I am 99% sure that this blog has not been read in many years at this point. I am 100% sure that I haven't written in it in 2 years. I know this because I saw the date of my last post. So I know it is true. I might be ready to pick this guy back up again. I might not be. I am going to try tonight. Since the last time I really kept up with this blog, a lot has changed in life. Asher is turning 6 is June, Madeline is 8 (9 in November) and Ava is going to be 12 in 4 day. T.W.E.L.V.E. That is a lot of years.

Look at these big, wonderful, adorable children!

Other Things That Have Changed:
We moved.
Madeline is very healthy. 
We got a van.
We  got rid of the van and got not a van.
I have so much grey hair now.
Sam only sometimes builds drums.
He has a new job he started in November.. he loves it <3 p="">I work at a non-prof called Michigan Abolitionist Project.. we fight human trafficking.... I don't know why, but God did that. 
We have learned a lot. We have realized we know very little.
We went through some turmoil. We learned someone we were in ministry with (overseas) was misappropriating a ton of dollars. We confronted. It didn't end well. We are still moving forward, because God has called us, and we want more then anything to be obedient to Him.. even though it's easier to just go to bed, eat cake and watch Netflix.
We are building a ministry... it is hard.
We have seen lives of people we love completely change in the past years.
We have seen friendships change and sometimes disappear. 
We have welcomed new friends into our lives.
We miss old ones.
I'm in school.

Things That Haven't changed:
We still homeschool the kids.
I still take pictures.
We all love each other
God's Faithfulness.
His Grace.
His Love.
His Provision.

So there are more things that have changed then those that haven't. That is part of life, change. The only thing that doesn't is Him. If I choose the option of picking this blog back up again, I am guessing I will be talking about change a lot.  We shall see!

Today at church, we had our typical Mothers Day Service. Our pastors wife, and 2 other women from the church congregation shared about the Proverbs 31 woman.  Here is my takeaway and my message about Mothers Day. The definition of a mother is not 'the one who does my laundry and cleans my dishes.' That is the definition of a cleaning person.  A mother loves. A mother encourages. A mother sacrifices.  A mother works hard and does the best she can to help you be the best you. A mother has hopes and dreams and desires. Many of them are for you but not all are for you. Some are for her and that is OK. A mother helps. A mother is brave. A mother is strong and a mother is selfless. A mother recognizes there are hard things, hurts and brokenness in this world and she does her best to soften that.  Mother is not just a noun. It is a verb. The act of mothering goes beyond being called "mom". Today I say Happy Mothers Day to all the women in this world who love, who advocate, who mentor, who foster. To all the women who have children, are missing children, are desiring children and are fostering children. To the women who have nursed the sick, stood up for the weak and oppressed, who have encouraged the brokenhearted, and who have fed the hungry. To the women who teach, encourage, pour into and love.... Happy Mothers Day to you. 

**UPDATE If you read my latest blog post yesterday, I am happy to announce that the children I was talking about will be going to the Life Center to live & learn.
Please pray for them, for an easy transition and for funds to support these children. ***
Today I received a message from our hosts at the orphanage we worked with in Cambodia.

As a little backstory of the Life Center orphanage. They currently have 40 children that live there and an additional 170 who go to school there. It is run by a husband and wife, Chetra and Vadna and 8 staff members.
They have made a difference in these children's lives and in turn they make a difference in Cambodia.
Well today I received a message from them. They got a call that there are 3 siblings living in a nearby province. The oldest is 10. 2 boys and a girl. They live alone. They do not have a mother or father to help them, to love them, to clothe them or to feed them. I don't know the details of where the parents are. Maybe they went to Thailand and was trapped in slavery or jail. This is a common scenario. Maybe one was sick and died. There is not much healthcare in Cambodia. Especially when you live in the provinces.
Regardless of what happened, there are 3 small kids who are alone. 3 small kids who don't have a mother or father. 3 small children who God sees and loves. 3 small children who Jesus Christ died on the cross for.
So what do we do? How do we help? The Life Center does so much, but there is always more.
So friends, will you please pray with me on the behalf of these children? Please pray for divine appointments & wisdom and finances and that the One True God will wrap His loving arms around them and be their Father. Please pray that The church will come to the rescue of theses kids and show them how much God loves them. Please pray that we can find a solution to this problem and they will have a place to call home.
Right now it hurts me to pray. It hurts to know that these babies are alone & we don't know what to do. And that they are not just one story. There are hundreds of thousands of stories exactly like this. Not just in Cambodia but around the world.
God has called us, the church, the bride of Christ to care for the orphan. He takes it seriously.
James 1:27 Says:
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

So please. Please. Please. Will you pray for these orphans. Will you lift them up. Pray for them. And pray for the people who will rise up and care for them. Because I know they are out there.


A photo from the Life Center. All of those children live there.

As we prepare for our upcoming trip, we have been praying. Which is a common practice... I mean if your just going to travel across the world to talk about Jesus, and you don't pray... well that's a little off. So when I say we have been praying... we have really been trying to get on our knees and seek God.

Not just in this, but in what God has for us in preparing for this trip and what God has for us after this trip. But God doesn't always give us those answers. The only thing He is telling us is to be brave and step out. So we are going to do that.
We are stepping out. We are being brave.
But one thing God has been speaking to us about is healing.
God wants to heal us. God longs to pour out His healing power. And He is doing it.
In the past 7 days, we are hearing stories of people being healed. They are going from a dark prognosis to discharge papers. And their families are walking in the promises that God has given us regarding HIS plan for us! Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells us For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

God has a plan. God is making that plan happen... He just NEEDS us to seek HIM with ALL OUR HEART!

And when we do.... when we seek Him and we find Him, we need to talk about it!

Revelation 12:11 tells us: "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death"

God tells us in His word that we need to share what He has done. God is calling His church to share whatever miracle it is that He did for you! Because when we do.... we will overcome! And We will not be afraid. And we will encourage the believer next to us and then they will overcome. They will not be afraid!

We are excited to see what God is going to do in the country and the people of Cambodia. We know that God has a plan and a future for them. We know that God's promises are for all of His children. So we are just thanking Him in advance for the life He is going to give Cambodia!!