<![CDATA[UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF WELLSBORO - WITNESS]]>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:16:49 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Empowered at the Vet Clinic]]>Sat, 02 Feb 2019 23:21:28 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/empowered-at-the-vet-clinic
My Story
I was completely grossed out and at the same time totally inspired. The dog that had just arrived at the veterinary clinic had been hit by a car and was in need of emergency care. The skin on it's backside was torn leaving the underlying muscle exposed. I am a person of faith so part of me was holding out hope that this poor creature would be okay, but there was another voice in my head saying, "that looks really bad, there's no way..."

Enter my wife Erin who serves as a veterinary nurse and the doctor who was on call that day. The two of them got to work in a flash. They stopped the bleeding, cleaned out the wound, and had the dog stitched up and in recovery within an hour.

This is just one example of the kind of stuff she does in care for animals who are in need of medical treatment. I'm grateful for what I got to see that day because it is always amazing to witness a person sharing their God-given gifts to help others, and in that way responding to the call God has placed upon them.

Erin has gifts of compassion, helping, and for being willing and able to engage in gross and disturbing situations to bring some healing out of it. Serving as a veterinary nurse she is able to respond to God's call to help animals to thrive and to reduce animal suffering in the world. Responding to this call is part of what it means for her to live her best life possible.

She studied for two years to obtain the skills necessary to do the work she is currently doing and she obtains continuing education units regularly.That being said, she has always possessed all that she ever needed to live her best life possible. While training was necessary for her to serve as a veterinary nurse, those gifts of compassion, helping, and healing were gifts God had given her from the beginning. That is how God empowered her; by gifting her and calling her to be able to give herself in love and service to animals in need of medical care.

I share Erin's story to share the truth that each of us already possesses everything that we need to live our best lives possible; this is God's gift to all people. We are known, loved, gifted, and called by God; called to give ourselves to help each other; to love, to serve, to help, to comfort, to heal, to inspire...

You have always possessed all that you have ever needed to live your best life possible. YOU ARE KNOWN, LOVED, and EMPOWERED by the Spirit of God who is always closer than we think. 
-Rich Hanlon]]><![CDATA[Called with a Purpose]]>Mon, 14 May 2018 18:32:51 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/called-with-a-purposeI’d like to share a story in which I came to realize with greater clarity that I was called by God with a purpose to serve as a pastor. I became a member of Hollidaysburg First United Methodist Church in 2011. Shortly after joining I was invited by the pastor to have an article published in the church newsletter that I had written about finding inspiration in nature for our journey of faith. I think it was about a month or so after the article was published in the church newsletter that I began to feel unsettled with my job where I worked as a water sample analyst at a water testing laboratory in Altoona, PA. It was a decent job and it paid the bills.

I even had a few good friends who worked there. One of them was a fellow church member named Paul. Paul and I even participated in the same Sunday school class on the weekends.

Working at the lab was a decent job, but I felt that God was working on my heart to lead me in a different direction. I felt that God was desiring for me to engage in some form of ministry. And so I looked into different positions in the church which included everything from children’s ministry to custodian. I became more and more confused and even a little frustrated at what I should do.

That is, until Erin (my wife) asked me if I had considered that God might be calling me to pastoral ministry. I hadn’t considered that since I had grown up in the Catholic tradition where pastoral ministry and marriage don’t go together. But now I began to consider the possibility.

I recall a specific prayer that I prayed the day after Erin had said that to me. I had gotten into my car about 6:30am to head into the water testing laboratory for work, and I prayed. All I said was this; “God, if you are calling me to be a pastor, I need a sign. Please give me something.”

Well, 15 minutes later as I entered the lab my friend Paul was there just inside the front door. The first words he said to me were, “Rich, I read your article in the church Newsletter this morning. have you considered being a pastor? You certainly have gifts for it.”

I consider the events of that 12 hour period to be one of the most prominent firefly moments for me in which I came to know God’s call upon my life with greater clarity. That is a moment in which I came to know that God had called me with a purpose.

While most of us are not called to be pastors (some of us are!), God is faithful to call each and every one of us with a purpose. Take time to converse with God in prayer, you may be surprised!

Praying that you’ll come to know God’s call for you,

Pastor Rich



 
 ]]><![CDATA[They Never Looked So Good]]>Mon, 12 Mar 2018 15:05:49 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/they-never-looked-so-goodThis was the first thing that Phyllis said to me when our paths crossed on a side street in Wellsboro, PA one sunny day in May of last year. "What never looked so good?," I asked. "The flowers!" said Phyllis. In turn I asked her, "Phyllis, you mean to tell me that in your 90 years of living, the flowers have never looked so good any year before this one???" "Every year they hold more beauty to me than they did the year before," said Phyllis.

Now I know that Phyllis has had some difficult times in her life; but she carries such a deep sense of gratitude with her at all times that it is truly inspiring.

Her sense of gratitude reminds me of Jesus' prayerful response to one of the moments when his disciple's really 'get it.' The story, from chapter 10 of the book in the Bible called Luke says that "Jesus was filled with the joy of the Spirit of God, and he said, "God of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way."

This whole gratitude thing sounds like worship when Jesus does it and when Phyllis does it.

For many of us, if I say the word "worship" maybe your mind takes you to good memories of a large crowd of people gathered in a church building singing songs, praying prayers, and hearing a word of from the Bible. Then again, for those who have had bad experiences with a church community the word "worship" may sound like a dirty and off-putting word given these corporate connotations that often go along with it.

When we get right down to it though, to engage in worship is to orient our lives in relation with God.Worship happens when Phyllis is thanking God for the beauty of the natural world, for the people in her life, for life itself, and for every good thing that comes from God. I learned from Phyllis that one of the most profound acts of worship is to look into the eyes of another human being and say to them, "I thank God for you."

Is there a "Phyllis" in your life? I'd like to encourage you to enter your own experience of worship by taking a moment to thank God for him or her today.

​Pastor Rich Hanlon]]><![CDATA[On Faith]]>Mon, 15 Jan 2018 17:47:07 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/on-faithI never expected to live in Wellsboro. In fact, I never knew a place called Wellsboro existed until I got the phone call from District Superintendent Beth Jones while I was driving between Altoona and Pittsburgh on a sunny day in April 2015. But I’m already getting ahead of myself.
This story begins during the Spring of 2011, when I joined the First United Methodist Church of Hollidaysburg, where Erin had always been a member. It was about a month after transferring my membership from the Catholic tradition to the United Methodist tradition that I began to feel drawn towards a position of leadership in the church. Not only that, but the more I prayed about it and discussed it with others, the more it became clear that I was feeling led towards pastoral ministry.
But there were questions and there were concerns; and I had already decided three years prior that I did not want to go back to school for another degree.
We were happy living in Hollidaysburg; it was a nice town, we were part of an active and vital church, and we had no desire to live anywhere else.
But I was not the only one who felt led to pursue a different career path; It seems that God was working in both of our hearts; and so Erin and I decided to trust God’s plans for us as we moved to Pittsburgh so Erin could attend Pittsburgh Vet Tech Institute while I attended Pittsburgh Seminary.
We trusted in God and God blessed us through our family as well as through the network of relationships that were built through our three years living as next door neighbors to my parents…as it happened, just at the time we were getting ready to move to Pittsburgh my parents next door neighbor sold her house, they bought the house, and invited us to live there for three years.
During that time we were blessed with a dog walking community, two supportive churches, and an opportunity to get the education that would equip us to fulfill our respective calls.
During our time in Pittsburgh I got to serve as a part time pastor at a church called Hot Metal bridge Faith Community where the primary missional thrust was to build relationships with people who were experiencing homelessness, and after graduating from Pittsburgh Vet Tech Institute Erin got to build relationships with people and their pets in her service at the Pleasant Valley Veterinary Clinic.
Life was good in Pittsburgh and we found a healthy rhythm between work, family, and spending time with the local dog walking group.
After graduation I was asked if I wanted to stay on with Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community after graduation. Afterall, I was happy there. Erin was happy with her place of employment. There were things about the city we both enjoyed, and we agreed that if we left there would be many many people whom we’d miss.
But we knew the life that we had chosen. Our faith had taken us this far along the journey, and we decided that in faith we would continue.
We decided to trust God in our move from Hollidaysburg to Pittsburgh, and we decided to trust God in our move from Pittsburgh to wherever the next location would be prior to knowing where that place was.
On this journey that’s what faith has been for us; it’s trust in God. And that is why, when I received the phone call on that Sunny day in April of 2015 the most prominent thing I felt was an invitation to once more, trust in God for the next step of the journey just as we’d done for every step prior.
We have discovered that the road to fulfilling God’s call in our lives is often very challenging, especially when we think of those we’ve gotten to know and love in Hollidaysburg and in Pittsburgh…but faith lived out to fulfill God’s call is always worth the cost.
As we begin this season of Advent; anticipating the birth of Christ, we do so in faith. While I think that the people and the places in mine and Erin’s story of faith are probably not the same as those in yours, I hope every one of us can recall how Jesus has been faithful to lead us along every next step of the journey towards fulfilling our call when we walk it in faith.
Peace,
Pastor Rich
]]><![CDATA[Forgiveness comes from Love]]>Tue, 07 Mar 2017 11:00:37 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/march-07th-2017
December 2017 will be the 10th anniversary of my father's death.  It's amazing how many years have passed when it seems like just yesterday.

Dad got sick after Thanksgiving in 2007.  Test results at the hospital revealed he had an obstruction in his bowel most likely caused by scar tissue from a previous gall bladder surgery.  Laparoscopic surgery was scheduled for the following day to remove the blockage.

I remember Dad telling me that he had upset the surgeon by asking him how many patients he had 'lost' to this type of surgery.  He said that the doctor was quite offended with his question and replied 'none.'   We joked about it a bit.

My mom called to say that the surgery had been moved up and I thought, "Good.  Dad will feel better soon."  Well, he never did get to feeling better.  The surgeon was called late that night because there was concern about my father's condition.  He stopped in early the next morning before leaving for his trip and said that the surgery had gone just fine and that my dad just needed fluids and rest. 

We should have moved him to a different hospital that day, but we waited another day. . .then two.  The hospital finally realized that the situation had turned desperate and called life flight to take him to Sayre.  There it was discovered that during the laparoscopic surgery to remove the blockage, his bowel had been perforated in several locations and his body was being poisoned by itself.  He spent several weeks there trying to recover from the damage, but ultimately there was no recovery. . .just final peace.

I was so angry with the surgeon.  In my opinion he rushed through a surgery.  He was so confident in his work that he gave the medical staff at the hospital a false impression.  Then he left for VACATION!  I hated him.  For years I hated him.  At times I told myself that he did it on purpose because my dad had offended him when he was asked how many of his patients died from this type of surgery.  Then I hated him even more.

In the fall of 2015, I found my way back to church.  It is hard to describe the warm fascinating feelings that moved in my body after I welcomed Jesus back into my life.  There was more love and hope in my heart than I ever imagined possible.  Prior to this happening, anytime I would think of my dad, the anger and hate would well up inside me.  But now things were different.  I realized that I had forgiven the surgeon without making the conscious effort to forgive him.  Those feelings of hate were gone.  Jesus had healed my heart.  He showed me how to love everyone; how to forgive anyone.  Truly through Him, anything is possible.

I still cry when I think of my dad. . .but that is because I miss him.

Jean


]]><![CDATA[An Answer to a Prayer]]>Mon, 20 Feb 2017 10:51:26 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/an-answer-to-a-prayerLast year I had prayed to God  to "give me a voice."  At that time I was feeling shut in, not able to communicate as I would like to.  I felt I had something to say but no way of saying it.  Also fear. . .the kind of fear you feel when you stand in front of a group of people to speak.  So I prayed to God to give me the voice that I needed.

A few days later at work, I was offered a promotion - general manager.  This would put me in charge of everyone in the office.  I really could not believe it.  I thought, "This is not the 'voice' that I had been thinking of, but perhaps this is God answering my prayer."  After all, to lead others you have to have a voice!

I dived into this new position with excitement and enthusiasm.  Excited for this new opportunity but also excited that God had answered my prayer.  My excitement and enthusiasm did not last long.  As the months passed, I realized that I did not have a voice after all.  Most decisions were not mine to make.  My co-workers did not take kindly to their peer now being the 'boss.'

At the same time I was struggling to find meaning and answers to what I was doing at work, I became more involved in church.  I always loved to sing, so I was invited to join the praise team.  In August, I was asked if I would like to assist Karen in teaching Sunday School for the upcoming year - I was thrilled!  I found the best days of my week were Sundays and Wednesday nights (praise team practice night).  In the fall, I helped to create a new website for the church.  Learning that we are called to be a witness to the works of the Lord, I added this blog to the site so that others can share their stories.

I decided in December that I was not equipped to be a general manager.  It was a hard request to make, but I asked to go back to my previous position and part time hours as the marketing director.  In all honesty, I should have declined the position when it was first offered. . .I knew in my heart then that it was not what I should be doing.  But I thought God was answering my prayer and I needed to follow Him.

Just this past Sunday, February 19th, in a discussion with the children about the parable of the lost sheep, I realized that God had answered my prayer after all.  When we are lost sometimes the path back is not a straight and easy one.  There may be lessons to learn along the way.  We can pray for the answer, but what we think is the answer is not necessarily so.  God does show us the way back in a way and time that is best for us. 

Here is the voice that God has given me:  I am a member of the praise team singing out praise to the Lord every Sunday (and every day), I teach Sunday School to children where I learn more myself each week, I was asked to co-chair the Witness Ministry which is called to share the good news to others - what an amazing voice to have!  Some prayers are answered over time.  I am quite confident that God is still at work on this one for me because I still have much to learn about having a voice.

God does answer prayers.

Jean.
]]><![CDATA[John & Sara Vogt Adoption Story]]>Fri, 17 Feb 2017 11:11:37 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/john-sara-vogt-adoption-story(Revised 10/15/2011 and February 2017)
Our adoption story began back in 1949.  I was an orphan with no hope and no future.  But the Lord promises to be a Father to the fatherless and care for the orphan.  In His great mercy and love God cared for me and gave me the best Dad and Mom that any kid could have.  My parents lavished me with love and provision, and they taught me about Jesus and God's love for me.  Two years later they adopted another little boy and gave me the gift of a brother.  My name is John, and my brother was named Jim.  You may remember James and John in the Bible, "THE SONS OF THUNDER" - well Dad and Mom had it right when they named us.  Five years later Dad and Mom were surprised with our little sister by birth, Catharine Jean Vogt.  They had not done anything different to conceive her.  Up until that point, Mom's womb was closed.  I know that the enemy is at work in an effort to ruin our lives and destroy our hopes and dreams.  I also know that all things truly do work together for good for those you love the Lord and that Papa God is the blessed controller of all things.  I am so grateful to the Lord that my sister was late coming into our family.  If she had been born first, I would not be here today writing this story. 

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.  In 1969 the Lord helped me find Sara.  One day when Sara and I were talking about our future together, Sara told me that her doctors have determined that she would never be able to have children.  Sara knew how much I love kids and it was important to her that we talked about this before our wedding.  I reassured her of my love and told her that God could help us build a family through the blessings of adoption.  We wanted a son and a daughter.  I can still remember that evening when I had a heart to heart talk with my Mom and shared with her how Sara would not be able to carry children in her womb but would carry them in her heart and that we would be adopting.  Mom and I tearfully embraced as we remembered what the Lord had done for us.  Sara and I were united in marriage August 21, 1971.

Then one summer night in June of 1973 I was lying on the floor of our living room in Arlington, VA in great pain.  I had ruptured two discs in my back, and I could hardly move.  I could not sleep in a bed.  Sara came in to comfort me and joined me there on the floor.  That night as we embraced we realized that we had very little going for us... no home, just a small one bedroom apartment, no money, employment threatened because of my ruptured discs and no children with Sara's womb closed.  It was in this darkness that I called out to God.  It was actually a proclamation of faith in the midst of total frustration.  I believe my exact words were... "If God wants us to have a baby we will have a baby."  Approximately four weeks later Sara believed that she was pregnant.  The docs said, "no way... that would be physically impossible."  But on March 28, 1974, the God of the impossible gave us a son.  We named him John Regis Vogt.  We call him Regis after my Dad the man who took me in his arms and loved me to life when I was an orphan.

The Lord blessed us with a son but where was our little girl?  We knew that the Lord could do the impossible and open Sara's womb again, after all, we had living proof of that in the blessing of our son. As the years went by our hopes for a daughter began to fade.  We had moved to Washington, DC and life was very busy.  We poured our lives into loving our son and working hard in our broadcasting careers at WCTN Radio serving our nation's capital area. We came to the place where we were no longer thinking about more children.  I was over 50, and Sara was now $#%#^& :).  For some reason, God never gave us our girl.  Sometimes I would think... maybe He couldn't trust me with a girl.  Maybe I would break her.  Girls are very fragile. 
Then one day I got a call from America World Adoption.   They wanted to know if we would be willing to do an interview during the morning show to promote an adoption seminar that they would be presenting in the Nation's Capital area.  "Sure," I said.  I told them that I was adopted myself and had a soft spot in my heart concerning the blessings of adoption.  Little did I know at the time what the Lord was doing.  I was about to be touched in a profound way by the God of love.   The morning I conducted that interview I was absolutely blown away.  They were focusing on their China Program at the time.  As AWAA's founder Brian Luwis shared with our listeners about these little girls in China, my heart burned within me.  I went home that night and talked to Sara about the broadcast.  "Do you think that the Lord may be calling us to go to China and rescue one of these little orphan girls and bring her home as our daughter?"  Sara looked at me cross-eyed.  "Honey, I'm almost 50 years old... we have older parents to care for... I just don't know."  I kept my big mouth shut, for once, and just prayed while God began to work on Sara's heart.  

It took a few months for Sara to come to terms with hope deferred because that can make your heart sick.  (Proverbs 13:12)  During this time the Lord kept bringing little Chinese girls across her path.  She would meet them in grocery stores and Seven Locks Broadcasting events. We even met a mother and her adopted Chinese daughter in a restaurant outside of Harrisburg, PA while driving home to visit family.  

Sara had longed for a daughter, but her womb had been closed.  We could not understand why the God of the impossible did not open her womb.  As time passed that hope became rekindled as Sara began to embrace the work that God was doing in her heart.  I asked myself… Is this what the Lord was doing?  He had prepared our hearts for this moment so many years ago.  So, is this why God allowed Sara's womb to be closed?  It sounds almost too good to be true.  But the Lord loves us so much, and he loves orphans so much that he may be calling us to the other side of the world to rescue a little orphan girl and bring her home as our daughter.  

Sara needed confirmation.  So the Lord sent a precious young women by the name of Lynne Prinzing to represent America World Adoption for another radio interview.  This time Sara was co-hosting the morning show with me.  We hung onto every word that Lynne spoke and then went to breakfast after the broadcast where Sara asked her many questions.  Sara had been praying that the Lord would confirm this call to adopt in her heart and give her a name.  A short time passed, and the Lord put the name Johanna on her heart.  At that point, Sara had all the confirmation she needed.  And so, with help from AWAA and the encouragement from family, friends, and adoptive parents like David and Barbie Barwell we began this great adventure in love.  Soon we would be in China to rescue Johanna and bring her home.

We decided to make our announcement public during one of our Monday morning broadcasts.  We had voice tracked the morning show the Friday before.  In radio-land, that means that we sounded like we were there in the studio but we were actually home in bed listening like everybody else.  Our radio alarm went off at 6:30 AM - just in time for Focus on the Family with Dr. Dobson.  The morning show would follow at 7:00.  As we began to wake up, we could hear the story about a little girl adopted from China by the name of Shaohannah.   It sounded like they were saying, Johanna.  We held each other close wondering what was going on?  As we laid there in bed listening intently, we finally realized that it was Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth talking about their little girl Shaohannah not Johanna.  Steven and Mary Beth had adopted Shaohannah from China.  What a wonderful confirmation.  Our show followed at 7:00 AM and most everyone listening thought that we had timed our announcement to adopt with the Focus on the Family broadcast with the Chapmans.  In reality, we were very surprised on how the Papa God unfolded things.

America World Adoption provided outstanding service assisting us every step of the way.  Our visit to China was amazing.  The Chinese people were gracious and kind.  And on May 21, 2002, they placed Johanna Renee in our arms and life has never been the same.  What would we do without her?  She is the most loving, kind and talented child that any parent could have.  She has a heart of care for others.  Johanna loves God and loves people.  She is strong academically and athletically. She helps Dad in the office with paperwork, filing, and phones.  Johanna plays the violin and even though she is only ten at the time of this writing she is being classically trained through the Strings Program at Mansfield University.  We thank God every day for our Johanna.  
  
But God was not finished with our adoption story.  The process of bringing Johanna home only made us more aware of the millions of children around the world that desperately need a Mom and Dad and family to love them.  The Lord not only makes our dreams come true He blesses us beyond what we can even ask or think.  God began to move on our hearts again regarding the blessings of adoption.  We believed that the Lord was leading us to rescue and bring home another.  Daughter number two would be the frosting on our cake and a blessing upon blessing.  The God of the impossible was moving once again in our midst.  However, this step of faith would require more perseverance than anything we had faced before.  

We began our paper pregnancy for Julianna Elizabeth Vogt in 2005.  But this time everything seemed to be working against us. There were challenges with our age, and my employment situation had recently changed.  The paperwork and the overall process with China seemed like it would never end.   Years went by with one delay after another.  The Lord began speaking to our hearts not to grow weary in well doing.  He gave us grace and strength to press on with what He had called us to do.  The procedure was broken, but the children without hope were still out there.  The re-filing of paperwork for expired documents seemed to go on forever.  Year after year we would file another round of paperwork and updates.  And with the launch of a new multimedia business venture, things were very tight financially. The Vogt family was running out of money. 

We prayed and asked the Lord to help us.  A few months later we got a call from Shaohanna's Hope asking if we would be willing to come to Steven Curtis Chapman's concert in Williamsport, PA to share part of our adoption story and help encourage adoption.  We said YES, of course.  Little did we know that the Lord would use Steven and his wonderful staff to surprise us with a special gift.  At the end of the concert, Steven Curtis called us to join him on stage and then blessed us with a check for $4,000.00 to help us get Julianna home.  This gift seemed to give us new energy and renewed patience all at the same time.  

 We took comfort in knowing that all of this was unfolding in God's perfect time.  If we had been processed one minute earlier or one minute later the first time we adopted, Johanna would not be our daughter.  And the Lord knew before the foundations of the earth were set in place that Johanna was meant to be our daughter and that we are ordained by God to be her parents.  

Then on Monday, June, 7th 2010 at 12:15 PM we got the call from the Living Hope Adoption Agency that our referral had arrived.  The Lord makes everything beautiful in His perfect time.  And she certainly is beautiful.  After spending time in prayer thanking the Lord for His incredible love and faithfulness, Johanna called our son Regis to let her big brother know that their baby sister would be home soon.    

But things were much different for us now than they were in 2005 when we started the process to rescue Julianna and bring her home.  With the economic downturn and the rising unemployment in this country, we found ourselves thousands of dollars short and little time before we were scheduled to leave for China.  When we adopted Johanna, we had plenty of resources to cover our adoption expenses.  With Julianna, it would turn out to be one of the most humbling experiences that we would ever go through. 

Like many other families who adopt we had to raise our support from family and friends.  I had taught families how to do this in over sixty adoption seminars that we conducted for America World Adoption Association.  But, when you are the one who needs assistance you begin to truly understand how difficult it is to ask others for financial help.  For most of our 40 years together Sara and I were able to reach out to others who were in need.  Now the situation was reversed.  Our total expenses to bring Julianna home was around $33,000.00.  This included all the legal stuff, investigations, fingerprints, FBI clearances, travel, and lodging.  We were about $15,000.00 short.  Amazingly, with the help of our family and friends, we raised the amount needed to cover the rest of our expenses.  Special thanks to Vineyard Church of Wellsboro and my sister Cathy and her husband Dean for their love, support, and financial assistance. We will always be grateful to all of our family and friends who supported us during that critical time.  Some of our dearest friends were not able to help financially but would call or write to let us know that they were holding us up in prayer. 

Then on July 26, 2010, in Nanchang, China they placed our littlest princess in our arms.  Cen Sibei was rescued, saved and redeemed.  She was chosen by us and received a new name and family.  She was no longer an orphan without hope or a future.  She was now a joint heir with Regis and Johanna.  She would now be bathed in love, encouraged and trained in the way that she should go.  For Cen Sibei old things had passed away and all things had become new.  She was given a new life through the blessings of adoption. Sound familiar?  She is now Julianna Elizabeth Vogt. 

True religion that our heavenly Father accepts as pure and holy is to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being stained by this world.  We thank God for His loving kindness. We thank Him for His grace and mercy and the new life that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.  God has blessed us beyond measure.  We don't deserve it.  We did not earn it nor could we have ever given of ourselves enough to be worthy of even the smallest of His blessings.  Thank you Lord!  To God be all the glory for the things He has done… is doing… and is about to do because of His great love for us.  By Him and through Him we have received the Spirit of Adoption and cry out Abba Father, Papa God, Daddy.  Oh, how He loves you and me.

Update 2017: Johanna is now 15, and Julianna is now 7. They continue to be a blessing beyond measure. We are sinners. We are unworthy. We know what we deserve, and we know what we've got. The two can not be reconciled apart from the love, mercy, and grace of God.
Adoption Story Photo
China - July, 2010
]]><![CDATA[Love ]]>Tue, 14 Feb 2017 19:09:00 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/loveIt's Valentine's Day today.  The day we tell our parents, children, grandchildren and spouses that we love them.  But today I want to say "I love you" to some that I would not ordinarily say "I love you" to.  To the UPS driver that got stuck in the ditch across from my house two weeks ago and admitted he was having a very bad day, "I love you."  To the man at Weis Market that collects the grocery carts from the parking lot who never smiles, "I love you and I will continue to say hello and smile at you each time I am there to shop."  To Kayla at Tops who does finally smile when I see her, "I love you."  To Heidi who I only just met a few months ago and who pushes on no matter how many times she visits the hospital, "I love you - you are amazing."  To the tenants that moved out of my apartment and still owe three months back rent, "I love you."  To the people that I disagree with and often find infuriating, "I love you."  To those I have met in the past and to those I have yet to meet, "I love you."
It's easy to love more than just the people you are closest to if you have Jesus in your heart. . .
]]><![CDATA[Whiter Than Snow]]>Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:07:05 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/whiter-than-snowWritten by Russell Mee
2/11/2017
Teen/Adult Devotional
​Winter can seem so dark and depressing with all the sad and gloomy days and very little sun. The mud and dirt seems to follow you everywhere you go, it’s on your car, your shoes, on the road and everywhere around you.
But have you ever noticed in the morning after a fresh snowfall, how clean the world seems to be? The contrast is incredible, the morning sun glistens in the newly fallen snow, and everything seems to be revived and vivid with the fresh white blanket draped over it. The evergreens are low to the ground, heavy laden with the beauty of white snow. The children go outside and build snowmen and their gloom is lifted as they laugh and play. The once dark and muddy roads are now pristine. Finally all the mud and gloom seems to be covered and wiped away by the freshness of the snow.
Our sin is like the muck, mud, and dirt of a dark ugly winter’s day, it attaches itself to us and comes with us everywhere we go. We can become dark and heavy with the burden of it.
But we must confess our sins, just like David’s cry out to God saying, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” -Psalm 51:7. And if we do so we will receive the grace and forgiveness of God and he will clean us so that we might start the day new again. We are renewed and the sun reflects off of our bright new clean body and onto those around us. The heavy burden of sin is miraculously taken off of our shoulders and replaced with the freeing grace and beauty of God. We should feel cleaner and whiter than snow after a confession and repentance of sins.
But after a while the roads become dirtied and brown as we fall back into our sin. The only way to regain the cleanliness of the new snow is to repent of our sins again and watch as the Lord lets the snowfall of his grace fall all around us.
Let us pray- Lord please forgive us of our sins and make us whiter than snow, help us to stay clean but when we fail please help us return to you that we might be made pure again in your sight.

]]><![CDATA[Coincidence? I think not]]>Mon, 16 Jan 2017 19:51:30 GMThttp://www.umcow.org/witness1/coincidence-i-think-notI am sure many of you have experienced a situation that you deemed a coincidence.  A series of events coming together just at the right time that makes you sit back and say, "Wow, did that just happen?"  The story I want to share is one of those instances, however this I believe is not a coincidence at all, but rather a gift from God.
My father had spent almost a month in the hospital trying to recover from a botched surgery.  Unfortunately he lost the battle just before Christmas 2005.  I visited him many times while he was in the ICU.  On one of the last visits, after it was determined that he was not going to recover, I said to him, "Dad, you are my hero."

We started making arrangements to bring him home for his last days.  He was happy that he was going home.  My mother was sure that when he was speaking of 'home' he was referring to heaven.  I thought that impossible.  I could not recall a time when my father attended church and I was quite sure that he did not believe in God and heaven.  He died in the hospital before we could move him home.
Several years passed and many changes were taking place in my life.  One change was a new career in real estate.  On a rainy spring day in May, my broker and I went to visit a client who was selling their gift shop.  We spent some time chatting with the owners by the front counter.  As my broker continued to talk with them, I turned my head to look around the store.  My eyes came in contact with a rack of cards that stood next to me.  At eye level, within two feet of me was a card that read, "Dad, You are My Hero."  A wave of heat rushed through my body and I could barely hold back the tears.

This of course was no coincidence.  This was a sign, I was sure of it.  This message was given to me by design.  I know that Father's Day was just a month away and it would not be unlikely to see a rack of Father's Day cards in this gift shop.  But that card at eye level with that message!

Even today (years later) I think of what that sign meant.  I think that my father wanted me to know that he was indeed home - that heaven does exist.  Maybe in some way he was telling me that I was his hero too - that he was proud of me.  It took several more years and a few more messages to open my eyes and heart to God.  Now that I have, I look forward to going home.
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