Peru

Sara, Andrew and I start our full days journey soon. We will meet up with Corey, Larry, Dave, Denise and Joe and drive to Cleveland Hopkins airport. We go from there to Newark, NJ and then have an eight hour flight into Lima. If all goes well we will be exiting the airport as the new year is rung in around the world. From the airport we have a one hour bus ride to the hostel we will reside in for the next two weeks in Punta Negra.

When all the folks from Penn State arrive we will be a construction group of about 70 strong to begin building Esperanza de Hannah (Hannah's Hope) orphanage. The work site is about a half hour to the south of our hostel in Chilca, Peru.

Check back here for photos and updates (if Internet access is working for us). You can also visit www.childreachministries.org and go to trip updates for info. I may be leading a group several hours south in Chinca or Ica to help Compassion International rebuild projects destroyed by the recent earthquake. If so the blog will be silent as we will not have Internet down there.

To Peru..........

Red Letters

I just finished reading Red Letters by Tom Davis. I highly recommend it. The focus is on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It sheds light on the staggering statistics and exponential growth of this disease but also puts it into a captivating story. There is information on how it spreads, available treatments, and what you and I (the church) can do about it.

It describes the current social fabric of Africa and paints a disturbing picture of what is to come if you and I do nothing about "that crisis over there." In the introduction Davis notes that we are just a short plane ride away from a world where 8 year old girls prostitute themselves for food. I'm ready to get on that plane and put a stop to that.

It made me even more proud of my church (RiverTree Christian). Our Christmas offering is going to partner with Compassion International to build cottages in Tanzania for orphans effected by HIV/AIDS. We gave $77,000.00.

This book reminded me that you and I (the church) are God with skin on to "the least of these". It made me even more excited for my plane ride to Peru on Monday. I get to go hug some orphans.

In the New Testament in my Bible the words of Christ are in red letters. That's where I want to learn to live.

You won't get through this book with dry eyes.

THE gift

Well it's Christmas night and the day is drawing to a close. Gifts and dinner with family and friends is done. Tomorrow I go back to work and in a few days Christmas will be a distant memory. It seems like I am so busy moving forward I often forget to look back even a day or two and let the memories linger awhile.



Here are a few things I want to remember:



-how my wife Chris decorates the house and cooks an awesome Christmas meal.



-my son getting me a gift card to the best fast food restaurant on the planet: Chipotle.



-my daughter giving me a journal with a picture of Alison from Hogar de Ninos orphanage and my blog title description on the cover. That made me get a little teary eyed. Don't ever do that again Sara. Okay go ahead.



But here's the best memory and gift this year. My church, RiverTree Christian, has a tradition of sending the special Christmas offering outside our walls. All of it. This year we hope (there's that beautiful word again) to raise $70,000.00 to fund cottages in Tanzania, Africa for children orphaned by the Aids pandemic. And last night I watched the three most beautiful people in the world reflect the heart of God by giving. My wife wrote a check and put it in the basket. My full-time college student daughter and my full-time high school student son also responded. They both opened their wallets, of their own accord, and gave. I really can not put into words what my heart feels when the three most important people in my life do something like that.



Thank you family for the best Christmas yet.

A (not so) beautiful Christmas story

I don't mean to rain on any one's Christmas celebration. But if this blog is about my true thoughts here is where I am tonight........thinking about children.

Children in Ohio hoping for forever families......

Children in Ecuador living in abject poverty, yet hoping for just a little something for Christmas.....

Children in Tanzania who are HIV positive hoping to live one more day........

The one million children who will not put their head on a pillow tonight or have a mattress to lay on, and who have stopped hoping for anything............

The 30,000 children who started their day 23 hours ago and who are no longer on this earth because of hunger or diarrhea........

And all this made me think of the part of the Christmas story that gets overlooked. It's in Matthew 2:16 and it's not a very happy verse:

"When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi." (NIV)

I've read research that has estimated the number of deaths that night to be anywhere from 20 to 1,000. No matter how many there were hope was snuffed out. And that is what poverty does more than anything. It snuffs out hope.

Hope..............it's my favorite word. It sounds even better in Spanish:

ESPERANZA

Jesus, thank you for coming to earth. My HOPE is in you.

Jesus the defense lawyer?

This struck me today:

"But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." 1 John 2:1b (NIV)

Jesus, the one that took my punishment, the one who has every right to expect me to not sin since his sacrifice wiped my slate clean, the one who watches me drag his name through the mud as I sin again, is speaking to the Father on my (our) behalf! Are you kidding me?

Wouldn't that be like you or I being the defense lawyer for the murderer of our child?

INCREDIBLE!

17 and 364

No, it's not a sequel to the song "25 or 624" by Chicago.

It's the age of my son Andrew. His 18th birthday is tomorrow. Wow! Somebody is getting old..........and it's not me.

I am proud of the man he is becoming. I hope he follows God's will for his life. And as a parent it's a little difficult to say "whatever and wherever that may be."

As a parent I want "the best" for my kids. And to most people in the United States of America that seems to automatically mean personal health and wealth. I admit I do hope that for him. But more important than pursing what we might call success, I hope he goes for significance for the Kingdom of God. I hope he follows Jesus.

As a parent how many times do we tell our kids to be safe? I want Andrew to be safe. But I also hope he has a daring and dangerous encounter with the God who made him.

I hope he lives a daring/safe/dangerous (daferous) life.

Go and chase significance my son. Happy Birthday.

This Generation2

A few weeks ago I wrote about a fundraising event by some Kent State students. I titled it "this generation". Here is some more encouraging news about twenty somethings I am coming to know.

Last night I had a meeting with some nursing students at Malone College. The curriculum at Malone requires them to spend 45 hours in a cross cultural setting as part of their clinicals. First of all, kudos to Malone College for this requirement. Secondly, I am excited about how the group I met with last night decided to fulfill this.

They are going on a mission trip to Ecuador with ChildReach Ministries. They could have made things a lot easier on themselves by not having to raise all the funds to go. The ones that are afraid of flying could have stayed home and found something else. Most have never been out of the United States and the thought of going to a third world country is freaking them out a little. But deep down I could sense their excitement.

We talked about why they decided to do this and many admitted some fear about stepping out of their comfort zone but can't wait to go. They want to see God at work in the world and boy will they ever. I can't wait to get them down there and see what God does through them and in them.

I think they'll find that deep contentment lies just beyond the risk of trusting God.

By the way, if you are interested in helping them financially please go to our website at
www.childreachministries.org and click on "donations" and read the directions on how to support a trip participant. Select "support trip participant" in the drop down menu and note "Malone Nursing" in the donation information box.

Startling Beauty

Startling Beauty: my journey from rape to redemption by Heather Gemmen is a book that defines grace and forgiveness in a real life story. A story worthy of the bible itself and reads as good as any novel. Simply unputdownable. It addresses racism at its core.

It made me pause and think about what it might mean to be used by God and how hard that could be.

A couple of great quotes from the book:

"Integrity is so much more than claiming noble ethics. It is more than holding passionate conviction. Integrity is living out expressed beliefs. It is making choices that accurately reflect core values."

"Faith is a journey, but there are definite moments along the way when truth propels a person from one state of being to another. I ( the author ) can name several defining moments in my life. I wonder if you can do the same."

For me my first mission trip to Peru was a defining moment. It was March 2006 and it cemented my calling, I think: to care for children on the margins of society. But my book can't be written yet. I'm just getting started.

Marriage and having kids have to be classified as defining moments. They are filled with great joy and define personal responsibility.

The following is a great review of this book that I have paraphrased slightly:

Startling Beauty narrates the author's journey between despair and hope as she faces pain no one should experience. Relationships are strained and mended; decisions are forced and welcomed; fears are created and calmed; faith is threatened and increased. The author and her husband fall into grace, exchanging their emptiness for God's fullness.

Copyrighting the Gospel

The written word is powerful but tone of voice can be hard to convey. The following is an attempt at humor and is not meant to be critical in any way.

I recently purchased a new Bible. I was looking through it to see where it was made. It was relatively inexpensive so I will just admit right now that I was assuming it was not made in the USA. And that thought in and of itself is sad. How easy I forget that the body of Christ is not my church or my city or state or country. It's the whole world.

Anyway as I was looking for this information I came across some copyright information. I guess I found that kinda pretentious on the part of the publisher and sorta funny. I have always believed that the Bible was written by..........umm.........not the publisher! What, are they sending royalty checks to Moses and David and Paul and......

Okay, I guess business is business and my thoughts are over simplified, but it all struck me as funny. You might enjoy it too. Here are a few of the statements......and I quote:

"The NIV text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for 25 percent or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted."

"When quotations from the NIV text are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIV) must appear at the end of each quotation."

"Any commentary or other Biblical reference work produced for commercial sale that uses the New International Version must obtain written permission for use of the NIV text."

Thanksgiving

I wish I had some big family thanksgiving tradition to write about. You know, one of those stories where the whole family gathers and there are dozens and dozens of people. And we talk to relatives we haven't seen for awhile and learn about what each other is doing, about lost or new jobs; what our kids are up to and where they're going to college, and share stories of successes and failures. About good times and bad. I can see a big long table filled with grandparents and babies and everyone in between. I see laughter and love and lots of food.

But I have no tradition like this to write about because of divorce. Besides the word "hate" I think I hate that word the most. So does God ( Malachi 2:16 ). Divorce. Sounds final and violent.

Here is what I'm not saying: that this is any one's fault.

Here is what I am saying: I love my parents and God is desperately in love with divorced people. Today I am thankful for the marriage examples set by my Grandma and Grandpa Evans, Grandma and Grandpa Royer ( 66 years ), Nana and Pop Scheiring ( 68 years ), Grandma and Grandpa Glass. They all lived and are living the "till death do us part" thing.

Me too.

waiting room dynamics

Today I took my grandfather to the eye doctor. We were there for over 2 hours so I had a chance to observe what this did to my fellow waiting room prisoners I mean occupants.

I did hear a few complaints but most of those were in my head.

Here is what else I saw:

One patient was telling the receptionist of her difficulty finding a reliable ride from Wooster to North Canton to visit this doctor. Before she left she had the name and phone number of a Wooster resident who overheard the conversation, offering help.

People offering to change seats so friends and family could sit together.

One man offered his seat several times to others when the seats were all taken ( umm.....this wasn't me ).

Husbands helping wives and wives helping husbands.

Oh and I had the honor of spending a couple of hours with my grandfather on his 91st birthday.

Good news for all?

Serve God Save The Planet is a new book by J. Matthew Sleeth, MD. I think it asks an important question: Shouldn't the gospel be good news for all creation?

Let me just say right up front this is not a tree hugger book. It's about stewardship and treading lightly on the environment God meant to sustain us, our children and future generations. It's an invitation to a simpler and more fulfilling life.

How does my work, rest, play and Sabbath day effect both my immediate surroundings and the sea level on the coast of Haiti?

The author has some very interesting views on modern medicine, especially for a former purveyor of it. How much money should we spend to prolong life? In the United States $5,000.00 healthcare dollars are spent annually on average for every man, woman and child. The average life span for a woman in US: 79. $500.00 is spent annually in Mexico for every man, woman and child. The average life span for a Mexican woman: 76.

What about population growth? Can the current rate be sustained on an earth we can add no land mass to?

Here's an interesting one: If every household in the United States changed their five most used lights to use the long lasting energy saving bulbs: twenty-one power plants could immediately shut down.

Pick this book up. It's well worth your time and is filled with real and practical ways to "tread lightly".

3 weeks and 3,000 miles ago……..

3 weeks and 3,000 miles ago I spent the day with Karen and Richard. They are the kids in Ecuador that my wife and I sponsor through Compassion International. They are both in the sixth grade. And that is the age that most Ecuadorians quit going to school. They go out and find jobs to help support their family. Then many end up not so many years later with a family of their own. Kids having kids.

This is a cycle that must be broken.

So I spent some time encouraging Karen and Richard to stay in school and to stay in the Compassion program. I met their mothers, Sarah and Azucena, and encouraged them in the same way.

We met in a park in Quito, Ecuador and spent some time playing and talking. Then we all went to the mall across the street to order lunch for the rest of our group. As we were going up the escalator I asked them if they had ever been on one before. They said only one other time. And that was in 2005 when my wife met them. To go back down they wanted to ride the elevator. Stuff I take for granted was like an adventure for them.

After lunch we went to an amusement park. They went straight to my least favorite ride…….the roller coaster. But I got on anyway and found myself thinking as we climbed the first hill: “Okay, I’m on a roller coaster in a third world county…..who inspects these things?” And then down the hill and through the loop we went.

The best part of the day for me was something Richard’s mother, Azucena, said. She said she was having a lot of fun ( she rode all the crazy, upside down, twirly shaky things with her son ) and that she thought it “was a good day because she could forget all her problems.”

I would love to see the cycle of poverty broken in these families.

If God has a refrigerator...........

Meet my nephew, Francis. He's the son of my Aunt Carol and Uncle Al. They dressed him up for Halloween the other night. And that is no small effort. You see, they have been taking care of kids for like 40 years. They've adopted 3, raised 4, had over 150 foster kids pass through their home and decided that Francis would not lay in an institution to die on their watch. So they took custody of him.

"Fronk" as we so affectionately call him, needs extra care. A lot of extra care. When he needs to go to the bathroom, they change his diaper. When he needs to eat, they hold his bottle. When it's time to move from one place to another, they carry him. Supposedly Francis will never eat, speak or move on his own.

But I don't believe that. God says in His word that He is "making all things new." And that sounds to me to be proactive. Like He's not done yet. He isn't. I would love to be in heaven when Francis gets his new body. It would be neat to witness him say "thanks" to my aunt and uncle and wrap his arms around them for the first time. What a sweet union and reunion that will be. I can't wait to see him play soccer and baseball with his dad.

If God has a refrigerator.................. I think these pictures are on it.

WWJB (where would Jesus be)

Tonight on my way home from my family's usual Wednesday night outing I passed by several churches.

Their parking lots were almost full. On a Wednesday night in suburbia.

And I really don't know a lot about Jesus but I'm pretty sure I know where he wouldn't be on a Wednesday night.

In church.

As I read about him in the Gospels I think I am coming to know him as someone who would more likely be found in a bar on a night like this rather than church.

I know committe meetings are necessary and so are bible studies. I'm not saying these things shouldn't happen. I'm just wondering if Jesus is tired of us studying the bible rather than living it. Is anyone else done with "doing" church? Then let's go out and "be" the church.

Any Christians out there offended by this? I hope so. Feel free to bite back.

This Generation

A week ago tonight my family went to a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society at Cheeseburger in Paradise ( umm....it's a restaurant). It was a project by my daughter Sara's group of honors students at KSU Stark Campus. They expected to raise a few hundred bucks but brought in over a thousand.

Yes, your money got you something that night. You were treated to an all-you-can eat buffet dinner. Yes, there was alcohol available for the over 21 crowd. Yes, watching karoke was a riot. But what I loved about this whole thing was the hearts of these college students. Many are yearning to engage in something bigger than themselves. Something God-sized. A couple of them are going to Peru over winter break to help build an orphanage. They are interested in social action and believe they can make a difference.

They can. They will. They already are.

At least two of them, even though full time college students and part time employed, sponsor children in Ecuador and Columbia through Compassion International.

They may not even verbalize it this way yet but I saw a generation ready to step outside themselves and live for something more than a life of consumption. A generation that is telling the church they are not interested in it if all that gets built is a bigger organization and a bigger building. But if the church wishes to be an organism then count them in.

Me too.

Check out www.repeatgeneration.com and www.wideeyedlife.com

"How do you want to spend your life? We all know you can ruin it. But what is more important to recognize is that you can sleep through it." - Dean Brackley

I see a mustard seed generation unwilling to sleep. They are sprouting and bringing the Kingdom of God to earth. Right here. Right now.

There is a shift in thought in folks my age in this country called "halftime". Some of us have found success in the first half of our lives and realize it has left us empty. We yearn to do something significant with the second half of our lives. Something that really matters.

Perhaps this generation of teenagers and twenty-something's will completely ditch the chase for success and follow Jesus with their whole lives.

twenty two

Today my wife Chris and I are celebrating 22 years of marriage.

Okay we're actually both at work but tonight we're going to celebrate.

Okay tonight we're taking our mother out for dinner because today is her birthday.

So what makes today any different? Today we pause to thank each other. To celebrate the triumphs and to appreciate each other for sticking it out through the challenges.

So thank you Chris. For your dedication to being a mother, wife and Jesus follower.

2 Hearts; 1 Mission.

Ecuador - a few pictures from last week

Aguabusiness

Yesterday the group spent the day with the kids we sponsor through Compassion International. There are lots of great stories and many of us lost a piece of our heart but I think our hearts grew a little too. Instead of one of those stories, however, I will write about an interesting encounter in the afternoon when I walked down the steet to get more drinking water for the group ( we don't drink the water in Ecuador - bottled water only ).

So anyway I stopped at a little street vendor to make my purchase and gave the guy a twenty dollar bill, which he did not have change for. Here in Ecuador this is not the end of a transaction, just an extension of it as business is never turned away. This guy tried to explain to me that he needed to go to a store across the street ( Papa John's Pizza believe it or not ) to get change for me and I said that was fine.

At about the same time a Quechua woman walked up to make a purchase. Quechua are the indigenous Indians of Ecuador. And in the cities they are treated almost like outcasts at the bottom end of a caste system. Well my sales guy could have taken care of her before he left and I should have told him to do so but that did not happen. He left and the two of us stood there and she would not look at me.

After a few minutes the guy returned with my change and as he was counting it out a police officer walked up and went right in front of this woman and purchased one solitary cigarette.

And the sad part of all of this for me was not rudeness on the part of that police officer and perhaps myself. It was the complete acceptance of it as normal by this Quechua woman.

Jesus of Nazareth once said something like "the first shall be last and the last first." I think he had her in mind when he said it.

Beginning and the End

Yesterday the team experienced the start and the finish of Compassion International's work. We split into 3 groups and went into Child Survival Program homes. The "house" my team visited consisted of 2 concrete block rooms, 2 twin beds for a family of 4, a roof of plastic sheeting, a 2 burner electric cook top, and Veronica, Joel and her yet to be named 6 week old daughter. Joel is 2 years old and we saw the Compassion worker, Monica, spend some time with him facilitating this program. And in a little 2 room house we saw hope in Jesus alive.......

Before we left this project in the south of Quito we worshipped together. We all understand guitars and keyboards and drums, but the words were in Spanish. But as thunder rolled outside it seemed the Holy Spirit moved through that space as we were not Ecuadorians or Chileans or North Americans, we were the people of God. One people worshipping the one true God and that was a brief glimpse of heaven, I think. And we experienced that hope in Jesus in this mostly unknown area of the world is alive.......

And tired but eager to know more we had dinner with Leadership Development students. They are the future of this country, I believe. All 3 have been in Compassions program since the age of 7 or before. Alexandra will finish her Psychology degree this year and will go on to graduate school for a doctorate.....to work with the mentally handicapped and forgotten children of this country. Jonathan is studying mathematics and wants to open his own high school and encourage the children of this country, who mostly complete only the 6th grade, to become better educated. And then we met Christian. His story is an incredible journey of seeing his mother healed of cancer and just trusting God. And by the end of his testimony, when he told us he is studying computer engineering and is going to one day be president of this country, we believed him. He has such a confidence in God that we truly believe that he is sure this is his destiny. And we saw the future of Ecuador in these 3 students and it is good because their hope in Jesus is alive......

Arrived!

The team arrived safe and sound last night. No airline delays, no lost luggage, amazing. Today we will travel by bus to Compassion International project EC124. It's about an hour south of us here in Quito. And it does not take long to leave the main part of this beautiful city to be surrounded by abject poverty. People living in conditions that we just don't see in most areas of the United States.

At EC124 we will see Compassion's Child Survival Program. This is designed to help prenatal mothers and young children survive to make it into Compassion's child sponsorship program. And we not only get to learn about it, we get to go into some homes and see it in action.

Tonight we will learn about the other end of the spectrum of Compassion's work. We will have dinner with Leadership Development Students. They are college students that are hand selected to have their education completly funded. Tonight will be a little extra sweet for my good friend becoming Mike Vinton. He doesn't know it yet but the student he sponsors will be with us tonight giving his testimony.

It's a beautiful Ecuadorian day.

Arrived safe and mostly sound last night in Quito. I usually get an altitude headache for a day or two and this time is no exception. Quito is the second highest capital city in the world at just under 10,000 feet.

Went to church at San Pablo in La Comuna today. Knowing a little Spanish helps with the worship songs but forget about the sermon. These people speak so fast! I was reminded what Ecuadorian time is like as there were about 15 people present for the opening prayer at 9:30 and probably 75 by the end of the service.

Yesterday I had lunch with a neurologist from LA in the Chicago airport. Nothing unusual here except that as we talked we discovered he (Alfredo) was heading to Cleveland (where I just left) to speak at the Cleveland Clinic and had just come from Quito (where I was heading). He was here doing research on vision and brain function. We had a good conversation about missions and what people usually think when this word is used. We agreed that your mission is what you are doing. Whether you're a neurologist, missionary or mother.

The rest of the team is flying in tomorow and due to arrive around 9:00 PM. This is the first mission trip for most of them as well as their firtst trip to Ecuador. Looking forward to the rest of the week and seeing Richard and Karen(the kids my wife and I sponsor through Compassion International) on Wednesday.

Destination: Quito

Cleveland to Chicago.

Chicago to Miami.

Miami to Quito, Ecuador.

Quito is the second highest capital city in the world at just under 10,000 feet above sea level. But it's not the city or the snow capped volcanoes or the Galapagos Islands that I seek. I'm looking for the people and children I've met there that have captured a piece of me.

A team from RiverTree Christian Church will be down shortly to join me to see what Compassion International is doing there. And the highlight of this trip will be the day we spend with the kids we sponsor. No one will ever be the same.

I get to lead this trip for ChildReach Ministries. And we do a great job I think putting these trips together at an affordable price. You can check our progress on this blog and by going to
www.childreachministries.org and clicking on "trip updates."

Hasta luega!

caught in the middle

Check out the lyrics to a song by Casting Crowns:

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle you'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle you'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender
without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence
Reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and
We are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences
The God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His
Or are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the boat and the crashing waves
Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more

So what are you caught in the middle of? I'm somewhere between knowing what God wants me to do to build His kingdom and doing it full time. Sometimes it's a no good very bad place to be. The question that has to be wrestled with is stated so well in this song:

Will I trade my dreams for His?

Will you?

finding fish

A book by Antwone Quentin Fisher. It's a memoir of growing up as a ward of the state of Ohio in foster care. It's a heartbreaking story of the power of words, both to build up and tear down. Antwone was torn down by them for years and ended up writing to escape that abuse.

But not just mental abuse. He was beaten often and once spent over 24 hours tied to a pole in the basement with his foster brother Dwight. The authors words about his foster brother Dwight: "If ever a person needed one thing from this world it was Dwight, and his need was love. There were many things I longed for that Dwight could have done without. Not Love. He was like a huge, intricate human mechanism with its one missing gear that kept it from working. With love, Dwight could have been someone to impact on the whole society. He was that special and that smart, like any one of those enlightened individuals who come from the most meager of conditions (emphasis mine). But without love, Dwight didn't work, and I believe everyone lost out."

The emphasis is because this makes me think of the kids I have met in Ecuador and Peru who are sponsored through Compassion International. If one of them does not grow up and do what God planned for them, the whole world loses out.

A nugget of wisdom from the author about homelessness: He writes it because he chose to leave the YMCA shelter and live on the street at the age of 17 because a couple of guys tried to force sex on him. "I passed Homelessness 101 and learned the first lesson about why you become homeless. Not necessarily because of hunger or lack of shelter, but because sometimes outside is less terrifying than inside.......homelessness has made me feel unworthy even to dream."

And that reminded me of something my friend and missionary in Ecuador, Shirley Brinkley, said about the poor children she serves in La Comuna: "My dream is for them to dream."

Me too Shirley. Me too.

May the over 1,000,000 kids in this world that do not have a bed to sleep in tonight find a way to dream.

Viola

My church, RiverTree Christian, is not having services this weekend. We are in the middle of a sermon series called iServe and this weekend, instead of hearing a message about serving in the community, we are supposed to go out and do it.

So today my family went to a home, along with some others from RiverTree, to hang drywall. We were partnering with an incredible ministry called Hammer & Nails (http://www.hammerandnails.org/). And as I always seem to forget, serving is way more about people than accomplishing a task. We met Viola and her son Alex. By the end of the day we learned about Viola and her family, about the passing of her husband last December, about how frightened she is without locks on her doors, and she shared her faith with us and invited us to church Sunday night.

So we got Viola's phone number and will return to install locks later this week.

Again and again, whether it's right here in my community or somewhere in South America, the lesson of ministering to people rings loud and true. I think the task is just a way to open the door to being truly involved in people's lives. To not view them as someone you've done something for, but as a friend and fellow traveller.

Oh yeah, and we hung some drywall. And Viola smiled.

Ungrace

So I'm getting in my truck after going to the store and I see a guy approaching his car a few rows away from me. And he is parked in a handicapped spot............and he doesn't have a permit thing hanging from his rearview mirror............and he's not limping and he has all his limbs.........so I think nothing more of it and drive away, right?

Wrong!

My mind gets judgemental in a hurry so I sit and watch him. And he gets to his car and opens the door and..............pulls out a receipt or something from his pocket and starts reading it! Now if you were parked illegally like this wouldn't you at least be in a hurry to leave? Not this guy. He lingers. And with his car door open as if to draw attention to himself. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable for him. So of course I have to watch and see what happens next.

He finally gets in and drives away. I watch a little longer and get ready to drive away myself and I see him heading towards the store. And he gets out and helps an elderly lady in a walker into the passenger side of his vehicle.

And God molds me as I realize that I, as the church, should be the first one to offer grace. And too many times like this I offer the opposite.

Ungrace.

Two Random Thoughts

I noticed driving to work this morning that I almost never see MORE than one person per car and in Ecuador and Peru I almost never see LESS than one person per car.

On another note there is a lot of talk in the media lately about keeping illegal aliens out of the United States and even sending back the ones that are here. I honestly do not understand this issue. Why are they "illegal"? Is it too expensive for them to try to come here the legal way? And if so can you blame them? Anyway, the real reason I bring this up is one of language. I also hear a lot about how they should learn to speak English if they want to come here. Well chew on this awhile and tell me what you think:

"A persons natural language...is the electricity of his or her soul, and to disconnect it is to shut them down." - Antwone Quenton Fisher

Genocide

Hitler and the Nazi's committed it against the Jewish people in the 1940's and it took the world years to get involved and end it. And I'm sure the world vowed it would not, could not, happen again. But it did. In the early 1990's. In an age of incredible technology when communication worldwide can happen almost instantaneously.

The story and history of genocide against the Tutsi people of Rwanda is told in The Bishop of Rwanda by John Rucyahana. 1,117,000 people were killed in a period of 100 days. Incredible. Here is a quote from the book that may help explain how this can happen, and in the age we live in:

"In modern society, if a catastrophe isn't shown on the television news, it doesn't exist."

Rick Warren used the word "hope" several times in the forward of this book. And that alone made me eager to read on. I am awed by stories of God turning despair into the divine, the hardships of today into hope for tomorrow. What follows is a quote from Rick about Rwanda. But I think this quote is timeless. In my limited travels I have seen this hope he talks about in the eyes of the children in Ecuador and Peru:

"It is miraculous that in the place with the most reason to despair, you find the most hope, the most energy, and the most cooperation."

I have seen this hope in the work of Compassion International project directors. I have seen it in the Compassion kids that my wife and I sponsor.

The author is a Rwandan Tutsi who escaped to Uganda with his family during this bloodshed. He had a thriving ministry in Uganda and had even been granted citizenship. A rare thing for a refugee in Africa. He had a very good home and owned land. His children were going to good schools. He says he "had everything that a man wants to be firmly established in a place." But he soon sensed God wanted him back in Rwanda to be part of the healing of that young nation. Going back to Rwanda would be dangerous. As a man of the church especially since the church had facilitated and even participated in some of the genocide ( incredible but true - read the book ). Does he take his family to a place of violence? There were risks and the risks gave him doubts. Here is the authors word of wisdom about doubt:

"Moments of doubt are part of life, and they are part of the Christian walk as well. It's what you do with them that matters."

Death

This morning our Grandma passed away...................while we were at church...............listening to a teaching about heaven. I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know if she's there or not...........because I never asked her.

I claim to be a Christ follower and there are a lot of atheists who talk about their unbelief in God better than I talk about my belief.

Dictionary.com defines death as "the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism." And I couldn't DISagree more.

Christian rockers Petra recorded this song written by Bob Hartman over twenty years ago titled "Grave Robber" :

There's a step that we all have to take alone
An appointment we have with the great unknown
Like a vapor this life is just waiting to pass
Like the flowers that fade; like the withering grass
But life seems so long and death so complete
And the grave an impossible portion to cheat
But there's One who has been there and still lived to tell
There is One who has been through both heaven and hell
And the grave will come up empty handed that day
Jesus will come and steal us away

Where is the sting tell me where is the bite
When the grave robber comes like a thief in the night
Where is the victory where is the prize
When the grave robber comes and death finally dies

Many still mourn and many still weep
For those that they love who have fallen asleep
But we have this HOPE though our hearts may still ache
Just one shout from above and they all will awake
And in the reunion of joy we will see
Death will be swallowed in sweet victory
When the last enemy gone; from the dust will come a song
Those asleep will be awakened - Not one will be forsakened
He shall wipe away our tears - He will steal away our fears
There will be no sad tomorrow - There will be no pain or sorrow

This Jesus paid way too high a price for me to keep this HOPE to myself.

Hungry?

No need for me to write - just read this article

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/august/18.35.html

Truth from Fiction

I will read anything Khaled Hosseini writes. The Kite Runner was excellent. A Thousand Splendid Suns raises the bar. This book takes a little while but once it gets going it never stops. A novel, yet filled with the history of Afghanistan. A history of oppression of the country and of her people, especially women. A story of an unlikely friendship and deep sacrifice. Sometimes filled with a sense of hopelessness..............yet not.

When I read fiction I love watching for nuggets of truth. Here's one from this book that resonates with me:

"Of all the hardships a person has to face perhaps none is more punishing than the simple act of waiting."

I guess rocker Tom Petty was right: the waiting is the hardest part.

And yet in Isaiah 64:4 it says that God acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

What are YOU waiting for?

Agua

It means water in Spanish.

And this morning I showered with it and made coffee with it. Dishes were done with it and iced tea was made with it. When I walk to a faucet in my home water comes out, hot or cold at my bidding, whenever I want it. I put some in my dogs' water bowl. I probably even wasted some of it today.

But it is a precious commodity right now in many areas of Peru. It always is but right now, due to the earthquake, even more. I am not sure if the kids at Hogar de Ninos orphanage in Chilca, Peru have enough of it.

Or any of it.

They have no electricity so the well pump does not work. They will have to rely on the water truck coming to the neighborhood. I am praying that truck can make it through.

Peruvian Earthquake

Would you please pray for Alison, the girl in the picture with me to the right? She lives at Hogar de Ninos orphange in Chilca, Peru. This is about 50 miles from the epicenter of the 8.0 quake that struck last night. The orphanage has sustained some damage but is not too bad. The main issue the kids are dealing with right now is fear.

Fear from the aftershocks that are still shaking the ground. Fear that their building may fall down during the night. So tonight, and I don't know how many more nights, Alison, Thalia, Milagros, Liliana, Luz Mery, Betsabel, Merari, Felix, Erica, Jose, Cathy, Daniel, Brandon, Carlita, Jesus, Natalie will all sleep outside tonight. With a blanket and a pillow maybe. And it's winter in Peru. It doesn't snow there but the air is damp so it feels a lot colder than it is. I wish I could at least send them sleeping bags.

They have no electricity which means their well pump can not send up water. Pray for water deliveries to make it through to them somehow.

The Three Amigas

This past Sunday IN church I sat a couple of rows behind them. Tracy Preston, Joan Tomec and Karen Tabeling.

Saturday evening I saw the three of them at a fundraiser and they WERE the church. This event was for their friends daughter, who recently lost her husband in an auto accident. He had little life insurance.

So these three spent 6 plus hours working in the kitchen and serving dinner; preparing the food and dishing it out; cleaning up and putting away. And that pretty much took up their whole Saturday.

Thanks, ladies, for your example of moving from DOING church to BEING church.

Nothing x 3

A couple of years ago, inspired by the book Halftime by Bob Buford, I wrote my own epitaph. I'm not really sure I want to be buried. I'd rather be cremated. I don't want my family and friends to visit a grave...........because I'm not there.

But if I was buried here's what I would want on my headstone:

NOTHING x 3
- to prove
- to lose
- left undone

Nothing to prove.........because I don't.

Nothing to lose.......because whether I live or whether I die, either way I win.

Nothing left undone........this was inspired by Joshua 11: 15 "As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he LEFT NOTHING UNDONE of all that the Lord commanded Moses." ( emphasis mine ) Can you imagine that being said about you? That you left nothing undone!

Anyone out there write their epitaph? I'd love to hear it.

More thought on a camel and the needle eye

First of all I hesitate quoting almost any scripture out of context. Yet I seem to do it a lot. I really think the camel through the eye of the needle thing must be viewed in context with all of Mark 10: 17-31. This story of the rich young man is also told by Matthew in 19: 16-30 and by Luke in 18: 18-30.

I especially like Mark's version because he is the only one to note "Jesus looked at him and loved him."

So does this story mean that most rich people are not getting into heaven?

You betcha!

Just kidding. Here is what I think is going on in this story. This rich young man has a lot of earthly possessions and he wants eternal life too. Maybe he thinks all his stuff can go with him.

Anyway, he goes to Jesus and makes the big ask. And notice how Jesus first asks the asker a question ( Jesus does this a lot to people ). "Why do you call me good? Jesus tells this man no one is good except God alone. It's as if Jesus knew the dialog about keeping the commandments and this guys claim to have kept them was coming. ( Umm..........he did ).

I think it's pretty neat how Jesus basically warns this guy not to claim to be good. But the guy totally misses it. He claims to have kept since boyhood all the commandments.

Jesus obviously could have challenged the guy on this. Jesus could have produced a seriously long list of all the times this guy DID NOT keep these commandments. With dates and times and places duly noted. Instead Jesus tells him to sell it all, give it away, and follow Him.

And I wish this story had a better ending for this rich young man. I wish the next thing this story talked about was the impact this guys money had on the world. Instead it says this man "went away sad, because he had great wealth." Well I bet Jesus went away sad too.

This is key to the story because it precedes Jesus talking to his disciples about how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. And Jesus then makes the camel through the eye of the needle comment. Not because this rich guy couldn't get in. But because this guy valued his wealth more than God. And this young man got to a point in his life where God challenged him on what mattered most.

So as we learned in the last post from the global rich list:

Bad News: You and I are rich

Worse News: I still have not found any teeny,tiny camels.

Good News: Jesus did not say the gate to his kingdom was closed. He said it was narrow.

I wonder what's beyond those gates.

Global Rich List

So, how rich are you? Compared to the world I mean. Go to http://www.globalrichlist.com/ to find out. Simply type in your annual income and then come back to this blog. No really, go do it before you read any further.

Notice the percentage and the spot on the graph line. Pretty amazing, no?

Now just for kicks do it again and type in your dream salary. No really, go do it before you read any further.

The results don't move you up much in either percentage or on the graph, compared to the world, does it?

So when the world talks about rich, affluent North Americans........they are talking about me. And if you live in the United States and are currently employed........they are talking about you. Based on the numbers you just ran this is not my opinion. This is fact.

So what does a Jesus follower do with these words of his:

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." - Mark 10: 25

Bad news: You and I are rich.

Worse news: I have been unable to find any teeny, tiny REAL camels.

Feeling uncomfortable? Check back for more info on this in the coming days.

In Side Out

I thought the roses I brought back for my wife Chris from Ecuador were looking pretty ragged. The other day I was sitting outside and she brought them all out. I assumed to throw them away.

And I watched as she sat down and began to peel away the brown petals to reveal beautiful pink ones. They were vibrant and looked just like new.

And I wonder if that is how God views us. I hope He sees beyond the exterior to something good inside.

Not because our nature is good. But the good in there because we are made in His image.

Dreams

"God has a way of ending some dreams in the process of fulfilling others."

- Jud Wilhite in Stripped

When I Give; I Get

Went to help build a wheelchair ramp today. My wife Chris and I helped along with Ryan, Dave, John, Andy and Rich from RiverTree Christian Church. This group built a ramp two weeks ago on the small main house and today we put one on the trailer.

The homeowner made us an awesome lunch. Cold cuts, hot ham and cheese, chips, watermelon, pickles, vegetables. I feel bad accepting something from someone with nothing, or very little. But I am learning that they have pride and self-worth in giving too. She encouraged us to eat more, and her smile beamed from ear to ear when we did. I am sure she gave more than any of us did today. Seems like when I serve someone I leave with more than I brought. People with less seem to do that to me. Seems counter-intuitive. Happens all the time though.

We also put a door on her daughter's bedroom. She went on and on about how her daughter will appreciate this. You would have thought we built a whole new room or something. Reminds me how I take things for granted. It was hot inside the house and John commented how it made him appreciate air conditioning in his house.

This house was in sorta bad shape but I could not stop thinking about my friends in Ecuador. They would think they were rich if they owned this house.

They are.

Jim & Casper Go To Church

No, not a new cartoon for all you folks about my age. It's a book by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper. Jim is a Christian and Casper is an atheist. They spent time together visiting churches and writing about their experience. Oh and sorry about the label Jim. I think after reading the book you would not label yourself like this. I get the idea you would prefer Jesus follower.

Me too. Although mostly my life looks like a Rick follower. Cause it's not what we say - it's what we do.

This book was refreshing and scary. Refreshing because of the honesty these two guys trusted each other with as they wrote and discussed. Scary because an atheist kinda rocked my perception of what Jesus came to do. Thanks Casper, I needed that.

I think I knew that Jesus did not intend to start a religion, but a movement. But I've never heard that articulated before as well as in this book. Here are a few nuggets:

"Casper could not imagine Jesus telling his followers that the most important thing they should be doing is holding church services."


Casper on the wealth he saw at one church and Jesus' words about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven:

"How many of the neatly coiffed, SUV-driving attendees of ( get the book and find out which church goes here ) can say that they have given until their lifestyles were interrupted? If people who keep their wealth think they're going to heaven, I'd suggest they find a teeny, tiny camel to help make their case."

Jim suggests that church goers visit a different church once a month..........to feel what it's like to be an outsider.

Casper asks the question: "Is this what Jesus told you guys to do?"

So I have been encouraged to be more real and to stop selling Jesus. I want to talk about him as if I had just spoken with him on the phone. And I like how the church I go to is becoming missional. We started taking our entire Christmas offering and sending it outside our walls. Two years ago we replaced a boiler in an orphange in the Ukraine. Last year we gave enough to Compassion International to start three child survival programs.

And this fall we are closing the doors one weekend to serve in the community. That's right - no church service AT ALL. I wonder if that will get the local faith community in an uproar. I can only hope it does. And I hope it sparks honesty and real dialogue. The kind of authentic friendship shared by the authors. One a non-christian, the other a non-aetheist.

Being Fully Present

I recently read Under The Overpass by Mike Yankowski. Mike is a college student that took time off and spent 5 months living on the streets of America back in 2005. I highly recommend it. I'm not sure Mike meant it to be about missions but that is what is spoke to for me. I don't think it sold too well so you can probably pick it up pretty cheap. Sorry about that comment if you read this Mike. I think your book rocks - well it rocked me - so thanks for writing it.

Mike writes early on in the book about why he did this. He talks about sitting in church one Sunday listening to a sermon about living the Christian life. It was titled "Be the Christian you say you are." He said he realized that he had driven twenty minutes past a world that needed him to hear this sermon and he would soon drive twenty minutes past it on his way back to a world of privilege and comfort on a college campus.

So he had me hooked when I read this because I notice the same thing in myself. Having just gotten back from Ecuador I find my thoughts reverting back to what I will do with my day and what I want for dinner and how I have this tunnel vision driving to where I'm going and noticing nothing on the way. While in Ecuador I notice that I noticed a lot about what other people were doing and what they might be thinking and going through.

And I want to be that way all the time.

I think that most people expect me to tell them what I built or what I accomplished in Ecuador. And I used to have a tendency to think the same way about missions: That I needed to be able to rattle off a list of tangible accomplishments that I did for someone.

But I am coming to understand that the ministry of "being with" is the real mission. In Ecuador I ate lunch with a girl named Carolina who wants to be a teacher and her sister, Carlita, who dreams of being a nurse. And soup with popcorn in it never tasted so good.

I sat on a chair way too small for me in a kitchen at a Compassion International project with my friend Jeremy and dished out lunch for 125+ kids along side of Spanish speaking cooks that I could communicate with very little. And I was lost in that moment.

I was served dinner in an Ecuadorian home along with my friends Heather and Bruce. We were given tomatoes, rice and a hot dog ( I think it was a hot dog ). We sat on the homeowners bed because all this family had was a hot plate in a small kitchen with no stove and refrigerator. And my friend Heather, who hates tomatoes, cleaned her plate.

I met teachers ( Rosita, Joanna, Nancy, Monica ) in a preschool and told them they were doing such important work. And their smiles lit up my day.

I played in a park with preschool kids. And heaven came to earth.......for me.

So the Gospel that I allow to become black and white with the daily grind of going to work and such was bursting with color. It came alive. It was a snow capped mountain and a rainbow and a sunset over the ocean.

From the book: "If we are the body of Christ-and Christ came not for the healthy but the sick-we need to be FULLY PRESENT IN THE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE ARE MOST BROKEN ( emphasis mine ). And it has to be more than just a financial presence. That helps, of course. But too often money is insulation-it conveniently keeps us from ever having to come face-to-face with a man or woman whose life is in tatters. When we're willing to get down to eating together, listening and telling the truth together, cleaning together, peeling potatoes together, the Gospel comes alive."

The project directors

Yesterday the group met their sponsored kids. As expected it was a beautiful day. I got to see kids, sponsors, family members, translators, project directors, and even this writer, cry when it was time to say good-bye.

I am thinking about my blog from last Saturdy titled 6 + 8 > 14. There were 8 kids visited by 6 sponsors but we had a total of 45 in our group when you add in translators, Compassion International employees and family members and project directors that came with the kids. So I think my formula above is correct in that 45 people had a day they will never ever forget. And we all have stories to tell others.

These project directors and their helpers are my heroes. They work in specific areas of Ecuador and are responsible to put the whole Compassion International mission and work on the ground and make it happen for the kids. Some traveled 10 minutes to get to yesterday's visit. Some traveled 9 hours, on a crowded bus, over less than smooth roads. One left at one o'clock in the morning to get to Quito by 9:00 AM for the visit.

Two of the directors were experiencing their first ever sponsor visit. And they told me it is one of their highlights so far in their work. Not because they are meeting someone from the United States for the first time, but because they see the excitement in the kids from their project. Kids they are sold out dedicated to. Kids they love like their own.

Samuel Clemens said "Find a job you love and you will never work another day in your life."

I think they have found it.

ANOTHER Chance meeting and more from Ecuador

The team here with me in Eduador went to the roof of our building this morning to pray for God's favor with the judge and whole system in Peru for Hannah's Home. It was an incredible spot. We could see no less than 3 snow capped volcanoes. B-E-A-U-tiful!

I met some kids at For His Children orphanage today. Patricia is 4 and has problems with her legs. She will need operations to walk. Edison has downs syndrome and a heart problem but will be getting an operation soon to hopefully fix that. Jessica wanted to be pushed on the swing some, some more, and more after that. It was hard to leave there.

Spent the evening working at a soup kitchen called Pan de Vida ( Bread of Life - http://www.pandevida.ec/ ). I was humbled by the many people from all over serving there tonight. Met a lady from England who is here for the summer. Met Nicole from Russia. She has lived here 6 years. Four different countries ( Ecuador, United States, Russia and England ) all serving together in one little soup kitchen in Quito, Ecuador. Each time I come here I experience a piece of heaven.

Oh and I met Kelly Mitchell there too. She is working there for the summer. Kelly is a student from Anderson University. She knows several of my daughters friends and members of my church. And not only do I meet her but it's on a mission trip to a country over 3,000 miles away and we just happen to be on the same continent, in the same country, and the same city, on the same street, serving in the same little ministry that could not be found unless you were specifically looking for it. Coincidence?

A chance meeting and more

This morning we went to the home of a child survival program. This is a program through Compassion International to help children from prenatal to 3 years old survive to make it into their sponsorship program. The home we went to was full of smiles and God. But I could not help noticing the walls of this two room home. We were in the bedroom ( the only other room is a kitchen ). One double bed and a crib for three people. The walls and ceiling were similar to 1/4" lauan plywood. They were patched with cardboard. Cracks were stuffed with newspaper. Intersection of the wall and ceiling was sealed..............with masking tape.

This evening we had dinner with Leadership Development Students. Jonathan, Fanny and Jose. They all have been in a Compassion program most of their lives. And they have dreams.

Big dreams.

Jonathan will have a dgree in mathematics and wants to build his own high school. Fanny is studying graphic design and wants to have her own business and provide good jobs. Jose is studying computer engineering and wants to go to Japan to study artificial intelligence. He wants to develop a computer controlled water distrubution program for the indigenous people of his village.

And another thing about Jose. His sponsor is my friends from RiverTree Christian Church, John and Lucia McLaughlin. Now that is incredible right there. My group came over 3,000 miles to Ecuador and we meet a sponsored student of a person we know!

Dream Weaver

Today was spent painting and playing with kids at San Pablo in Quito, Ecuador.

Our host missionary, Shirley Brinkley, was telling us about what God has them doing here in Ecuador. She said it makes no sense for a nurse ( her ) and an accountant ( her husband ) to be building and running a school. But that is exactly what they are doing.

She talked about the cycle of hopelessness that needs to be broken in these children. She says they don't dream because they don't know how.

She says "my dream is for them to dream".

Well maybe they are. I had lunch with Carolina and Carlita. They are sisters and are in the compassion program at San Pablo. They both have sponsors and both write and have been written to by their sponsor. Carolina (above) wants to be a teacher; Carlita a nurse.

6 + 8 > 14 ?

Yes!

This morning 6 Compassion International sponsors ( Bruce, Heather, Ray, Craig, Jonathan and Jeremy ) are heading to Ecuador to whisper hope to 8 sponsored children. I have the privilege of leading this team down for ChildReach Ministries.

And I am convinced that way more than 14 lives will be impacted with the math of God.

$44.3 Million

The Gross Domestic Product of the entire COUNTRY of Montserrat? Yes

The combined estimated export value for the COUNTRIES of Palau, Marshall Islands, Cayman Islands, Tuvalu, Montserrat, East Timor and Anguilla? Yes

But that's not what I'm referring to. It's the money raised to build the Akron Art Museum.

Museum director Mitchell Kahan is quoted in today's Akron Beacon Journal: "I think it shows Akron can be a leader in culture."

Now I'm all for the arts so if you are an artist, then continue creating. Be the artist you were made to be. And I'm all for urban renewal and such. And I have a confession to make: my company made a profit by selling material for this structure. But really, this much money for an art museum?

Here' what I bet $44.3 million dollars could do:

- wipe out diarrhea as one of the leading causes of death to children under the age of 5.

- provide a good part of the world with access to clean drinking water.

- sponsor 115,364 children through Compassion International for an entire year.

- double the salary of 44.3 million people because half the world live on less than $1 per day.

- or we could build an art museum.

Museum architect and designer Wolf Prix said that in his design for the museum "all hopes have been fulfilled."

I wonder what God hopes for. Perhaps the mere survival of the 30,000 children under the age of 5 that died today?

Hannah's Home

Buenos Dias,


Off to the airport to take Andrew and the Peru team to their flight to Peru. They will be helping to complete Hannah's Home. It's a place for pregnant street girls to go and have their baby and learn a life skill. I was going to say it was for unwanted kids but that's not really true. You can track this groups progress at http://www.childreachministries.org/ and click on "trip updates."

Want to help? You can donate resources online at the website. We need furnishings and a well. Better yet come and see. The next trip down is October 6. Post a comment on this blog to let me know if you're interested.


Gotta go.


Chow!

Freedom

For all her faults this United States of America is a great country. I realize I take this for granted. Today we celebrate our DECLARATION of Independence. But the reality was there was much work to be done.

There was a bloody fight for that independence.

There still is.

Thank you to the servicemen and women who died to give me freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the right to representation "by the people, of the people, for the people". Thank you to those in far away countries serving today.

And there was much work to be done to set up a government. For a great read on the story of the constitutional convention try Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen.

I love what Declaration signer and delegate to the convention Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote of the ratification of this document:

"Tis done; we have become a nation."

With all our faults, we have indeed.

What's so scandalous about a good samaritan?

Dear Ohio State Buckeye fans,

I want to tell you a story. And I must first make it clear that I am one.

Okay this Buckeye fan is driving to a football game. He has never been to a college football game and never dreamed of actually getting to go to one. Well he won this lottery that gave him the opportunity of a lifetime. Not only was he attending a game, he was going to THE game. Ohio State vs. Michigan.

He was thrilled and couldn't believe his luck. He doesn't make much money and never would have been able to pay his own way. In fact driving his car 70 miles to the big game was a risk in itself. And 20 miles outside of Columbus his luck ran out. He pulls over to the side of the road with a dead car. He gets out and tries every thing he knows about cars but can't get it going.

So he starts to a try to flag down the cars racing by him on the freeway. Most of these cars, in fact all of these cars, are obvious buckeye fans with their cars decorated in scarlet and gray and "go bucks" written across the back window. So he displays his buckeye gear thinking this will get him some help. It doesn't. 5 then 10 then 45 minutes pass and no one stops to help.

Then finally after nearly 90 minutes he sighs with relief as he sees a vehicle pulling over in the distance. "Finally a buckeye fan with some sympathy", he thinks. As he watches the car approach he can't believe his eyes. After hundreds of buckeye fans whizzing by he will be helped to THE game by......................a Michigan fan!

Okay that story was cheezy but it's my best analogy ( for a buckeye fan anyway ) of Jesus' parable about the good samaritan.

First a bit of history: When the kingdom of Israel split, one kingdom was called Judah ( in which the city of Jerusalem was situated ) and one remained named Israel. The temple was in Jerusalem and the this was the center of religious life for the Jewish people. Israel, on the other hand, settled in SAMARIA.

Well because of forsaking God, Israel ( in Samaria ) was attacked by Shalmaneser King of Assyria. He captured it and deported these Israelites to Assyria. Then Shalmaneser resettled Samaria with people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. And each group made and worshiped their own gods.

So in Jesus' time a Samaritan was not someone to associate with. They were viewed as a worthless and ungodly people. Kind of like a buckeye fan views.......no just kidding.

So for Jesus to tell a story where a SAMARITAN was the hero really must have ticked some people off! Not only that but a priest and a Levite ( the religious leaders of Jesus' day ) in his story are used as examples of wrong actions ( or inaction ). Oh and this story Jesus tells is in response to a question from an "expert in the law". A Pharisee ( i.e. priest / levite ) ?

No wonder Jesus was crucified. He had to be silenced!

Saturday

In the words of country singer Trace Adkins: "I get high drivin down the freeway; just knowin that it's Saturday and I've got no place to be."

Well, it's Saturday and I've got no place I have to be.

ALL DAY.

Yeeeeeeeehaaaaaaw!

A Floating Ax Head

There's this obscure story in 2 Kings 6: 1-7 about an ax head. It's just sort of plopped down there between two other stories and seems to make no sense.

Well author Mark Batterson makes some great observations about this in his book In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day. Mark says it so well I'll just quote him:

"Second Kings 6 records what may be the most ridiculous prayer in scripture. A group of prophets are chopping trees near a river and one of their iron ax heads falls into the river. The prophet who lost the ax head said to Elisha: "Alas, master! For it was borrowed."

Notice the verb tense. This apprentice uses the past tense. As far as he's concerned, this ax head is gone. It reminds me of one of Jack Handey's deep thoughts: If you drop your keys in a river of molten lava, let 'em go man, 'cause they're gone! If you drop your iron ax head in the river, let it go man, 'cause it's gone!

This apprentice regarded his loss as final. He had no expectations whatsoever that the ax head would be retrieved. I think he wanted a little mercy or a little sympathy, but he wasn't expecting a miracle. He didn't even have a category for what was about to happen, and there is good reason. Any mineral with a density greater than one gram per cubic centimeter doesn't float. The density of cast iron is approximately 7.2 grams per cubic centimeter.

Translation: Iron ax heads don't float.

Or do they?

There is only one way to find out. Pray a ridiculous prayer! Now here is what I love about this story. If I'm Elisha, I feel bad for the guy who lost the borrowed ax head. Maybe I let him borrow mine. Maybe I drive him to the hardware store to get a new one. But it doesn't even cross my mind to pray that it would float. But can you tell the wheels are turning in Elisha's mind because he asks where the ax head fell in. If I'm the apprentice, I'm thinking, "What difference does it make?" But he shows Elisha where he lost it. Elisha cuts a stick and throws it into the water, and something happens that probably never happened before and has never happened since.

And the iron did swim.

This isn't a life-or-death situation. Yes, it's a borrowed ax head. Yes, he lost it. But if that is the worst thing that's ever happened to you, you've led a pretty sheltered life. You know what I'm saying? It's an AX HEAD. This may sound crazy, but doesn't it seem like you ought to save an amazing miracle like this for a little bigger tragedy? But I would put this miracle in the category of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding party. Why waste your first miracle on helping a bride and groom save face because they didn't stock enough wine for the reception? But I think this reveals something about God. He cares about the little things like wedding receptions and borrowed ax heads.

God is great not just because nothing is too big for him. God is great because nothing is too small for him either."

Humility Lesson

Last night I had the opportunity to serve with my July Ecuador team at Refuge of Hope. It's a homeless shelter and soup kitchen. Before we served the meal Pastor Ken took prayer requests. And I noticed that only one of these could be considered personal - one person asked for prayer that they would find employment. Everyone else asked for prayer for someone else. One person requested prayer for Jessica, the missing girl from North Canton.

It made me notice how often I pray for.............me.

A widow and some oil

Check this story out about the prophet Elisha and a widow in 2 Kings chapter 4. She apparently has just a little oil to her name. The problem being that she owes way more debt than she can pay and the creditors are coming to collect. They are apparently on her doorstep. And they are going to take her 2 sons as slaves since she can't pay up.

Or can she?

Elisha tells her to go get empty jars from her neighbors. He tells her "don't ask for just a few." Then he tells her to go into her house and pour oil into said jars until they are filled. I wonder what she thought about this. Did she expect the miracle of her little bit of oil filling these jars? Who knows? Apparently she just went out and asked her neighbors for jars. She obeyed.

And I notice the oil stopped flowing when she ran out of jars. It's almost as if the extent/scale of this thing was up to her: she could have filled 20 jars or hundreds.

This widows husband was "a man from the company of the prophets." He "revered the Lord." And so enter the miracle of the oil filled jars. She sold them to pay off her debts and lived off the rest. I guess God really can be trusted to provide, just like he says. Whether I live or whether I die, God can be trusted to take care of my family. I just don't care for his timing. He seems to come through at the last minute yet again.

"God is faiththful, but he is slow." - Devlin Donaldson

THE temple and each days need

In 1 Kings 6 Solomon begins building a temple for the name of the Lord 480 years after God brings the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. I wonder if God really wanted this temple. And I wonder what God thinks about some of the incredibly expensive and monster structures the church builds and finances today. It is really hard for me not to be critical of something like this.

I like how my church, RiverTree Chrisitan, is becoming a church of multi-sites instead of building a "Church-mahal".

Later in 1 Kings 8 Solomon is dedicating this temple and he prays for God to provide for Israel "according to each days need." Well that sounds very unlike me. I seem to always be planning and trying to figure out "tomorrow" instead of "living" today. This is a lesson my friends from Ecuador and Peru are teaching me. They do "today" really well.

A view of war......

Thursday, November 19, 1992

Dear Mimmy,

Nothing new on the political front. They are adopting some resolutions, the "kids" are negotiating, we are dying, freezing, starving, crying, parting with our friends, leaving our loved ones.

I keep wanting to explain these stupid politics to myself, because it seems to me that politics caused this war, making it our everyday reality. War has crossed out the day and replaced it with horror, and now horrors are unfolding instead of days. It looks to me as though these politics mean Serbs, Croats and Muslims. But they are all people, there's no difference. They all have arms, legs and heads, they walk and talk, but now there's "something" that wants to make them different.

Among my girlfriends, among our friends, in our family, there are Serbs and Croats and Muslims. It's a mixed group and I never knew who was a Serb, a Croat or a Muslim. Now politics has started meddling around. It has put an "S" on Serbs, an "M" on Muslims and a "C" on Croats, it wants to seperate them. And to do so it has chosen the worst, blackest pencil of all-the pencil of war which spells only misery and death.

Why is politics making us unhappy, seperating us, when we ourselves know who is good and who isin't? We mix with the good, not with the bad. And among the good there are Serbs and Croats and Muslims, just as there are among the bad. I simply don't understand it. Of course, I'm "young", and politics are conducted by "grown-ups". But I think we "young" would do it better. We certainly wouldn't have chosen war.

The "kids" really are playing, which is why us kids are not playing, we are living in fear, we are suffering, we are not enjoying the sun and flowers, we are not enjoying our childhood. WE ARE CRYING.

A bit of philosophizing on my part, but I was alone and felt I could write this to you, Mimmy. You understand me. Fortunately, I've got you to talk to.

And now,
Love,
Zlata

Pretty incredible wisdom for an 11 year old girl. This is from Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo". "Mimmy" is the name of her diary. Here is another entry.

Friday, September 17, 1993

Dear Mimmy,

The "kids" are negotiating something, signing something. Again giving us hope that this madness will end. There's supposed to be a cease-fire tomorrow and on September 21 at Sarajevo airport everybody is supposed to sign FOR PEACE. Will the war stop on the day that marks the change from one season to another???

With all the disappointments I've had with previous truces and signatures, I can't believe it.

I can't believe it because another horrible shell fell today, ending the life of a three-year-old little boy, wounding his sister and mother.

All I know is that the result of their little games is 15,000 dead in Sarajevo, 3,000 of them children, 50,000 permanent invalids, whom I already see in the streets on crutches, in wheelchairs, armless and legless. And I know that there's no room left in the cemeteries and parks to bury the latest victims.

Maybe that's why this should stop.
Your Zlata

Did you know: 2,000,000 children have died as a direct result of armed conflict during the last ten years.

........not a very nice view.

the cycle of hope

Just finished a book called "Freedom Writers Diary". It's about a group of high school students that overcame racial division and hatred through writing. Here is one of many journal entries that moved me. After all, aren't we all hungry for hope?

Dear Diary,
Ever since Ms. Gruwell announced that the Freedom Writers with the top thirty-five grade point averages would win computers when we graduated, I started getting As and Bs on my report card. I even raised my attendance from mediocre to perfect.

Our senior year finally came and Ms. Gruwell was announcing at the Freedom Writers' "Open-Mic Night" who the lucky recipients of the computers were. "Last but not least the thirty-fifth computer goes to..." and Ms. Gruwell turned to me and said my name. I got butterflies in my stomach; I could not believe that out of 150 Freedom Writers I was one of the ones chosen to get a computer. I had hoped to receive a computer, but truthfully, I didn't believe that I would raise my grade point average high enough to win.

In my neighborhood gang violence and drug trafficking play a big role and kids have no one to look up to as an example of hope. Like most kids in my neighborhood, I had no one to look up to or emulate until I meet John Tu. He has inspired me to become an entrepreneur and start my own computer company. I want to eradicate the violence that is going on in my neighborhood and give back to my community the way John Tu has given back to me. I want to become the role model that kids in my neighborhood lack and to someday have kids in my neighborhood look up to me the way that I look up to John Tu.

Besides donating computers, John Tu had given a couple of Freedom Writers jobs at his company with benefits and Christmas bonuses. Handouts are like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, but John Tu does not give people handouts, he gives people hope. Not even in my wildest dreams did I think that I would meet a millionaire, especially a millionaire that cared about my well-being. John Tu helps people through education, financial support, and high moral standards. I thank God for sending him into my life. He has given so much to me, and because of his actions I want to give to others, and hopefully someone will follow after me and the cycle of hope will continue.