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to our ministry. All contributions are tax deductible. Donations are processed securely by PayPal. |
The orphanage at Khe Sahn is growing!
The growth of our Khe Sahn Orphanage is both encouraging and heartwarming. It is encouraging that the local people of the Khe Sahn area - Christian and non-Christian - have confidence that the children are being well cared for by our orphanage staff. In fact, the request for new children to be placed at the orphanage continues to increase. It's no wonder. It is estimated that Vietnam has more than 2 million orphaned children! What an incredible need!
Nevertheless, our hearts are warmed by the reports that the children at Khe Sahn are doing well and have found a home they can call theirs, people who love them and care for them. They no longer have to worry about the basics of life such as having meals to eat, a bed in which to sleep, or being able to attend school.
Even better, we are ready to do more! We simply need people like you to financially partner with us each month. Every gift given makes the reality of providing for more orphaned children possible. Take a moment and meet the children of our orphanage and we believe you will agree, having them in a place where they are safe and loved is priceless.
Meet our newest children
(click on a child's portrait to read their story)
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The Children of Khe Sanh Orphanage
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As we drove back from our orphanage in Khe Sanh, on the roads that wind among
the mountains of the Central Highlands, one has time to think about the more important
things of life, as well as having the time to enjoy the beautiful scenery. But as the evening
approaches and as a fog begins to descend on the mountaintops the mountains begin
to take on an eerie feel.
The Vietnam Veterans who fought in those jungles know the feeling well. Wade Franks once told me that as a soldier, "you hated to see it get dark--especially when it was rainy and foggy. When that happened you knew you were cut off from air-support. Help was not coming. You were on your own... and the enemy was going to attack." Just the look in his eyes and the sound of it would give a man chills.
The good news is that there is no military enemy prowling those jungles. Vietnam is peaceful and beautiful. Nevertheless, if you and I were one of the unnumbered children in those mountains with no parents to care for them, we might feel that same sense of desperation that sweeps over a person when they know that they are "cut off" from help--that no one is coming for them.
The darkness and fog that envelops them is hopelessness and loneliness. They move from house to house, village-to-village if necessary, looking for a place to call home. They are looking for a family--for someone to take care of them. Many are on their own and may have to live and sleep in that same jungle. This is why REAP International helped to found the Khe Sanh Orphanage. It is one of the few privately funded orphanages in Vietnam and it has been a great success. Ten children bubbling with life and joy fill that home with a love that anyone can feel as soon as they arrive.
These children may have no family in those mountains who wants them or that can take care of them, but at the Khe Sanh Orphanage they have a home. The pastor is their father. The staff is their family. Some may have been abandoned, but here they are wanted and loved.
Even greater news is that we have the opportunity to expand our orphanage. We have permission to add five more children! It does not sound like much, but it's wonderful if you are one of those five children. It's wonderful if you have seen the difference that this home has made in the lives of the children that are there. Each visit we see the children blossoming like flowers as they open up more and more. We see the good home they have been given. We see their happy expressions and the progress that they are making in school. We hear them sing of their faith in Jesus Christ! And there is so much more! It is wonderful to see faith from pure hearts and God wants to reward it! It reminds me of the little boy who had put his faith in Jesus, and had been sharing his faith with others. A mean-spirited man heard him and, seeing how poor the boy was, the man ridiculed him for his belief. "If God was real and He really loved you, why doesn't he tell somebody to buy you some new shoes to replace that worn-out pair you have? Why doesn't He tell someone to buy you some better clothes or feed you better?" The little boy dropped his head for a moment, and then looked up at the man and said, "Maybe He did tell somebody, but maybe they forgot."
We must not forget these children! God has told us what to do. The pastor and staff who run the orphanage have great faith in God and work hard to provide for the children. The children pray and believe that God hears them. And you and I have the privilege of being a part of God's plan to grow their faith and their orphanage. You and I can help lift the darkness and fog of hopelessness and send the help to provide five more children with a Christian home, education, good clothes, and hot meals.
The words of Brooke Fraser's song "Albertine" puts into words our feelings about our children in Vietnam as well as our motivation for helping them.
Now that I have seen
I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you
In my own arms
I cannot let go...
I will tell the world
I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them...
--Brooke Fraser / song: "Albertine"
Listen (link
opens in a new browser tab or window)
Matching funds have already been promised. If you and I will respond we can double our efforts. It takes only $50.00 per month to provide every necessity of life for one of these children. Maybe you can make a $50.00 per month commitment, maybe $25.00, or maybe $10.00. The important thing is that you give monthly for these children and show them you didn't forget.
