Homes of Love

It has been a blessing and a privilege to come on this Friends and Family Trip. What a joy to see God’s work here in Southeast Asia. It has been wonderful thing to cross the ocean and the barriers of a different culture and language and find the common bond of the Spirit and have sweet communion of fellowship.  The highlight of the trip was time spent with our special HOL Extended Family son and the opportunity to lay hands on him, pray for him and bless him.  This trip has fueled my desire to pray for the children of Homes of Love, especially for the ones we bonded with.  Thank you Debbie and Gary for inviting us to join you.  May the Lord allow us to come back soon!

Before being diagnosed with cancer in 2009, my dad had made 2 trips here. While he was going through cancer surgeries, we were told that the people here where praying for him. He even got a letter from one HOL child here that told him how much she loved him and that she was praying for him and that she would come to Knoxville and care for him if she could do that.

This is my history with this Southeast Asian country and this is my first time being here. As we went into some of the homes, the children were thrilled to see my dad again in such good health. One of the HOL moms was so happy to see him and told us that the Lord had answered their prayers to heal him. She told me how she and her HOL daughters had prayed every night for my dad. A Homes of Love dad in another home took the time to praise the Lord for bringing him back here. It was humbling for me to see how many people on the other side of the earth had been praying for my family. It built my faith to see their joy. They love so well! As families they serve the Lord and it overflows from their hearts and is seen in their actions.

The Lord gives us family by blood, but He has also gives us family by the Spirit. Through Homes of Love, He has created these families in a very tangible way, not limited to the families in Southeast Asia. The members of these families not only dwell in the homes these children live in but extend over the ocean to Knoxville, Tennessee! There is love here that knows no bounds!

Leslie

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfast hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thes. 1:2-3

My heart is so blessed by being here, seeing the many children who I have prayed for over the years and whose stories I have known. It feels like a reunion to me. Sweetest of all has been the time spent with my HOL Extended Family Son, “Tim”. Watching him playing with his brothers, being in his home, seeing the love of his HOL parents, has been such a blessing. They truly are a family. The parents are doing the work of faith and labor of love.

I came on this trip with two goals, to encourage believers and to pray. But the Lord has encouraged me in He has allowed me to get a glimpse of the kingdom work being done here. I am taking home things to ponder but most of all I am going home with a greater passion for God’s work being in the lives of the children through HOL. To God be the glory!

“Me???” What a natural response of the female when anything is said of her that is lovely, anything commendable or a thing deeming her worthy to any degree. Moses in the Bible was a horrible speaker, but how minor was that detail in God’s plan for him. Our confidence is in Christ: what a most vital foundation to think of ourselves as beautiful or to think ourselves useful.

On this trip, it took me no time at all for the Lord to once again teach me my sin was vanity. A teenage girl, “my buddy” in Home of Love #4 was physically stunning to a western girl like me. But she did not like her beautiful darker skin color or her beautiful straight black hair. It was the “ Not Me?????” Creeping out of her. I could not stand for it. Oh to tell her of the beauty of Christ in her that stirred my own soul. THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE MADE HER!!!!! Yes, He made her beautiful.

I went on to tell “my buddy” of the depth I could relate to her. Truth is, Satan lies. If truth is not spoken to us over and over, we fall vulnerable. Truth may even fall from my lips, and sometimes I fail to believe it myself. It was a great moment with my sister in Christ, a fourteen-year old orphan from Southeast Asia. How exciting, I teach her and she teaches me!

My prayer for “my buddy” is that we go boldly in His name with our confidence in Christ. He is our worth. It is Him that makes new creations; lovely, useful and worthy. So our response is no longer, “I cannot gather up the courage to go to Southeast Asia when the Lords says, “Go”. We say, “Yes. Lord!” And we go boldly shining with His BEAUTIFUL light!

The six stranded travelers should be arriving soon back at the Chicago airport for their final flight into Knoxville. That was a long layover! As one of them told me this morning…”We’ll get there when God wants us to get there. He probably wanted us to have this time to debrief before we arrive home.”

Six members of our team returning home from SE Asia are stuck in Chicago. So close…but can’t get to Knoxville.

Please lift them up in prayers for something to open up to allow them to get home. It’s been a long trip and they must be exhausted!

Let’s pray them home.

I find myself in amazement of what happens when we dare to respond to God invitation to touch, see and feel the things He calls us to. I would never have believed that the place I feel the most alive, most at peace would be across the world embracing the children and the people of this country. I count it a great privilege that He would allow me to be His hands of love, and His words of encouragement and equally amazed that they would so freely and joyfully respond. Yes, I believe the invitation is into the heart of God to save, to redeem and to love. Is it about the children? Is it about my heart and the body of Christ? The answer is, “YES” to all. Great is His faithfulness… to give is to receive. His promises come alive to me in the lives of these precious children. Blessings, Michael Wood

Please be praying. We now have two teams traveling around the world.

Yesterday Sue Dee left with a team to Zimbabwe where part of their trip will be a visit with the Home of Love there. We will send along more information as we hear from them. Be praying for safety and God’s blessings in all that they attempt to do while there. Pray for good communication with the HOL parents as a way to encourage them.

We have not heard from the SE Asia team in a few days. There could be several reasons for this…they are so busy having a wonderful time visiting the HOL families that they are just not getting online or they are not in areas that have good internet connections or some combination of the two. I am guessing the later. They have a very busy schedule. Be praying for the stamina to continue on strong. Most of the team will be leaving Saturday evening (east coast time) to return home. Debbie and Gary will remain an extra week to accomplish a few more things and have a little down time before returning home.

If you have any updates from either team that we can share on this blog, send it to deb.smith@homesoflove.org.

Thanks,

Deb Smith

I received this text from Veronica this morning…

“We arrived this morning. Went to church and met our special boy. He is such a fine young man. Andy and I are so blessed to be here. Everyone is doing fine. Went out to eat at a sea side restaurant with all the children from two of the homes. Kids are precious. Then took them to an arcade. Resting now and then we will go to the church tonight for celebration.”

We are also blessed to be on this side of this trip to be praying for the team as they go through their busy days ahead. If you have a loved one on this trip and receive any stories and/or photos that we might be able to share on this blog, please send them to me at deb.smith@homesoflove.org.

Deb Smith

This morning a team of 11 people left Knoxville for SE Asia. They will have about a week there to visit homes and enjoy the country. Be praying for their travels over the next 14 hours. They will arrive around 10am Saturday EST. The team consists of:

Gary & Debbie Chesney

Michael & Jennifer Wood

Leslie Wood

Elizabeth Burns

Andy & Veronica Douglass

Janet England

Barb Linton

Clayton Wood

Keep watching here for updates and, hopefully, photos of their adventures.