfortable.  One pair was soft medium gray with very thin lines of red, blue & green making a very subtle pattern.  Not garish at all, but rather nicely artistic.  I always wore them with long bright red socks underneath which was pretty much standard for skiers in those days with knickers.  My laced up ski boots also had bright red laces.  My especially tailored just for me knickers gave me a sense of confidence, a clear advantage in persevering during that early struggle of learning to ski.  My mother was a very adventurous person with great athletic ability.  Had she grown up in Montana instead of Ohio, I am sure she would have been an avid and talented skier.   Those knickers were part of her ongoing lifetime message to me, “I am with you all the way, I want you to have fun and enjoy your life.”

I wish I could thank my mom for my wonderful knickers and for all the love she sewed into their seams.  More than that I would very much like to express my gratitude for the deeper, bigger, lifelong gift those cherished knickers have been (and will continue to be) to this middle aged woman who still feels warmly loved by a deeply caring and giving mother. She gave me a strong advantage for life.  Now, I never ski down a mountain without thanking my mom for my knickers.

“My heart is full and I thank you.”

"Graphic by Broken Box Designs, LLC."

Happy Mother's Day, Liz; we love and miss you!

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She Was The First

Her name means "life-giving"  or  "mother of all who have life".   As we launch into the celebration of moms, it is only fitting to remember the first mom ever.  Yes, we think of sin and it's far reaching consequence, the apple, the serpent, the deception and fall of man - all that happened in the garden that day.  But just for a moment, remember Momma Eve.

So much could be written and has been.  Even though her choice brought pain and agony, she was also given the promise of "you will bear children".  Out of Eve, would come mankind.

She was the first MOM.

She was the first to carry a child in her womb.  Did she even grasp what was taking place inside her?

She was the first ever to feel a life growing within her body.  The first woman to outgrow her clothes..or animal skins.

She was the first to have cravings :)  Did Adam have to run out to the local bush and grab her some strawberries in the middle of the night ?

She was the first to have questions....and I wonder, was God right there to answer them?

She was the first to have labor pains.  The first to give birth....without Lamaze classes.   What was Adam like during this time?  Did he look into her eyes to calm her...did he sing softly to her?

She was the first to do the mommy thing without any books or another mom to bring encouragement and assure her she would live through this.

But Eve still knew that God was in control of her life.  "With the HELP of the LORD, I have brought forth a man."  Genesis 4:1

She was the first to nurse.  How did that first snuggle and feed happen?

She was the first to discover she needed diapers....so literally she invented the diaper :)

She was the first to deal with sibling rivalry.

She was the first mom to lose a son.  Both sons.  The first mom to experience the pain and sorrow of her son's wrong choices.

Yet, she was also the first to experience God's promises....out of her pain and sorrow came Seth...out of Seth came Noah.

So many firsts.......

As I think about mothering and the years I have enjoyed this marvelous and incredible privilege, there were older moms who mentored me.  There were women my age where we walked the journey together.  We laughed, shared stories, sometimes cried...and always prayed for our children.  We have had those who "have gone before us" to show us how to do this mommy thing.    For me, as I am sure for many of you, the Word of God, His presence and His encouragement has been our sustaining strength and well of wisdom to draw from.

Honoring Eve....and the mothers who came after.  Each day, hopefully, up to Mother's Day, I will post a story of a mom who has made a difference in our lives.  Some will be the examples in Scripture, some will be stories you send in.  Life can be noisy and very busy about now......especially if you are a "MOM"  :)      A story a day....a mom a day to honor....send me your story.  Let's laugh, maybe cry, but always remember together.

Our Mother's Day Blog-A-Thon

Email me your stories to: DebbyJD@hotmail.com and put in subject line "MY MOM" 

You can attach a photo if you would like :)   This will be fun!  And a unique way to celebrate your mom this year.   Hurry though, ladies, we are on the countdown and there are only 11 days left before the big day!  (If you need a refresher of why we are doing this, read the post before this one :)

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A Mother's Day Blog-a-thon

One of my favorite holidays is just around the corner.  Of course, I am a MOM!  I love having my children pay attention to me :)  I enjoy not having to cook (unless my own mother visits and then I want to spoil her with a lovely meal :)   It is a time when a mom gets to enjoy being spoiled a bit!  By the time Mother's Day rolls around, spring has shown her lovely face and we begin to enjoy a bit of warm weather here in our neck of the woods.  And I am a big fan of "honoring" those who have not only given life, but have given so much of their lives and sacrificed to care for their families.

I especially am blessed by the many stories I hear of the way moms have touched a person's life.  Special moments and memories etched in our minds and hearts for eternity.  Some involve tremendous sacrifice, some as simple as a smile when needed.  Other times, a mom was there with a crucial bit of insight at just the perfect time.  And others, just the thought of a special meal or event....even a smell that invokes the feelings of never wanting to let go of that moment.

For the next three weeks, I would love to hear from YOU and your special MOM memories!  I want to dedicate the days leading up to Mother's Day (May 12th) to remembering and honoring our moms. Actually, you might not even have a memory of your mother, but there has been a mom figure in your life and you would love to share a memory.  If you would like to email me your stories (500 words or less), I will review them and then publish them here on the blog.  You can give me your first name only (or not), and I will give you credit for your piece.  I had a friend a few weeks ago send me the most amazing story of her mom who is no longer with us.  That will be one of the first ones I share, along with my own "mom story".   A new and creative way to honor your mom this Mother's Day.  All it takes is a few moments of your time to put your heart on paper (or computer page :) and send it to me.  I would love to hear, maybe shed a tear or two, and even laugh out loud as you remember your momma :)

Actually, when you email, you could attach a photo if you feel comfortable doing that also.

Email stories to   DebbyJD@hotmail.com and put in subject line "MY MOM" .  Ideally, I would like to post a story a day until Mom's Day, but it will take all of you sending me your memories to make this work.

So here we go...our very own Mother's Day Blog-a-Thon.... get those stories rolling in...

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The (Mother)Heart of God

Recently I have been trying to wrap my mind around the motherheart of God.  Those attributes of our God that seem to come from the heart of a woman, or more specifically, a mother.  As my husband and I travel and share with those who have been wounded and hurt by their fathers, we are becoming more and more aware of the wounds left by mothers.  The message of “The Fatherheart of God” is a very wide spread message of love and forgiveness.  The heart of a Father healing the hurts of a wounded man or woman, boy or girl trying to navigate their way through life not having known the love of a father.  Or perhaps having had a father, but as is so often the case in our imperfect nature, the father left scars on a heart yearning only to be loved and accepted.  It can be very difficult to understand God’s father heart for us  if we have not had any kind of a healthy role model of a father here on earth.  Yet perhaps the male image of God lends itself to grasping it a bit easier.

But how often do we hear of the concept of the motherheart of God?  Where does that fit into our understanding of God?  I am not sure how theologically this all fits in, but I do know God has many attributes that lean far more to the feminine character than to the male.  Here’s just two familiar Scriptures that point to a mother heart...

Isaiah 66:13...”As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” 

Matthew 23:37...how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”


A myriad of adjectives, verbs and phrases all leap to my mind when I think of a mother:

Mothers...bring new life into the world.
Mothers...nurture
Mothers...respond
Mothers....comfort
Mothers....protect
Mothers....feed
Mothers....hold
Mothers....play
Mothers....pray
Mothers....kiss & hug
Mothers....give
Mothers....clean
Mothers....make special
Mothers....create
Mothers....smile
Mothers....teach
Mothers....guide
Mothers....advise
Mothers....prepare
Mothers....watch over

Available, loving, tender, gentle (but firm), hopeful, faith(ful), facilitate.....I began making a list this morning.  It has played over and over in my mind leaving me no choice to but let the words wash over my soul and plant understanding and revelation in my heart of God’s mother love for us.   Yes, many of these attributes overlap with the male and father understanding of God, but some resoundingly reverberate of a mother’s touch.  And I do realize that some today would have a difficult time relating to those words describing a mother depending on the degree of the presence (or absence) of a mother in their lives.

God the Father has been impressing in my spirit and heart to seek Him for a greater understanding of His mother heart to us....men and women, boys and girls....who have been abandoned, wounded, and scarred by mothers. My husband and I have had tearful, heart-wrenching times of ministry to several who were so wounded by their mothers, it was almost unfathomable.  
In the weeks and months to come, I hope by the grace and ministry of God to my own heart, I will be able to share some revelation of His gentle and mothering love for us.


Today as I was musing on this, I came across an assortment of poems describing a mother’s love....I was amazed - in nearly all of them you could literally envision GOD in place of the MOTHER.  I’ll leave you with one to ponder God’s gentle, nurturing, guiding mother love over you today...

A Mother's Love

by Michael O. Adesanya

There are times only when a Mother's love Can understand our tears, Can soothe our disappointments And calm all our fears. There are times when only a Mother's Love Can share the joy we feel When something we've dreamed about Quite suddenly is real. There are times when only a Mother's faith Can help on life's way And inspire in us the confidence We need from day to day. For a Mother's heart and a Mother's faith And a Mother's steadfast love Were fashioned by the Angels And sent from God above...

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Fatherless and Motherless Nation

We just returned from 3 weeks in the Ukraine and Moldova. My husband spent the last week in Central Asia, without me, and that in itself is another story :)  How do you even begin to share moments that shape a heart and worldview?  This blog today won't even begin to cover what took place these last weeks, but perhaps it will tug at your heart strings and allow you to see through God's eyes the children of our world.  

We were privileged to begin our journey with a team of incredible friends attending a conference in the Ukraine on Human Trafficking.  There is so much to tell - I am overwhelmed with information and at another time will share more on this event that told me more than perhaps my heart could handle. In Ukraine alone 440,000 girls were abducted and trafficked (in sex trade and labor) since 1991.  Of those only 1% are rescued and 80% of those get retrafficked.  Generally, there is no support for these girls.  They carry a stigma and are easy prey.  Thankfully, there are those rising up and taking notice and helping these girls get into transition homes once they are rescued.  They are provided with health care (many have been beat up repeatedly), food, clothing, life skill training, job training and after an appropriate and realistic amount of time, able to resettle back into society.  The ministries helping these women need prayer and wisdom.  Again, more on that later...

The highlight for us was then driving throughout the breadth and length of the tiny nation of Moldova just south of Ukraine.  This tiny nation is the poorest of Western Europe.  In the last decade alone, 25% of the population has left to work abroad.  Our purpose was to travel with a friend who is working extensively throughout the nation amongst orphans, trafficked boys and girls and churches helping reach out to the desolate and needy.  Oleg was a wealth of experience and wisdom in showing us a broad and comprensive picture of the condition of the nation's children and what is happening there.  We visited the site of a transition home (a home where orphans leaving the orphanages about age 15 have an opportunity to live, become adjusted to life outside the orphanage in a family setting and given life skills and job training to survive.) When boys and girls are released from the orphanage, they are given some money and a few essentials and left on the street.  They have no place to go and become easy prey for human trafficking.  These transition homes set up by Christian ministries, of which there are not enough, provide a healthy setting spiritually and emotionally for the children to make the adjustment.

This home is currently being finished and will house around nine or ten young girls who are leaving the orphanage.  There is a married couple already being trained to live, minister to and train the girls. 

Alex, one of our team members who is skilled in woodworking, is showing some of the workers the idea of a bed, desk and drawer unit in one, to put in the bedrooms.  He is already at work designing them to construct here in the States and ship over to Moldova.

These women on our team all participated in our "Run Walk for Freedom" we held last July which raised $25,000 to help with the transition homes, sewing centers and orphanages in this part of the world.

The sewing centers are being set up to train young girls to sew and earn a living.  They have already been sewing T-shirts to sell and a young professional woman out of Seattle whom we are partnering with is heading up the effort of cottage industries to train and see these girls have a productive and fulfilling life providing them with the alternative to rescue them from the streets.

The first sewing center being finished and due to open soon.

These two (actually three) awesome women played a key role in this industrial sewing machine being provided for the center.  Kelly, on left, was Alisa's home economics teacher in high school and is blessing us with

her skills and ministry to these girls.

Oleg showing the machine Kelly and Alisa bought and delivered to the center.

And the privilege of Oleg, Al and Carolyn (our leaders) cutting the ribbon of the pre-opening of the sewing center for orphaned girls.  An awesome and eternal moment !

Two last areas I have to share with you....we were humbled to put it mildly to visit a transition house for boys and girls where the pastor shared his heart and vision to help the children in his town.

Young boys and girls are housed here with the hope of separating them as a facility becomes available (they are in separate dorms now).  The staff selflessly serve these young people. The pastor shared his vision of wanting to set up a chicken farm and vegetable green house to self-support the ministry and home.  He expressed not so much his need of money, but the experience of others to come and show them how to set up the chicken and vegetable farm.  They do need funds, as he doesn't have the money to pay staff, but you could feel his heart was to provide a home for boys and girls and teach them to be self-supporting with life skills. He is asking for teams to come and help.

He went on to tell us, and this was shocking, is that they have no water (indoor plumbing) in this town.  The pump at this home was broken and we helped to get him a pump (Praise God!), but the town has no water!  They have the community wells, which the people come and gather the water.  This may seem "normal" in some rural places, but this was a town.  They have 5 or 6 story apartment buildings that were built and people moved in before the plumbing was put in.  They must walk down 6 flights of stairs to the community wells to gather water, and the same routine for carrying their "waste" each day.

We are praying for a ministry to come and help get water to this town.  The basics of life......how we take what we have for granted and normal, these people live a life of just surviving while trying to help others in need.

We were able to take this food to help feed the boys and girls.

Lastly, we visited an orphanage and to say it changed us dramatically is an understatement.  

Bubble play with the children...

We took bananas and juice...

They won our hearts :)

Two sisters...

Al and Carolyn w/Anya a girl they met on their last trip to the orphanage. She remembered them :)

And this made me cry...this sweet boy did not want to let go of my husband...I think if we could have, we would have brought him home!

There was so much this trip covered but the stories were what made it all real. When you hear the statistics of a country's population diminishing because mothers AND fathers are leaving their families to find work outside it becomes real when you realize that leaves parentless children.  Just while we were there, we heard of 3 children committing suicide because their parents hadn't returned and they were alone with no hope.  Two of these were a brother and sister ten and nine years of age who jumped to their deaths.  Even as I write this, I am overwhelmed with grief over a motherless and fatherless nation.  

Lastly (again) we visited with a lady who had been trafficked...no photos and little detail, but she had been deceived by a friend to go to work in Moscow in a market. She was poor and had been promised work to help support her family.  She ended up being shipped to another part of the nation and locked up in a hospital where she was abused physically and sexually, one of over 200 girls.  Some of the women were there for prostitution and others for bearing children for organ transplants.  She gave birth to two children who were taken from her after birth.  Babies were brought back into the women to nurse them, not knowing if it was their child or not.  When she was rescued, she insisted on taking her children with her.  Not knowing for sure, but in her heart she feels she has her biological children, she brought them back to her village. She has the heart of a MOM!  Her village and family rejected her, her father the only one who accepted her back.  They felt she had been at fault.  She is now endeavoring after being captive for over 5 years, to rebuild her life and the life of her children.  She is connected with others who are helping her and her family to survive and be self-supporting.

My mother's heart and understanding of the love of the Father have been deeply affected.  Remember the ending of the "The Grinch" where his heart swells much larger nearly bursting out of his body?  That is what I feel like.  What I sensed from the Lord during this time was...."this is microcosm of what is out there....there are orphanages all over this part of the world, girls and boys being trafficked all over the world.  Children desperately in need of fathering and mothering, families, crying out and waiting to be rescued.  I was reminded of the Scripture in Acts where it talks about "being led as a sheep towards slaughter" and in the Gospels where Jesus says "anyone who offends these little ones would be better to have a millstone hung around their neck and thrown into the sea."  God's heart is broken over His little ones being rejected and abused.  He needs us to be a father and mother to the motherless and fatherless.  His heart is to reveal HIS heart and love to a generation worldwide lost and floundering without parents.

 And yes....we will go back!

Ironic in that we have only been home a few days and already heard a story of the brother of a friend in our church who had run away and then ended up being trafficked into labour here in our own state.  Praise God he was found and rescued.  It is happening in our own backyard.

This blog ended up being longer than I'd planned....I feel like reciting Hebrews 11 which is the "hall of fame" of the saints...by faith Abraham...by faith Noah...there are so many "saints" in Moldova and Ukraine who today by faith are making a difference.  What I have shared is a small portion of what God is doing and what the situation is like.  More to come from the heart in future weeks.  In case you were wondering why I am in so few pictures...

In closing, here is the most photographed girl on the trip....she was a JOY and a trooper - we all wanted to keep her, but we let her go home with momma :)

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