Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about family. Maybe it’s that point in the race that it hits you that you’ve been away from home for over 8 months. For me, I am about to have a new nephew and I wish I could be there with my sister during these last few days of pregnancy and the first few months of being a mother, but I know God has me here for a reason and who am I to argue with His perfect timing for everything? I can only praise Him for what He’s done in my life and how He has worked out every little detail of His master plan for me. Just knowing my family is supporting me through this journey with their whole heart gives me strength and perseverance to finish this trip full out, ready to serve the Lord with everything I have. So, as I was thinking about my family at home, and all of the people I’ve met on the Race that have been like family to me… I realized that I am also part of another family… and it’s a BIG one….
This month, we have visited several children’s homes in our area. It is one of the highlights of this month for me. The child I am holding here.. his name is Zack. (I almost had to pry him off of me when we left, although I would have been perfectly fine taking him with me…) Zack is my little brother. We don’t have the same parents here on earth, in fact, he doesn’t have parents here to take care of him… but we have the same Father in heaven. Ephesians 4:6 says that there is … “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.â€� When we visit children’s homes… it is easy to start feeling bad for them because they don’t have parents here on earth. Some of their stories are heart breaking..
This little guy was found as a new born in a black trash bag on top of a burning pile of trash. Someone just happened to see him move in the bag and rescued him.
The little boy in the video at the bottom of my blog was dropped off at the home with his twin sister, weighing only 1 kilo. He is one of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met!
Many of the kids were found wandering around in the streets crying, and many were pulled out of abusive homes. 
The stories go on and on. But these kids don’t live a life filled with sadness or a sense of abandonment, because the people who run this home not only fill them with love and care, but with a knowledge of Jesus. These kids know that they have a father in heaven who loves them more than anyone and who cares for them when no one else will. He knows everything about them… like it says in Matthew 10:30 “And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.” I don’t know about you, but that is reassurance to me about how much He loves all of us!! 
This month, we are visiting with 2 partnering Children’s Homes… I don’t like to call them orphanages anymore because these kids have a Father, which means they are not orphans 🙂 As we were holding the kids at one home, we got news that one of the kids at the other home was being adopted today… surprise! We quickly walked over to the other home to say goodbye to the little guy that was leaving… it 
was a touching moment to see the tears of joy on his new mother’s face and the tears of sadness on his current ‘mother’s face. I knew she was happy for him to leave and go into a new home, but it was hard to let go of one of her ‘children.’ It makes me think about something my mom always used to tell my siblings and I “You are not mine… you are on loan to us from Jesus… you belong to Him.â€� Why has it taken me so long to understand that! I didn’t know if I should cry or feel happy… I think I had a mixture of both. As he was getting ready to leave with his new mom, the kids gathered around him and prayed (all of the kids were 5 and under). This family was not being broken up today… because just like you and me, and all of the kids here, and all of the kids on the streets in Nepal, and all of the people in the whole world, we’re all family.
What a difference there is in life when you live it for Jesus. There is such a sense of joy and a ‘peace that passes all understanding.â€� There’s really no better way to explain it.
I just have to add this story in here since Beka captured the moment with her camera…. this little boy was crying for over an hour at the first Children’s Home we visited. No one could make him stop. My heart was breaking of course. I didn’t really know what was wrong… but I knew I wanted to comfort Him. I know this is how Jesus feels when his children are sad or heartbroken too….
so, I went up to him
and rubbed his
back trying to console him…
nothing, he wouldn’t even look at me.
About 15 minutes later, I went back to see him and I started to rub his back again and I started just talking to him, smiling at him, kissing him, whatever I could do… and within a few minutes.. he had cracked a smile!! Boy, I was feeling SO good after that… once again I got a glimpse of the Father’s heart for us! Thank you Jesus for this month, and all of 
the blessings you are giving us every day.
Psalm 27:10 “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.�
