Dear Friends,
Hello from Thailand. I am writing you from the internet that is now actually in my office at the children's home. High Speed no less. Gone are the days of no electricity. I am renting a bungalow at the hotel nearby so I have air conditioning (albeit it is actually older than me I think), hot water in the shower. I can wash my clothes and dishes in hot water now if I do it in the shower and the first time I realized I could actually wash my dishes without boiling the water I almost sang the hallelujia chorus. My hotel even has a funny little gym where I work out everyday (okay lets say often). Our new little children's home is shaping up to be pretty nice. My new director has been doing a great job.
I am attaching two pictures of our new little girl and all of our big girls. I bought them their new clothes they are wearing. They needed some nice new clothes for church because we travel so much doing outreaches. The skirts are traditional for their tribe. I think you will agree with me that they are beautiful.
This last month has been full of blessings and heartache. God is continually blessing us because we obeyed God even when it was difficult but nothing is without opposition it seems. I have had one of the most heartbreaking things happen of my ministry. I found out that my most trusted staff member and leader of the original children's home (he is also our worship leader) has been trying to keep the children from moving with me next year. They are trying to buy a truck so they can drive them 40 minutes one way to highschool rather than let them go live with me in our new place. The hardest part was that he was lying to me the whole time while trying to steal my children. The children were so hurt and confused. Anyway even now I don't know how many will actually come here next year. The little ones definately will not but the older ones who have to leave to go to highschool (unless can commute) probably will come. If all goes well we will have 35 children here next year. Keep praying about this situation especially for my kids. I hate to see them so troubled but now I think they are okay. I have been talking to them and comforting them. We leave it now in God's hands. God willsend us the children He wants us to have. I am not going to fight anymore. It is not good for the children. Only love can make something good out of this so I am trying to be love. However needless to say I am hiring new staff for the next year. Pray for this as well as I really will be needing a new worship leader. I know God will provide.
The good news is that we found our land. It is a fruit orchard at the moment. We are buying two lots - one has a house on it. It is less than half price because there is no road to the orchard. So we have to build a road. It will cost around $18,500 for about an acre and a half and a pretty good house. This is very cheap though of course it seems outrageously expensive to me. Land is not cheap even here. But I feel like this is our land. It is in a perfect location and is very beautiful. Keep praying about this as we try to buy it this month.
We have two big events coming up - our monthly youth revival which will have between 300-500 youth and children and I am doing a big seminar for Compassion In'tl. The Compassion seminar will be for more than 500 youth. Please pray for these that the children will have an encounter with God during this time.
So that is what has been happening. A lot for sure. But there are so many new opportunities opening up and I can just feel that God is getting ready to do something big here. I understand this because I have never felf such warfare for me - my body, my emotions, my heart, I think to strike me so hard and so relentlessly the devil must be really afraid of me and what God is going to do through our ministry. So it encourages me strange as it sounds. Whatever the devil can do God can do more and has done more. He prepared me for the betrayal of one of my best friends and when it came I was okay. God is more real and more close to me than ever in my life and that is really all I want. The ministry is God's - my dream is Him and that dream has been coming true as I learn to love Him more and know Him more especially when things are so hard and all hell is breaking loose against me. I have changed profoundly in the last month. I had an experience as I was fasting that changed my whole life. I was worshipping at church with my kids and all of the sudden I could just see God and how much He loves us and all He does for us and then I saw how much we don't care, how we disrespect him and how He longs for us just to look at Him and how often we don't. And it broke my heart and made me literally sick to my stomach. I cried so much I couldn't preach or anything - just cried for more than an hour. And I got up from my knees a changed woman. With a true hatred for mediocrity and lukewarmness in the church and a profound appreciation for the holiness and majesty of our God as King. It frightens me sometimes what I feel and what God put in me but it is good. Because what you don't hate you will never change and only people with passion change the world.. I think my mom must wonder what happened to her gentle daughter sometimes on the phone when I start telling her now everything I think. I am not the same.
So as you can see we need much much prayer. Thank you all those who do pray and give to help us. We need it now as we are preparing to buy the land and start to build. We are planning now for it to be two years before we will complete the new home. Right now we are renting. Thanks for everything.
Love,
Candace
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