Where did the Summer go?

It seems like the summer was a whirlwind!  We welcomed Sasha and Veranika on June 25th and they left on August 8th.

It was a busy time.  We had doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, and eye doctor appointments.  And more eye doctor appointments. And eye surgery.    Veranika was able to have eye surgery while she was here for her strabismus.  Let's just say its a little nerve wracking to take a child in for surgery who is not your own.  Dr Hidagi of Duke Eye Center in Winston-Salem arranged the entire thing for us.  What a blessing!  Because she had a cataract in that eye, she still does not see properly out of the eye, BUT she  have partial vision. And she doesn't have a disfigurement that will lead to teasing and bullying. 

We also had tons of fun.   We were able to go to Tweetsie in Blowing Rock and had a wonderful time, even though it was raining.  Those girls LOVE amusement rides!!

We were also able to go to Lazy 5 Ranch.  This is an exotic animal park.  The girls got to see all sorts of animals and feed them too.  We were a little disappointed that the giraffes did not come out to see us, but we still had a great time.

We swam a lot and went to the park, and we ate a TON of ice cream.  That is another favorite.

We sent them home with gifts for their families, school supplies, clothes and basic toiletries.  In a country where the average income is less than $500 per month, their needs are real.

For those of you who supported us financially - THANK YOU so much!  You helped us change these girl's lives in dramatic ways.  Just getting them out of the radiation in Belarus helps them to be healthier for the rest of their lives.  Correcting an crossed eye gives a girl new hope for her future and encourages her parents.

We are planning on hosting both girls next summer and have already starting raising support.  If you would like to help, you can make a donation here:  Nowotny ABRO Page

God's Blessings to you All!

Dave & Carolyn

Our Summer Adventure - Update #1

Many of you know that we invited our friend Sasha to return this summer for a visit from Belarus.  We also invited another girl, Veranika.

We invite these children to get them out of the radiation that still plagues Belarus from the Chernobyl Disaster in 1986.  These kids live in radiation levels much higher than would be deemed safe in the U.S.  While they are here, we have a medical screening, eye appointments, and dentist appointments. 

Sasha is 12 this year, and is still as spunky as she was last year.  She loves to play outside and she is very helpful! 

Veranika is 7 and is a sweet little thing.  Veranika has a strabismus of her right eye.  We have worked with a wonderful optometrist, Dr. Van Teague, in Winston-Salem who was able to get us in touch with Dr. Hidagi at the Duke Eye Center in Winston.  Dr. Hidagi has jumped through many hoops so that Veranika can have her eye surgically corrected.  We are praying that she will have full use of the eye when the surgery is complete.  But at the very least, her eye will not wander.  This will be a great help to her in her culture. 

In addition to all of this serious stuff, we do fun things as well.  Last Saturday, Tweetsie Part hosted our entire group for a day of fun.  We rode the train, rode amusement rides, and had a great time.  We have also been to the Tanglewood Water Park.

I have been on several short term mission trips.  This is a challenge that is in many ways the same.  Instead of being immersed in another culture, we are helping someone else who is being immersed in ours.  These girls do not speak English, so we use signs and Google translate.  We do have a translator available if we need it too.  But, most short term mission trips are for a week or two.  We have the children here for 6 weeks.  Having guests, who are not really guests, in your home for that length of time has a certain 'refining' affect on the entire family.   Especially when you have 3 teen girls involved. :)  The 'catch phrase' for the American Belarussian Relief Organization (ABRO) is "Bringing Missions Home".  And that is exactly what it feels like - a short term mission at home.

If you would like to know more about ABRO, please contact me.  I would love to tell you more.  There are many different groups and our director is always happy to talk to people about starting new ones.  Every year, there are children on the waiting list that are not able to come to the US.

This was originally posted on the Project:Re3 blog.  :)

This morning, Beth kicked off the new sermon series called “Better”. The idea that “normal” is what keeps us from being great really resonated with me. Beth made the point that normal is easy and takes no effort. We will even stay in painful situations because normal is comfortable.

This past week I did something I have never done before. I gave blood. Why have I never done this before? I am not sure. It is not like I don’t have a good example. My husband, Dave, has given regularly for years. And I understand the need. I have relatives who have needed blood due to accidents or cancer treatments. I would like to say I overcame my fear, but really, I am not afraid of needles. I’ve had multiple IVs and vials of blood taken.

I have given this a lot of thought this week and I am embarrassed to say I rationalized my decision to NOT give blood. I have low blood pressure, I’m borderline anemic, blah, blah, blah. The reasons all seem kind of silly after the fact. It was not painful. Uncomfortable, but not painful. I did not feel horrible. Maybe a little tired that evening, but not horrible. On the other hand, I felt like I had done something amazingly good and selfless when I walked out of the center. And just to keep it all in perspective (and keep me humble), I have a nephew who is donating his kidney to someone he doesn’t know.

The sermon this morning just confirmed what I had already concluded. Most of my life I have shied away from doing certain things, not because I was afraid, but just because they took me out of my comfort zone or were not “normal”.

Why do we do this? Why do we try to insulate ourselves from being in uncomfortable situations? What would life look like if we embraced that idea that somethings are just uncomfortable – yes, even painful. Because lets face it - to love is to open ourselves up to uncomfortable situations – even pain and loss.

Ask the new parent who is happy to get 3-4 hours of sleep at a time. Let’s not even talk about changing diapers. They love their child, but any parent will tell you that to be a parent is to be thrust into uncomfortable situations at the very least. And then there are those parents who have lost a child due to disease or an accident. I’ve never heard a parent say they wished they had never had the child they lost.

Here’s the thing. We should expect to be uncomfortable at times. We should not expect to live life without any pain. We should expect it because, well, not to sound trite, but this world is not our home! Especially as followers of Jesus, we should expect to be called beyond the normal or comfortable.

So, what if we really got this? What if we embraced being uncomfortable? And what if we also embraced the positives that could come out of our being uncomfortable?

• What if, instead of being afraid of a needle or being uncomfortable, we embraced the idea of saving a life?
• What if, instead of being afraid of rejection, we reached out to that lonely person?

• What if, instead of worrying that we don’t know what to say, we just went and sat with someone who was grieving?

• What if, instead of going on our yearly trip to the coast, we spent that money to go to Guatemala and love on some orphans?

• What if we opened up our home and hosted a child from Belarus for six weeks?

• What if we volunteered to make coffee at church one week a month?

• What if we just quit thinking about ourselves so much and thought about the other person more?

There are so many things I have felt prompted to do in life, but I have allowed myself to be shackled by comfort instead of walking freely in obedience. I know – that just doesn’t sound normal. We don’t think about obedience being a way to freedom. But that is what I have found.

During 2017, I want to be better at walking in obedience to the Holy Spirit instead of being shackled by my own comfort or what the world considers normal. Some of these things may be big, like hosting a child from Belarus. Others may be small, like giving blood.

What about you? Beth ended the sermon with two questions:

• What is your normal?
• What can you do today to start to change that?

I will add one more to the mix:

• Are there things you don’t do, not because you are afraid, but because you just like to be comfortable?

As always, you can listen to the entire sermon here:  Listen On Line

The Light of Christmas

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

For those who lived in a land of deep shadows-light! sunbursts of light!

Isaiah 9:2 (Msg)

Who can argue with this scripture when it refers to people walking in darkness?  Surely, in our day and age, we are a people who walk in darkness.

• There are refugees who have lived in refugee camps longer than I have lived anywhere in my adult life.  
• Slavery still exists all over the world, more that we would ever want to admit.  Statistics say that only 1-2% are ever rescued.
• There are families raising their children in areas that are full of radiation all around Chernobyl.  Never mind GMO's and bottled water.  These people are eating and drinking radioactive water and food. 
• Members of my family will have a different kind of Christmas as they remember the little boy who went to be with Jesus last Christmas Day.
• There are soldiers away from home this holiday.
• There are people fighting cancer with everything they've got.  
• There are people struggling with abuse, depression, and addictions everywhere you look.

Need I go on?  

But this scripture also says these same people have seen a great light.  I love how The Message puts it - "sunbursts of light".   That light - the light of Christmas is HOPE.  Hope is what ignites us.  It allows us, no pushes us, to have joy in the midst of darkness.  Because it is the hope of our Salvation - Jesus - that in reality keeps us moving forward.  Today may be bad, but tomorrow can be better.   This world is not all there is.  It is rightly said that we are all fatal.  Not one of us gets out of here alive.  And yet, we can have hope, because we are told of a better place.  A place where

• the lame will walk
• the blind will see
• Families will be reunited
• Horrible diseases will be no more
• No hurting souls
• No jealousy
• No greed
• No prejudice.
• No earthquakes
• No wildfires
• No drought
• No floods

This.  THIS is the HOPE of Christmas.  Baby Jesus was born to die for MY sins - for YOUR sins, so that one day we could reign on the New Earth with HIM!  Think of the most beautiful place on earth, improved 100%.  We get to go there!!   Crazy, but true.  As my pastor says, "You can't make this stuff up!"

So take heart friends.  If you are hurting, know that Jesus came to comfort you and one day all things will be made right.  If life is good, know that one day, it may not be.  But Jesus came for that day too.

Last weekend I spent the weekend, or most of it at my local IF:Gathering.  This movement of women seeks to gather, equip & unleash a generation of women.  Women who are in relationship with Christ.  This year the focus was on "what if we lived like Jesus?"  And really, isn't that what we are called to do?

 Believe in Him - yes, but James tells us that even the demons do that.

  Believe Him and what he says.  Oh yes.

But to live LIKE HIM.  Well....  That's when it gets a little harder.  Because if we live like him, that calls us out of our comfort zones, I don't care who you are.

To be compassionate enough to love the unlovable, confident enough to speak truth even when it is not politically correct, to look everyone in the eye.  Jesus - he loved even when his closest friends abandoned him.  We get insulted if someone says the wrong thing to us.

But really, it's simple.  Jesus summed it up, not in 12 steps, but in 2:
Love God
Love Others

Simple, but incredibly hard.  Because the truth is, I love me.  My comfort, my rights, my opinions.

This weekend, almost all of the material came from the gospel of John.  So today, I am starting a treasure hunt - to find out what Jesus did so that I can follow his example.  Not just reading the words Jesus said, but really looking at what He DID.  I am not sure what I'll find as dig in to the Gospel of John, but I do know it will be worth the effort.

Heavenly Milkshakes

I think it is no mistake that I am reading a book called Heaven by Randy Alcorn.  It seems the idea of heaven and heavenly rewards keeps recurring in the bible studies our small group is doing.  It seems I am not alone in not understanding the concept of heaven.   So I am preparing for our next study.

The thing is, my family is mourning the death of my great-nephew, Miles.  Miles was a special young man who suffered from Sanfilippo syndrome.   When he died on Christmas morning, it was unexpected.  He had just spent Christmas Eve with his family.  And yet his parents and the rest of us knew it was coming.  There is no cure for what ailed him.

This morning, this paragraph jumped out at me:

"Meanwhile, we on this dying Earth can relax and rejoice for our loved ones who are in the presence of Christ.  As the apostle Paul tells us, through we naturally grieve at losing loved ones, we are not "to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope"  (1 Thessalonians 4:13).  Our parting is not the end of our relationship, only an interruption.  We have not "lost" them, because we know where they are.  They are experiencing the joy of Christ's presence in a place so wonderful that Christ called it Paradise.  And one day, we're told, in a magnificent reunion, they and we "will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18)  [Heaven, Alcorn p73]

Because of Miles' many issues related to Sanfilippo he had trouble eating.  But he loved a good milkshake.  There have been many pictures posted on facebook of Miles enjoying a milkshake with his mom or dad.   Funny thing is, my brother in law, Joe, who is also in heaven, had a special love of milk shakes too.  Although their issues were different, they were both special young men.  I loved their grins and big soulful eyes and how they loved with no bounds.  I am a better person because of them.

Today, many of us who were touched by Miles' life will go enjoy a milkshake to honor his memory.  It is an awesome way to remember him.  But, I am going to take it one step farther today.  Based on what I am learning about heaven, I will imagine Miles in heaven today - unfettered from the chains of Sanfilippo - enjoying a milkshake with Joe.   And I will grieve with the hope of seeing them both again.  Maybe we'll even enjoy a heavenly milkshake together.

A Faith Like Rahab

And in the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:25-26

I love that one of the people James uses as an example for us is Rahab. Her story is told in Joshua chapter 2 and chapter 6.

Everyone in Jericho had heard the tales and “knew” about God's hand on the Israelites. That's why the spies coming into Jericho was such a big deal. They were afraid.

You've got to think that there was a price on the spies heads. It would seem logical that there would have been a reward for their capture. And then, there is this woman who makes her living selling herself. If anyone would have turned these guys in for some cash, you would think it would be Rahab right? And yet, she doesn't. You know the story - she hides the guys and then lets them escape through her window. In return, she is assured of safety for her and her family when the Israelites return. She knew the God of the Israelites was powerful, but she went one step further took action by protecting the spies and asking for mercy.

And don't fail to notice that scarlet rope by which she & her family will be saved. It's scarlet for a reason...

So – we have this woman of questionable background that acted on her beliefs. Her family was saved. She was saved. She was allowed to shelter outside the camp.

But wait – she is mentioned again in Matthew 1:1-6!

The historical record of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Aram, Aram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered King David.

Did you catch that? Rahab is the mother of Boaz! Boaz the kinsman redeemer of Ruth? What kind of mother raises a son like Boaz? Not a woman who is still living a life of prostitution. Her action of hiding the spies seems to have changed more that just where she lived. Perhaps it changed HOW she lived.

And then we see her one more time in Hebrews 11, “the Hall of faith”.

By faith Rahab the prostitute received the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed. (v11)

And as I look at the rest of Hebrews 11, I see it is full of action! Here are a few:

By faith, Noah built an ark

By faith, Abraham obeyed, went out, offered up Issac

By faith Moses was hidden, left Egypt,

By faith, the people crossed the Red Sea,

By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down

And then the writer of Hebrews goes on to say that there are many, many more. Maybe even today?

You see, if we believe there is a God, James tells us we do well. But then he says that even the demons believe and shudder (James 2:19). Just like the people in Jericho.

But there is a deeper belief – one that moves us into action, like those people reviewed in Hebrews 11,

That is why I love the community of believers I am a part of. We are a new community – barely 2 years old. And yet there is an energy that is hard to deny. Our focus is on rebuilding communities to make them livable again as outlined in Isaiah 58. It has been fascinating to watch things just take off – ministering in Mexico City. Rebuilding homes in Pine Ridge, SD. Over 100 people receiving gifts this Christmas in Pine Ridge. A Christmas bazaar to fund a mission trip to Uganda where girls will be given hygiene kits. Hundreds of girls! I could go on and on. But it is more than just community service projects. You see, we believe that by helping others to heal, we are also healed. By showing mercy and compassion, we better understand the mercy and compassion Christ has shown us. We are not perfect people with perfect pasts. We are the Rahabs of the world that know Jesus is Lord and act in obedience to HIS command to love our neighbor.

Imagination is a wonderful, God-given gift, isn’t it? I imagine that someday, we might see an actual hall of faith that stretches on and on with the names of the faithful and their acts of faith. Some we know as outlined in Hebrews 11. But even the writer of Hebrews tells us there are many more. Some we might know from biblical history - names like Paul, Peter and Stephen. But there also might be names like Hudson Taylor and Corrie ten Boom. And maybe, just maybe…

By faith,………… sponsored a child in Pine Ridge

By faith, …………… provided a hygiene kit

By faith, ………….. served at the Overflow Shelter

By faith, …...

By the way, if you would like to know more about the community I am involved in, you can check it out at http://www.projectre3.org/.