THE WHISPER

A Crazy True Personal Story

THE WHISPER

As I was approaching the daunting age of fifty, there was a feeling of dissatisfaction growing in my spirit. I sensed that there was perhaps another life chapter yearning to unfold. I didn’t know what that was supposed to look like. I just felt that there was ‘something’. There was an emptiness. A mid-life crisis, maybe. Who knows. At any rate, being as highly evolved as I am, I decided to ponder and pray. Pray and ponder.

One day, while conducting such praying and pondering, from out of nowhere, a whispered word came into my spirit, “orphans.” What was that? Did I really hear that? Was my normally highly evolved imagination playing games with me? Was I dreaming? What?

Could this possibly be a God thing? Does He whisper? Seriously, does Almighty God have an interest in uttering a simple, single little word to me? Sounds a bit presumptuous. To even think that God would speak to me, a mere mortal, is a bit preposterous, don’t you think?

I couldn’t really reconcile both the fact that I might possibly be hearing the voice of God and secondly, what was the deal with ‘orphans’ anyway? Was I delusional? I had contributed a little bit in the past to some charities that helped children in Africa but that was the extent of my exposure to orphans.

So, I went back to praying and pondering. It seemed that every time I opened the Bible I would ‘randomly’ be directed to a verse about children. Typical example: Luke 9:48 “whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” There were numerous other scriptures along those lines that when I came across them, they somehow, lit up. They came alive. Like neon signs.

Don’t you ever wonder why God doesn’t lay things out nice and clear? At any rate it seemed as though I was making some kind of progress. Towards what? Even though I’m super evolved (sorry to have to keep reminding you of that), I wasn’t sure.

About that time, we heard about a respected minister that was going to be coming to the area. Although it was challenging to pack all three kids and drive an hour to the venue, we went to the host church three nights in a row. The services were wonderful, but in all honesty, I wasn’t sure why we were making such a huge effort to attend. Until this…

During the service on the last night, the minister did something very beautiful yet surreal. I could sense something was about to happen. As the building full of worshippers looked on, she approached me out of the crowd and literally began singing an inspired spontaneous song directly to me. I could sense the Presence of God as she sang. I was overwhelmed. Shattered.

The song was all about children. This was like, unbelievably amazing. The minister didn’t know me; didn’t know I was in the midst of trying to hear direction. Direction about children. It was a total mind blower. I had been asking for confirmation. It seemed as though I got it!

I’ll sure you’ll agree, I’m a little on the dense side. But I finally got the picture. It appeared I had some kind of an assignment that involved orphans. This was a mindblower. Now that I had that insight, what was I supposed to do about it?

I decided to meet with my pastor and explain what I was sensing. I shared with him that my personal money situation was a little wanting, so this was probably an idea for a later time. He didn’t agree. He stated quite emphatically that he felt that I should start immediately. Like, now.

Ok. I got it. So, based on that advice I decided to set up an entity; a non-profit called Legacies of Life. Two wonderful friends agreed to come on as board members and join Julie and me. They seeded it with $100 cash each. Seeds. So, there I was. In business.

But what was this supposed to look like? I felt that, for some reason, it was supposed to be international. But what was I supposed to do and where was I supposed to do it? I wasn’t sure. I explored some possible opportunities in Mexico and Belize but neither of these situations panned out.

About that time, a friend of mine put me in touch with a friend of hers, Abraham, who was also interested in helping orphan children. Abraham was a very interesting and authentic guy. He was living in Denver with his wife (interestingly named Sarah) and was from the Kerala area of India. After having some compelling conversations on the phone with him, I decided to fly to Denver to meet him.

My time with Abraham was like seeing the beginning of the fulfillment of a vision. He had a heart to rescue orphaned children in India. He explained to me that their likely plight would be to work as child laborers doing hard work in rock yards or similar places. Slave like conditions. Abraham and I hit it off right away. I was super excited.

Although he was about half my age, we decided to partner up to start rescuing children in India. He would open up a children’s home that would be put under his watchful eye as well as that of his church there. My part would be to continue developing the vision, pray, and also provide necessary funding. Although I didn’t have anything in the way of funds at the time, by faith I agreed. We had no idea where it would lead.

We started out on the proverbial shoestring. Abraham went to his hometown in India and began the necessary groundwork. He rented a house and almost immediately was able to rescue several orphaned children. This was spectacularly exciting to me. It was really happening! These children were from four to eight years of age. Rescued. Rescued from a life of slavery.

With the help of some donor friends, we were able to hobble along to fund the house rental and the support of these few children.

Coincidentally, at that time, I was invited to be a part of a team for a mission trip to New Delhi, India. Seeing as I was already in the country, I traveled down to Kerala to meet the rescued children. By this time, there were seven beautiful children. Seeing them so happy and worshipping in church, I was literally overwhelmed. Their lives had been forever changed. I think my life was changed as well.

Then something amazing happened. This might seem like a rabbit trail, but it’s not.

At that time, I often read the Wall St Journal and would scan the classified ads, especially the real estate ads. One day a small three-line ad caught my attention. It was advertising a package of lots and unfinished homes in Green Valley, a community 20 miles South of Tucson.

I learned that the three previous builder/developers had gone broke, and the current owner was the private lender who had acquired the property through foreclosure. I wasn’t sure why, but there was something intriguing about this situation.

I immediately flew from Seattle to Tucson to scope out the property and then to Phoenix to meet with the owner. We had a pleasant visit and when I left his home we had come to an agreement. I was able to secure a deal to purchase 124 lots and 8 unfinished homes.

That was way cool, even though I didn’t have much capital to work with. But with the help of investors and a partner I was able to build 150 homes before the market downturn in 2008.

You might ask, what does this have to do with the orphans in India? The answer my friends is this; from the proceeds of every home that was sold, a portion was set aside and donated to Legacies of Life. I believe this was a God-given opportunity that provided new life to many children. It’s interesting, as the seller of the Green Valley property told me that 63 other interested parties had spoken to him about that opportunity but for some reason he did the deal with me.

Eventually, forty Indian children were rescued. Their lives were changed for eternity. All the people that helped Abraham and I, even the folks that bought the 150 homes in Green Valley have a legacy of life!

So, I have to ask, was the whisper of “orphans” my imagination? Was the extraordinary highlighting of scriptures about children that I experienced a coincidence? Was the minister singing inspirationally to me about children happenstance? Was honing in on the WSJ ad for the project in Green Valley, securing the deal against all odds, to fund the vision of Legacies of Life, a random fluke?

Scripture states, “My sheep hear His voice.” It also says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” I believe He spoke to me and gave me the steps to walk. I have no idea why, as I’ve goofed up things so many times. But in this case…

The 40 children are now adults, living happy, productive Christian lives. Some are in the ministry, some in business, some are productive employees, others are now happily married.

I believe He wants to speak to you as well. To lead you into wonderful assignments He has prepared for you. If you’re like me, I want to hear His voice saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

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Photo by Aurora K on Unsplash