Pray

The sun is always orange as it rises and sets here. Daily I watch it in awe. It comes up over the tips of the forest and brings an immediate change. The world lights up and the air grows warm. The voices of children praying rise in the midst of this scene and it is a tangible picture of God's new mercies every morning. He provides for these kids every single day. Often their parents don't know how it will happen, but it always happens. In a culture where the spiritual world is such a central theme, God acts much less subtly. So they have seen Him provide in crazy ways. It is such a blessing to join with this culture and see God through their eyes. Wow is He amazing and powerful! How quickly I forget when I'm comfortable at home. May we notice His power in the less dramatic. May we stay in tune and aware of what our amazing God is doing.

While I am being reminded of the unbeatable power of our God, I'm also seeing Satan wreak havoc on this land that has invited him to rule. Our friends are standing here fighting against him and teaching truth. But they need us praying with them. Every time we ask what we can do, they say, "Please pray! It is the best thing you can do!" There is so much happening in the spiritual world here. And it is amazing to see the breakthroughs. But I can't wait to see what happens as  all of you and many others join them in prayer!

So far 250 families in the tribal villages nearby have come to know Christ simply because of the children in this home. The children return to their villages for visits and they naturally testify about what God has done in their lives and other lives are changed. How incredible! From the mouths of babes the words of God are changing lives. But there is also much opposition. Many of the children here are told that if they return to their village they will be killed because of their faith. Yet these children do not let go of that faith. They truly know Jesus. They can honestly sing, "You can have all this world, just give me Jesus!" I am learning so much from them as I always do.  I love them so much. They are incredible. I can't wait to tell you all more about them. But for now I'll stop. Thank you for your prayers. They are needed!

If Churches Were Parks

"If Churches Were Parks" by Linda Cannell

If we tore down our church buildings and replaced them with parks, would the buildings be missed? If churches were parks, there would be trees and grass and places for pleasant walks, neighborhood families enjoying the changing seasons and our "old ones" sitting on benches telling children stories of their lives and faith.

In the fall, as the leaves changed from green to yellow, orange and red, we could invite our friends and neighbors to corn roasts and BBQs; invite them to laugh with us, talk with us, and enjoy the beauty of God's creation - in the park. We could leave the children something wonderful in a world gone mad.

In the winter we could roll in the snow with the neighborhood children, throw snowballs, create snow sculptures, and get to know each other again as we walked under trees heavy with hoar frost. At Christmas we could string colored lights, decorate a Christmas tree, savor the story of the nativity, and sing carols under quiet stars.

If churches were parks, we would have to forsake our games of power and our dreams of empire for pleasant walks, snow forts, corn roasts, Christmas trees, carol sings, Easter pageants, and heart-to-heart talks with those who need to know why we still believe in God. If our churches were parks, all people could gather there; they could come whenever they wished, for there would be no locked doors or security windows on our parks - no stained-glass windows to hide behind. Members of the church eating lunch in the park could strike up a conversation with a business person, university student, or shopper resting before heading home, or admire the multicolors of a group of teenagers and ask them if they are afraid of the world we have created for them, or angry because of the future we may have taken away from them.

Of course we would find pain in our parks: lonely people, unhappy children, sullen youth. We might confront those trying to buy drugs in our parks. We might fear those who would hurt us and steal from us. If our churches were parks, we would have to confront the world outside our buildings. We would have to be those who make peace and speak of redemption and hope rather than those who hide behind fortress walls and wish the world away.

When God started the world, He put His man and woman in a park. He chose to walk and talk with His creation in a park. When we were cast out of the park, we began to build towers, empires, cities, and temples. We had to acquire and possess - not only the present but the past and the future. We found ways to control our world and other persons. It's hard to do this in a park.

New Beginnings

I suppose it's about time for a new update on the blog. Most of you will have already read this update in email format. If you haven't and wish you had (aka want to be added to my email list), just let me know! More details will be given in emails, but I will be occasionally updating the blog to tell stories.

I have joined a dear friend’s ministry organization: Child Restoration International. As of September 1st, I am the Orphan Outreach Advocate. This job will take my vast passions and roll them into one neat package. I will have the privilege of traveling to many unsupported or under supported children’s homes and encouraging them. I will listen to their stories and bring these stories back to you all through this blog, Instagram, and presentations. I will be an advocate for these children and seek partners to support them. I will get to show names and faces to the many people who want to help the fatherless but don’t know how.

Another facet of my job will be to create relationships with different colleges and take students on trips to these homes when something is needed, such as a new building or a Bible class. These trips will be student-led and the goal will be to develop the students as humble, globally-conscious leaders as they come alongside the native missionaries and serve them as they need. As some of you know, I have become a big proponent of coming alongside native missionaries and supporting them in their work rather than going and doing that work, so I am especially excited about this model being used in CRI.

Finally, this organization is supportive of a dream that has been in my heart for a while now. I want to create a career development curriculum for orphanages and children’s homes. Many of the places I have been to do a wonderful job caring for their kids. However, when the kids hit 18 and move out of these homes, they often find themselves back on the streets and back in the cycle. My goal would be to create a curriculum that could be adapted to each location and taught to the local missionaries. This curriculum would help the children know their gifts and their passions and how they can develop them. The curriculum would also provide resources and training so these young adults could achieve a better future. I’ve wanted to do this but been unsure how to go about it. This ministry that I will be working with really came alongside of this dream and offered resources to make it a reality.

Essentially, this position allows me to do everything I’ve dreamt of: telling stories for those whose voices are not heard, advocating for those who need to be helped, supporting local missionaries, discipling college students, and creating a curriculum that will ideally offer more hope for the future for many kids. It is an incredible answer to prayer and a journey that I could not be more excited to have begun. 

Grief and Goodness

In my little corner of the world it seems that there has been much to grieve lately. Sad goodbyes. Hard times in the lives of those I love. Reality. It seems overwhelming at times. But then there's sweet sweet Aana. One of the reasons I grieve, yet one who brings joy still. She is now pain and suffering free with her beloved savior. And I'm missing her words of encouragement and love already, as are so many others. So, in a recent moment of sadness, I went back to see the last few things she said to me. The last long message caught my eye. It was the one where she told me the doctor had said it was time to stop chemo and start hospice. She prefaced that information with these words:

"I got some sad news yesterday, but just remember God is sovereign."

At the news of her imminent death, she pointed me back to God. Aana amazed me in so many ways, but most importantly- to the end she was a witness of the faithfulness and love of God. She suffered much and there were moments of intense pain where she didn't want to deal with it all anymore. But never once did she do anything but cling to God and share his goodness with all around her. In her pain she pointed to him. On her good days she pointed to him. In her anger and confusion she pointed to him. And in all of it she chose to trust in his love and lean on his arms.

As I watched the sun rise yesterday I was overwhelmed with how all-knowing God is and how very little I understand. I felt so small and so out of control, messy and broken, but also so amazed. I was confused and wanting to understand, but I was in awe of Him. I was frustrated and a little bit terrified, yet I found myself in a place of praise. All I could think of was Job. (To be clear I am not in the least comparing my life to Job's. Or to anyone else's for that matter. It was just what came to mind.) He so did not get what was happening. It looked bleak. Life was not unfolding as planned and the future did not look hopeful. But when God spoke, He did not speak to Job's situation. He spoke the truth of who He is. He spoke of His power and majesty. He reminded Job of who He is and how much His plans are above ours. Aana saw this. She walked with God and pointed to these truths of His no matter what was happening in her life.

Our world will always hold grief and sorrow. But God will always hold our world. So may we grieve and cry as Aana did. And in the midst of it may we praise God for his goodness as Aana did. May you and I be ever more like Aana. May we, in any circumstance, point to Him and trust in Him. For He is so so good, even in the grief. 

This Is The Church

Many of you know how much I love my church. Many of you may be tired of hearing about how much I love my church. But I continually fall in love with my church family again and again and I just can't help but share about it. Yesterday I was so deeply moved and reminded of what the Church is supposed to be. Our congregation is socioeconomically diverse. We have one member whose story is extraordinarily precious and involves the love of God's people in very bad times bringing him to the love of God. He has been an incredible member of our church family and stepped up in every way he can. He loves his church family so very well. This is the Church.

Yesterday he posted on Facebook that he desperately needed some finances to fall into place for something that was really important for his well-being and didn't know what he was going to do but was trusting God to provide. He wrote this with the purpose of asking everyone to pray- prayer for his unbelief. He asked for prayer to trust God to provide. It's been since taken down due to abundance of provision, so I don't have the exact wording; but quickly a dependable brother in the church family posted something to the extent of, "I've got the first 10%. Come on church let's do this!" He knows what the Church was made to be. Two more 10% offerings followed. The whole amount was taken care of nearly immediately. This is the Church.

There are so many things I love about my church, but one thing is the way everyone offers all that they have. Some members have enough money to get by and they offer it without a second thought. Some members have time to invest in our kids and youth and are so excited to do it. Some members rejoice to carry the cross into the service, read Scripture, set the table for Communion, collect the offering, or pray for others. We are all so unique and at my church I love to see how each person's gifting are utilized. This is who we are. Diverse people united in their love for and service of God and each other. This is the Church.

May we never forget the beauty of diversity. May we never fail to step up and say, "I offer all that I have." May we never walk past a brother or sister when they are in need and just pray that things will get better for them. May we often chose to be the answer to our prayers. May we welcome every person into our family not out of some silly place of pity, but because we NEED every person. May we never undervalue the gifts that each individual brings. May we see God in every brother and sister and praise Him for how He reveals Himself through them. May we never forget who the Church is meant to be. May we be the Church.

The Beauty of Aana

Sitting on the back patio drinking my daily cup of the most delicious Sweet Missoula Puerh Chai tea (which may suddenly disappear when I leave... just kidding Jack!), listening to dozens of different kinds of birds singing and chirping, and looking at the gorgeous mountains that I did not know Las Vegas had, my senses are happy and I am content. But why wouldn't I be? I have no pain, my vision is clear (when my contacts are in at least), I am capable of moving myself and lifting things without a struggle, and I can breathe easily. Yet my beautiful cousin Aana is as grateful and peaceful as I am and none of these are true for her. Sweet Aana has been battling cancer for a few years now and it's a very hard struggle she's having at the moment. That's where I am this weekend- sitting with her and being blessed by her beauty. I see the pain in her eyes, her face, the way she walks, the way she sits. It's impossible to miss the constant pain she is in and the loss of physical capabilities she is facing. But she does not let it rule her life. Aana is so easily distracted by the beautiful bird at the bird feeder. She so quickly rejoices at some small success of one of her young boys. She laughs so easily at her husband's jokes or the Iron Chef show that she loves. She enjoys life as much as possible in the midst of harsh pain.

The depth of her faith is so evident. Even when she's telling me about the pain and how she doesn't understand why it's happening, there's never a question about God's existence or His goodness. Maybe she can't understand His plan, but she believes in a faithful God who is doing something that she does not understand. It's easy to see how God delights in Aana and her faith. The suffering isn't leaving her, but God is constantly giving her sweet small gifts. He gives her a ride on a horse here, an immediately inclusive and caring neighbor there. He has blessed her with the most amazing family who has more than stepped up to help out. Seriously, I can't even begin to address how amazing her husband, parents, and brother are in this post. I am honored to know such loving, selfless, and supportive people and blessed to call them my family (thanks Aunt MaryBeth for that one, and all the Elsen aunts and uncles who have allowed me to grow up calling you aunt and uncle and believing your kids were my cousins). But all of this is also a testament to who Aana is. What amazes me, but does not surprise me, is the huge number of people beyond her family who rally around Aana. Anyone who has ever met Aana has loved her at once. She is so sweet, joyful, friendly, welcoming, and fun. She's given so much to so many and now they are all giving it back to her. And that is what gives her the strength to carry on. God speaks to her and gives her hope through all these people who send her little gifts, notes of encouragement, prayers, Scripture, or offer their presence or the presence of their babies. :) While the babies are clearly the favorite, all of these things remind Aana that she has an army behind her and she is not alone. She knows that if she's not being healed, it's not for lack of prayer. Rather God is doing something that she can't yet see and probably won't see on this side of heaven.

Yet what I can see here and now that Aana truly doesn't see is the impact her faith and perseverance have on those around her. Other people struggling with cancer are encouraged by her, but it goes beyond that. She is showing God's goodness in the midst of suffering to so many people. She is being a light in the darkness. She just can't see it because a light can't look at itself. She can't see how bright she shines. She just sees the darkness and pain that surrounds her physical body and thinks that's what she's offering to people. This weekend she's apologized to me for being useless too many times. What she doesn't know is she is so very helpful to me. She's teaching me so much and shining so bright. But she truly doesn't see the blessing that she is. What she needs is for the people around her to reflect that light that she offers back to her. That is why the people around her give her hope. That's what they are doing. They are showing her what they see- that she is beautiful.

I'm telling you this brief version of Aana's story because I love her and I feel that her story needs to be told by someone besides her. If you read her blog you see some of her beauty. But Aana tends to point out how she's failing at trusting God. The truth is this beautiful woman, when she can get out of bed (and truly even when she can't), is continuing to love and serve those around her to the best of her abilities. She is seeking God with all her heart and trying desperately to follow Him whatever His plan may be, however hard it may seem. She is faithful and trusting when she has every excuse not to be. And I hear Him saying, "Well done my beloved daughter, in you I delight and with you I am well pleased." 

Join Me in Taking Up the Cause of the Fatherless

Hi all. I haven't written in awhile. Mostly because my heart is so heavy for my friends in India but I'm not sure what else to say or how else to share their story. Nothing has changed, except that persecution in India is intensifying. I found out last night that the children's home that we visited on our last day in Delhi was raided and shut down. The government came in and took all the children. What will they do with them? I'm not sure even they know. They didn't want to worry about a bunch of orphans, but they are following through on their threats to shut down children's homes in Delhi and Pune where children are coming to know Christ. They are calling it forced conversion and showing that they will not allow it. Please join me in praying for these children. There are four in particular that I am worried about. They are Nepali refugee orphans, so the government will care even less about them. I had been trying to find a family for them, but now they're very unlikely to be able to leave the country except to get sent back to Nepal. Please pray for these four. They've been through so much and yet managed to maintain sweet dispositions. Only the oldest had some issues, but the parents of this children's home had dedicated much time and love to work with her and she had started to grow and became a sweet child again. Please pray for the protection of the spirits, faith, and hearts of all these children as well as physical protection. They need our prayer.

The government is finding any excuse to crack down on any children's homes where they find Christian faith. My friends who are trying to build a new building could really use help. Fortunately they are not in Pune or Delhi, but eventually the danger will reach them. If this building gets built, they will officially have a school. They will also have more suitable living quarters for their children.  These are two things that will help them, I believe. Not that anything but God can ultimately protect them, but anything that may help them is worth doing. They also are continuing to take in orphans or children whose families can't care for them and raising them up and educating them. They need the space to be able to do this. So they need money. It's that simple. They need about $2000 more to be able to start building and they'd like to begin in August. Please consider helping them.

Finally, these kids need sponsors. If they are going to eat, have clothes, be educated, and eventually be sent to school, they need support. I have four children in mind that I would like to find sponsors for. Two are the sweet little girls for whom I was a jungle gym or a chair depending on their energy level. One is an orphan and the other's family asked the home to take her because they can't provide for her. These girls are so bright and joyful! They are dreamers who love life. I have so much hope for their futures. But they will need help. Please consider helping them. The other two children that I'm asking you to help are two older boys. While I was in India I got the chance to play soccer with some of the boys. It didn't matter at all that I was horrible and so out of shape. They were shocked and over the moon about the fact that I was playing with them. It took several minutes for them to understand that I was trying to play with them, but once they did they were so excited. They were so kind and tried to communicate with me as well as they could. Any time I would get the ball away from them (a very rare occurrence, typically due to a mistake on their part and unrelated to my abilities) they'd blush and get so bashful. But they would never be mean or angry, instead they'd laugh at themselves and give me a high five. These boys are smart, athletic, kind, and excited about the future. They have huge dreams. When I asked through a translator about what they wanted to be, they answered with things like doctors, engineers, missionaries, and teachers. These boys and my two sweet little girls need help so that they can reach these dreams. Please please please consider sponsoring one of them.

As much as I wish I could it all myself, as a grad student I've found that to be rather impossible. But we are the Church. These brothers and sisters need us to be the church. These are the orphans that God calls us to care for. And they're not going to waste your support. They're going to do amazing things. Just wait and see. Please help make this possible. Please join me in taking up the cause of the fatherless and fighting for them and their futures.

Construction Project Goal

Hello all! If you recall, one of my goals when I came home from India was to help raise money for the construction of a new building so that my friends would have more (very necessary) space. Well, I am excited to be able to share a number with you so that we can begin to work towards this goal. This construction project requires $3,600. That is totally doable! I was hoping to be able to get back down there and bring a team to help build, but I don't think I can make this happen by the time they will be ready to build. However, if any of you are interested in going to help build, I am excited to help make it happen! Just let me know and I'll help you with any details that seem overwhelming. I'm happy to make it as easy as possible for you! My friends have expressed how much they love and are blessed by people coming to encourage them and work with them for any amount of time. For everyone else, I believe that this financial goal can be achieved! I'd love for anyone to join me in raising money among your family/friends/church/etc. and giving money. Contact me for information on where to send the money and who to make your check out to. I'm so excited to help my friends with this new building!

Support These Sweethearts!

I posted a picture on Facebook with the link to my blog and it is of two adorable little girls from the home I was at in India. These girls were my shadows. Though I suppose your shadow is not normally on top of you... Anytime I was on the ground anywhere near them, they were immediately on my lap. And when I stood up, I'd find that two children had come up with me. Their whole bodies would literally cling to me. I didn't have to hold them at all. Though of course I did. I wrapped them up in arms and held them as much as I could. These precious babies just want to be loved and held and cuddled. They fell asleep on top of each other on my lap while watching a movie. That's what the picture is of. They are so sweet. One of them is an orphan who is four years old. She is so full of joy and smiles and fun. The other is 6 years old and both her parents are still alive but they cannot afford to feed themselves one meal a day, let alone her and her sister. She is so sweet and kind and gentle. And they both have been brought into this wonderful home and now they have a huge family and they have each other. But they don't have much support. If you are interested in supporting either of these girls, please message me! I'd love to send you their names and their birthdays and connect you with the home so that you can help them! 

Post-India Letter

I know many of you were supporting me prayerfully (thank you!!!!!!) or are just interested in how the trip went or what's happening in my future. This is my post-India thank you to supporters for those of you who fall into these categories (or anyone else- no category necessary- that wants to read this for any reason). 

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you SO much for helping to make my trip to India possible. It was an amazing and very educational experience. It was not at all what I expected of course (what trip ever is?), but I’m very grateful for that now. As most of you know I was expecting to go to multiple children’s homes and learn how they’re run for different children in different areas. Our itinerary ended up changing because the Christians in the area of India we were supposed to go to were experiencing pretty bad persecution. We would have had to be very secretive about working with them and could not have done much. We probably would have put them in danger. So our trip changed and instead we went to one home in a village outside of Calcutta for most of our time. We visited another home briefly, but this is the one that grabbed my heart.

Joseph and Deborah have a home there where they are raising 167 children. I wrote about the history and more details of the home a couple posts earlier. A short summary is that Joseph’s dad started taking in kids in 1990 and it’s multiplied since then. They have very minimal support (one church in the States is connected with them and supports them a little bit, but not much) and it’s not an organization, it’s just a home with a mom and dad struggling to provide for their children and leaning fully on God. I wrote about what God taught me more in depth in a previous post. I also wrote about some ways people back home can support Deborah and Joseph.

I am going to be working on raising money for them here. I am also happy to talk to anyone who is interested about going back to India with me. I would like to pull together a team to go back and encourage my friends and help them start the project of building a school. Currently the children wake up, clean up their rooms, eat breakfast, and then return to their rooms for school. It would be nice for their rooms to be their rooms and for them not to have to roll up their mats and empty the rooms every morning. They also are eventually hoping to buy the land right next to theirs so they can have more space to be able to take in more kids. So I will be trying to raise money for both of these projects, as well as finding supporters for the children. If you are interested, I would love to match you up with a child. The older ones would love pen pals, and I’m sure some of the younger ones would enjoy letters too, but it’s not necessary. Also, I will be collecting clothes- dresses for girls ages 4-18 and sweatshirts and shoes for boys and girls of those ages. I hope to send several packages throughout the next few years so that their clothes are not falling apart as they were when I saw them recently. There are so many ways you can help Joseph and Deborah. If you are interested in helping in any of the ways I’ve listed, or any other way you think you can, please let me know! I’d love to make it happen!

I know this is supposed to just be a thank you for supporting me note, but it turned into more support requests for my friends! Sorry about that! I really am grateful for your support! But also this trip reminded me why I’m in school. It reminded me of the children around the world who have no families, no food, no roof over their heads, and no hope for the future. These are the lives I want to be a part of. These are the ones I want to fight for and hope for. And I’ve found some children that need to be fought for and supported. I believe these children can have hope for the future. Which is why I’m studying counseling. Specifically, it is why I am focusing on career development and trauma counseling. The career development factor is so that I can go into children’s homes and help children name and understand their giftings, skills, and passions, and then train for a future that they can be excited about. It is to break the pattern of children who turn 18, leave the home, and end up back on the streets, back in the cycle. I believe that that doesn’t have to happen and I believe that it can be changed by giving these kids hope and by encouraging their passions and giftings. The trauma part is because almost 100% of the children in these homes have rough pasts and some sort of trauma and I want to be prepared to walk through some of that with them. All this to say, there is a reason I went on this trip and the many before it and a reason I’m in seminary studying counseling. I have been reminded of what’s ahead in my life and I wanted to remind you all. You have been faithful and encouraging supporters in my life and I hope you will continue to join with me as I continue the journey. I still have at least another four semesters including this one, but I know that once that is over, I will be going to hard places and being blessed to be part of the lives of kids who need love and affirmation. Please pray with me as I try to discover how exactly this will play out and where God would have me go next. I know it will not necessarily be safe or ordinary places. So please pray that I grow in boldness and courage and faith, and that my mindset grow to be more heavenly and kingdom focused. And thank you so very much for being on this journey with me. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me soon enough. J 

Love,

Coray