Reposted from Dec 2009,

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more that we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen!” Ephesians 3:20, 21.

“If your dream is not too big for you, it probably is not from God” Erwin McManus

Do you ever wonder who is working at those big, home improvement, we carry everything, and in fact we carry so many things you can’t find anything, stores. Most of the time when I go to pick up a few things I need a guide to make sure I don’t get lost in the jungle of stuff that is too good to pass up. Recently I went to one of the stores to get some caulking for the home improvement project I have going on. I never did find caulking but I did find a great deal on decaf coffee that was on clearance. I bought ten packages. (I am drinking some right now as I compose this.) Now I need to go back and buy a small storage container for all the coffee I brought home. I am still trying to decide if I improved my home or not with that purchase.

On my latest trip I was picking up drywall for said home improvement project when I met Matt. Meeting Matt was a small miracle in itself because most of the time when I go to the big home improvement, we carry everything, and in fact we carry so many things you can’t find anything stores, one of the other things I can never find is someone to help me load heavy things into my truck. Really! The last four times I have needed help loading things into my truck, I asked for such a person and was told someone would be available “right away” to help me. Now I am not saying such a person never showed up, I am just saying my definition of “right away” and their definition of “right away” is probably very different. So I found a way to load the things myself and went on my way. Do I sound bitter? I am not really, as proven by the fact that I keep going back. So, you can imagine my surprise, as I summed up the best way to load up 15 sheets of drywall which is package in twos weighing about 90 pounds per package and is the size of a piece of plywood, into my truck, when this young man showed up to help. His name is Matt. I know because he was wearing a name tag which made him official. I was surprised that he showed up because I didn’t even ask for help. I have stopped setting those kinds of expectations when I visit those big home improvement, we carry everything, and in fact we carry so many things you can’t find anything, stores. That way I don’t have to deal with the rejection when I ask for help and no one shows up. I know, it’s not them, it’s me. Not only did he show up but he showed up almost “right away.” I had only loaded 2 of the 15 pieces when Matt came to my assistance. As we were working together to load the remaining pieces of drywall into my truck, I asked Matt about his Christmas. He said, “It was okay.” Sensing the need to continue the conversation I asked him if he worked at the big home improvement…well you know, store or if he was a student and was working on his Christmas break. His exact words as he answered me were, “No, school didn’t work out too well for me.”

That’s when it hit me. I instantly connected with this kid because in that one statement I heard the whole story of his life and I recognized the sound of broken dreams being uttered from his lips. Who knows what dreams Matt had for his life or how they became his dreams. Did some role model or authority figure in his life dictate for him what his life should look like? Was he unfairly compared to a successful sibling or classmate? More mysteriously still; who knows how Matt’s dreams were crushed. That’s what I sensed in Matt. That somehow working at the big, home improvement, we carry everything and in fact we carry some many things you can’t find anything store was not one of Matt’s dreams. In reality it wasn’t even on the way to one of his dreams. Matt, like too many young adults I have met who have discovered that the American dream is not all that was promised, is living without a dream for his life; without a prevailing purpose from the Dream Giver.

So I stopped everything. I stopped loading drywall. I stopped asking surface questions and making small talk. I did the only thing I knew to do at that moment. I shared my story with him. I told him that I left high school early, much to my school administration’s relief. I never finished college. I worked at random jobs and learned a few trades. I told him that I am very average. But God has taken me to over 25 countries. I have spoken to hundreds of thousands of students and adults and children about how to find meaning in their life through Jesus Christ. I have lead hundreds of people to many countries around the world. I have seen and done things I would have never dreamed of doing myself. I am not that smart or imaginative. But I do know the Dream Giver. And I have accepted His dream for my life.

Wow! I loved watching his face light up as he began to realize that working in the big home improvement WCEIFWECSMTYCFA store or anything like that job, did not have to be the end of his story. I think I saw the flicker of a dream come to life in his eyes. So I talked to him about giving his life to the Dream Giver and letting God give him a dream worth pursuing with his life. It was exciting to watch, especially at this Christmas season, because that is what Christmas is about. Dreams! God sized dreams. Dreams we could never dream on our own. In fact one of the messages I hear that grieves me is that we need to dream big “for God” as if God needed more dreams. I don’t believe God needs us to dream up things for him to do in our life. We are talking about the creator of the universe here. He is not running short on ideas.

What are needed though are people who will lay aside their personal dreams and ambitions for a dream that God would birth in them. That is what the Christmas story is about. Two young people who, at first, thought their dreams were lost, but then realized they were part of a redemptive dream much bigger than they could ever have imagined. Consider Mary, who would become the mother of Jesus, the very son of God. In her wildest imaginations, would she ever have “dreamed” of becoming the woman who would bring God’s son into this world? Her dream was to marry Joseph and live happily ever after. Oops! Not big enough. Her response to the invitation to be a part of God’s dream is one we all need to learn. It can be read in Luke 1: 38. It reads, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Nuff said!
And what about Joseph? He had just finished carpenter apprenticeship classes and was looking forward to marrying his fiancé and having lots of children and building a big house in which his large family could live. Maybe he would open one of those really big, home improvement, we carry everything, and in fact we carry so many things you can’t find anything, stores near Jerusalem where there would be lots of customers and he could help lots of people. Nope! Not big enough. I am not sure what he may have been dreaming but I am sure he was not sitting around thinking to himself, “Hmmm, I wonder how I could become the surrogate father of the Son of God?” There is no way he could have never dreamed of the direction his life was about to take.

That is another thing I have learned about God’s dreams. Most of the time they don’t have lots of details, they just point us in the right direction. . I like to compare it to the difference between living by a map or a compass. We often want directions but God mostly only gives direction.

Mary gets a lot of a lot of attention at Christmas but it really is Joseph who God used to position Jesus for the life of service and sacrifice and salvation he would live. And he did it one dream at a time. You would think that something as important as the son of God being born into the world to become the saviour of all humanity and even all creation would deserve at very least a 5 or 10 year plan for Joseph. Can’t imagine not having that, can you? Nope that was not in God’s plan. He gave Joseph the one dream at a time plan. I think that may have been why God selected Joseph. Because Joseph lived on what I have been calling the “don’t need to know basis.” One dream at a time was enough for Joseph because he was confident in the dream giver. His confidence was not in a plan; his confidence was in God’s power.
Joseph’s dreams are recorded in Matthew chapters 1 and 2. I think there is a great deal to learn from them about being receptive to God’s dreams so that Jesus can be known in the world. I will let you look up the texts and read them to save room here.

Dream 1……. Matthew 1:20, 21……….Marry the girl and name the baby Jesus.
I call this the Rest in Simplicity characteristic of God’s dreams. Many people want complicated, exotic, super spiritual dreams. Whenever I hear someone describe such a dream I put a pillow over my head and try to go to sleep. God’s dreams really are simple. Look what he said to Joseph. Don’t worry! Marry the Girl! Name the Baby Jesus! How complicated is that? So simple that he could do it. That dream turned Joseph’s uncertainty into clarity. First dream accomplished. And Mary and Joseph lived in the joy of that clarity for about 2 years. God continued to confirm his promise with angel choruses and shepherds and wise men. Wow!

Dream 2……. Matthew 2:13 – 15………Run for your life and go where I tell you.
I call this the Refuge from Death characteristic of God’s dreams. For every dream that God gives there is a dream stealer waiting to crush that dream. Suddenly Joseph’s clarity becomes disparity and everything he has known is challenged. Every one of the dreams I have ever received from God has been challenged or threatened in some way. But God is faithful to protect his promise and to teach us how to turn away from those things that would steal His dream. He is faithful to fulfill the dreams his gives. It is our responsibility to be thankfully patient.

Dream 3…….Matthew 2:19 – 21..…….Take mother and son and Go back to Israel.
I call this the Return to Promise characteristic of God’s dreams. At some point in the development of God’s dream in our lives there is a moment when God lets us realize what it really was about. He begins to connect the dots and bring the big picture into focus. This is the recovery phase where Joseph begins to believe again; only this time he is more focused on the dream giver than he is the dream. That is very important in seeing God’s dreams become reality.

There is one last but very important characteristic of a God given dream that I see in Josephs life.

Dream 4…….. Matthew 2:22, 23………..Withdraw to Nazareth.
Nazareth was the place of obscurity. I call this the Resist Ambition characteristic. Nazareth was the town that God told Joseph to settle in and raise his son. For most of us that would have been the last choice. It didn’t have the best school systems or most modern infrastructure and utilities. It was on the wrong side of the tracks for most people. In fact when Jesus was introduced to someone later in his life as being from Nazareth, the person meeting Jesus replied, “Nazareth! Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” It was God’s way of positioning Joseph so that Jesus would understand what it was like to experience life from the most common and ordinary setting. God’s dreams often lead us to a place where life is very ordinary. It is a good place to learn about being faithful to God and letting him be responsible for the dream.

I have experienced all of these characteristics in my life. I especially remember when God began to connect the dots in my life and then he lead me to a very ordinary place of service to see if I would be faithful. I was a broken husband and father who knew I was called to be a servant to the body of Christ. But all my dreams concerning that call had been crushed. I was approaching middle age and wondering if it was too late for me. One day I was walking out of a meeting with some pastor friends when God gave me a very simple command which I gladly obeyed. A few years later God again spoke very directly to me about how I was to relate to a certain leader in my life. A few years after I obeyed that directive, I was hired by that same leader and put in a position that has resulted in fulfillment of dreams that really are beyond my imagination; But not beyond my sharing. And that is what I told Matt. I told him he was more than a big home improvement we carry everything, and in fact we carry so many things you can’t find anything, store helper guy. I told him he was a candidate for a God sized dream that would be greater that anything he could imagine.
The baseline message for me in all this is that God doesn’t need us to dream big dreams for him, he simply asks us to receive and respond in faith to the dreams he has for us that will fulfill his ultimate dream of making Jesus name known in all the earth. “So was fulfilled what was said…” God’s dream.
Just a thought.
Gotta go…getting tired

Here’s an exchange between a young person looking for God’s leading in life and my response.

What do you think?

I have a question for you.  I just thought about the phrase that you used to always say, “GO until you get a No!” and I was wondering how you learned that or where it came from?  I’m currently in the middle of learning how and when to step forward in things that I’ve been praying about, and honestly am sometimes a procrastinator as a result of uncertainty, so I wanted to just ask you where you learned “GO until you get a No”.  Hope you’re doing well.  Praying for you and Sandy – for God’s continual blessings as you do His work!  Love the women’s ministry God has called Sandy to!

Thanks for the note and the trust in my thoughts regarding…well anything really.  I have always appreciated your entrepreneurial spirit, so I am happy to have a go at answering your question.

I think the phrase, “GO until you get a No!” simply summarizes a kingdom attitude that Christians must understand.  We are not called here on earth to be comfortable.  Wherever there is lostness, darkness, brokenness, disease, godlessness, suffering, loneliness…we must GO.  As true worshippers we are the representation of God’s image here on the earth.  Worship is simply reflecting God accurately.  In order to accurately reflect who God is we must be light, truth, healing, and love in those places where God is not represented accurately.  So we are not called to comfort and to simply expect to be blessed.  Instead we are SENT into all the earth as agents of salt, light and love.  God blesses us with the knowledge of His Son, Jesus, and the truth of His love and salvation so that we can GO into all the world, especially those places where His image is not accurately reflected, and bless others.  Matthew 25 is about a people, who because of their heavenly citizenship, are living representations of heaven on earth.  In John 9, Jesus sent a blind man to a place called Siloam (meaning SENT) to find his vision, voice, and value.  Siloam is an acrostic for Sent Into Life On A Mission.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”  WHERE?  “On earth! “ HOW?  “As it is in heaven.”  Jesus was not as concerned about getting people to heaven as He was about getting heaven to earth through people.  When people see heaven being expressed through Christ followers on earth, they will more naturally want to go to heaven and become a part of the family of God that is called to bring heaven to earth.

This is the brief theology of what I think.  Now here is the practical way we find out how God is calling us.

After an amazing worship experience in Isaiah 6, Isaiah was compelled to beg God to send him into the world of darkness and brokenness.  So I simply ask, “After you worship, what or who do you see?  After you pray, what or who do you see?  When you read scripture, what or who do you see?  Who or what does your heart break for?”   That is the first clue to how God is calling you.

The next move is up to you.  Get involved in some course of action regarding that plan.  Make some commitments, make some mistakes, make some friends who are doing something similar.  You will discover what God has called you to as you give yourself to it.  As you learn more and understand more about how God views the issue you will change, morph and adapt.  Be a lifelong learner and student of whatever God has called you to do.

I never led a mission movement until I was hired to be the Pastor of Mission and Outreach at Northview, but I was always a champion of the underdog, the under-served, the lost, and the suffering.  I never dreamed I would be doing now what I am doing.  But it is not about my dreams though.  It is about my obedience to who God calls me to serve, which leads me to fulfill His dream for my life.  I suggest reading “Big Dreams” on my blog site: dougehrgott.wordpress.com.

As another example, Sandy never intended to start a “Women’s Ministry”.  She just has had a heart for suffering women and began pursuing a course of action to bring relief and blessing to the suffering women she saw.

Another helpful insight would be to understand how God has created you.  I suggest buying the book, “Living your Strengths” and taking the online test for which the book provides a key in the back cover.

Another phrase I used to use is, “You can only steer a car that is in motion.”  Until it is moving, you can turn the wheel all you want and it won’t make a difference.  Begin moving and God will give you direction…even if it is to turn around.

Thank you so much for answering!  I read this a couple weeks ago, but wanted to make sure I could read it again and have it sink in before I responded.  It’s so cool knowing that we ALREADY have an assignment.  I guess I spend a lot of time waiting for my assignment when He has already given it.  I just have to trust Him and move ahead.

“What does your heart break for?”  Such a good question and answer to prayer.  I think God has changed who my heart breaks for recently, and I am excited to re-answer that question.  It seems I used to know all of these things (exactly where God calls me to, when to do it…etc.)  Now it is my time to re-learn it.

Obedience.  That’s the key.  Amen.  And thanks for the link to the blog post!  I’m going to go read it!

Measurements do matter! We measure almost everything, don’t we? Or at least we should.

Once, we spent an entire day digging the foundation of a home for one of our leaders in Nicaragua. At the end of the day the new home owner decided he should measure the size of the bed he was going to use in his bedroom to see if the bedroom foundation was large enough for the bed. Oops! The next day we enlarged the foundation so that the bed would fit into the bedroom.  I immediately implemented the new “measure furniture before digging the foundation” policy. Measurements matter.

We measure time, effectiveness, responses, attendance, education, consumption, growth, progress, gains, losses, and so on. It is important to use measures in our life.

Sandy and I love to entertain in our home. (Honestly, Sandy really loves to entertain in our home and I really love to enjoy the benefits of entertaining in our home…like wonderful meals and friendship). Recently, we had to return the dining room table we had been using to its owner because, well, they wanted it back. Since the season for intense home entertaining is upon us, Sandy and I started looking for a new dining room entertainment masterpiece. Not just any dining room table will do. Entertaining and dining are a very important part of the fabric woven into the DNA of my wife’s family. And eating wonderful meals with friends is part of the fabric intricately woven into my DNA.

So, we stopped at a local furniture vendor recently to begin our quest for the ideal entertaining/dining facilitation mechanism. I am trying to make this sound complicated on purpose. It is important. So important, in fact, that I was measuring the length of the different tables by stepping off one foot in front of the other beside several of the tables in the store.   (I know what you are thinking. “If this really was important why didn’t you remember to bring a tape measure?”) That is a great question. The answer is that this quest didn’t become “important” until I had already left the house. Now, the aforementioned measuring system works fairly well when you need to know approximately how many feet something measures. It does not work as well when you want to know the dimensions of something in inches. We want a table as large as possible but not too large to fit into our dining room. Really, I think we just want the largest table we can find. Measurements matter.

The good news is we found one of the tables is at least half a foot (literally) longer than any of the others. I am fairly certain it will fit in our dining room. Sandy tells me I can always remodel the dining room if necessary. I guess if we can re-dig a foundation in Nicaragua to fit a bed we can remodel a dining room to fit a table.

As I reflect on our Fall ministry in Africa Sandy and I would like to share a few statistics as a kind of crude “one foot in front of the other” type measurement of what we did. While it is impossible to accurately measure the total spiritual and eternal impact of what God did during this season, hopefully you can get a sense of the potential for impact by seeing the statistics involved.  We would love to have you over for a meal and share with you more accurate details of what God did this fall in Africa. Please let us know if you are available. I am sure we have room for you at our new table.

Fall Stats

• We traveled to 4 Countries and facilitated 5 GO Team over a period of 6 Weeks involving 7 churches and 45 North Americans.
• We conducted 2 Pastors Conferences involving 40 Pastors who care for our orphans.
• We conducted 3 Women of Worth Conferences for orphan caregivers in Lusaka, Zambia and Limpopo, South Africa.
• Enjoyed 3 different safaris on which we viewed 1 lion, tens of giraffe, and zebra, hundreds of Cape Buffalo and baboons, thousands of antelope. Along with other amazing animals.
• We conducted over 10 Children’s Adventure Camp Sessions involving a total of 750 children.
• Participated through teaching and testimonies and what  some might call singing and dancing in 5 church services hosted by our African partners.
• Constructed 19 new wooden benches and presented them along with 10 new bicycles to the pastors in Mbembezi District of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
• Constructed, with a lot of help from our African friends, a new dwelling for a widow and 3 orphan children for whom she cares.
• Prayed hundreds of prayers for our friends in African and North America.
• Prayed an amazing prayer for the Chief of the Sepedi Tribe in South Africa .
• Gave thousands of hugs to the orphan children throughout our network in all 4 countries.
• Last but not least by any means. We facilitated the connection and meeting of those on the GO Teams with their sponsored orphan children. We also facilitated the sponsoring of several more children by those who participated on the GO Team.

Sandy and my prayer and desire for you is that you can someday soon enjoy the privilege of sponsoring a child and/or participating on a GO Team with us. You can learn more about both opportunities on our website at Horizoninternationalinc.com.

We also would like to thank you again for your faithful support through prayers and financial gifts which make it possible for us to continue doing this kingdom service.

Doug and Sandy

I am married with 4 children and 9 grandchildren. I was the outreach pastor at a local church for 8 years until December of 2008.

I am the Global Team builder for Horizon which means I am responsible for planning, mobilizing, preparing and leading teams from the US to our African centers.

We generally take our teams through 3 team building sessions designed to prepare them for working together as a team, working in another culture and understanding the difference between cultures of resources and cultures of lack.

 How did you get involved with this organization?

In 2007 I went to South Africa with Horizon International and I was stunned by the immense problem of HIV/AIDS and the immense lack of awareness and action by large portions of the church. God led my wife and me to resign my position at the church I was serving and raise our support so that I could develop the position of Global Team Builder at Horizon.

Why is this organization different from others? 

Horizon is unique for several reasons. We focus on children who have lost their parents because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These orphan children, sometimes merely months or a few years old all the way into teenage years, are some of the most vulnerable children on our planet.

We are also unique in the fact that we are a grassroots, faith based organization which seeks to work with and through the local congregations in order to resource and empower them to do the work of caring for the orphans in their communities. Most of our orphan care network is volunteers who are members of church congregations committed to helping these children have a hope for a better life. This is all carried out in a faith based environment because we don’t believe children can truly have hope without an understanding of God’s love and care.

We also are unique because we don’t believe in institutionalizing children. We do have a couple of orphanages as a last line of care and relief but we try to keep children in their community with an extended family member or even in their own home under the care of an older sibling and looked after by one of our volunteer caregivers.

Finally, we are somewhat unique in that the opportunity to go to Africa and meet the child you sponsor through Horizon is very high. In fact it is only limited by you.

My passion and calling is to help people of all ages experience the life changing difference that happens to both team member and African child when we go to Africa and spend time with them.

 How did this organization come to be?

In 2001 our founder and President, Bob Pearson, was visiting Capetown, South Africa. While he was there he performed last rites for a young man dying of AIDS who was the last remaining parent of 3 children all under the age of 5 years. He said he asked what would happen to those children but no one could provide an answer to that question.

The next day he was visiting an AIDS clinic and he was asked by a doctor there if he thought they should let the children live or die when they were born. When Bob answered that he certainly thought the babies should be allowed to live he was asked another question by the doctor. “If we let the babies live, who is going to take care of them?”

When Bob return from South Africa he immediately began working on ways to support African children whose parents had died from AIDS.

 Do you sponsor any children?

 Yes ,my wife and I sponsor 5 children in Africa. We also sponsor several children and families in Nicaragua

What specific places in South Africa are there more orphans?

It is estimated that the population of children who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS is over 15 million.

The greatest concentrations of orphan children are in sub-Sahara Africa. Countries like Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are most affected, but it is a growing concern in most of Africa and even in Southeast Asia. It is a problem that is not going away. Even if not one more person became infected with the HIV virus there will still be additional millions of children orphaned because of the people who are infected now and will die within the next few years.

 How much is the monthly pay?

I think you mean how much does it cost to sponsor a child? The simple answer is that it costs $35 per month to sponsor a child. Sponsorship provides school fees where needed, monthly food parcels, medical care when available and sometimes clothing and shoes if there is enough left. More importantly, sponsorship provides a sense of hope and connection to the outside world. It says to the lonely, suffering, hurting, child who feels forgotten, that there is still someone who cares. The impact of the small amount of money is immense. And no money goes directly to the children or their caregivers. It goes to our  field offices from where it is distributed for the basic needs it is intended to address.

There also other ways to provide hope for children. People who don’t think they can commit to $35 per month, can contribute any amount to our Children’s Reserve Fund which is used to supplement regular sponsorship dollars that sometimes don’t come in. People can also donate to our University Endowment Fund which provides scholarships for those students who graduate from high school and show desire and aptitude for a higher education.

 How long does it take to sponsor a child?

 Sponsorship is quite easy actually. It can be done online at Horizoninternationalinc.com. Once there you can click on the “Sponsor Me” button and see 10 – 12 of the children who are most desperate for a sponsor at this time. Or you can email our Child Sponsor Coordinator, Gayla, at Gayla@horizoninternationalinc.com and request information from here regarding your interest. Once you have chosen a child to sponsor and begin monthly or semi-annual or annual payments the process of contacting the child and letting them know they have an American sponsor begins. It takes about 2 – 3 months for activation and response from the child, but one of the wonderful things about sponsorship is the letters and communications that begin to be exchanged.

 Why is it specifically towards AIDS orphans?

Children who are orphaned because of AIDS are the most vulnerable. They are almost always born into extreme poverty. They do not have the normal conveniences of life such as running water or toilets or even regular meals. Compound that then with the fact that they have no adult protector/provider in their life and you can only begin to imagine the desperate conditions they face.

We believe the church has a moral and spiritual obligation to turn this genocidal pandemic into a opportunity for hope and love, one child a time. The need is immense and the cost to do nothing is to great. The leaders, doctors, educators, scientist, nurses, mothers and fathers of the next generation, kids just like you, are being sacrificed because people are either unaware or unconcerned.

 What are some of the equipment do these children get from their sponsor?

 I mentioned earlier what things are provided by the sponsorship dollars. In addition to those things, sponsors are welcome to send small packages of toys, treats, cards, letters, etc as encouragement and a reminder to the child that they are loved and remembered. Simple yet very powerful.

 Do you have any personal stories that impacted you when you went on trips?

 I have many stories. I have attached one about a teenage boy named Sello. It is a story that could be repeated millions of times. You can read about Sello in a blog entitled Advice for Sello on this site.

 Do you have a quote that emphasizes your experience in the organization or a last statement saying why people should sponsor?

 I recommend reading Isaiah chapter 58. In verse 10 we are exhorted to “spend ourselves on behalf of the hungry.”  We can all find a way to give of our self to relieve the suffering of others. Sharing what we have with others is the best way to say “Thank You!” to God for what we have been given.

Jesus said it this way, “Do for others what you would have them do for you!” Do you want an education? Help an African child get one. Do you want a chance at life? Help an African child have one. It is not that complicated!

I often tell team members that we had no choice in the matter of where we were born and what privileges we enjoy. But we do have a choice everyday about how to spend and use those privileges. The children in Africa didn’t have a choice either, but I know them and ironically I know that if they saw us suffering, they would share anything they have with us.

Moving the Marginalized to the Middle

“Please forgive us for marginalizing the marginalized!” The words poured from my mouth like water in a prayer as I kneeled on the floor of our Zambian regional coordinators home during our farewell fellowship dinner at the end of our week. It was a prayer comprised of equal parts of brokenness, desperation, frustration and inspiration. I am sure it was a thought from the Holy Spirit he has since used to inspire a new motivation in me to help people understand the desperate conditions in which so many orphans live, as well as the opportunity to make a difference for them simply by doing what Jesus did…caring for those others have forgotten.

 He moved the marginalized to the middle!

On our recent trip with a team in Zambia Sandy and I had spent the week with over 150 beautiful children from 3 of our newest Saturday Bible clubs. The clubs are called such because the kids meet regularly each Saturday to receive encouragement, food and to hear Bible stories intended to inspire them to have hope. We met with the children from these clubs Monday thru Wednesday from about 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Before we started our weekly meetings we had attended all of the Saturday morning Bible clubs in order to meet the kids and promote the weekly meetings.

During the first Bible club God laid the groundwork for this inspiration through a drama presented by the older children of the club. As the drama unfolded I knew it was the product of real life events many of them had experienced. They gave a visual presentation of what “marginalized” children face in their culture. More often than not orphaned children are the last to receive medical care, education, loving attention and other resources we give and take for granted. The word which they use to describe how they feel about themselves is “forgotten.”

The main characters of the sketch were two orphaned children which had been taken in by an aunt who had children of her own. The children played out scenes reminiscent of the classic fairy tale Cinderella where she is “marginalized” by her family, ironically, because of her need for them. The twist to this sketch, however, was that one of the marginalized children, because of an opportunity they had received through Horizon sponsorship, became a doctor who later saved the life of one of the family members. It was a moving portrayal of the gospel message and an eye-opening moment for all of us who viewed it.

I have come to easily recognize the most forgotten, those living on the margins, because they come to our meetings all week in the same tattered and dirty clothing. Often they are hungry and sick and dirty themselves. But they are also the ones who are most receptive to the lessons of love we come to share.

Several stories of the marginalized come to mind but one was indelibly pressed into my memory during our week. One day, after our ministry to the children from the Bible clubs, we were taking team members to meet their sponsored children. It is impossible to overstate the emotion that flows from both sponsor and sponsored child during these visits. It is a wonderful expression of God’s incarnational love in itself.

As the sponsor and her sponsor child were sharing a joy filled moment we became aware of another all too familiar emotion. The sponsored child’s brother was watching all the celebration from several feet away. He was trying to enjoy the meeting between his sibling and the sponsor but the ache of forgotteness was eating away at his heart. We discovered that this younger brother has been waiting for over 3 years for a sponsor. Because of his sense of forgotteness, our project coordinator told us, this brother has stopped coming to the Bible clubs and his performance in school has dropped off.

His story reminds me of the reason for my prayer and the depths of my own heartache from which it rose. I learned at our farewell fellowship dinner on our last night in Zambia that out of over 150 children who are attending our new Bible clubs, only 12 are sponsored. 138 are still waiting to be remembered!  And have been waiting.

We don’t marginalize people intentionally. We don’t go out of our way to mistreat them or leave them out of our lives. We just forget about them. Or at very least we just don’t think about them. We marginalize people because it is easy to do. But Jesus brought the marginalized to the middle by intentionally moving toward them and including them and sharing his life and his resources with them. I want to be like Jesus in that regard.

It breaks my heart to realize how children who are already living on the margins of life are marginalized further by our forgetfulness.

In Deuteronomy 10:17, 18 God describes himself by saying, “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner living among you, giving them food and clothing.”

In Psalm 68:5 God describes himself again in similar terms. “A father to the fatherless and a defender of the widows is God in his holy dwelling.”

These descriptions sound to me like God has these people in the center of his mind… in the middle of his thoughts. They are people about whom He is very concerned. They define who He is! They represent the ones with whom Jesus spent most of his time. They are not people he has pushed to the margins of his kingdom; in fact I think some day they will rule his kingdom, so I want to be close to them now.

Sandy and I are eternally grateful for your love and support. It is obvious we would not be able to do what we do without your generous gifts. But I would like to ask you to take another step. If you are not already sponsoring an orphan whose life has been radically altered by HIV/AIDS, would you please consider sponsoring a child and providing the lifeline of hope and incarnational love these precious children deserve?

Go to Horizoninternationalinc.com and find out how you can help.

Follow me on twitter @dehrgott  and Like our facebook page for more info. Horizon International

“Death is better than injustice!”  The words ricocheted in my mind as I walked briskly up the narrow road with “my new best friend.” He was describing to me the battle cry that cemented over 150,000 soldiers to each other and to the cause of overcoming a brutal dictatorial regime’ that had ruled Ethiopia for many years. I had met this bigger than life representative of a past era just a few minutes earlier. I actually had been looking for a shoeshine boy I had met the day before.

Whenever I am in a foreign country one of my favorite cross cultural customs is to go out into the streets and meet the people who comprise the culture. I don’t recommend this routine to the novice. One could end up walletless or otherwise embarrassed. I don’t carry my wallet anymore; just some cash and a card of the place where I am staying in case I get lost or am found unconscious. Only one of the former has ever happened.

The day before I met my new friend I had been having my shoes shined by a few of the local shoeshine tribe during which time I attempted to teach them how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. It was a fun but futile attempt, especially considering the fact that neither they nor I could speak very much of the other’s language. I am sure they still think the object of the game is to be the first one to imitate whatever symbol the person leading the game makes with his hand; in this case me. But they laughed, and so did I, and so did the guard who was watching all this with some interest.  By the way, I very seldom give money to street people. I usually spend my money on whatever they are selling or doing. That way I can engage them and they can feel good about what they do.

After I exhausted all attempts at teaching them the game I showed them a photo on my phone of one of our newest Horizon Ethiopia team members. This person was very well known individual who was involved in their government many years ago. He is also a national hero who was instrumental in raising up an army of soldiers who were willing to fight to the death in order to bring about a new government of justice for the people. To my surprise and to his I am sure, one of these boys suddenly lifted his shirt and showed me his belt buckle which had a photo of this former leader on it that was clearly the person  in the photo I was showing them. We were all amazed. They were amazed that I knew the man and I was amazed that this young boy, out of all the shoeshine boys in Addis Ababa, and there are many, would be wearing a belt with the picture of this man on it. Not bad for my first day on the streets.

My only regret was that I hadn’t taken a picture of the belt buckle to show the people I was with in Addis. So I resolved to go back the next day wearing my other pair of shoes. In fact I took my bosses shoes as well so all the boys would have some way to earn a little money.

When I arrived at the shoeshine “shop” which in fact was a small section of the sidewalk they were allotted to hawk their business, I started asking for Atabe, the young man who had shown me his belt buckle the day before. I pulled out my phone and was showing the photo of the former leader again trying to communicate who it was I was looking for. I didn’t notice the older gentleman sitting next to me.  He had been there when I arrived and was minding his own business while I was “communicating” with the boys. I learned that Abate for some reason had gone to school that day so he wasn’t around.

When the boys were finished shining all 3 pairs of the shoes I had with me I turned to the gentleman sitting next to me and showed him the photo of the man who had been one of the leaders of his country. I knew the boys were too young to have known him but this man nearly shouted when he saw the photo I was holding. He exclaimed, “I know that man! I fought in the war with him!”  Again, I was amazed, but I don’t really know why. Our God is an amazing God and he directs our steps. Here I was, somewhere in the streets of Addis Ababa having my shoes shined by a boy wearing a belt with a buckle of one of the former leaders and now I am sitting next to one of his faithful comrades. Amazing!

For the next 20 minutes this man explained to me how their rag tag rebel army with marginal resources was able to overcome all odds and overthrow a brutal communist regime and its leader because, as he said several times, “We were willing to die for what we believed in and our enemy wasn’t.”  In illustrating that fact he described for me how several times as battle lines were drawn the enemy would willingly surrender before one shot was fired because they knew they were fighting people who were willing to die while they didn’t even know what they were fighting for.

I couldn’t escape the parallel to the kingdom truth of his statements. “Death is better than injustice.”  He reminded me of the injustice that prevails in our world that drives little boys who should be in school out into the streets to shine shoes for pennies. He reminded me of the injustice in our world that deprives little children of the chance to have a normal childhood and a hope for their future because their parents are deceased. He reminded me that I can do something to make a difference in this world and so can you.

“We were willing to die for what we believed in…” He reminded me that our God and father so loved the world that he sent his son into the world and the son so loved the Father that he was willing and went and died for the people of the world. He reminded me that I have something to live for and something to die for.

He reminded me that being willing to die for the sake of the gospel is what will win the war to which we are called.

“If anyone wants to be my disciple he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, for whoever finds his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will find it.”        Mark 8:34, 35.

October 2, 2012

Four Letter Words

Recently, half of my life passed before my eyes. I am not sure how to describe it. I guess I could say it was bittersweet. On one hand it was a frightening experience as I reviewed much of what has come to represent my life in the last 25 years. On the other hand it was exhilarating to be able to let go of the past and look towards what lay ahead for me.

It reminded me of the last time I went surfing and almost drowned.  Really! I have been surfing for about 15 years and have had some close calls with waves and one small shark but the last one was the closest encounter with eternity I have ever had; unless of course you count the time when a high school friend of mine, in whose car I was riding, pulled in front of a pickup truck traveling about 65 miles per hour. I remember looking at the truck as it was rapidly closing in on my side of our car and feeling like time had frozen. In that small moment I thought a great deal about death… and life.

There was also a time when I was riding in a car with my cousins on a very rainy day and Rick, the driver, momentarily lost control of the car which slid off to the right side of the road. Then he overcorrected back onto the road and directly into the path of a large dump truck. I was in the passenger seat which gave me the best view of the front of the dump truck since we had started sliding sideways. I still remember looking at the front of the dump truck and feeling that same “frozen in time” feeling. I don’t remember any thoughts about life or death particularly because as soon as “time” resumed I was knocked unconscious by the impact and remained that way until being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital where I passed out again.

The surfing incident was much different from the other two close encounters. It was what surfers call a “big day” with waves about 4 to 8 feet in size. I had been in the water for about an hour and catching a few waves.  Not bad for a northern boy who only surfs 1 or 2 times per year.  I was sitting on my board waiting for the next wave and catching my breath when unexpectedly a very large wave hit me from behind and ripped my board from under me with such force that it broke the leash which tethered the board to my ankle. The leash is very important because in the event the surfer becomes separated from his board, commonly called a wipe out, something I frequently experience, the surfer can retrieve the board by pulling on the leash with his leg. Being able to retrieve one’s board while out in the ocean is a very comforting feeling, especially on a “big day.”

After recovering from the force of the rogue wave, I immediately realized there was nothing on the end of my leash. I can still remember the “frozen in time” feeling I had at that moment as I evaluated my circumstances. I was several hundred yards from shore in very large waves that were crashing about every 10 seconds.

At this point I must confess that while I love surfing I do not like swimming. Nor am I very good at it. For some reason, even though I am a runner and in fairly good shape, swimming tires me very easily. As I started swimming in I was buried (that is a very appropriate word here) under 4 – 8 feet of powerfully swirling water. I literally had to swim to the top of this barrage of water about every 10 – 15 seconds. It was exhausting.  I distinctly remember saying to myself several times as I was underwater and trying to make my way to the top again and into shore, “At least I am going to die doing something I enjoy.” I am not trying to sound melodramatic. The thought of my impending death again made me think about my life. I don’t really remember my life “passing before me” in any sequential or figurative sense. It was just a sense of, “If this is my moment to transition, have I been faithful with the life I have been given? It is a question we all need to ask regularly whether faced with life and death situations or not.

My latest foray with eternity was much less dramatic but just as impactful. Sandy and I moved from the house where we have lived for the last 20 years. When we cleaned out the attic, it seemed as if half of my life did literally pass before my eyes.

During this most recent eternal analysis I was reminded of several four letter words, but not the ones you may be thinking. The ones of which I am thinking are simple household words used every day by most of us often without regard for the eternal impact they carry in our lives. As I looked at all the things that had been accumulated in our attic over 25 plus years (much of the stuff we brought with us twenty years ago) I asked myself, “Do we really NEED all this?”

That is the first four letter word we should all examine as we inspect the attics of our lifestyle. “Need” is a very powerful paradigm from which people order their lives. Try an experiment for yourself. For one day keep track of all the times you use the word “need” in a sentence and the things to which you attach it. For example, “I need a new smart phone.” Or, “I need to go to the mall.” Or, “I need_____________“ You fill in the blank. At the end of the day ask yourself, “Do I really need all those things? In fact, we are created with about seven basic needs that must be met in order to survive. They are in no particular order; Food, water, sleep, elimination of the body, covering, touch/connection (insert God here) and sex, if you consider what the species needs to survive. All of these have variables that determine how much and how often but they comprise the basic needs of life. I don’t see smart phones or malls on this list. Think about it.

Another four letter word that impacts our life is “Want.” While needs are basic and few. Wants are unlimited and varied. You may want to go to the mall and buy a new smart phone or curling iron or a wii game or… fill in this thought with your own particular item, but your life, your future, your existence does not depend on these things. “Wants” too often, are luxuries that we somehow begin to think we cannot live without. That is a dangerous translation of values because it creates a distorted sense of reality and priorities in life. The most important things in life can be forced from the core and replaced with values that cannot sustain life.

Wants that become needs distort our view of reality.

I am reminded of how an African rainstorm revealed this difference to a team of Americans as we were working in a village called Madumelange. During the middle of one of our afternoon kid’s club VBS ministry sessions it suddenly started raining. Almost immediately the children left the activities we were conducting and started lining up at the downspouts of the building where we were working. One by one they satisfied their need for water by kneeling down and drinking from the downspout. I will never forget how I and the others were impacted and affected by this sight as we realized how we took for granted our own water consumption habits. We all need water. Some of us want it cold and conveniently and neatly packaged in 16.9 ounce plastic containers. When we translate that want into a need we begin to cross over into an unrealistic distorted view of the world. It is a view of the world that too often is more concerned about what we may lose.

What has helped me in my journey is to think about what I “have.” It is easy to translate wants into needs if we forget what we have… what God has given us. Since we are considering experiments in this blog entry, try this one. Make a list of all that you have. Really! List everything; materially, emotionally, physically, relationally and spiritually; all the good gifts the father has lavished on us because of his love.

All of us have much more than we need or deserve. So how do we end up living from the frame of reference of want or loss? One of the most beloved Psalms written begins with the thought, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.” By determining what he has, “the Lord as his shepherd,” the Psalmist declares that all his needs and wants are satisfied.

Jesus the Good Shepherd stated that our life does not consist in the things we possess but it is much more eternally oriented. Often we want what we don’t need and we need what we don’t want or realize is most important. Someone has accurately stated that “the most important things in life are not things.”

The final four letter word is the litmus test of whether we truly understand the principles I have mentioned. If I truly understand the difference between needs and wants and have an accurate assessment of what I have, I am able to give; freely; liberally; without fear of loss.

Philippians 2:1-5 invites us to take an inventory of what we have and, in response, live our lives with the attitude of Christ Jesus who gave all as a result of understanding the relationship he had with his father.

Jesus instructed those who wanted to obey him and imitate him to, “give freely as they had received.” Our giving often is a manifestation of our understanding of how and what we have received. If we have a stingy view of God, thinking we don’t have enough for ourselves, we can become stingy, possessive, self oriented and unsacrificial in our giving. When we have a “needs” oriented view of life we tend to try to gain more and keep what we have been given instead of being satisfied with what we have. This view of life causes us to think, “Before I do something…anything, I need more education, time, money, resources, space, assurance…whatever.

I think the most insidious form of this distortion is to think, as too many people propose and promote for some reason, that we need more of God.

“He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32

When we understand who God is and what he has given us we begin to understand life from a “supply” oriented view and are able to give away what we have and we discover and keep what we lose for Jesus sake.

Wow! That was a mouth full of four letters words. Hope they didn’t offend anyone.

Stay well and

Dance with God.

Call Me Irresponsible!

I was shocked when I heard the word “irresponsible” used to describe what Sandy and I do. One of the female high school students we led on a team to South Africa was recounting the responses she had received from some of the people to whom she had sent letters asking for their support.

She told us they had written back and told her they could not support an organization that would take teenagers to a place like Africa because they thought it was “irresponsible.” I guess I can understand their

apprehensions. Africa is many miles away comprised of many different cultures and countries; some of which are friendlier than others. It is a continent with which countless wars and uprisings and famines and plagues are associated.  So yes, at first glance I guess one might think going there would be a little risky. Oh yeah, there are a few wild creatures with which we occasionally share space.

Obviously though, this young ladies friends didn’t know that we spend many hours preparing our teams for the “differences” in culture and climate and creatures we might encounter. Or that we have a world class team of indigenous regional coordinators and project coordinators who work on the African side to insure our experience is as safe and productive as possible. We even furnish insurance for every GO Team member just in case…

So, there are many other words I might use to describe what we do. Adventurous; fulfilling; enlightening; liberating; faith-building; life changing. Of all these, we are guilty. But irresponsible; I hope not!

Fortunately, she was not swayed by the unfounded fears of her         friends and she accompanied Sandy and I on what was actually her second trip to Africa.

I share this story because it illustrates one of the mindsets we have to overcome in order to help God’s people carry out His command to “GO into all the world and make disciples of all nations.”  Other forms of this mindset are manifest in statements that I often hear like, “We have enough need right here.” Yes we do but does that mean we should not GO THERE also?

I guess if I am irresponsible then so is Jesus. In Mark chapter 5 Jesus led a group of mostly young men on an out of the way journey through a raging storm to meet with a demon possessed man who was literally out of his mind and potentially dangerous. People had not only given up on him they even tried to dispose of him by chaining him up because he was so dangerous to himself and a burden to others. But he continually broke the chains and wandered around the countryside.

However, Jesus went out of his way, putting himself and his team at great risk, to bring a transformational message of hope and healing to this man.

Jesus’ disciples were never the same after that encounter and neither was the man to whom Jesus showed such love. In fact, Jesus commissioned that man on the spot to GO home and tell others, “how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.”

I love taking young adults and college students and high school students to the places on this planet where many others are afraid or unwilling to GO. I think it may be one of the most responsible things I do.

The young lady of whom I wrote earlier has been changed forever for good by God because she was willing to GO and see what God is doing in the lives of children who have been orphaned by the disease of HIV. She participated on a team of other high school students who gave talks based on the life of Joseph during a retreat for other African teenage orphans sponsored by Horizon. Her presence inspired those attending the retreat with hope for a future. Their lives were changed by her message and her presence.

Sandy and I just returned from leading a team of 10 college students to the cities of Ft Portal and Jinga in Uganda. During the two weeks we were leading this team we conducted a retreat for 30 orphan teenagers and a Bible school for 45 children of all ages at our home for HIV positive orphans in Jinga.

We literally flew over 20,000 miles, drove hundreds more miles, enjoyed different foods, endured some short nights on different beds in rooms without air conditioning.  I never heard anyone complain or mention how irresponsible we were being.

I did hear repeatedly though from all of the students how their lives were being impacted and transformed.

There is something very powerful about American students and young people making the sacrifice and taking the risk and going out of their way to bring a message of hope and love to the children of Africa.

Each time it happens, each time any team journeys to Africa to impact the world of suffering and marginalized children, I always sense I am with Jesus in a new and amazing way. I can almost sense what it must have been like for the disciples as they watched Jesus care for a man who represented an overwhelming problem. Whatever the situation; He inspired hope. That is what I want to do because that is what Jesus did. That is what I want to do because there are people waiting for someone to come.

I know those young men and women will go home and tell their families what God has done and how great are his mercies.

God bless you.

For more information about participating on a Horizon GO Team to Africa go to Horizoninternationalinc.com/goteams.

If you would like to support Sandy and me with your financial contributions you can go to horizoninternationalinc.com and click on DONATE.

I returned yesterday from a three week GO Team stint in South Africa with 2 amazing teams comprised mostly of high school and college students.

One of the team members texted me this morning and expressed the following; “Gets harder each time I come back to work. Just doesn’t seem like where I am supposed to be.”

I replied. “I understand how you feel. We just have to bring heaven where ever we are; but it seems a lot easier where heaven is more appreciated.”

I am reminded of the portion of the prayer Jesus instructed his disciples to pray that says,

“Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

Sometimes I think we are so focused on going to and getting people to heaven we forget that our first responsibility is to bring heaven to earth via our lives and resources. I am convinced that as we bring heaven to earth more people will want to go there and worship forever the king of heaven… Jesus.

During the first portion of our GO Team stint we were privileged to bring heaven to the village of Ramaroka. We returned to the village of Ramaroka to participate in the launch of a new church there and to conduct a VBS children’s ministry for the children there. Last year we conducted the first children’s ministry in this village and discovered that there were few if any active New Testament churches in the area. Since that time a pastor with whom Horizon partners has been holding meetings and discipling people in this village. We participated in the first official meeting of the church at large in this village. This new faith community will continue to support and educate and disciple our sponsored children in Ramaroka.

During the week that followed we engaged over 150 children with the story of Joseph and how he is like Jesus who was to come. We sang and danced and played and made crafts and re-enacted Joseph’s life. And in the end, just like Josephs brothers bowed down to him as their leader; we all bowed down, literally, to Jesus as the leader of our lives.

We also helped build a new home for a widow who is raising 2 children. She had been living in a wooden shack. The pastor of the new church asked if she would be willing to move to a new home on a different piece of ground so the church could use her land for a new building. She agreed as long as they would build her new house with brick. Everyone agreed and we spent two days moving the brick (which she had previously made from the mud on her land) and digging the foundation. The construction process took another two days. The house was only 12 feet by 10 feet… but for her, heaven had come to earth in the form of her new brick home.

After Ramaroka we traveled to Capetown for another high impact week of time with the children sponsored by Horizon in the township of Langa. Again we experienced a little bit of heaven on earth as we spent time leading the children in some of their favorite American/African songs complete with goofy motions sans yours truly.

At the end of the week one of the older African girls gave a scripture verse to one of our team members and asked them to read it to me. I am a little embarrassed even to repeat it because I am certainly not the one to whom the verse is referring but it gives an idea of how important our visits are to the children of Langa and other Horizon ministry centers.

It is like bringing heaven to earth.               

The verse is Isaiah 46:9 -11, which says,

“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.”

Our last session with the children was one of my favorite ever. Our team lined up across the front of the auditorium in which we were meeting. Then the children, young and old, lined up to hug us as we prayed a blessing over them….

Heaven is definitely appreciated in Langa Township.

We finished the week with some amazing site seeing, including one of the most spectacular arrays of rainbows I have everwitnessed. It was as if God was placing his heavenly seal of approval on the work we had done in his name on the earth that week.

Continue to pray for two of our team members, Nick and Ross, who are serving as summer intern volunteers and will be leaving South Africa for Uganda soon. Sandy and I are leaving in August with another team of 10 students and will connect with Nick and Ross in Uganda.

Thank you all for your contributions of faith, hope and love and prayer and finances which all make it possible for these kinds of heavenly interruptions here on earth.

Dance with God

Doug and Sandy

April 14, 2012

Hello everyone,

As Sandy and I return home after a 5 week stint in 3 African countries (3 weeks for Sandy), my thoughts return to you; our partners. Actually, we often think of you as we share God’s amazing love with the orphaned children of Africa and their caregivers. In fact, I would like to say to you that one of my dreams would be for all of you to experience being part of a team of people serving God’s children in Africa before we meet the Lord. I am sure I am biased but I think what God is doing in Africa is a summary statement of what God is doing throughout the earth in these last days.

God is offering an opportunity for those who have more than they need to give to those who have lack so that we can all move towards “enough.” It is part of what I understand from scripture as the “Reconciliation of all things to Jesus.”

For example; during my first week in Limpopo Province, South Africa, I was with a team from Marshall, Michigan. Some of them had been to SA before and some were there for the first time. The new ones had been invited by the others to experience the glory of God being displayed through loving service in this area of the world where there is estimated to be over 7,000 orphans within a 5 mile radius. And those stats were accumulated about 5 years ago so I am sure it is higher now.

There were doctors and nurses and business persons and pastors and house wives and fathers and daughters on this team. It was a delight to watch them pour themselves out all week as each morning we reconstructed a roof on the assembly area where the children meet daily. And then in the afternoons they reconstructed the events of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection in drama and story and games and crafts for about 200 children of all ages. Our regional coordinators confide in us that one of the most important things we do is reinforce the teachings of scripture from through these interactive means. It was enough!

You see, what we are doing is not just carrying out a humanitarian service, although that would be wonderful in itself. What we are doing is working with our coordinators to raise up a generation of leaders who will lead the way in ushering in the kingdom of God and reap a harvest in the years to come. I believe this is the “ripe harvest field” Jesus was talking about in John 4 when he challenged his disciples to lift their eyes and catch a glimpse of what God was doing. So we thank you for partnering with us as we lead others to give of themselves so that others can experience God’s love in kingdom ways.

From South Africa I went to Jinja, Uganda to visit a friend who has given the balance of his life in order to serve those who are underserved. We have a home in Jinja for children who are orphaned but who also are HIV positive. My friend Gary has been with me on at least 8 mission teams and last year he retired from work and told me he was ready to serve longer periods of time in this field. So he went to Jinja where he starts every day by helping feed and care for the babies in the home. Gary is one of my heroes. He understands what it means to move towards enough.

I left Jinja after a week and flew to Lusaka, Zambia to join my wife and my daughter Beverly and a team from Pendleton, Indiana. In Lusaka the team and Sandy and I spent several days with our orphan children there as we integrated a health screening session for them into a VBS style learning environment.

The poor in African in general go without many of the conveniences/ necessities you and I take for granted such as medical care, food and clean water, but orphans in Africa are pushed to the bottom of the pool or forced to the back of the line when it comes to receiving care and resources.  This makes them especially vulnerable.

One of the things that always challenges me when I think about what we do is a statement by Jesus. He said, “Whatever you want someone to do for you, that is what you should do for others.” So I think, “If my child were sick I would want someone to care for him.” Again I think to myself, “If my children were suddenly without parents I would want someone to care for them.” So, simply put, that is what we try to do! It is really not that complicated. I don’t consider myself exceptional or even “radical.” Sandy and I just see ourselves trying to live out God’s instructions in our life.

And that is what the Pendleton team was doing. They were providing basic, simple wellness screening they would want for their own children so we can begin to understand the health challenges our children face. Then we can begin caring for them at a deeper level and give them the chance to experience life from a healthier frame of reference. For many of these children it was the first time they had seen a health professional for a non emergency related reason.  For now it was enough!

After the Pendleton adult team finished their week of ministry we greeted a group of 11 students and 2 adults from Pendleton who had chosen to invest their Spring Break into the lives of Zambian teenage orphans who are sponsored through Horizon. Our American students planned a retreat environment for 30 of the Zambian students based on the study of the life of Joseph. For three days we sang and worshipped, we taught and shared our testimonies, we played soccer and swam. NONE of the Zambian students had ever been in a swimming pool before. In fact most had not been in an environment like this at all. On the first night our regional coordinators had to instruct some of the Zambians how to use a water tap in the sink. Some had never seen one before.

I absolutely love these times as I watch the worldview and the attitudes and the relationship to God of both sets of teenagers be transformed through the power of God’s love and his Holy Spirit. It truly is the manifestation of Jesus bringing together all things unto himself. I don’t really have room here to describe what this means to these students; the Africans and Americans. I will just quote what one of our regional coordinators told our team after one such retreat. He told us, “I have seen more change in some of the students after 3 days in the retreat than I have seen in 3 years.” Hope is enough!

From Zambia Sandy and I flew to South Africa to meet a team from Northview combined with a few friends from Michigan. It was a large team of some “veterans” and some first timers. We divided the team in two. Half duplicated the Student Retreat for about 36 South African students using the study of Joseph with the same amazing results. The other half provided
spiritual and material resources and conducted a 3 day VBS based on the life of Joseph for about 300 children in Segkopo Village where we have a drop in center for children. One of the highlights of the trip was watching the older students from Segkopo who had been on the retreat as they returned to the Segkopo drop in center during the VBS ministry. There was an amazing synergistic holy sense of God’s presence as the two groups, who view themselves as one big family, reconnected after the 3 days of studying and worshipping in different venues. I guess you had to be there.

Which brings me to my last thought. We have several summer teams forming even at this very moment. Would you please pray about whether God is calling you to go to Africa and share yourself with those who are waiting? I promise what you have to share will be enough.

Let me say that Sandy and I and all those we serve, both Americans and Africans are eternally grateful for your faithful support through prayer and friendship and your finances.

If you would like to share your financial resources with us to help us continue leading and serving others, you can make a check to Horizon International and send to us or our Horizon offices.

Horizon address:  PO Box 180, Pendleton, In 46064

Or you can go to our website and give online.                              HorizonInternationalinc.com

With God’s love,

Douge and Sandy