What Legacy Means to Me

by Lauren Mills

Our local church has been talking about legacy the past few weeks. I was asked to share this testimony of what legacy means to me through video Sunday morning. Truth be told, it pains me like you cannot imagine to see myself on this video. I can’t watch it. Does anyone like watching themselves on video or hearing their voice recorded? Bleh.

BUT… my prayer […]

Re-entry

by Lauren Mills

I have been home one week now, and I have to be honest, I feel a bit out of place in my own home, even in my own skin.  I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. Please don’t get me wrong. I adore my husband and children and was so anxious to see their familiar faces again and hold them and be mom and wife […]

We must keep walking, even not knowing

by Michele-Lyn Ault

I’m different know. I am not sure what to do with the new different. I think about you readers here on the blog. I am not sure what you will think of my new different. My voice is changing. God knew it would. He’s the One who has changed it, and He warned me about it […]

ONE

by Lauren Mills

One sweet woman commented that she had to stop watching the web cast when she heard Jenri‘s weight:

“I was crying so hard I couldn’t breathe. His improved weight of 10 pounds is 10 ounces less than my first son’s birth weight.”

The reality that is most of the world’s to bear is often too much for our Americanized selves to handle […]

TO BE CONTINUED . . . 

by Lauren Mills

Friends and family:

Wanted you to know that I arrived safely on US soil Saturday evening.  After a second flight from Atlanta to Richmond, and a long, sleepy drive from the Richmond airport over the mountain, I am home. To the many who were praying, I believe every prayer was heard and certainly I felt each one. For every encouraging email sent and comment left, my heart is grateful.  I hope to respond to each one early this week. My time in Guatemala far exceeded my greatest […]

What if? One Blogging Year Later

by Michele-Lyn Ault

I wondered what this day would be like. I wondered if I would be excited and celebrate in some way. Maybe a giveaway? No, not today. Today, I am writing this post 2 days after my one year blogging anniversary, 3 days after coming home. Not only am I late, but I am not as celebratory as I thought I would be. I’ve been quiet the last couple of days — here and on the social networks. I am still processing, upon my return from Guatemala […]

DEATH AND LIFE

by Tiffany Eriksen

There are so many stories that have yet to be told…I don’t know where to begin, or how to unpack it all. Getting back to life as normal isn’t so hard, washing clothes, seeing friends, paying bills, cleaning the house. What’s hard… is taking the time to let the last week sink in. Friday alone was too much to handle, too much to process all at once. We brought a little boy across […]

At the end of your tears

by Noel Yeatts

Nothing left. Emotions pushed to the brink. Tears shed until no more are left. What do you do when you find yourself at the end of your tears? Just two days ago we rescued a group of seven children. I tried to know each and every name and each and every heartbreaking story. How much did they weigh, what were their symptoms […]

UNTO THE LEAST OF THESE

by Michele-Lyn Ault

This week I have blogged from Guatemala, for World Help, Operation Baby Rescue. I’ve poured out my heart. I’ve tapped out in words the stories I feel compelled to share with you. And images have convey where words fail to. I know your hearts have been stirred with compassion. And I have been shaken […]

ON THE RIVER

by Lauren Mills

I have to say that hopping in a canoe to cross a rushing, dirty river in Guatemala is not the safest thing I ever did. Noel reminded me to close my mouth as the dirty water splashed into the boat and onto our faces. Dirty water that the people along the river wash their clothes in and bathe their bodies in everyday. Water that makes them sick, sometimes deathly […]

THE SISTER

by Tiffany Eriksen

[ … ] I sit here and think, what about these family members that bring the babies here? So much of my time is spent on the babies, their stories, their hurt, how their situations are unfair. I don’t always think of the Mothers, the Fathers, …the sisters. Noe was one of the rescued children this week, brought down from the mountains, malnutrition […]

I SAW JENRI

by Lauren Mills

[ … ] Plus, I was given the opportunity to share about the little one who grabbed hold of my heart from the first day.  There are so many precious, beautiful babies at the center.  So many being nursed back to health and showing such improvement, visible through chunky cheeks and thighs. But I saw Jenri […]

PHOTO LOG

by Tiffany Eriksen

HUNGER + THIRST + GOOD TIMES

by Lauren Mills

One of the more common questions people have asked me about Operation Baby Rescue is what happens to the children after they are rescued and then rehabilitated to health. Are they simply returned to the same conditions which led to their illness in the first place?  Won’t they just keep getting sick from drinking more dirty water? Operation Baby Rescue is really just the beginning.  It starts with saving a life […]

I WELCOME THE ACHE IN MY HEART

by Michele-Lyn Ault

I am in Guatemala, blogging from here so I can tell you about the missions of World Help and so I can share the story of those who cannot share it themselves. So in this short post, where the images speak, and my words are few, I am sharing some of the experiences that I am still processing. These images were taken at a feeding center where children and families are fed daily. This feeding center happens to be at the dump […]

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

by Noel Yeatts

Over 20 years ago I helped  give a little boy on the streets of Brazil a simple pair of shoes. It was a moment I will never forget, and a moment that changed both of our lives. You can read more about his story in my book, Awake. Yesterday I was helping give Guatemalan children a pair of shoes and once again was reminded of the difference this simple gift […]

Watch the video on Vimeo.

THE SAME NAME

by Noel Yeatts

Watch the video on Vimeo.

THE NEXT STEP, AT THE RESCUE CENTER

by Michele-Lyn Ault

After the river rescue, a few of us were able to ride with the children and mamas to the Rescue Center at Hope of Life. I was honored to be one of them, riding on the ambulance holding on to the rail, holding on for their dear lives. Ride with us for a minute of the ride by clicking here […]

THE RESCUE

by Lauren Mills

After a long drive down a bumpy road to a village on the river, our team spilled out of a van onto rocky ground atop a hill on the river’s edge.  A flurry of commotion. Tiffany hands me a life vest. I’m going?  The Isaiah 6:8 question comes to me […]

REAL LIFE RIVER RESCUE

by Michele-Lyn Ault

This is what we came for. This is what I have been waiting for. This is what they’ve been waiting for. This is what we give for. And it’s only the first step. I waited a shore. Capturing the moment. Captivated by the moment […]

A DAY IN PICTURES {OPERATION BABY RESCUE}

by Lauren Mills

Photo provided by Lauren Mills

For now, the photos tell the story. Next time, my words. Please come back for some incredible rescue stories […]

THE GAP

by Tiffany Eriksen

[ … ] “The babies are rescued, what now?” I hear this question so often, and for good reason. Operation Baby Rescue is literally a life-saving project. But, it’s not holistic.We never want to send these children back to the same situation they’ve come from. Rescues stand alongside so many other initiatives that bridge the gap, that help prevent the malnutrition and disease- things like TOM’s shoes, clean water wells through causelife, feeding centers, school buildings for education, and so on […]

RIVER RESCUES

by Noel Yeatts

Today was an adventure and one I will never forget. I’ve done this before, but it never gets old and never gets any easier. We rescued 7 children today … 7 young lives. Their journey started hours away in the mountains and carried them all the way to a river bank where our group was waiting. We crossed the raging river … and I mean raging … to reach them.  (it had rained heavily the night before and the river was overflowing) The river was so rough that we had to wear life jackets. The waves in the water hit the side of the canoe with such force that the water came splashing […]

GALLERY OF RESCUED BABIES

by Michele-Lyn Ault

Yesterday, I had the most humbling privilege to meet these Rescue’s — these miracles. The work that is happening here in Guatemala, throughWorld Help, Operation Baby Rescue, is truly in the rhythm with the heartbeat of God […]

OPERATION BABY RESCUE: DAY TWO

by Lauren Mills

Yesterday morning I caught my first glimpse of Guatemala through a small airplane window. Even from a distance, I could make out a thousand brightly colored, makeshift homes, squished and crammed on the leveled tops of mountains. Before we’d even touched down, the tears came […]

GOD’S LOVE IN ACTION

by Michele-Lyn Ault

[ … ] Lady and Alicia, now 9 and 10, were rescued when they were 4 and 5. They were reduced to thin skin and fragile bones. They lost their parents and were left to their grandmother. Though, she should have been their caregiver offering love and protection, she was not and did not.  She would leave the girls home alone, but not without tying up the girls […]

TOO HUMAN

by Tiffany Eriksen

[ … ] Ana… I just can’t get enough. Her mother, who has experienced the biggest, most altering stage in a woman’s life… is only 13. A slow churn starts in my chest. Aracely’s story is much too common in Guatemala, in Central America, in the world. She was turned into nothing more than a receptacle of a man’s rage and cruelty. A man she should have been able to trust […]

FROM THE CLOUDS . . .

by Noel Yeatts

[ … ] Meeting physical needs must come first sometimes. In that way, not only do we “earn the right to be heard”, but we show that God really cares about our whole life. As Gabe Lyons says, “In the lives of the mistreated, underrepresented, and left behind of our world, the Christian responds by solving real problems.” Their acts of social justice demonstrate to the world that Christ cares about the here and now- not just the afterlife. In a couple hours I will land in Guatemala and literally come out of the clouds to embrace poverty […]

BLORFT.

by Tiffany Eriksen

I label myself a spontaneous planner. As in – I’m totally into spontaneity, but let’s be real… a little planning in the process never hurt anyone. It’s comfortable to know the plan, to know things are going smoothly, knowing there’s little worry, or room for error. However, I’ve never known a time in my life where things went so consistently […]

GRATEFUL HEART

by Michele-Lyn Ault

My heart is full of thanks today, and a little bit of sorrow, too. I’ll miss family. I wrote a little while back, it takes courage to go and it takes courage to stay. Today, I go. It’s been over a decade and a half since I’ve gone. It was Haiti, Husband and I went to when we were just newly weds. Haiti has never left our hearts. Today, I’m standing before a deli counter in the airport, waiting for my egg, ham and cheese bagel, tapping away on my iPhone […]

I CAN’T STAND IT ANYMORE

by Lauren Mills

When I was 16 years old, I came to know Jesus. I always knew of Him. But I came to know Him, the great God of the Universe who loved messed up me with an everlasting love. The King of Kings who laid down His life to give me mine, in abundance. He is the Lover of my soul and Savior of my life. Not soon after finding Jesus, my eyes […]

ONE DAY BEFORE … OPERATION BABY RESCUE

by Michele-Lyn Ault

I leave tomorrow for Guatemala, and the final preparations are being made. I’m near weeping at any moment. I am not sure I am ready for what I am going see, hear, touch, and smell. I do not know how to rejoice in the abundant blessings that I embrace so casually everyday, once I am in the present reality of their desperate […]

IT’S TIME

by Lauren Mills

Loads of laundry, menu plans for the kids while I’m away, the dragging out of suitcases, sorting of clothes, sending of reminders, errands for travel-size soaps and snacks to pack, making of lists so I don’t forget to pack my own self, writing notes upon notes (to myself, to the friend who will be helping with the kids while I’m away, to the school about who will be picking up our Big Girl on which day, and more notes swirling in my brain for all that must be done). In yesterday’s vlog, I made the comment (something to the effect of):  “How does one prepare her heart to go […]

WHAT WE ARE NOT & NEED TO BE, HE IS

by Michele-Lyn Ault

I am not sure I am ready for my world to collide with theirs. I do not know how my heart will handle it, when I see poverty that is so foreign to me. I am not sure how to reconcile the reality of not being able to meet their needs. I have to believe […]

HOW DO YOU DREAM?

by Michele-Lyn Ault

We are supposed to have one or two or hundreds. They say dreams are supposed to be big enough to scare you. The problem was, I didn’t have a dream, or I didn’t know what it was. I wanted a dream, not just any dream, but God’s dream for me. If truth be told, and if I dug deep and deeper still, I could find a dream, or at least—the seed of […]

[VIDEO] JOIN THE RESCUE 

by Lauren Mills

HOW DO YOU CLEAN DIRT FLOORS?

by Michele-Lyn Ault

I am on my knees again, and worship is playing in the background, but I am not in a humble stance. I am wiping up crumbs and dust that the vacuum cannot reach from underneath furniture and hidden behind accessories that beautify the room. Holding in my hand the once white rag that is now covered gray and black, I see this cleaning […]

BLOGGERS SHARE THE STORY OF OPERATION BABY RESCUE

by The Blog Team

Coming up October 1-6, World Help will be teaming up with a group of writers and storytellers on a trip into the mountains of Guatemala and into the heart of Operation Baby Rescue. Through their eyes, you will be able to see the challenges faced by these impoverished communities as well as the life-saving programs and projects already underway—from clean-water wells to child sponsorship […]

FRESH EYES, FRESH WORDS.

by Noel Yeatts

In about a week, I will leave again for Guatemala. In some ways this is nothing new, and for me it is starting to feel like I am going home. A place where I leave part of my heart each and every time I go. A place where the precious babies I fight so hard to save are now living beautiful, hope-restored lives. And a place where so many others are simply waiting for hope to arrive. But on this trip I am taking fresh eyes […]

A CHALLENGE, FEATURED POSTS, & HEART+HOME

by Lauren Mills

For several months now, I’ve been talking about and praying over my upcoming trip to Guatemala with WorldHelp’s Operation Baby Rescue. It hardly seems possible that after all the talk the journey is actually happening in less than two weeks. Nerves are setting in as I prepare to leave my little ones, yet I am confident that God […]

RISK TAKING, HEART BREAKING, & RESCUING

by Lauren Mills

Earlier this week Noel Yeatts, Word Help’s Vice President, spoke at Liberty University‘s convocation service.  I wasn’t there in person, but watched the message last night, and can’t shake it. And nor do I want to shake […]

BURDENED WITH GLORIOUS PURPOSE

by Michele-Lyn Ault

More than half my life I ago, I sat in an auditorium surrounded by hundreds of youth. Yet, I sat only with God. He had my attention, and I had His. He had a seed of a dream to plant in the tender fertile soil of this heart that was newly His. With each word the preachers spoke and each story the missionaries told, my heart broke […]

INSPIRED POSTS + {HEART+HOME} GATHERING {#11}

by Lauren Mills

In an amazing turn of events only God could have crafted, I will be traveling to Guatemala with World Help’s Operation Baby Rescue {OBR} this coming October. World Help/OBR provides life-saving treatment for thousands of children battling the effects of malnutrition. World Help has partnered with […]