Dear Friends and Family,
Cindy and I are so thankful we are part of your family of friends. Wow, what a year 2008 has been! It seems to have flown by so fast. Compared to 2007 when I lost my mom, left my corporate job of 32 years, entered into full time ministry, sold the house, moved to The Colony, and began traveling internationally, by comparison, 2008 was relatively quiet. Looking back we can see God’s hand on our lives every step of the way and we are thankful for the blessings he gives as well as the challenges he leads us through.
When we made the decision for me to leave my corporate job and go into full time ministry I was fortunate to have several ministry opportunities to choose from. One of the reasons I chose World Orphans came from the clear command of the following scripture.
James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
That scripture is so clear in language and command that it gave me a deep sense of purpose in what I was being called to engage in. That clear command along with a deep desire to serve God in a global ministry prompted me to join the staff of World Orphans. Cindy and I both agreed that the position offered was the best fit for my experience and abilities. This same spiritual prompting and thinking has led Cindy to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse so we can serve together on the mission field. A nursing degree will enable her to participate on teams doing medical outreach in third world countries in partnership with World Orphan’s church/homes. We are excited about her entry into nursing school and we ask for your prayers for her health, protection and stamina over the next two years as she continues to work full time and attend school at night and on Saturdays.
In return for your prayers I would like to send you a gift. It's a DVD about the ministry of World Orphans. I hope you will watch it together as a family and then show it to your friends, your neighbors, and your church to help raise awareness about the 143,000,000 orphans worldwide. We think if more people know more people will be inclined to want to do something. We believe that everyone can do something. Some are called to go and serve such as us. Some are called to send, to support, to pray, to encourage and to help communicate to others. We hope you will pray about how God might be calling you to do something! Just let me hear from you if you want the DVD.
In closing, we pray that 2009 will be a year of blessings for each of you. We pray that you will be drawn into a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We pray that he will become the center of your life in every aspect including family, relationships, jobs, friends, hopes and dreams. He is truly the reason for this season and the only one worthy of praise and glory.
Merry Christmas and all our love in the powerful name of Jesus,
Alan & Cindy
Comments