Orphan Outreach

Our Orphan Outreach family loves to dream.  We are dreamers.  We dream about what could be in the life of a child if God had His way.  We are constantly praying – ‘what does God have in store for this child?’   Then we plan and design and serve and support and care for and love the child through all our ministries. ...   continue

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 It’s budget season for us at Orphan Outreach, which never fails to be a stressful or stress-producing time for us. The...   continue

Right now, my team and I have been talking a lot about our mission and we’ve focused the conversation around our logo. During one of our meetings, I pulled up our logo and asked everyone, “What do you see?” People saw a child, wind blowing, a sail boat, and God’s hand. I see all of these things too but what really stands...   continue

Recently, I shared one of my morning devotionals with our international leadership and US Staff because we've been facing a higher-than-usual number of challenges-from specific programmatic difficulties to having to reroute a mission trip because of unforeseen obstacles. With these hindrances on top of our normal workload...   continue

Recently, I re-read "Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix” by Edwin H. Friedman. The big idea is that with so much change, chaos, and anxiety happening in the world, what we really need in our leaders is a calming presence. Friedman says that a leader’s most important attribute isn’t content, ability, or...   continue

There are two prayers I am currently praying each day. The first is a prayer of serenity by Reinhold Niebuhr: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; taking this world as...   continue

Dale Caleb White went to spend eternity with Jesus on Feb 18, 2023, at the age of 91.  I first met Grandpa Dale at my wedding to Elise.  He actually had a prayer for us.  Over the past 20 years, our relationship shifted in many profound ways.  And it's easy to follow the arc by what I called him.  It...   continue

For the past several years, God has given me a phrase to focus on and pray. One year it was, “Be strong and courageous.” In another it was “God is here with me, right now.” In 2021 my phrase was, “Commit your plans to the Lord,” and last year it was “Look back, lean forward.” I use these phrases throughout my day...   continue

A few weeks ago, I met a young woman who is part of our aging out program in Russia. She’s now married with two kids and one on the way. I asked her how long she had known the staff that serves her and the rest of orphans who have aged out of traditional care. She smiled and said, “Since the 5th grade.” When she was in the...   continue

For the past several years, I have opened up every journal entry with this word: “Commit."  It's from Proverbs 16:3:  "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." I've attempted to commit all that is before me to God on a daily, even hourly, basis. My family. Our health. Our jobs. Our...   continue

Welcome to 2022. A new year is here.  So much promise and potential.  Yet so much baggage from the previous years.  For many of us, we are hopeful as we head to the future.  For others, we feel dread.    In addition to the underlying worries, anxieties, and troubles that we all face due to another variant, inflation...   continue

2020 is in the rearview.  I think we are all still trying to make sense of it all.  The COVID pandemic and the loss of life, racial tensions, a challenging election season, the struggling economy, and on and on.  I spent the first half of the year studying the early church, which faced similar crises, to see how they...   continue

For the past couple years, I’ve developed the morning routine of heading to the gym for some cardio to jump start my brain.  The cardio is low impact (cycling, elliptical) which is all I can handle since a back injury sidelined me a few years ago.  I didn’t realize how much I was reliant on that habit until the gym...   continue