The following post was shared by a friend of mine, Drea, on her blog.  While Seggy was here, he spent quite a bit of time with Bryan and Drea and nicknamed them the “United Nations home.”  I think you’ll see why…

Their family has China, Russia, Ethiopia and the U.S. all represented!

And somewhere in between taking crazy family photos, being mommy to 9 children while teaching three of them a new language (English!), partnering with an orphanage in Kisii, Kenya, and dropping into bed dead-tired at night, Drea finds time to write some pretty amazing stuff.  Read on…

shared by Andrea Thiele

We have prioritized our comforts over the needs of the world around us, and we need to repent. ~David Platt

These are just some of the faces of Kisii, Kenya, Africa. They are praising the One True God. Even in their sickness, disease, hunger, and thirst, they are praying and praising Jesus. These sweet faces pray for us every night. They pray that the Lord would provide for us, so that in turn, we can provide for them. The Lord has answered their prayers.

Meet Norah. She is a vibrant 6 year old girl with a sweet heart and great disposition. Norah has big dreams for a bright future. She is a good student and a good help around the orphanage. She needs someone to love her. She needs someone to be the hands and feet of Jesus to her. Showing her that they care for her and her needs. Norah wants to stay in her native country, Kenya, to grow up and effect change. She prays that the Lord would provide the money for her monthly needs of food, water, medical care and schooling. The Lord has answered her prayers.

Diana is a shy but sweet girl. When we first met her, she didn’t stand out in the crowd, she hid behind the others. She is 7 years old and strives hard in school and around the orphanage. She wants to get good grades so that she can get a good job when she grows. She loves to sing “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.” She prays for God to meet her where she is. She thanks him for what He has done on the cross for her sins. She asks him to bring only what she needs to carry her from day to day and to provide her with a hope and a future. The Lord has answered her prayers.

Today, I sat on the phone with a good friend. She has sold ALL of her possessions, and is getting ready to move her and her son to Uganda, to serve the “least of these.” While we talked she filled me in on all the needs of the people she is moving to serve. The conversation left me in tears. The need is for a school. While there is no water in this village in Uganda, there is a great need for a school, over their need for water. You see the children have to walk between 3 and 15 miles to go to school. On the way the girls are kidnapped and then raped. Therefore the parents are not sending their children to school and they are in need of education, so that they can break the cycle of poverty. We have been praying for God to supply all the money so that they not only can have a school in their village, but so that they can also have water. The Lord has answered our prayers.

For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” 2 Cor 8:13-15

Don’t miss this!

The Lord has supplied all the money for food they need.

The Lord has supplied all that she needs for medical care and education.

The Lord has supplied all they need for hope and a future.

The Lord has given us all we need, in order to supply what they lack!

The Lord has answered ALL of their prayers…

…the answer is YOU and ME!

We are the answer! We have the abundance that would supply their needs…it is in our cable bills, our car payments, our big houses, our boats, our hobbies, our vacations, our closets, our china cabinets. The excess is in our sports tickets, Starbucks coffee, upgrades in our homes, pedicures & manicures, restaurant bills, our animals and cell phones.

As Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, has said, “We are God’s Plan A…and He doesn’t have a Plan B.” (The Hole in our Gospel, page 277)

My heart breaks for us! We are caught in the lie of our possessions dictating our identity. We are caught in the lie that we are blessed just to be blessed. We are caught in the lie that if we live this way (selling our stuff and giving to the poor), then we are legalistic and emergent, not saved by grace but by works. We have MORE in order to supply their lack. And we give because we LOVE JESUS…and because we have been saved by grace and grace alone, this is just evidence of the fruit of JESUS in our lives. Because we LOVE Him so much we LOVE the least of these and we risk it ALL!

Oh brothers and sisters in Christ…LET US BE A PART OF GOD’S ALREADY ANSWERED PRAYERS! Let us live as if this were not our home!

My last thought is, we are not to compare ourselves to others. My heart is for what the word of God says. I want my heart to break for what breaks His and through this blog I share it with you. The Lord says to give from the heart…give of what we have and sometimes from what we don’t have, NOT only from our abundance but from our sacrifice. Sacrifice of TIME, MONEY, and TALENTS. The money I spend for my monthly cable bill will sponsor one of these children you see above. What could your abundance and sacrifice supply?