Microsoft Friends - Thank you!

Last night, Dan Shepherd and I met with nearly 20 very special friends from Microsoft Corporation in Denver. We appreciate their support of VisionTrust and passion to help orphaned and neglected children around the world grow into healthy, educated leaders truly equipped to make a difference in their own communities.

It was great to have their encouragement as well. Most of these folks were our contemporaries when Dan and I worked at Microsoft in the past. Having their support built up our commitment even more to do this work.

Thank you guys!

Sincerely,

Matt Storer
President
VisionTrust.org

Have you wondered if God is really real?

Have you wondered if God is really real? Or asked yourself, “Where is God?” Even though we have faith, these poignant questions can still come when we face personal tragedy or witness outright injustice. For many of us, we go so fast through the motions of life that God seems to slip from the driver seat, to the middle seat and eventually to the rear seat. Why is it that our faith can become so brittle? One reason may be that our “God Experience” is limited in an intellectual experience.

Through the years, most of us have been taught, either intentionally or unintentionally, that our God Experience is developed by going to church, reading the Bible, and praying. These activities are necessary to grow our understanding of God, but they tend to be inward oriented – representing only one half of our God Experience. When this happens, we can’t see His miracles which make it hard to see God at work in our lives. When we don’t see Him at work, our faith may become brittle.

To combat this feeling, we must build our faith by being on the offensive – by doing good works. In other words, I believe that we will see God at work in our lives when, in faith, we do good works for others. This outward oriented posture takes the focus off of ourselves, creating opportunities for God to work through our lives. When our faith is put into action, we will see miracles happen. This is an action experience that you can “do and see”. It brings glory to God, builds our faith and creates a complete God Experience that goes beyond the intellect.

God Experience = Intellectual experience + Action experience

James said it best, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17). The Word of God gives us hundreds of instructions to defend and rescue the weak and the fatherless, to speak up for them and provide for them. When we obey these instructions and take action, we balance our God Experience equation – building a strong faith that is ready for life’s challenges.

I challenge you to balance your God Experience equation by taking action today. You can rescue a child in need by sponsoring them for $35 a month. You can mentor that child by visiting them on a mission trip. Or, you can advocate for these children that live so far away, right in your home town, by collecting supplies or encouraging others to sponsor children at work or church.

Matt Storer & Jim Ross in Zimbabwe and Tanzania

QUICK UPDATE: Jim and Matt just finished 4 very hot and long days in Zimbabwe. They have established a new partnership in a village called Zunga that is about 1 hour south of Masvingo. It is 1 of 17 villages in the area served by our new project. Currently, the project has 240 double orphans (that means the child has lost both parents). Approximately 400 additional single orphans need assistance in this area as well. It is hard to comprehend the mass volume of orphaned children. AIDS and malaria are the primary cause of death among adults and children.

They leave for Tanzania Wednesday, Jan 27th. VisionTrust began a new partnership there last August so they will be doing training, establishing structure and communications.

Please pray for safety, health, wisdom, God’s leading in all things, patience and clear communication.

What world do you live in? In my world, a precious 9 year old just died from AIDS.

A precious little girl named Verline Mbodekette died from AIDS on 8/20/2009 in Central African Republic. She was 9 years old and was born with HIV. During the last month of her life, the VisionTrust staff admitted her to the local hospital for care. Within hours, workers at the hospital determined that she had died in their care. Verline’s caregivers took her home and when they arrived at the house many people were crying and making noise. Apparently she was not dead because she "woke up." She was rushed back to the hospital and put on an IV. Sadly, she died the next day.

Perhaps for you, your world is defined by a fast-paced schedule and your personal relationships with family, friends and co-workers. However, Verline’s world was defined by 729 other AIDS orphans under the care of VisionTrust, a broken health care system, a non-functional school system, and the death of parents and close relatives.
In Central African Republic (CAR), life is…

… not about getting a job that is exciting, but simply finding paid work for one day.
… not about fixing up the basement for entertainment, but simply finding suitable shelter for a family of 11 made from clay, sticks, rocks and tin.
… not about buying another car for sweet-sixteen, but simply walking 2 miles to the nearest public grade school.
… not about buying organic meat because it is healthier, but simply finding enough food to survive for today.
… not about finding super deals during back to school sales, but simply trying not to damage the one nice shirt when washed in a creek and hung to dry in the bushes.
Together with our partner in CAR called Integrated Community Development International, we strive to create a better world for the orphans in our care. A world defined by love, trust and consistency through providing basic needs like shelter, food, medicine, education and spiritual mentoring.

As I write this, I am preparing for a trip to CAR with our Director of Health Services, Ed Luminati. Please pray for us. We will be meeting public school officials, the Minister of Health, and local medical professionals in the community. In addition, Ed and I will be conducting an extensive review of the fundamental issues blocking the advancement of basic health care like religion, social structures, politics, awareness and lack of training. Our primary goal will be to improve the foundation of basic health care knowledge among the people in the communities where we work and co-develop a plan to take proactive steps to properly care for all of the AIDS orphans in our program.

This deep level of work requires an incredible amount of time, talent and treasure: It also requires you.

If you want to help children like Verline, I need your participation this fall. Our biggest need right now is to have enough money to continue building that “better world” for the thousands of VisionTrust children throughout the world. In response, we’ve established the Better World Fund. Would you consider donating a special amount each month to this fund? You can also help by volunteering in your church or community to raise awareness about children in need, or you can commit to praying for VisionTrust and the children we serve. Please take action this month by completing the enclosed response card. You can learn more about how to get involved or donate online at www.visiontrust.org. Thank you for your participation!

Defending the fatherless with you,

Matt Storer