Just Because...Reece's Rainbow children

Sweet Victoria and all the
other children featured
in this post are listed on
Reecesrainbow.org

Dear Readers,

     I love blogs. I love blogging and reading others' blogs. My favorite posts are the ones filled with pictures and beautiful words and miracle stories. Adoption blogs are some of my favorites. One mom whose blog I read is currently in India bringing home her precious little girl. I cried when I watched the video where she met her little girl for the first time. It was the most beautiful thing.

And as I watched, I was so overcome with a desire to go scoop a precious child out of an orphanage. I was so filled with longing to walk through the doors with my treasure just as she did. That aching desire persists. I so long to hold one of these babies in my arms...I so wish I could kiss those cheeks and make sure they know they are loved and safe forever.

But I can't. The most painful thing about orphan advocacy is that I know that even when I am old enough to adopt, I won't be bringing any of these children whose faces I've fallen in love with home. They will either have been adopted already or put in an institution or will have died alone. These sweet babies have my heart. They are each so precious to me. And yet none of them will ever be mine to hold. That hurts.

Whenever I dream about what I want to do someday, I always think about what profession I could have that would most help special needs children. I'd love to be a sign language interpreter, Deaf educator, physical/occupational therapist, pretty much anything working with people with special needs! But I really want to be a mommy. I really want to go to Russia (please, President Putin, open your country back up to us Americans!!) or Ukraine or China and bring a precious child, my precious child home to be loved forever. Someday.

But right now I'm thankful that I have a chance to be a voice for these children. As much as I long to hold them in my arms, for today I am going to love them from across the ocean. 

These are the ones who touched my heart first, and one day when I bring my own children home, God Willing, I will remember them and the gift that they gave me: an overwhelming love for the fatherless.

You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more. ~Psalm 10:14, 17-18

                                                           In you the orphan finds mercy.

Hosea 14:3 

Thank you, Lord, for loving these precious children even more than I do. I'm so thankful that my Savior will not leave these children alone...He hears their cries and has mercy and compassion upon them. What a blessing of reassurance. 

Your Blogger,

 Claire

What is Prison Ministry?

Mom, the boys, and I with the founders of SACDEM.
They are blessings, I love them so much!

 "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "'Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?'" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him.

   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, "'If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'" Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
    At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?'" "'No one, sir.'" she said. "Then neither do I condemn you,'" Jesus declared. "'Go now and leave your life of sin.'""   ~John 8:3-11

   
   I wonder what Jesus was thinking as he knelt there, writing in the dirt? This passage is beautiful to me, because I know I have come to Jesus many times, asking Him to forgive me, even though I don't deserve it. This woman deserved to be stoned. She hurt her family, hurt her husband, and disobeyed the Law. She was supposed to be judged accordingly, and killed.  But Jesus demonstrates an important point here...how many times have you judged someone harshly because of what he/she did? Do you think of people in prison and immidiately remember the mistakes you have made, acknowledging that what they did was no worse? Does your heart break for those in prison today who are there because of murder, theft, or drug running?

    
   When we were in Argentina we had the opportunity to do prison ministry. It was incredible.  Orphan ministry has always been my passion, and although the idea of prison ministry excited me, I didn't think of it the same way I think of orphan ministry- that it isn't an option. We are commanded to do it. When God tells us to take care of the orphans and widows, I can't imagine He is saying "If you feel called to, if you get around to it, go ahead and take care of the orphans." He is commanding us to do so. And I'm not going to take that lightly. I now feel the same way about prison ministry. I don't believe it's something to say "Oh, how cool that Julie does that! But, I'm just not called to it."
We are called to be like Jesus, and prison ministry seems to me to be the very embodiment of Christ.

I also believe that, as my mom would say, " a sin is a sin is a sin". My disobeying my parents this morning is no worse/better than Bob robbing that bank. We both sinned. Bob, however, must go to jail for his crime. So why don't I go to jail for mine? We all deserve to be in jail, guys. We are all ugly, sinning creatures.

So. Back to Prison Ministry.
  "Were you afraid?" is a question I've heard a few times. I wasn't at first. When we arrived and I actually realized "they're locking us in this gate, oh my goodness!" I did feel a stab of fear. But once we met the first woman that was completely gone. Actually, I forgot I was in a prison. I so thoroughly enjoyed loving on these precious people, I didn't want to leave!
  When Mason got up to preach, I wiped my eyes. The lady next to me (who had been crying during worship) leaned over and put her arm around me.
My heart, from that moment out I knew, was going to forever go out  to those in prison. An inmate in prison-- someone some would find frightening-- comforted me.
She comforted ME. Wow....I love that lady, and when I hugged her back, totally forgot that we were in prison.

The earrings the guard gave me. Please pray for her!

  When we painted the prison for those with infectious diseases, it was a similar story. The guards were precious, fixing us lunch and making sure we were comfortable. They were so grateful for us being there, and that gratitude touched my heart.

I complimented one of the guards on her earrings...and she gave them to me, as a way of saying thank you, she said. Here I am again, in a situation I would have never dreamed of...hugging this prison guard, filled with love for her, telling her I will be praying for her. And I have been, ever since. I love that guard, my friend at the prison, and the others we met so much that sometimes I just want to cry.
Neat, isn't it, how when we obey God He blesses us so abundantly? My new friendships are absolute blessings. And found in the most unlikely of places. 

 I challenge you all to serve outside of your comfort zone. You will be blessed, I promise.
Your Blogger,
Claire

We are soiled, yet saved

My dear Readers,
  My mom recently allowed me to read "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers. It is a fictionalized version of the book of Hosea, told in the story of Michael Hosea, who was told by God to marry Angel, a soiled dove. Wow- what an amazing book! I studied Hosea while I read, and it really made the words come alive.
 
   For any of you who have read neither, the book of Hosea (found in the Old Testament)  starts out with God commanding a prophet, Hosea, to marry a prostitute- Gomer. Imagine hearing that from the Lord! Hosea must have been shocked and in doubt. And yet, God had a beautiful plan. He used this to show how the people of Israel had prostituted their love out to man-made 'gods'. And through this story, we can look at ourselves as Israel- God is constantly calling out to us, and yet we don't answer. He sent His son down for us- we had Him crucified. We sell ourselves to lust, bitterness, hatred, and depression. We are so busy with our own messed up lives, we can't let God in. And yet, He says "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like a dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily." (Hosea 14:4-5)
  If we would just turn to God, He could get our lives straightened out!  And God feels that way toward Israel after this all has happened-"...They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets, but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them, they are always before me." (Hosea 7:1-2)   
 "I trained them and strengthened them, but they plot evil against me. They do not return the the Most High; they are like a faulty blow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt." (Hosea 7:15-16)

   And He still loves them. He still loves US. He says "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboliim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.  For I am God, and not man- the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath." (Hosea 11:8-9)

  That is beautiful. Every time we do something wrong, God still loves us. He will always love us, no matter how many times we return to the bed of the adulteress. And He does not love as humans love. His love is an unfailing, eternal love.
   In the book "Redeeming Love", there is another message. Every where Angel goes, she is persecuted. Everyone assumes she is still soiled, even though Michael's love, God's love, has made her clean. She feels she has to be a prostitute forever because no one is letting her change- she doesn't deserve to change.  And that has a whole blog post right there, but I'm going to go ahead and address it.  If every time someone makes a decision to change- whether it's leaving prostitution or choosing to obey your elders-, we continue to see the ugly, black marks of sin on their foreheads, then, chances are- they won't stay changed very long! Our sins are just as bad as their sins, and we should support and love them, as Jesus would. He gave us the task to love one another- so let's start living it.
   No matter how strongly opposed you are to divorce, abortion, homosexuality, etc, you can't hate every single person you know who's done that.  My mom phrases it this way- "Love the sinner, hate the sin".
 We are all sinners saved by Grace, and one of us is no better or worse than the other. So let's start striving to be more Christ-like. Let's show the world how much God loves them, and that He will come back for each little lost lamb- no matter how many times they stray. Your Blogger,
 Claire

  P.S.- Many children today are sold into the sex trade because their parents are too poor to feed them.  After reading this book, I realize the horrors of prostitution. Little girls are scarred and abused, left hurting forever.  No one should have to endure this.  Here is a link talking about children forced into prostitution around the world and ways you can help. link   Pray for these dear ones whose lives are a nightmare! And next time you want to judge someone- don't. You never know what kind of things put them in the circumstances they are today in. Instead, show them the Bright Morning Star and the love He has for them!

Loving Like Jesus

 My Dear Readers,
    I think it is too easy to feel alone in this world. Do you agree? But if we all agree that this world has too many nooks for people to fall into and be forgotten about- then why do those nooks exist?
  I don't know the answer, and really that is why I'm asking. I have an idea,though. It may be because we are all human, and none of us is perfect. Oh, how I hate my many imperfections. And we all have them. Don't trick yourself into thinking we will have perfect peace on this world. Until Jesus comes, there is no way this can happen. Because we are HUMAN. And humans sin. However, aren't humans also made in God's image? So, what does this mean? It means we strive to be like Jesus. It means every ounce of our energy goes into being like our God. It means we catch people before they walk out the door, unnoticed, and into that dark corner of aloneness. It means we don't put people down. We raise them up. There is a song by Casting Crowns that I really like. It is called "Does anybody hear her", and it is about this woman who is searching for hope. And one of my favorite lines is "Does anybody even  know she's going down today under the shadow of our steeple  with all the lost and lonely people? Searching for the HOPE that's tucked away in YOU and ME."
   We shine with the hope of Jesus. And all I want to do is share it with people. But a problem us humans have is in the next verse-
    "If judgment looms under every steeple, with lofty glances from lofty people who can't see past her scarlet letter, and we haven't even met her."  
   Maybe that is one of the reasons why there are not more Christians in the world today.Because we are choosing whose hearts we break for, and are judging the rest.  Maybe that is why too many people feel unloved and unwanted, lost in a dark corner of the world. But it's not true.
We are ALL loved by the Creator of the world, who created us as His most precious creation. So we should never feel alone. 
   If you want to show people that they ARE TRULY loved by the Wonderful Shepherd, show them your love. Love them unconditionally, and then, God will plant a seed. Then they will realize that they are loved.  And you can show them they're not alone. That is loving like Jesus.
None of us are ever alone, so keep holding on to God!  Love,
  Claire
P.S. this is labeled under 'links for mission oppurtunities'. There are not really any links in here, but I wanted this post to give you all the ministry oppurtunity to love like Jesus. To go love those who feel unloved. So, please go out and do it! I believe God has called us all to this.

No words

        Dear Readers,
  We've had an amazing weekend. Even though Mason broke his foot. Yeah - it happened again. This time, however, he's not in a cast. So...it's not as bad as last time,  as you can see from my mom's blog post. 
  We finished school early Friday and went out to lunch with Dad, and after that  we all went to swim class together. And then, (on Saturday), Mom, Cate, and I went to the fabric store. (Mom is going to be making curtains for their room.)  Would you believe we saw a man walking his pet turtle?
   And THEN, we went to church and I was blessed to have a reunion with a dear friend.
So, you can understand how for the last few days I've been feeling especially blessed. And, I'm sure you can also understand how when I read Compassion International's magazine my heart, feeling absolutely full to the brim, was broken for the families and children featured.
    925 million people worldwide are chronically hungry - almost one in 7.
        7.7 million children die each year before age 5. In 53% of these deaths, malnutrition is a factor.
                                  8oo million people do not have access to clean water.
  Wow. Isn't that absolutely heart wrenching? I hate looking at these statistics. As I typed them, I thought about turning right around and erasing them. Really, I did.
  I'm guessing that your first instinct was to probably look away, too, right? It's so easy for us (or at least it is for me) to ignore those facts. To go on with our carefree lives, turning a blind eye to the pain of the world. We want to look away, it's just too much.
     But God never gets to look away.
 I read that in a devotional book, and it's so true. God is always looking down on the people halfway across the world from us, and He loves the people who smell bad and live in garbage just as much as He loves us.
   Here's a link to a website called 'Whoarethejoneses.org'.  The first thing you see is a slot where you type in your salary. After that, a page pops up that  says "The Joneses make       
amount that is double your salary." and "If you have hamburgers, they have steak. If you have this big a tv their's is MUCH bigger." And so on, so on.
  Then you can choose to ditch the Joneses. You then read a story about how families around the world live compared to you. It was shocking. I encourage you to go to this website.

A picture (colored by Cate) for our sponsored child, Moris.

           I'm sorry if I put a damper on your amazing weekend with those terrible statistics.
But, please, don't let it discourage you. In fact, let in ENcourage you. God can free those families from poverty, and you can help. Compassion International  lets you chose a child to sponsor. They then give you the oppurtunity to, along with a monthly gift to your child (of 38 dollars), write letters and give family gifts. On their website, they share stories of how flooding  destroyed a family's home and crops. But a family gift of $300.00 gave them the supplies to build a new home. And also stories of children who thought they were worthless, until their sponsors wrote to encourage them. Jesus can use YOU as a vessel to help lower those statistics. Your Blogger,
                                              Claire

God's promise: rainbows, anyone?

Dear Readers,
 Recently we were in the store Kirkland's, when I overheard a lady talking to her daughter. She was reading a decoration for sale that said something like 'It is good to have a family. It is great to have a home. Having both is a blessing." She then turned to her daughter and said, "Hmmhmm...a blessing indeed. Some people have neither." (or something like that...I was 'eavesdropping' and didn't hear it all)
  This lady reminded me to be thankful as Thanksgiving dwells upon us. I am so blessed to have a great family, home, and all of you, my sweet Readers! Thank you for reading my long blog posts and for your encouraging comments.
  When we went on a mission trip last year to Mexico, we built a house for a family that was not  big. It was not fancy.
All it was was four small walls and a cement floor. Their restroom was a deep hole next to the house with a piece of ply wood thrown over it. Yet these people were so grateful for the gift  of a home, they thought it was the greatest thing in the world.
    I hope all of us are grateful for our homes and families, but sometimes it isn't very easy to show contentment. Thoughts of  'I wish I had this' and 'wouldn't it be great if I had that'  tend to invade our thoughts.
 God put us in our situations for a reason! And whether we are standing in the sunshine or pouring down rain, we need to be grateful for the gifts God has blessed us with. There is always a rainbow after the rain, so look for it today!
 If you are very blessed and feel pressed by God to share His love today, here are a few links. Help someone else find a Rainbow in their life!
 Maria's Big House of Hope is a home for orphans with special needs  in honor of Maria Chapman. Sadly, many orphans with special needs never get adopted. Check out this site and see that these kids are truly special.  I know my mom would love to bring one of these babies home-will you?


 World Vision helps children all over the world by providing them with Bibles, nutritious food, healthcare,  clean drinking water, and child sponsorships.


One Mission is the ministry our church uses when going on mission trips to Mexico.  See pictures of the poverty - be inspired to go on a mission trip. They're amazing!


 Compassion International is the organization we use to sponsor a little boy named Moris. The impact mere letters can make on a child's life is amazing. The letters you recieve will give you a heart of gratitude.
 
      I hope you look at  these websites and donate your prayers to the recipients of these ministries.  The children at Maria's Big House of Hope, people of Mexico and sponsor recievers  need your prayers and love most of all. Being able to help another one of God's children will be counted as one of your blessings this Thanksgiving, I'm sure.                Your Blogger,
                                                                Claire

Me and Yamulet, a sweet friend from Mexico

Carolina and I work in front of our family's old home

Two Familias