Orphan Sunday

Grab your calendars, blackberries, and notepads. Orphan Sunday is November 8th, 2009. Get your church involved! Click this link to learn more.

http://www.orphansunday.org/

Let the voice of millions be heard in your church.

Prayers for Blessed

Please pray for this little one in Kenya. Her name is “Blessed” and she is the daughter of a Pastor in Kitale, Kenya. She has a heart condition and needs medical attention and a miracle. She is pictured here with her father. Financial provision and physical healing to her body are greatly needed.

Days of Hunger Ahead...

In a time when the crops should be flourishing and lush, the sight of the fields is bare and hardly what it should be. In a time when you shouldn’t be able to see your neighbor’s rooftop because the corn is so tall, you can practically see your neighbors doorstep. In a time where you can hear the stalks of corn gently move in the breeze, you hear a constant rustling of dry leaves brushing against each other. Kenya is in a stage of drought.

The food Kenyans rely on the most, is maze. It’s a type of corn, and they practically live on it. It can be cooked on a basic grill made from a bit of wire. It can be ground and used for corn meal. There are many ways to use it for food, and it is what the country depends on to survive. This year, due to the lack of rain, it just isn’t there.

Kenyans are preparing for the impending famine that will be coming soon. With the lack of maze, people will starve. When your child needs food and is so very hungry, what do you feed them? When water is scarce, and the food just isn’t there, what do you do? Many Kenyans are turning to prayer for their hope in a miracle.

While traveling in Kenya this July, I was shocked. The corn fields that are normally bright green and healthy were brown and dead. The corn stalks were so short, and almost brought tears to my eyes as I gazed out to the fields that surrounded my truck window. What will these people eat? They have to have food. The Kenyans are preparing for hard times ahead. “People will starve to death this year, it’s going to happen with the crops the way they are. Things will be very tough in the days ahead,” they say.

Yes, I am one of the first in a crowd to start a discussion about our health care debates going on right now. We are so blessed to not be debating about topics such as “What will we all eat in the coming months.” What will the Kenyans do? What will they eat? How many will die as a result of the recent droughts and lack of corn? It’s a sad reality they just aren’t ready to deal with. Neither am I. Our kids live there. Our sisters and brothers live there, and in Matthew 25 verses 35-40 Jesus tells us it is He will be there living it as well.

Please pray for all those searching for food, ways to survive, and faith to get through the days ahead. Please pray for ways you can be a part of the answer.

The Boy at the Window

"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always" 1 Chronicles 16:11

In a small village tucked away in fields of corn, there stood a church with sounds of praises pouring out of the cracks in the mud walls and the two open doors of the church. One window was covered with a cloth stretched as far as the threads would allow with sunlight beaming through the worn holes. Wrapped tightly around the bar to the window, I saw a small dark hand gripping metal. As my eyes worked upwards from that hand, they stopped on the eyes of a young boy. This is him pictured here.

As the word of God was read and praise and music was filling the room. The presence of the Lord was felt, and the eyes of this young boy watched intently. I found my head tilt to the side as the thought, “Who is he” crossed my mind. Where did he come from? Has he ever been in this church before? As I watched him stand and listen for at least a couple hours, as the African church service proceeded, I prayed for him.

He was more than just a small boy to me. He represented all those young children who don’t quite make it into the church. He stood on the outside peering in. Was he wondering what it was like to have the joy he saw in the faces of those inside? Maybe he was seeking an answer to where the sound was coming from that he could hear in the village coming from the church’s area. Maybe he was looking for food. Maybe he was looking for water. Maybe he was in need of something to quench his spiritual thirst. The boy at the window represented to me so many out there that are peering in and seeking answers…seeking Him.

After some time, I looked to the window and of course, he was gone. Off into the fields of corn, probably never to be seen by me again. He is still out there, and so are the millions of others who are hungry, thirsty, and/or just looking for answers. They are peering in the window with a desire to join in. I’m not sure of this young man’s name, but ask you to lift him up in prayer today.

Posting Soon

Thanks to you all who have been checking this site for new posts. We got back from Africa about a week ago. We have been trying to get caught up with things this week. I'm working on getting some stories and pictures up soon from the trip!

Someway...Somehow...Back to Africa

In less than one week, I travel back to a place that has stolen something from me. It’s a place that some how chisels off pieces of my heart each time I am there. Each piece broken off is surrendered reluctantly and accompanied by a mixture of pure joy and pain. Next week, I travel back to Africa.

How does one prepare one’s heart to be broken by the sight of human suffering? How does one prepare one's eyes to see the image of children naked and starving on the street? How does one prepare one’s arms to hold a child that longs to be held and loved by a forever family? How does one prepare ones feet to walk away when it is time to go? I have no idea. I just know God does it…someway ..somehow.

Maybe it’s the innocent smile from an abandoned baby looking up from a crib. Maybe it’s grip of a hand onto yours from a teenager who wants a friend..even for just a moment. Maybe it is the tear of joy streaming down a widow’s face as she describes how blessed she is to care for her HIV infected grandchild in a one room mud hut. Maybe it is the inspiration that comes from seeing the courage and faith they all have by the Grace of God..someway… somehow.

Maybe one’s heart can never be prepared, but can be broken and miraculously healed by the glow of light that comes from the many least of these they encounter. How does ones heart be broken so many times in one day, and rest at night beating bigger than it had the previous dawn? It’s an out of this world thing He does..someway... somehow.

Soon, I travel back to Africa. I go to learn, to see, to serve, and to meet Him there once again. What an honor and blessing it will be. Phil and I will be traveling together this time and would greatly appreciate your prayers. One year ago, I started this blog as a way for me to write about my trip to Africa then. It served as a place to tell stories of those who needed a voice. I hope to bring that voice back with me once again after this trip. I’m not sure how often I will be able to update my blog while gone. Please know if I can’t update while I am away, I will do so when I return.

Living Life

There was a time in my life when I didn’t “get it.” Maybe you have been there. Maybe you are there. I was living life, and yes was a Christian. However, I wasn’t “getting it”. I went to the Lord each day with my requests and even praises at times too. That’s what Christians do, right? That is our purpose. We ask for help and give thanks for our blessings. Then one day I realized there was much more to life…something I suspected all along.

It hit me one day in what seemed like a far away distant world the Lord had taken me to. There were probably 150 people in the room with me. It felt like just the two of us were there alone. It was there He spoke. I’m not sure what He said exactly. It wasn’t auditable. The words somehow poured into my heart, into my soul, and into the deepest place within me. I realized then and there, I wasn’t living my life for Him. I was living it for me. I wasn’t “getting it” in life. I changed in that moment and made a decision to drastically do things different. I suddenly got it.

Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

How are you living your life? Are you living it for you or for Him? What are you giving? I often find I ask this question to myself at times. Living a life FOR Him is an intentional effort and choice that has to be made daily. It’s hard to slip away from it and go back to the self-centeredness we all have. Are you so busy trying to make a living that you have been side tracked from giving and living a life for Him? Ouch..I know it hurts to look so closely at ourselves in that regard.

It takes courage. I'm guilty, and I know many of you are too. We go to Him and ask Him for guidance, wisdom, or help. We do this knowing full well, IF we opened our ears up big enough, or IF His voice somehow miraculously reached us even though we aren’t actively listening, we won’t take the guidance. It’s like we ask, “tell me what to do, Lord” thinking that request gets us off the hook. We ask for the help so we have done our part. Then we expect it to all be handed to us or fixed until we need help again. It has to be such a slap in the face to Him. We don’t live our lives for Him, but we are constantly coming to Him for help and expecting Him to fix it. We ignore Him when He does try to help..if it entails us actually doing something, sacrificing, or just doesn’t sound like fun. I can’t imagine how frustrating that would be. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be that person to my Heavenly Father.

Therefore today, once again, I pray for change. I challenge you to pray too. Let’s pray for a life that is being lived out for Him. Wake up each day and make that effort and be thankful for the opportunity. The best in life awaits us. He blesses those who are faithful and obedient. He will guide us..IF we ask and are willing to listen and take the direction. Let’s live a life For Him.