Why do we GO & visit orphans?

Why do we GO and visit orphans?

Pastor Isaac from Canaan Children's Home in Jinja, Uganda shares why it's important for teams to come and visit orphans: "These children have been through trauma's you cannot even imagine. Many have been abused and many have lost parents to disease and sickness. When they come to us, you can see the despair in their eyes. They do not smile. They do not want to talk. They have no hope. We do all that we can to care for them and help to give them hope again. But when teams come, they play with the children and the children laugh again. Playing helps the children to heal. It is so important for people to come and to keep coming to bring joy and to always be reminding the children that they matter to people and to God." 

We GO because we are called in James 1:27 and throughout scripture. Orphans and widows are at the very heart of the Father. It's not a suggestion to visit them and care for them - it is a biblical mandate.

We GO because we have seen. Because we have heard. Because we’ve witnessed the lives that have been changed as a result of our obedience to go. Children’s lives are impacted forever with a message that they are not forgotten, they have a hope, and they have a future. But most importantly they have a God that has a beautiful plan for their lives.

This is why we are going to GO. This is why your donations to for our Visiting Orphans mission trip matter so much. Every donation, no matter how large or how small, will help us to spread a message of hope and bring healing to precious children around the world in Ethiopia and Uganda.

So where are we now?

Cassie, Jordan and I have been busy figuring out how to raise funds for our mission trip. The girls have been selling candy bars at school. Brad sold a bow on Craigslist. Jordan and I stacked wood at Grandma’s house. The girls sold two of their horse “show” shirts at a consignment store. We are selling beautiful Acacia bead necklaces from Uganda. We have just recently started taking orders for our Simply Love t-shirts. Instead of the ususal Christmas gifts, we asked for money towards our mission trip. 

What are our future plans?

Continue selling necklaces and t-shirts. PRAY! Add more items on Craigslist. PRAY! Sell homemade greeting cards. PRAY! Start collecting donations for the children and the orphanages. PRAY! Get the girl’s passports. PRAY! Go to the travel clinic for immunizations. PRAY! Complete mission trip forms. PRAY!

Nothing about this journey seems easy…everything is a lot of work…the financial piece is scary and sometimes people look at you funny. But we PRESS on…we press on knowing God completes the work he starts. I have days I doubt everything…I doubt myself…I doubt our bank account and everything in between. But I’m always reminded how big GOD IS and how FAITHFUL He continues to be.

I have a hard time putting this into words I guess. It’s just something I know God is working on in my heart right now…what this will look like and I know He is going to lead us and show us what He wants from us. What an opportunity this journey is: to be faithful and open to whatever God has for us!

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How can you help?

Please PRAY for us!

If you can, buy a t-shirt or necklace.

Buy a candy bar or greeting card.

Or, if you can, donate to our mission fund. It’s easy to do. Go to visitingorphans.org and click the DONATE button on the top right corner. You can put our names on it (Cassie, Jordan or Susan Rucks) with our trip information (Ethiopia & Uganda - June 2012 WAITING LIST). That’s it. So easy to do, but oh, SO WORTH IT to us and all those children!

Again, if you do not have the funds, that’s alright. PLEASE PRAY for us! 

THANK YOU for reading this post! It means so much to us; words can just not do it justice.

GOD BLESS YOU!

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 has come and gone. The waiting and anticipation of Christmas is always so great, and within a matter of hours, it comes to a close.

We started our holiday off celebrating with Grandma Rucks, Great Grandma Beck, and Aunt Kim & Jeff, during lunchtime on Christmas Eve. Aunt Kim surprised Muluken and Tinsae with an authentic Ethiopian dish, doro wat. Both boys loved it!

After eating a lot of awesome food, we opened presents and just visited with each other. It's so nice to be able to talk, relax, and just enjoy each others' company.

Aunt Kim, Tinsae & Great Grandma Beck

Brad and I went home, fed the animals, put the new presents under the tree, and then went back to pick up the kids. We were off to Aunt Kris' & Uncle Steve's home for Christmas Eve dinner. Again, more great food and lots of laughs. 

We were packing up to get ready to head home a little after 8pm when their home phone rang. It was an emergency phone call from the county police requesting them to lock all their doors and stay in their home. There had been a shooting in the area and the man was still at large. SCARY!! We stayed in the basement until 9:30pm and decided to make our getaway. Jordan and Noah were not so sure of our decision to leave, but ran for our van. (The man was not found until the following afternoon and is now charged with first-degree attempted homicide charges for shooting his brother-in-law!)

On Sunday morning, we watched the kids open their presents from Santa and then headed to church. We thought the church would be packed, so we were there by 9:20am for 10am mass. We were the third car there! Unbelievable! There was hardly anybody at our mass. It was so weird.

 (Can you tell which kids just woke up and which ones had been up for hours!)

We then were off to Grandma Lenz's house to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. We ate, we talked, we laughed, we played games, and we opened presents. We had a great time once again with the family but were exhausted when we arrived at home Christmas evening.

 Muluken, Casey, Tinsae & Justin

Mason & Noah

 Kendra & Maddy

Erin & MaKayla

Brad, Jordan & Cassie

Brad & I

Cassie & Jordan

Jordan, Cassie & Erin

Jordan, Tinsae, Cassie & Erin

Erin, Cassie & Jordan playing a card game

Everybody was stuffed and just wanted to relax. Well, that would be everyone except Tinsae. He was HUNGRY and had to eat some food at 7pm! LOL!

We are so very blessed to have our extended family live close by and be able to celebrate Christmas with all of them.

 

Last Day...

Today is the last day of my 12-week family leave from work. I have to work for 5 days and then I get another week off for Christmas vacation. Brad is also able to take some vacation days this week, so he'll be able to help out with the rest of the Christmas shopping and wrapping, stay with the kids on Friday (who don't have school), and keep up with the laundry and cleaning.

Last week was short but really busy. I got the last of the dental appointments in, last chest x-ray for Tinsae, grooming appointment for the 4 pups, and Christmas shopping almost done.

On Friday night, Brad took the kids for a family Christmas party at Uncle Dave and Aunt Jane's house. I stayed home with another killer headache (one of many this past week) and Cassie had to play in the band for a boys basketball game. Late night for everyone!

On Saturday, we worked the eighth grade girls basketball tournament. Brad and Noah were there at 7am and Jordan and I arrived about 8:30am. We ALL got home a little after 7pm. It was a VERY LONG day, but Jordan's team took fourth place! AWESOME!!

This morning we had religious education classes, church, and then the children's program. Muluken was the cutesy darn shepherd! Jordan and Noah had to sing a song and Cassie played some Christmas songs on her saxophone. Check out the pictures!

I am praying for a great week at work and fun for Tinsae at his new babysitter's house! I'm also praying for a stress-free Christmas break with the family!

And, if you made it all the way through this long-winded post, here is a picture of my Christmas present!

 

 I hope everyone has an awesome week!