Sometimes I get discouraged in my work. I feel like anyone could do my job because the majority of it only requires basic computer skills. There are many days when I wish I could be on the field hugging on kids, encouraging struggling single mothers and needy families, helping those hurting after a natural disaster...to show the love of Christ in practical ways, which is what AMG is all about (Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel). I have felt this way for a few months now and God has been trying to get it through my head that I am right where he wants me to be.

Every Wednesday morning at AMG we have a 30 minute chapel service. We pray for our ministry and usually a speaker will come and give us a short message. Almost every speaker will say, "Thank you for what you do," or "I really appreciate each one of you," or "Every single one of your play an important role," you know encouraging words. But, I didn't listen. I was guilty of believing the lie that my work isn't important. This Wednesday our speaker's message revolved around Psalm 8:4 which says, "what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" That God would care for us enough to send his son Jesus to live among us to bring the world Salvation....who are we (man) that the creator of the Universe is mindful of us!

This got me thinking...the only way I ended up here at AMG is by the hand of God and so here I am complaining about it. I am Lame. I should be humbled that God would even want to use me to help the poor, orphans, and widows...that God is allowing me to help build His Kingdom. Yes, most of my day I sit at my desk on the phone, writing emails and letters, or entering information into a database BUT what I so easily forgot is that without someone taking care of these details almost 6,000 Children wouldn't have access to the basic human needs and the Gospel Message. "What is man that you are mindful of him..."

Something else happened that also put my head and heart back in the right place. Yesterday (the same day as Psalm 8:4 message) I received a phone call from a donor named Jill, a very sweet women of God. She sponsors a little girl named Barbara in Uganda whose mother recently passed away. Jill wanted to help out the family by finding sponsors for Barbara's siblings. After about five minutes into the conversation Jill told me that she has cancer and it is very aggressive. She has three children all under the age of 18 and she says that only by the hand of God will she survive. Jill told me she understood what Barbara and her family where going through because of her struggle with cancer. WOW. What a privilege for me to be apart of a relationship between someone in America with such compassion and love for a sweet little girl in Uganda. "What is man that you are mindful of him..."

I must ask forgiveness for being so small minded and believing the lies told to me by the world. All along God was trying to encourage me but I was stubborn. What a great God we serve, always patient with us in our stubbornness.

Psalm 8
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
For the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and hers, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Letters, Letters, Letters

This time of year the Child Sponsorship department is very busy. Children are sending their Christmas cards to their sponsors and the sponsors are sending Christmas cards and gifts to their child...and all of that must go through the AMG Home Office first. For a little over a week I have been working on getting Children's letters out to their sponsors. While at times this can be very repetitious and even boring, I remember the importance of the relationship between a child and their sponsor. It is so special to see how a relationship develops between child and sponsor, sometimes only through letters. Here is a letter from a boy living in Uganda to his sponsor.

David says,
"Greetings in the name of our good God. We are very fine at home and I think you are okay over there in Jesus name. I am in grade four and how I pray that God enables me to perform well this term.
We are nine in number in our family and I am the fourth of all. I am living with both parents. My mother is a farmer and my father too. I stay in Bukanko and I always come to school on foot.
I also love God and I pray from Bukanko. I love praise and Worship in church. I wish one day I can have a look on our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank alot for the love and care. I still pray for you. As God lives we will meet one day in Uganda.
Love from your child in Christ Jesus, stay well. Good Bye."

I am always amazed when I come across letter from a child to their sponsor in which they express so much love and gratitude for their sponsor whom they have never met. And, it is always such a joy to see the love they express for their Savior, Jesus Christ. I can think of nothing sweeter this Christmas Season then to make a difference in the life of a child eternally.

Museekee Hostel in Thailand

The Museekee Hostel is located in the most northern part of Thailand in the Chiangmai province. In this area there are villages with people mainly from the Karen tribe. These people are peaceful Thai citizens who make their living mainly by farming rice and corn, as they have done for generations. These villages have no electricity or telephones and health care is minimal. Families get their water from hand dug wells and have no plumbing facilities. Most families run out of food before harvest and must scavenge for food in the forest. Also, many young women are often taken to the large cities to be given "good" jobs by unscrupulous relatives and friends. The attractive girls end up working as bar girls or prostitutes while the others end up working 12 to 14 hour days in a sweat shop with little food or breaks.

For this reason Miss Zothansiami Ralte decided to start a boarding house for young Karen women in the last 80s. A few years later she married a Karen man and together they turned this boarding home into a more tradition childcare center where children from the surrounding villages can come and receive nutritious meals, clothing, medical care, education and learn of Christ's love. Without the Museekee Hostel most of these children would never have the opportunity to attend school.

We recently received new children from the Museekee hostel who are in need of sponsors. This is Archidphon and he is 4 years old and from the Karen tribe. He is the youngest with three older brothers and sisters. Both of his parents are farmers and only make enough for their basic needs.

This is little Sudarat and she just turned 5 years old in September. She is also the youngest with one older brother and one older sister. Her parents are also farmers only making enough to provide food and shelter for their family.

$28 a month provides a child with a good education, food, clothing, medical attention all in a loving Christian enviornment. Also, it not only helps the child but it benefits the entire family.

The Museekee Hostel Program in Thailand is a great ministry and I pray for God's protection and for his blessing over the children and staff. I ask that God would provide sponsors for the children in need and that this ministry would continue to grow in the name of Jesus Christ.

Pray for Manila

More than a month's worth of rain fell on the capital, Manila in just 24 hours flooding 80% of the city. More than 450,000 people have been made homeless. The death toll is now over 300 with another storm headed toward Manila.

The office headquarters of AMG Philippines is in Quezon City, Metro Manila, one of the hardest hit areas. AMG has 32 childcare projects in the Philippines, serving over 3,000 children. Seventeen of these centers are in Metro Manila (eight of those have been flooded). Some of the AMG centers are being used as temporary shelters for the many left with no where to go.

Please pray for the AMG staff in the Philippines as they asses the situation and do their best to help those in need. Pray for the city as this next storm is on it's way toward Manila. Pray for the families of those in the Child Sponsorship program for safety. Pray that even during this devastating time people would come to know of Christ's great Love and that God would be Glorified.

Romans 8:26-30

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Please visit the AMG International Website for more information

Guatemala

I realize that I tend to write about many of the sad stories I come across while serving in the Child Sponsorships department here at AMG. So, today I want to share a promising story of a young girl in Guatemala. Families in Guatemala have a totally different frame of mind then we have in America. Our goals are to get an education and better ourselves, and we can do that because most of us don't worry about where our next meal will come from. In Guatemala most families are just trying to survive. Sometimes that means the children must help farm the land with their parents or a family has to pick up and move to a different town in search of a better life. Thankfully the AMG Childcare Center offers hope for a better future. Recently I came across a letter from a precious little girl to her sponsor. Her name is Leah Lexa and she is not quite old enough to write but the childcare worker writes this about her:

Your sponsored child Leah Lexa greets you wishing you God's blessings, I want to tell you that "Leah is a playful girl, she likes to make jokes to her classmates but she like to study too. The parents are very thankful with you for sponsoring her. She wants to tell you that she is in good health, her father's name is Jesus and her mother's name is Rosa, she attends the church and she says that she will pray for you, your family and friends, so long."

Reading this letter brought me hope because this little girl understands the gift she has been given from her sponsor. Last year over 900 children accepted Christ as their Savior in Guatemala and my prayer is that little Miss Leah Lexa will come to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I pray that Leah Lexa will use this gift of sponsorship to complete her education and take advantage of all the opportunities presented to her so that one day she will be a successful Guatemalan citizen who can help her people and lead them to Christ.

Peru

Peru has always been a special place to me. Both of my grandparents served as missionaries there and my Dad's sister is currently a missionary in Lima, Peru. Growing up I heard exciting stories of my parents adventures in the Jungle of Peru. I have had the privilege of visiting Peru a couple of times and LOVE it there. Everything about Peru is beautiful: the scenery, the language, the people...etc. It is a joy to be able to serve the people of Peru here at AMG International.

Today a boy living in Lima, Peru caught my attention. His name is David and he lives with his mother and many siblings in a small one room shack made from cardboard. He is fourteen years old and does not have much contact with his father. Even through his many hardships the letters he writes to his sponsor are filled with hope and joy because he knows his sponsor cares for him and that there is a God who loves him. He writes "I don't know who you are or what you look like but I love you, God bless you and thank you very much for your support." In another letter he writes, "I'm very happy in the center (childcare center) because we sing songs and learn Bible stories, we always pray for our sponsors..."

I pray sweet David will reach his goals in life and grow to be a Godly man who can lead his family and community in the ways of the Lord.

India

I have been entering in new children from India-now ready for sponsorship! All of these children have in one way or another been affected by HIV/AIDS. Most of their parents have the virus or have passed away because of it. There are even a few children who have HIV/AIDS. As I was reading about a four year old boy named Daniel whose father passed away in 2007 and his mother also has HIV/AIDS I realized that she was my age! Only 23 years old-her husband has died from AIDS, she is suffering for the virus and she has a precious little boy to care for. I can not even begin to get my head around what kind of life she has. All I can do is pray...

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the love you have for Daniel and his mother. And I thank you that even though they are Hindu they came to AMG India to find refuge in their time of need. I pray that little Daniel will be sponsored and that through the sponsorship Daniel and his mother will come to see and know that there is only one God who can save them. I ask that through the AMG India workers they would come to know your deep and perfect love for both of them and that little Daniel and his mother would turn and follow You. Thank you for giving us your Grace and Mercy freely and I pray Lord Jesus that you would open Daniel and his mothers eyes to see You.

Prayer for Uganda

All morning You have been putting Uganda on my mind. Uganda is a country of beautiful people but evil is very present there. With the AIDS epidemic, witch craft, children being enslaved, and extreme proverty-so many needs that only Your power can meet. Lord, here in America our minds can not even grasp what a day in the life of a child would be like in Uganda. As I sit here and look at pictures of children from Uganda, who need sponsors, I ask that you would protect them from war and witch doctors, provide them with food, and the funds to attend school. Most importantly Jesus I ask that your presence would be among them and they would know of your great love for each and everyone of them.

Lord, today my thoughts with Jaboy, a 13 year old boy living in the Philippines. His father died last year and his mother left the family years ago leaving Jaboy alone to take care of his two younger brothers. In a letter he said, "I am stronger for my two younger brothers, I will sacrifice my own strength..."

Thank you for Jaboy's sponsor whose support is giving him the opportunity to go to school, have a daily meal, and most important hear the about the Love of Christ. I pray that you would be real to Jaboy and give him the strength he needs to take care of his brothers and work hard at his studies. I pray Jaboy and his younger brothers would feel your love for them.

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strenthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Dear God,

As I complete my first month at AMG I am so thankful to you for blessing me with this opportunity. As I look back on the last year I remember how I struggled to find my place, yet all that time you were preparing me for this very job. Lord, now that I am here please give me the skills to complete my tasks well and give me the right attitude and heart so I will glorify you. And Jesus help me to love like you do...

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.