Where God is calling us!

　Cross Point Ministries, Aklan

I am excited to share with you what God has been doing in our lives and want to share with you where we are feeling called to serve God. The last two years of our lives, God has done a lot of pruning in our marriage and in our own lives. We were blessed while living in Alberta, Canada with abundance of work and cash flow. Our lives at that time really didn’t have a lot of meaning. We were working and doing what ever we wanted. Though it was less stressful living there at that time we were not letting God be glorified through everything we were doing. We were just wasting away our lives. In August of 2008 we moved to Kalispell, MT and have been living here ever since. We built our home down here and than the market collapsed. This last year and a half has been a struggle to provide for my family, but through this time God has shown us what is truly important in life and the things of this earth, meaning the materials of this world are not what is important in life. It has been a humbling couple of years and we are thankful for every minute of it. The valleys of life are hard, but when God is there with you whom shall we fear?

This last year I have been meeting with Mike Yap every week to pray for each other and hold each other accountable. In this last year, since God has brought this wonderful friend into my life, Mike has been sharing with me about a vision he got while visiting his parents back in the Philippines, in 2006. At this time he was given 3 acres in the town of Aklan, Kalibo on the island of Panay, Philippines. God laid upon his heart to start an orphanage with this land he was given. The Philippines is an area of the world that really is not known for adoptions or people really don’t understand how many kids are just thrown into dumpsters or left on the streets to provide for themselves. The world is no place for a kid to be left alone to provide for themselves. The kids are than picked up and used for slavery, sex trades and what ever else this evil world can throw at them. I would love for you to check out http://crosspointministriesaklan.blogspot.com/  to learn more about his vision, mission statement and more. In the last three months God has been really stirring my heart and sharing with me through my devotions, my time with Mike every week, at Fresh Life Church and through countless other circumstances in life that we are all called on this earth to disciple others and worship God our maker.

For some reason it really hadn’t clicked as to what this means. I didn’t really know what God was calling me to do with our lives until one morning doing devotions, God laid it upon my heart to talk to Mike more about God’s vision he had shared with him. I asked Mike, what do you think about me coming beside you and helping you get this ship moving. I have been doing construction for a long time and really have not been using my gifts and talents to further His Kingdom. We prayed about it and started talking more about it over the next couple of weeks. This is when God started to overwhelm me with His presence and has been constantly reminding me of His passion for orphans. James 1:27- “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
We are leaving July 12^th to meet with Action International in Manila, Philippines where they will be having the yearly meeting with all their missionaries and board members on July 15^th. At this time we going to share with them the layout of the property, the drawing plans for the orphanage and the vision for what God is calling us do in this town. We are praying that we will be able to come under them and use their organization as a launching point to where donations and funds can be channeled through. We are needing a church or a company with a 501 C 3 to allow the funds of this ministry that it receives to be tax free. This will benefit the giver to receive a tax deductible receipt. This is a huge part to starting this orphanage. We are also going to be getting a bank account setup there under the orphanage’s name so that we will have a place in the Philippines to transfer money to from other countries. The property is 4 feet below sea level so we are praying that we will have enough funds to backfill the property so it can sit and settle in time for when we are ready to start the orphanage.

I am wanting to share this with you now so you can be praying for us and our trip. I don’t know how we can afford this but one thing I do know is that God is not concerned with the things of this world. Money is no issue to Him. All He cares about is the heart. So finally at the age of 30, my heart is in the right place and ready to serve Him. When God puts his finger on you, you better not turn away. He has an awesome way of smacking you over the head and breaking you of your prideful ways. The book of Jonah is a good reminder to me. I don’t want to move there, knowing the risks of my children in a third world country, but God has been reminding me through scripture that where there is faith there is His Glory.

I would love to share with you so much more about the overall vision, but that will come later. So please be praying for us in this process, that God will be glorified through it all. You will be able to keep track of our trip at our blog http://justmemybrunetteand3littlemunchkins.blogspot.com/ I will be updating our trip there so you can read and see pictures of the property, surrounding area. This way you can have a visual of what you are praying for or feeling led to support. Our goal is to be moved over there with in a year. Crazy, but awesome in knowing that what we are doing has no selfish motives and it is ultimately for Jesus. If you know someone that can make quarterly donations to Cross Point Ministries, Aklan than please let us know or have them get a hold of me at 1124hogan@gmail.com and I will forward them to Mike Yap. Also due to this being a non-profit organization our family is going to have to be supported financially but most importantly through prayer. So if God is laying it upon your heart to further His Kingdom in this ministry by finances or prayer. Please let us know. If you know my wife Andrea, you could also contact her through Facebook or our personal email, cahogan_1@hotmail.com There is already a board set up in the Philippines and I will most likely be joining this board here in the upcoming months. We don’t know where the funds will come in from but we have complete faith that God will provide. He is an Awesome God! Thanks for taking the time to read this long letter and we look forward to serving our God in this orphanage with His children.
With Love,

Chris Hogan