A Gift that is Greater than Riches

This past week will be one of the most memorable weeks of my life. I knew the trip would be hard as I have always held a special place in my heart for children but couldn’t imagine the affect it would have on me.

The last night in Transnistria Tony, our team leader, asked us what was the single most memorable moment was from the week. Well when it came my time; I copped out and said “tons, to many to just say one.” Well I must admit that even though this was mostly true it was probably more due to the fact that I thought I would break down in an embarrassing, blubbering cry if I had to talk much longer.

Well now that I have had time to stop and ponder, I must say my most memorable moment was when a group of the older boys that had been helping us (these guys latched on to me all week) were going through my phone and looking at all my pictures. They were asking tons of questions about my family, hunting and America.

At the beginning I was proud of showing off my two year old son but then as they were scrolling through my 400 something pictures, I quickly felt guilty. I realized that they may see my house or the size of my T.V or just in general how much I have compared to how little they have. By no means am I considered rich in the States; I live in an averaged sized brick home in an east Texas suburb, but to them I might as well have been a millionaire. In that single instant my eyes were opened to how materialistic we Americans are.

I wanted to do something. I mean I had brought several hundred dollars for travel money and my first thought was to give it all to them, but that was not what we were there for. We were there to share the love of Christ through our bed building and the time we spent with them. I really struggled with guilt after this because of how many worldly possessions I have and how little these kids have, and I had grown to really care for these kids and wanted to give them riches beyond their dreams.

It’s funny how if you look in the Bible, God will always show you an answer, whether you are looking for it or not. Towards the end of the week I had woke up early before everyone else and had decided to go down to the hotel lobby and work on my devotion for the week and came across what the true meaning of riches is.

Proverbs 3:13-15

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who obtains understanding. For her benefit is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than gold. She is more precious than rubies, and none of the things you desire can compare with her.”

Colossians 2:2-3

“My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

On the last day we were able to hand out bibles to these children. The look on their faces helped me to realize that we were able to give them something that was better than gold and more precious than rubies; the word of God

A Mother's Love...

It's so hard to find words to express our experience here in Transnistria. Yesterday was our final day in the orphanage; beds were built; crafts were completed; Bible stories were all told; snacks were consumed. It was the orphans turn to share a little of themselves with us. Our team was treated to a concert performed by the children. Easily one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. We entered their auditorium and were immediately escorted to the front row where they had saved seats for us, the guests of honor. The performers were assembled off-stage to our right decked out in traditional costumes. Their smiling faces and fidgeting feet betrayed the excitement they were feeling, anxious to perform. The auditorium was suddenly filled with music accompanied by the audience clapping to the beat. As child after child took their place on stage to sing or dance I couldn't help but be amazed by the amazing talent the children possessed. As I sat, watching and listening, smiling and clapping I began to imagine what my reaction to them would be if they were my very own children. How my heart would swell with joy and pride as I watched my child on stage. Then it hit me. These kids mama's would never get to see how beautiful they turned out to be, how talented they were. As I watched a beautiful young lady, about the age of my own daughter) sing, tears sprung to my eyes. I tried to control them so that she wouldn't catch me crying--I didn't want her to think I was anything but thrilled by her performance. I wanted her to see reflected in my face what she might see in the face of her own mother if she were able to see her. So, I have a new prayer request for orphans everywhere; when you pray for God to meet their needs, don't forget the intangibles--like seeing someone who thinks you hung the moon sitting on the front row applauding your every move. Pray that they won't miss out on those experiences as well having comfy beds and Jesus in their hearts.
Arlene McDonald

God is the Father to the fatherless

Wow. It is always intimidating to start a blog, knowing that so many are thirsty for words regarding our mission work. We've been preparing for months-God has been preparing our hearts for even longer. But now the moment is here, and all I can say is, "Wow!"

This trip has so far been the most challenging and most rewarding journey I have ever been blessed to be a part of. But God is always faithful, and His plan and love always shines through, even when the Light is dim in a place like Transnistria.

Obviously, bed building is one of our main priorities, so every morning we have commenced with breaking out the sheets and screws and breaking into a sweat. Some of the older boys at the orphanage (around age 13-16 or so) had been given permission to come help us everyday, and let me tell you, help they certainly did! Many of our boys back home could use a lesson from these guys in the art of chivalry, as not a one would hesitate to take something heavy from your arms or let you walk through a door before they did. It is amazing to me that these kids, despite their lack of food, education, etc, made sure that our female, American arms were relieved. Ha, what gentlemen!

What struck me the most, though, about these boys is their utter desire for an older male figure to look up to. Our team has been blessed with two amazing, Texan, hard-working men (Wes and Rob!), who the boys immediately latched onto. They follow Wes and Rob everywhere, paying close attention to instruction about using drills and how to assemble beds, and laugh and smile and ask so many questions when shown pictures of families back home. The boys so desired the attention of Wes and Rob, and love they certainly received. This is one thing that has struck me the most-I have such a wonderful dad, and these kids literally only have 6 men in their lives, all teachers. And while this is unfortunate for the girls, it is an utter tragedy for the boys. So, to see the beautiful smiles, joy, happiness, and love that Wes and Rob gave to these boys, though temporary, there is no doubt that a life-long impact has been made.

And above all, while these children may not have earthly fathers, God is the Father to the fatherless, and loves these kids more than words could every say.

There is so much more I wish I could write, however I fear that there is not enough room in the world to store up words to describe what has occurred in the past several days. However, it is the images of the smiles, hugs, and beds that are literally worth a thousand words.

Please continue to pray hard core for us. It already has made a huge difference, and will continue to do so. God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good.

With all my love, in HIS mighty name,
Katie Huey

See more photos on at www.facebook.com/sweetsleep.

Moldova team struggles but God is faithful

Currently a team is serving, quietly and faithfully, in Moldova.  Seeking ways to pray for the team, Sweet Sleep staff reached out for an update from the team leader.  Following is an excerpt from the email sent by Tony Black.  Please continue to partner with this team in prayer as His faithful servants work tirelessly to bring hope, love, and the Word of God to the children in Transnistria.

We're doing fine. We haven't been able to blog much, primarily due to daily changes in the program. We have been faced with daily adjustments to our schedule which has required us to regroup and re-plan almost from scratch. We don't arrive back at the hotel until 9:00 pm or after and then have to prepare for the next day. Many of us are getting to bed well after midnight.   We came to Moldova with the the belief we would have two and a half hours each day to do the VBS. This is one hour- to one and a half hours less than usual.

When we arrived we were told that time was reduced to one and a half hours by the director of the orphanage. After our first day of VBS the director reduced our time to a mere one hour as they had issues with how excited the children got about the program.  This was a devastating blow to our team and it took much prayer and discussion and tears to work through how the program could  change that significantly and still have impact.

God, as always, is faithful. We gave ground to the director in this battle so that God could ultimately achieve the victory.  Yesterday was a long, difficult day  but it was very rewarding as smiles and hugs from the children proved God was still working here. The director and assistant director were very complimentary of the day and actually getting to see children sleeping in their new beds during their nap time yesterday was precious.

We've had sickness run through the team. At least 5 of the team members have terrible coughs and fever.

The Internet has also not been reliable.

We will hopefully have more stories ready later today. There are some amazing ones.

Thank you for your concern and continue to pray for strength and health for the team.

--Tony Black, Team Leader