We are upgrading! We have decided with so many open doors and opportunities God has provided for us, it is time to go with something with permanency to it. Our blog is now located at www.thehelffamily.com. We thank all of you who have followed our journey and ask you continue supporting us in missions work. On the new site, you can subscribe and receive updated posts by email.
We will be writing an update on the upcoming missions trip as well. We ask you continue praying for the team and if you are interested in going, let us know. There are all sorts of needs - prayer, being on the team, financial, material support, etc.
Thank you again for all of your prayers and encouragement!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
A Motivation
***UPDATE - Below is the second post we made to this blog. I am bumping this to the top for a simple reminder. Right now we are seeing record snowfall and cold temps. As a reminder of what "extreme" is, Europe has faced even colder temps and more snow. To put this in perspective, please watch the video below again - as before, note the hardships these streetkids are facing. And then add to that the weather conditions they are facing. As with children in areas that suffered natural disasters, these children need our prayers and our help.***
A few weeks ago, we ate dinner with a family who are missionaries to St. Petersburg, Russia. They have a calling for orphans and have worked with a few orphanages in the city's metro area. We were given a video and told that it was powerful. We were also cautioned on how graphic it was. We took it home and watched it. This video is an emotional stab in the heart. I told Brooke if there was ever a motivation this was it. I also said if anyone ever questions us as to our purpose or motivation, let them watch this video. I highly encourage you to watch this video with an open but guarded heart. This is happening. And all over the world. But in this case, this happens in a region where hope either is eroding or non-existent for many. This video takes place in Moscow, Russia but could be anywhere in the former Soviet republics - anywhere in the world for that matter. It is our desire to bring hope to the hopeless - a simple message. God is hope.
DISCLAIMER - This is subtitled. And there is language as well. Do not watch around your children. So please watch this and tell others of this as well.
A few weeks ago, we ate dinner with a family who are missionaries to St. Petersburg, Russia. They have a calling for orphans and have worked with a few orphanages in the city's metro area. We were given a video and told that it was powerful. We were also cautioned on how graphic it was. We took it home and watched it. This video is an emotional stab in the heart. I told Brooke if there was ever a motivation this was it. I also said if anyone ever questions us as to our purpose or motivation, let them watch this video. I highly encourage you to watch this video with an open but guarded heart. This is happening. And all over the world. But in this case, this happens in a region where hope either is eroding or non-existent for many. This video takes place in Moscow, Russia but could be anywhere in the former Soviet republics - anywhere in the world for that matter. It is our desire to bring hope to the hopeless - a simple message. God is hope.
DISCLAIMER - This is subtitled. And there is language as well. Do not watch around your children. So please watch this and tell others of this as well.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Summer Mission Trip To Latvia
This summer I am planning on a return to Latvia - this time a full fledged mission trip with the organization we went through last September. Difference is this time we are going with members of that organization and anyone else with a calling to go.
The tentative dates are June 17th through July 1st with costs being between $2500-$3000 per person. Hopefully this cost will be reduced. If you feel a calling to go, to help, or any other way of being a part of this trip let me know. I know with times being tough there is a financial limitation in going. Please pray for those who are and who might go on this trip.
If the group is large enough, we are hoping to split into three teams and have one as a construction team and the other two as outreach teams ministering to the kids in several children's homes. With budgets being cut, these homes are being forced to either make due or find creative ways to keep basic maintenance or stock. Basic repairs to bathrooms, tiling work, and handyman repairs are in need at several locations. The outreach group will focus on VBS programs and community outreach to those in need. For those who kept up with our family's trip last year, we plan on taking a group back to Ziles, the Salvation Army home in Riga, meeting with Helen with Hope for Children, and to Liepaja. We are hoping to have a community type event mixed in with the VBS and to make a trip into Karosta to do some outreach to street kids and a prayer walk.
In addition, we hope to cram as many supplies as we can in our 'extra' luggage for this trip. Socks, shoes, vitamins, toothbrushes and toothpaste, lice shampoo, shampoo, soap, as well as school supplies, candy, and toys will try to find a way in our bags - this is the much needed effort to replenish what is most needed among their supplies.
I have included a link of some of the pictures from last September's trip. Many of those faces will be seen on this trip. It is our hope and prayer to give these kids not only material needs but the message of hope and love that Christ teaches. Not only will these orphans be reached but countless others we cross paths will as well. And I assure you each person involved in this trip from going, to prayer, financing, driving, buying, etc. will be touched as well.
If you wish to help in any way, please let me know. Not only is there a need in cost for the trip but the items listed below are needed as well:
-More team members
-Individual's cost
-Cost for materials
-Donation of vitamins, personal hygiene products, candy, shoes, socks, small toys, school supplies, etc. (remember luggage sized items)
-Extra suitcases
-Buddy passes or Skymiles from Delta
-Prayer
God bless!
The tentative dates are June 17th through July 1st with costs being between $2500-$3000 per person. Hopefully this cost will be reduced. If you feel a calling to go, to help, or any other way of being a part of this trip let me know. I know with times being tough there is a financial limitation in going. Please pray for those who are and who might go on this trip.
If the group is large enough, we are hoping to split into three teams and have one as a construction team and the other two as outreach teams ministering to the kids in several children's homes. With budgets being cut, these homes are being forced to either make due or find creative ways to keep basic maintenance or stock. Basic repairs to bathrooms, tiling work, and handyman repairs are in need at several locations. The outreach group will focus on VBS programs and community outreach to those in need. For those who kept up with our family's trip last year, we plan on taking a group back to Ziles, the Salvation Army home in Riga, meeting with Helen with Hope for Children, and to Liepaja. We are hoping to have a community type event mixed in with the VBS and to make a trip into Karosta to do some outreach to street kids and a prayer walk.
In addition, we hope to cram as many supplies as we can in our 'extra' luggage for this trip. Socks, shoes, vitamins, toothbrushes and toothpaste, lice shampoo, shampoo, soap, as well as school supplies, candy, and toys will try to find a way in our bags - this is the much needed effort to replenish what is most needed among their supplies.
I have included a link of some of the pictures from last September's trip. Many of those faces will be seen on this trip. It is our hope and prayer to give these kids not only material needs but the message of hope and love that Christ teaches. Not only will these orphans be reached but countless others we cross paths will as well. And I assure you each person involved in this trip from going, to prayer, financing, driving, buying, etc. will be touched as well.
If you wish to help in any way, please let me know. Not only is there a need in cost for the trip but the items listed below are needed as well:
-More team members
-Individual's cost
-Cost for materials
-Donation of vitamins, personal hygiene products, candy, shoes, socks, small toys, school supplies, etc. (remember luggage sized items)
-Extra suitcases
-Buddy passes or Skymiles from Delta
-Prayer
God bless!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Could You Support?
We recently observed the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It is not a day I hold in honor by any means. This is a day that many of those in the Pro-Life community gather to promise to work that year on laws, awareness, etc. regarding the issue of life. And with that, the focus comes solely around to the issue of abortion. But in the grand scheme of things, being "Pro-Life" is much more than the abortion issue. Life as we understand it begins at conception and in physical form ends at death. So to truly be "Pro-Life" we must address the issues regarding life from as the saying goes "womb to tomb".
With that, I have thought a lot about how we call for an end to abortion. But what happens when a single mother, especially a young single mother, promises to birth this child? Many times there are situations that these women are chastised, outcast, persecuted by friends and family, and left to fend for themselves. An extreme element says they brought this on themselves and therefore must pay the consequences for this. But I ask, as Christians who hold the "Pro-Life" view, is this the Christlike behavior we must display? Are we so righteous to say do not abort but then leave the mother to fend for herself? You must carry the baby to term but after that you are on your own. We don't want a life terminated but have no regard for what happens after that.
As a testimony to my own life, I am a child conceived and born out of wedlock. I refuse the title of illegitimate. I am a legitimate child of God like anyone else. But the title still is used by many and it hurts. Let's say I did not come into the world under the ideal moral circumstances. My mother's doctor told her that because of the times, her job, and the hardships she faced being a single mother he offered 'fatherly' advice to abort me. It was the best thing to do. But my mother chose to birth me. She was chastised. She was an outcast. Just one year after Roe v. Wade, she had pressure to take the easy way out and resume life as if there were no consequences. She could have quietly chose to abort and not face embarrassment, shame, looks, whispers, etc. She did birth me and lived 5 years as a single mom working full time and trying to find childcare for me. It was not easy. She had help but it was limited. She faced hardships. In applying for a job she was told a single mother with a child born under questionable circumstances was a high risk hire. Family did not come out and say anything but the feelings of pity, etc. were always subtle.
Where am I going with this? I am not trying to turn this post into a "Life vs. Choice" battle or to focus solely on the abortion issue. And I hope I do not lose anyone reading the blog on one side or the other on this issue. Stay with me here. Those of you following the blog and close to us know that we have a heart and calling for missions work in Latvia especially with orphans. Looking at the big picture, the issue with orphans is a circular one. Many orphans leave and typically repeat the cycle that brought them there to begin with - young mother and father with no money have children under great strain which turns to an abusive home - drugs, alcohol, etc. Their children are given up or taken and the cycle carries on. It even goes as far as young women, even girls, getting pregnant with no one to help. In Latvia, the economy is all but in shambles. Social services are typically the first things cut. Families have little money to begin with so to help a family member is making a dire situation even worse.
So living these beginnings really burdens my heart. My mother raised me for 5 years. But even with the hardships she faced (and overcame no doubt with pain) there were safety nets. There was family even if they gave reluctant support. She did have a job. Many of these girls and women in Latvia, where our heart is, do not have that chance.
It is with this that I have felt a calling to do something for these women. Helen, the missionary we stayed with while in Riga, operates a day center for kids in the area. She has told me about the situation for many young single mothers she knows. Because of economic hardships many young, single mothers with no help are left with few options. The number of babies being abandoned at hospitals is on the rise. A mother gives up her child because she cannot provide food, shelter, and clothing. Where is the help? The government has cut services because of financial hardships. So who can stop this?
Brooke and I have discussed having a yard sale again in the Spring where people donate items they do not need or want. All proceeds would then go to Helen's organization to help these young mothers and children in need. This is aid that will go towards groceries, diapers, formula, electricity, rent, doctor visits, etc. We are praying for a location to collect donations and a location to have the sale.
This is an effort to give life a chance to succeed. This is work to give mothers a chance to be with their children - to keep them and raise them. This is an effort to prevent what several sources have said is an epidemic at hospitals of babies being dropped off because of complete economic hardship and inability to raise these children. We've done yard sales to raise funds before but this one is different for me. It combines something of my past with something close to our hearts. And it came together listening to the sermon this past Sunday morning. In the reading from the second half of Acts, verse 45 references the believers selling their possessions and giving to those in need. While this is not the same level of the early Church, this is a start. People are giving up personal items and the sale of these items goes to help mothers and children in need. Acts 2:45 meets modern day. So pray for this cause - for God to open doors in preparation, location, and donation. This is a drop in the bucket on the issue and in one corner of the world. But salvation and grace started off in Bethlehem. It went to Galilee and then Jerusalem. Today Christ's message of hope, love, and salvation is global. Help me spread a message of hope, love, and compassion to those who need it and watch this grow. I hope and pray a few children helped here will only cause this to grow in the future as well.
With that, I have thought a lot about how we call for an end to abortion. But what happens when a single mother, especially a young single mother, promises to birth this child? Many times there are situations that these women are chastised, outcast, persecuted by friends and family, and left to fend for themselves. An extreme element says they brought this on themselves and therefore must pay the consequences for this. But I ask, as Christians who hold the "Pro-Life" view, is this the Christlike behavior we must display? Are we so righteous to say do not abort but then leave the mother to fend for herself? You must carry the baby to term but after that you are on your own. We don't want a life terminated but have no regard for what happens after that.
As a testimony to my own life, I am a child conceived and born out of wedlock. I refuse the title of illegitimate. I am a legitimate child of God like anyone else. But the title still is used by many and it hurts. Let's say I did not come into the world under the ideal moral circumstances. My mother's doctor told her that because of the times, her job, and the hardships she faced being a single mother he offered 'fatherly' advice to abort me. It was the best thing to do. But my mother chose to birth me. She was chastised. She was an outcast. Just one year after Roe v. Wade, she had pressure to take the easy way out and resume life as if there were no consequences. She could have quietly chose to abort and not face embarrassment, shame, looks, whispers, etc. She did birth me and lived 5 years as a single mom working full time and trying to find childcare for me. It was not easy. She had help but it was limited. She faced hardships. In applying for a job she was told a single mother with a child born under questionable circumstances was a high risk hire. Family did not come out and say anything but the feelings of pity, etc. were always subtle.
Where am I going with this? I am not trying to turn this post into a "Life vs. Choice" battle or to focus solely on the abortion issue. And I hope I do not lose anyone reading the blog on one side or the other on this issue. Stay with me here. Those of you following the blog and close to us know that we have a heart and calling for missions work in Latvia especially with orphans. Looking at the big picture, the issue with orphans is a circular one. Many orphans leave and typically repeat the cycle that brought them there to begin with - young mother and father with no money have children under great strain which turns to an abusive home - drugs, alcohol, etc. Their children are given up or taken and the cycle carries on. It even goes as far as young women, even girls, getting pregnant with no one to help. In Latvia, the economy is all but in shambles. Social services are typically the first things cut. Families have little money to begin with so to help a family member is making a dire situation even worse.
So living these beginnings really burdens my heart. My mother raised me for 5 years. But even with the hardships she faced (and overcame no doubt with pain) there were safety nets. There was family even if they gave reluctant support. She did have a job. Many of these girls and women in Latvia, where our heart is, do not have that chance.
It is with this that I have felt a calling to do something for these women. Helen, the missionary we stayed with while in Riga, operates a day center for kids in the area. She has told me about the situation for many young single mothers she knows. Because of economic hardships many young, single mothers with no help are left with few options. The number of babies being abandoned at hospitals is on the rise. A mother gives up her child because she cannot provide food, shelter, and clothing. Where is the help? The government has cut services because of financial hardships. So who can stop this?
Brooke and I have discussed having a yard sale again in the Spring where people donate items they do not need or want. All proceeds would then go to Helen's organization to help these young mothers and children in need. This is aid that will go towards groceries, diapers, formula, electricity, rent, doctor visits, etc. We are praying for a location to collect donations and a location to have the sale.
This is an effort to give life a chance to succeed. This is work to give mothers a chance to be with their children - to keep them and raise them. This is an effort to prevent what several sources have said is an epidemic at hospitals of babies being dropped off because of complete economic hardship and inability to raise these children. We've done yard sales to raise funds before but this one is different for me. It combines something of my past with something close to our hearts. And it came together listening to the sermon this past Sunday morning. In the reading from the second half of Acts, verse 45 references the believers selling their possessions and giving to those in need. While this is not the same level of the early Church, this is a start. People are giving up personal items and the sale of these items goes to help mothers and children in need. Acts 2:45 meets modern day. So pray for this cause - for God to open doors in preparation, location, and donation. This is a drop in the bucket on the issue and in one corner of the world. But salvation and grace started off in Bethlehem. It went to Galilee and then Jerusalem. Today Christ's message of hope, love, and salvation is global. Help me spread a message of hope, love, and compassion to those who need it and watch this grow. I hope and pray a few children helped here will only cause this to grow in the future as well.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Seek Him First This Year
It has been quite a while since our last post. Much has happened since then. I’ve had so many ideas for blog posts but never found the time to type them out. One of the things impacting me most about this new year has been my time and how much of it is spent on focusing on God. New Years comes and we make our resolutions. Odds are that they don’t even make it past the first week much less February. I thought about mine over and over. Priority on family. Pay down debt. Get in shape. You know – the usual. But again, days pass and we get tied up in the ‘routine of life’ and those resolutions get broken. I kept coming back to this one point. Put God first. I thought about Luke 12:31. Seek God first and everything else will basically follow. This is not “get close to God in order to get blessings”. It’s about God being what matters.
In this past year I have seen that. Build and better your relationship with God and life falls into place. It’s not that you do that in order for life to fall into place. This is the result of simply drawing closer to our Father. And with that comes our time and our priorities. I try hard to reexamine mine constantly. And it is a battle. We look at our schedules. Between work, school, kids’ sports events, etc. when do we have time for anything else? But look at our week. We have 168 hours in a week. Some spend 40 plus working. If we sleep 6 hours a day that is 42 hours of sleep. The other half is us constantly being on the go. And somewhere in there we throw in a 2 hour average of time at church. And then we return to our busy schedules doing other things. If that 2 hours is all we give God we give him 1% of our week. That is 99% of our week devoted to something besides God.
Looking deeper into this, how much focus and priority do we give to God? Are we making Him known in our lives? Do others in that daily routine see God in us? I am not a betting man but I am willing to say that our friends and neighbors know who our favorite sports team is, our favorite TV show is, or who we are politically supportive of. We sure will don the colors of our favorite college and drive hours to tailgate and then file in to watch that team bring in the W. We will stand in line for hours to get the tickets to the new hottest movie or singer coming to town. We will go all over the state waving signs in support of our favorite political candidate. Point is to compare just how much a priority these things are in our lives compared to the couple of hours on Sunday and maybe a 30 second prayer each night before bed. How intense are we for God compared to being intense for other things? Do we go around wearing a shirt with a Bible verse cheering at the top of our lungs “Yeah Jesus!” Well, you get my point. Is it obvious for ourselves that God is priority in our lives? Is it obvious for others who look at us to see God as a priority? Ask someone what they think is the top three things in your life that rule your daily routine.
This is my resolution this year. Seek God first. Make him top priority in my life. Nothing else matters. But this will not be easy. Satan will make sure your path is obstructed. He has the tools he needs to distract us. Jobs, bills, home repair, events for the kids, etc. are all means to distract. TV, music, internet, and gadgets are as well. Pray, fast, and get in the Word. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
In this past year I have seen that. Build and better your relationship with God and life falls into place. It’s not that you do that in order for life to fall into place. This is the result of simply drawing closer to our Father. And with that comes our time and our priorities. I try hard to reexamine mine constantly. And it is a battle. We look at our schedules. Between work, school, kids’ sports events, etc. when do we have time for anything else? But look at our week. We have 168 hours in a week. Some spend 40 plus working. If we sleep 6 hours a day that is 42 hours of sleep. The other half is us constantly being on the go. And somewhere in there we throw in a 2 hour average of time at church. And then we return to our busy schedules doing other things. If that 2 hours is all we give God we give him 1% of our week. That is 99% of our week devoted to something besides God.
Looking deeper into this, how much focus and priority do we give to God? Are we making Him known in our lives? Do others in that daily routine see God in us? I am not a betting man but I am willing to say that our friends and neighbors know who our favorite sports team is, our favorite TV show is, or who we are politically supportive of. We sure will don the colors of our favorite college and drive hours to tailgate and then file in to watch that team bring in the W. We will stand in line for hours to get the tickets to the new hottest movie or singer coming to town. We will go all over the state waving signs in support of our favorite political candidate. Point is to compare just how much a priority these things are in our lives compared to the couple of hours on Sunday and maybe a 30 second prayer each night before bed. How intense are we for God compared to being intense for other things? Do we go around wearing a shirt with a Bible verse cheering at the top of our lungs “Yeah Jesus!” Well, you get my point. Is it obvious for ourselves that God is priority in our lives? Is it obvious for others who look at us to see God as a priority? Ask someone what they think is the top three things in your life that rule your daily routine.
This is my resolution this year. Seek God first. Make him top priority in my life. Nothing else matters. But this will not be easy. Satan will make sure your path is obstructed. He has the tools he needs to distract us. Jobs, bills, home repair, events for the kids, etc. are all means to distract. TV, music, internet, and gadgets are as well. Pray, fast, and get in the Word. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sergeis is here!
Today is Day 1 of Sergeis being with us for one month! He arrived in Atlanta at about 1:00AM this morning. We went to sleep around 4:00 and woke up around 10:30. :) So far we've stayed home and played outside. We did have a large amount of visitors today, though. We visited with Mandy and Kaitlyn outside and then later with Johnny and Jesse--other kids from our neighborhood. Then Jack and Stephanie brought over Anya, Faith, Caleb, Katya, Kristina and Zhenya! Later, Sam and Nick came to see Sergeis for a few minutes. And then I made pelmini for dinner (it didn't turn out as wondefully as I had hoped--it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either) and Tricia and her children and hosted child came over--5 kids in all! So we've had a busy day of meeting and greeting and getting to know one another again! We all just love him and he loves us and it is great for him to be here again!! Keep us in your prayers!