Greetings to you all,

“This summer went by so fast”, said one of my children when they heard school starts again in a week or so. Isn’t it the truth. When we’re busy with all kinds of things, days go by and then weeks before you realize, oh…school starts next week. It’s a bummer, for most kids. But this summer has been very different for the kids at the orphanage. Because you support my family with the capacity to be here for them full time, I’ve been able to impact them in a way that honestly hasn’t really been seen around here.  When most men are working through the summer and making child-care arrangements, I’ve been able to plan days of work and days of just fun with them.

What have the kids from the orphanage and I done together this summer? I’ve been able to bring them over to my house and we learn how to take care of yards, how to manage a garden, how to take care of equipment that we use. We’ve been able to sit at the table and talk about why God is so good to my family, demonstrate how my relationship with my son and daughters honors God, and how good God is to the orphans. Most importantly I’ve been able to model how to demonstrate gratefulness through care and love for our possessions and our relationships.

This summer has had some very deep heart to heart conversations with the children and other young men and with leaders within churches. The Lord has used me to share His Gospel and its application with love and grace in very difficult circumstances. I’ve explained how God expects fathers to treat their children and their attitudes towards their family. I’ve explained how God expects to be honored when entering into relationships with boys and girls. I’ve ministered to young men who are facing break-ups and broken off engagements, men addicted to drugs and pornography, men depressed with loneliness and young boys shattered because they don’t want to trust others and have broken expectations of people just to name some of the discussions. The word of God has been brought into every discussion because the truth is He created us and knows us. He designed us and knows what we need to hear from Him. The ultimate truth is that we have an enemy that hates God’s children and will do whatever and say whatever until he sees God’s work destroyed but Jesus has prevailed. That’s what’s happened to these children and others who even live with their families. We all struggle with brokenness. It’s God who raises us above our brokenness into Holiness and His power and authority.

Thank you all for your prayers,

• Pray that Doru finds work that secures $1000 a month to cover the budget deficit.
• Pray for the spirit of the children in the orphanage that God sends his Holy Spirit every day and night into their hearts and ministers in their pain.
• Pray for the workers at the orphanage that they would see their vocation as a calling from God.
• Pray that the director of the orphanage communicates to state officials the anguish they are causing the children and that they would decide with wisdom and care for the children.
• Pray that the children who have families will be allowed to be reunited with the children and that those parents would live in a God–honoring and responsible way and raise their children to do so also.
• Pray for our son Tzuriel who’s having issues eating and processing proteins.