Sleepless

Tonight I can't sleep. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all of the orphan statistics that I encounter on a daily basis. There are an estimated 147 million to 167 million orphans in the world today, and over 1.5 million of them live here in Mexico. However, my favorite statistic is that it only takes one person to change the life of one orphan child. Tonight I had a great talk with my roommate Caroline about what it would really take to change the course of a child's life in one of the casa hogar's we serve. So I'm sitting here thinking about the 35 kids living at Del Norte and what it would take to alter the course of their lives. First and foremost, it takes Jesus in their lives. None of us can love them out of the brokenness that comes from being abandoned at a children's home and the various kinds of abuse and neglect they've experienced, but our God is big enough to heal even the most broken of hearts. I'm regularly overwhelmed by their need and my limitations, but God isn't. So in my sleeplessness I'm claiming God's promises for the orphan child and praying that God would show me what I can do to help those 35 kids. These promises from the Bible are painted on walls, doorways, and window frames throughout Del Norte to remind the kids of what God has promised them. Sometimes I need the reminder too.

-God promises to defend them

-God promises to rescue them

-God promises to deliver them

-God promises to come to them

-God promises to hear them

-God promises to not leave them

-God promises to lift them up

-God promises to lead them out

-God promises to be their father

-God promises to make them a home

-God promises to not forget them

-God promises to extend mercy to them

-God promises to execute true justice for them

-God promises to give them food and clothing

-God promises to help them

-God promises to maintain their cause