(This blog was written by my wonderful teammate Ciera Nelson, I felt like it was definitely worth sharing though. Hope it maybe hits you at the core of your being and it challenges you to see the circumstances of your life in a new way)
DID YOU KNOW
right now as you read this there are…
143 million orphaned children in the world
11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases
8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions
2.3 million people who live with HIV
Equaling 164.8 million needy children.
And though at first glance that looks like a big number DID YOU KNOW there are currently 2.1 billion people on this earth who proclaim to be Christians? DID YOU KNOW that if only 8% of Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left?
When I first read these statistics my heart felt as though it was ripping in half. This is the first time in my entire life that I was able to choke it down. It can be pretty hard trying to wrap your head around numbers like this, especially when we come from a world where everything we need is right at our fingertips. We turn on the faucet and out comes clean sanitary drinking water, we open the fridge and we have food falling out from the bottom shelf; these numbers just don't make since to us. But for the first time, I'm seeing the faces that are connected with these statistics. Everyday as I walk down the red dirt paths that lead us from our small home to the church, I get to hug, squeeze, and love on children that have seen more hardship than I will ever know. These children may never be able to walk into a school or a healthcare facility. They may never know their biological parents due to HIV and AIDS. They may not understand a word that I whisper into their little dirty ears, but I will continue to love these children because Christ first loved me. I come before God just the same, filthy, poor, and broken in my sin and still his arms are wide open awaiting to embrace me.
Before this journey began these statistics didn't mean much to me. I accepted them because I thought I couldn't make a difference. But we can, and we are called to. God commands us to take care of the orphans and widows, James 1:27 and he tells us in Luke 12:48 when someone has been given much, much will be required in return. We are blessed in America because we are intended by God to share and bless others with it. We are fabulously wealthy. DID YOU KNOW if your annual income is 50,000 you are in the 1% of the wealthiest people on the planet? That means 99% of the planet is poorer than you. Or maybe your surviving on $15,000 a year, doesn't seem like a lot. However, DID YOU KNOW you are still apart of the top 10% of the wealthiest people in the world? This changes perspectives, doesn't it?
As I walk the streets of Kabuga, Rwanda I'm seeing statistics run past me with smiles on their faces. These aren't just numbers they are real people and God loves them just as much as He loves you and me. DID YOU KNOW you can make a difference? Just thought you should know.
Information from
globalrichlist.com
Davis, Katie, and Beth Clark. Kisses from Katie. New York, NY: Howard Books, 2011. Print
